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!

BOHECA

Those of you who have worked for large organizations (or in the UK) may know the expression summed up by BOHECA (I apologize if I offend anyone's susceptibilities) and which heralded changes in management practices, ruling political parties and the like - "Bend Over Here it Comes Again"! Well this winter's weather is giving me the same feeling. The view from our house has gone white again, and a cold wind is whistling around the eaves. The forecasters got it right over night with about 2 inches, and now we have a steady fall, which looks like getting up to at least the 6 to 9 inch level. C'est la guerre, but my feelings about this season are bad enough with short days and cold weather, struggling through snow and chipping ice off buckets just adds to the misery.

However, for once I listened to the weather forecasts and spent yesterday, with the help of our tireless rescue volunteer Julia Fussell (for whom grateful thanks) actually getting prepared for the snow storm. By nightfall everyone (horses, cows, sheep and chickens) was nicely tucked up in their various stalls and coops, with full bellies, hay to munch on and full water buckets. Luckily there is little wind so drifts are unlikely, and I had the good sense to put a store of hay bales in each barn ready for the weekend. Even with the tractor, struggling around the farm in a snow storm to deliver bales is tiring work! I even made sure that the hoses were empty and the bucket filling chore should be a little easier. Roll on Spring!

Rosebud went into standing heat on Thursday and so our friend Rhonda from 3 Rs brought the straws over and performed the miracle of conception, or at least the insemination part of it. Our aim this year is to have all three girls freshening around the same time, and well before the end of year cold sets in. Leo and Mona, haven't appeared to been too affected by the very cold nights we have had, but it isn't the best time of the year to be newborn. We also wanted to avoid the high hots of Summer, which leaves two fairly narrow windows of Spring and Fall.

Well, if the power goes out we have our new emergency generator switch ready, to give us water; the logs are cut for the house fires; the fuel oil tank has just been filled; we have food and feed enough to ride out a few days; and I added to the beer and wine collection (just in case). Should be good to go! Unfortunately, Jorg is on snow removal, which is the only blight on what could otherwise be a cosy weekend, once the menagerie have been taken care of. Hope wherever you are out there, you too are safe and warm and don't have to brave the elements.