Hello World!

Three weeks early...but our first calf was born yesterday!

Wide-eyed with wonder

Ellie Mae didn't pick a very good spot to have her calf...right in the middle of the feeding pen. They usually go up into the sagebrush and find a nice quiet spot away from the other cows. Not this time.

I went out to clean stalls and feed horses at the big barn about 3:30 PM. All was quite until about 4 PM when I heard a cow bawling. I walked out into the barn yard to look down at the cow paddock...saw two cows eating; nothing seemed amiss, so I went back to feeding. Then I heard bawling again. OK, as soon as I'm done here I'm going to the cow barn to see what's up.

Good momma cow

There was Ellie Mae with a calf...soppin' wet and shivering...she had just given birth! She kept bawling at the other cows who were crowed around to see the excitement...especially Paddy and Tumbleweed who are just yearlings. They were really curious about this lil' wet thing on the ground!

Time to get up...and look...it's a heifer!

Momma kept lickin' and cleanin' her up...and not long after the lil' heifer makes it to her feet.

She's up! Paddy is giving her moral support ;~)

I decided I better get some fresh hay out for the cows and they would probably leave Ellie Mae and the calf alone...yep, that did the trick.

Shortly after that, the heifer found the right end of momma for the groceries...she's a good lil' eater!

Momma could have picked a better place to have her!

She's a pretty big calf...her sire is "Herfy" a polled Hereford. We're kinda (a lot) concerned for Number Three since she's a first year heifer. We'll be keepin' a VERY close eye on her.  Annabelle looks like she should be next to calve though.

My Man fed the cows this mornin' and said that the new lil' one is up and dancin' around already (in the dark)!

One down...two more to go!