Hooray! 2nd heifer had her calf unassisted and waiting for us to find this morning…ππΌππΌππΌ
This is Natasha with her first calf. [Click here to read about when Nat was born.] Since Natasha’s name originally came from the superhero Black Widow (think: Marvel-Avengers) AND since this week is the debut of another one of those movies, we decided to stay along those lines, and this bull calf’s name is Clint (think Hawkeye, lolπΉπ).
Neither Nat nor Clint minded Mike walking over & putting the halter on Clint.
Nat & Clint walked together for a few minutes, and then Nat completely abandoned her calf and left to go get a drink.π
Mike tied Clint’s halter near the gate so we could figure out how to get Nat back…
No worries, though, Clint had the yearlings on the other side of the fence to make him feel welcome…π
There is Nat all the way back at the waterer…π¬
Mike headed back to attempt to usher Nat back toward Clint and out the gate…
She did come back the direction we wanted her to…BUT she passed up Clint, went through the gate, and made a beeline to the barn.π
Soooo. We adjusted our plan. Mike hurried to escort Nat down to the barn, and I stayed and babysat Clint until Mike could get back.π€·π»ββοΈ
Gave me lots of time to get some pictures on this glorious morning!βοΈβΊοΈ
Once Mike returned, he did his best to convince Clint that he should WANT TO walk down to the barn…
It did work, but only for a little jaunt. Even the yearlings tried to encourage him by walking along the inside of the fence!π But Clint just wouldn’t have any more walking.ππΌ
So we stopped, prayed, and the Lord enabled Mike to lift Clint onto the back of the four-wheeler. No pics of that process, or my husband would have been very frustrated with me, lol.π It was a bit of a stressful drive down to the barn with a wiggly calf & Mike’s awkward holding positions. Mike’s top half was holding Clint down on the bed, while his feet walked and I drove 5mph+/- down to the barn. Had to stop several times, but we did make it to our destination in one piece. PRAISE THE LORD!βοΈ
I got a pen opened up in the barn, and Mike then carried Clint into the pen. He was NOT light… Mike will no doubt feel the effects of this experience for the next few days.πͺπΌππΌ
It wasn’t too bad getting Nat in to milk for the first time, and she gave us a nice amount of food for Clint.πΌ
Later in the afternoon, we decided it would be wise to get the last 2 mamas, and bring them into the same field with the other milkers. Mike got the fences ready, and we headed up to get veteran Gluey and last-bred-heifer Ruby. Thankfully, everything went smoothly.β€οΈ
We will be glad when the last two calves finally arrive. It will be nice to settle into more of a “set” daily routine. Calving season is exciting and fun, but not without its challenges!π
Tally is now even – 3 boys and 3 girls.ππΌ
My goodness he is a big boy! Love the long white eyelashes! Be praying Mike’s body does pay for dealing with super calf….Clint! So enjoy your pics and quips!! Bring such smiles and love to praise Him with you folks!!! ππ
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Yes! I, too, love Clintβs white eyelashes…β€οΈ Thanks for your kind words and prayers. We love you.βΊοΈ
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