Calving 2015 Update

I feel like I've barely been home lately between going to Chico for the MFU Women's Conference and then on to Wichita for the NFU Convention. This past weekend I was ACTUALLY HOME. Aside from heading to town Saturday morning for track practice, I didn't leave the farm. It was nice to spend some time with my husband, get some housework done, and spend some time with the cows and calves. Today's post is going to be pretty photo oriented, with lots of images of cute animals, including Harvey the vizsla, and lots of cows and calves. I hope you can handle this!

Benjamin!

Let's start with this guy and just get him right out there. He's a gorgeous, throwback Simmental calf- splotchy red and white. He's actually pretty big for being only a few days old, too. Now's the test to see how observant you are. It's hard to see, but he actually has a cast on his back left leg. In the first day of his life, he accidentally got stepped on by a cow and his lower leg broke. Tom took him to the vet in Havre where they gave him a cast. Then, to keep it waterproof, Tom and Jeff improvised by covering it with a plastic grocery sack and securing it into place with electrical tape.

While at the vet, the vet assistant thought the calf was pretty darn cute, which he is, and decided that his name should be Benjamin. Needless to say, it stuck. He's already pretty used to people and loves to be scratched on his neck. He's our pal. He's doing great and we expect that his broken leg will heal quickly. He already hops around pretty well, just like a normal, healthy calf.

Here's a cute, healthy little guy!

With the weather as nice as it has been pretty much all throughout calving, the process has been going very well. Everyone is staying healthy, and cows and calves are all happy. They are really loving basking in the warm sunshine! 

The calves are particularly curious and really can't figure out what to make of Harvey. They love to get close to him and try to see what he's all about. Harvey, for his part, is cautious around the larger animals but feels safer around calves, for the most part. Here, you can see him close to Carol, with another calf getting close to check him out. 

Harvey sticks close to Carol, while she takes a photo. 

This is a photo Carol took of the calf coming up to get a look at Harv. 

 Harvey definitely feels safer when he's near a human...

Another calf comes up to check out Harvey, while a cow looks on from behind Carol.

Here, Harvey is anchored to my knee.

 As of this morning, we had 67 calves born and about thirty cows yet to calve. At this point, they'll continue to sort of taper off. Today and tomorrow the weather is supposed to be cooler and rainy, so we'll see if the pressure change causes more cows to go into labor, as sometimes happens.

Here's Jeff and Harvey kneeling down to let some calves approach.

More calves! The little one curled up on the left side of the image was so content to lay in the sunshine! 

 When we had walked out to check out the cows and calves, we noticed right away that one cow was in the beginning stages of labor. We left her alone for a little while, and when we checked back later, it looked like she was struggling. Sometimes the hips of the calf sort of get stuck inside and the mama needs a little assistance. At this point, if the calf is still encased in fluid, he can actually suffocate. Jeff watched pretty close and at one point helped pull the calf just a little bit with his bare hands. The mama took a short rest and then gave one last push and the calf was freed. Just in time. But, Jeff was prepared with the pulling straps, if they were needed.

It's pretty cool to watch the miracle of birth. I know that it may not be for everyone, but I think it's pretty neat. Carol actually took video of the whole thing, but we agreed that it may be too graphic to post on the blog. What do you think, readers? Is that a video you'd like to see, or would it be too much?

We left the new pair alone for a while more so they could bond and the mama could clean her calf.  Below was the scene a little while later:

Cows bond initially with their calves by licking and cleaning them. 

I know I've said this before, but it's so great to live and work on a family ranch. Jeff and I are so lucky to contribute to agriculture in this way and to carry on a family tradition. There's nothing like calving time to feel the rewards of hard work.

Thanks to Carol for the photo!

 I've always wanted to do a sort of tongue-in-cheek Farm Girl Fashion post on the blog. It would be modeled after a high fashion post that fashion divas do on their fashion blogs, only it'd be about what we farm girls wear to be practical when working outside. I think my outfit above embodies that spirit! haha! You just have to love the Carhartt Jacket, old jeans, and mucky overshoes look!

Photo by Carol.

 And now a short infographic on beef, thanks to Ryan Goodman at Agriculture Proud.  He has a pretty well-written blog and an interesting point of view on agriculture and particularly on ranching. If you like ag blogs, definitely stop by. He actually had this image posted on his Agriculture Proud FB page the other day. He and I are both members of Team Beef Montana (although we've never run in the same race. Montana is a big state), which is a group of ranchers and beef producers who also run and race as a way to stay in shape. As a Team Beef member, I am enthusiastic that lean beef is a quality energy source that helps fuel my run and recovery. When Ryan posted this graphic, I wanted to share it with my readers.

On our ranch, we sell our calves in the fall and they are typically finished on grain. The animals that we keep to finish for ourselves are also finished on grain. There is a growing market for grass fed and I would be interested in pursuing this. I'd also love to pursue more direct marketing of our beef, or selling directly to consumers. Lots to think about for the future on that topic. 

Regardless, our animals are treated very well and we really do love our cows and calves. They have unlimited pasture to graze on and always have access to clean, fresh running water. I'm proud of the work we do with our small herd of cattle. 

I'm also proud of our dog, and he is quite pleased to be himself, as you can see below...

Harvey is guarding the porch! You may not cross unless you pet him first!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Have a great week, everyone!