Back to the Routine

We had sent 25 blood samples for pregnancy tests the other day at a cost of $2.65 each.  Today we got our results.  We like to do rechecks after the first confirmation and of those, 10 were pregnant and 3 were open.  Nothing we didn't know.  Of the other 12 we had 8 pregnant and 4 open, a couple of which confirmed what we suspected so basically no surprises and information we can move on with.  Bruce came in for supper and announced we had a new calf in the barn.  We thought she was due in March but she had been bred twice.  As it turns out, the second time must have been a false heat which caused the due date confusion.  Thankfully she had been dried up early so its not a crisis.  Arriving at the barn after supper to find she had twins was a bit of a surprise though.  Another bull/heifer set.  Given the fact that in 2010 we only had 3 sets of twins (all bull/heifer combinations)  I am hoping this is not a trend that will continue.  This time the cow got calcium under the skin as usual but also got warm water delivered to her to drink since her belly looked really sunk in.  She managed to drink 25 gallons and then was content!  We will have a new adventure to deal with when we milk tomorrow since we have a cow that managed to step on or pinch a teat and cut it.  We have had them do much worse damage than this one but no one in the barn has a worse attitude.  She is big, strong, fast and mean. Depending on how she behaves she may end up leaving.  She has already hurt Bruce once when she was a new heifer and won't get a second chance.