This morning when I got to the barn our giant calf woke up with a fierce hunger and a fire in her eyes and jumped out of her pen! Last night when she was born she was pretty wet and the weather was supposed to drop far below freezing through the night so we thought it was best to keep her inside. I quickly went across the road to fetch the silage and colostrum for our hungry calves. All newborn calves at our farm get two feedings of colostrum, so for the case of our colossal calf she got her first feeding of colostrum last night and is receiving her second one this morning. Check out this colossal calf being silly in this video. After I fed everyone I had the arduous task of thawing over 50 frozen buckets of water. I will bring all of the buckets into the warm room so that they can begin to melt and I found that this simple step makes removing the ice a lot easier.
What happens if there is a calf born in the middle of the night? Well, we always have someone at the farm to ensure that our animals are monitored at all times. If a cow is in any discomfort and requires assistance we will have someone there within a few minutes notice. In the cold winter months the newborn calves are brought into the garage where we have sawdust and a makeshift temporary pen to hold them and keep them warm until they dry off and can go to the calf barn. Sometimes I will drive up to the garage in the tractor to transport a calf myself! They can be very wiggly so I always make sure to drive slow and keep a close eye on the calf.
Today we had a new bull calf born.
Today we shipped TBA gallons of milk.
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