We started with a morning phone call and it was no surprise that the first calf has arrived. We were expecting a black calf since the bull was supposed to be angus, but this guy has a white face so who knows what genetics came into play. He is cute and willing but lacking an understanding of how to suck so it took what seemed like forever for him to finish a bottle. Bruce was able to milk the heifer with no problems even without using heifer calm. This group of heifers seem to be very calm. We will see how the rest do.
Bruce called this morning that the last heifers could be delivered any time. To create a group we needed to move 3 cows and 2 heifers. The same heifer that was stubborn before gave us the same trouble today, and that one is actually ours. The drinking cup that was by the stall where the trim chute was had been removed so another one had to be plumbed in. The cow #6 has the nasty habit of drinking with her top jaw on top of the cup and bottom jaw under it. Not only is this an inefficient way to drink but she also runs a lot of water in the feed. Bruce took the regular cup from #6 and used it to replace the missing one and then replaced #6 cup with one that is different shaped and much more difficult for her to make the mess. We will see, never underestimate the creativity of animals. We had one mattress to replace and 2 to clean and bleach and we were ready! For once we were ready before a deadline since the heifers didn't get here today.
The buck goat managed to get loose from his rope yesterday. As long as he behaved we let him wander around and eat. He never bothered the rose bushes, which is a surprise, but when Bruce went to the barn to feed in the afternoon the goat was wandering around and eating whatever he wanted in the feed room. It took awhile to catch him and get his leash back on and I can't say Mike was exactly helpful this time. He never ever has reason to chase the buck goat, and he was SO excited he couldn't even listen which frustrated Bruce to death. Eventually we had him back on his leash and for now he is tied to a corner post in the pasture. Goats are funny creatures. He has plenty of green grass to lay on but he choses to lay in the driveway on the breaker rock.
Our sick cow from the other day seems to be over whatever was bothering her. At this point the guess of a virus seems to make sense. Hopefully it doesn't spread to anyone else.
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