Welcome Violet

Violet just a few hours old

Triskelion's Violet finally appeared at breakfast time on Saturday 14th September 2013.  Mother and daughter doing fine.  Another successful delivery by Rosebud, even though she was some 3 weeks late by our reckoning!  Never mind, she's a healthy heifer and that gives us two beautiful girls who will be looking for homes in 2 to 3 months time after weaning.  As with all our calves we will start handling them and teaching them to halter and tie straight away.  With a height of 21 inches a few hours after birth she will be a mid-sized adult, perfect for milking and will undoubtedly have the easygoing personality of her mother.

Phoebe at 5 Weeks

Phoebe with Tuna


Phoebe is now showing her real character.  Still a baby she is playful and has a lovely personality.  As with all our calves, she is being taught to lead and be tied, with lots of handling.  This time we are trying something new.  The mini-Jerseys do pose problems with keeping their feet trimmed.  If they are easy to handle you can try trimming in place, but even our even tempered ladies find that a bit much!  There are trimming boxes that have an array of supports and pulleys, and we have used the services of such a trimmer.  However our smaller girls do not fit the adjustments intended mostly for full grown Holsteins, and the consequent anxiety and rubbing of lower legs is upsetting.  Phoebe is going to be taught to lift her feet and be trimmed by hand!  Absolutely no reason why not, if horses can be taught then so can our cows.  More in future posts.

Phoebe

Phoebe and Bessie

 

Mother and daughter doing well.  I have to say that each birth brings with it a different crop of fears for me.  Last year I worried for days that a calf's eyes didn't seem right, and was worried that she was blind!  There has been the inevitable "slow to feed calf", with some bottle feds over the years.  This time I agonized over Phoebe's stiff gait and apparent "bandiness".  Now if you had been ejected onto the ground head first, then expected to stand up and walk around, all in the space of a few hours, you might find yourself a little stiff, even after three or four days!  In the end both stiffness and bandiness have gone as you might expect (although just occasionally there are joint problems in new calves) and Phoebe is a normal week old calf.  Our cow vet, Dr Lincoln Rodgers, is to be thanked for his patience in answering our interminable questions.  We may have got over the initial "Two pregnant cows, and no experience" phase, but we still have a lot to learn!

Welcome, Irene!

"Welcome, Irene!" was probably not the message we had in mind on Saturday! However, it seems totally apt that Bessie's new heifer calf should be named Triskelion's Irene. She was born today, September 1st, 2011, to Tanglewood Cookie Dough (Bessie). Mother and daughter are doing well. The sire is Riverview's Baby LP, making Irene a Foundation Pure Miniature Jersey, small and cute. After a long and anxious night, we were assured that Bessie had decided to wait another day. We let her out with the other cows, and within an hour, we were greeting our newest arrival. It was a very warming experience to be able to watch, and remarkable how quickly they stand and take their first wobbling footsteps. A great day.

New Life, New Hope

My usual routine, walk down to do the horses calling in on the cows to ask "how are you ladies, any babies?" Well this morning as I peered into Rose Bud's stall, there was her baby, a beautiful heifer calf, probably no more than an hour old.

What to do? Too late for boiling water and fresh towels, can only marvel at new life and ring Jorg with news. Check Bessie, who looks concerned but not overly expectant - that is until an hour or so later, with Jorg on the way home, she suddenly lies down with a look that says "me next".

And so Jorg arrives home just in time to see Bessie's waters break, and the thrilling sight of another new heifer calf delivered with all the aplomb of an experienced cow Mom. Less than an hour in all, and oh so beautiful.