Every day for the past week we have thought, โToday is the day Nat is going to have her calf.โ And each day weโve been proven wrong, lol.๐๐ Until – TODAY!๐
Iโll back up and fill in how the last week has gone:
Anticipating a new calf soon, last Tuesday we decided to move Mary Kate and Jake next door to our barnyard to free up the calf pens in the milking barn. They were both eating great out of their buckets and ready to graduate to a grassy chunk of space.๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ
Jake did NOT like his halter, lol.๐คฃ

But Mary Kate didnโt seem to mind it as muchโฆ๐๐ผ

Took a few minutes to get them started, but then they were off!๐๐ผ


Mary Kate was quite the poserโฆ๐


Sheโs a pretty sweet girl, and is already being spoiledโฆ๐


Jake, on the other hand, was a little cranky, lolโฆ๐



It took a little while, but eventually they became friends.๐



Iโm sure Jake is thinking, โUgh – sisters,โ LOL.๐


They both ate great in their new spot, and are continuing to adjust well to their halter training.๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ



Then Heidi kept rubbing on Nat๐, so we decided maybe we should move Nat into the barnyard so she could have a little more free space. Plan was to do that the next morningโฆ๐๐ผ



Friday was a dreary, rainy day. That made it even easier to move Nat closer to the barn so weโd all have less mud to wade through IF she had her calfโฆโ๏ธ


Nat kept hanging out at the gate that led into the far side of Eisengard – where Tilly & Granny are, so we decided to put the 3 of them together. Tilly was VERY excited and curious, lol.๐



Nat wasnโt really sure what to think about these new changesโฆ She spent the weekend looking longingly at her friends on the other side of the fence.๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐คฆ๐ปโโ๏ธ

Now weโre caught up to this morning. Hereโs our audience when we came over to milk. STILL no calf.๐ฌ (Natโs due date had been Saturday, so now weโre 2 days late.)

A couple hours later, Mike was moving fence and he thought it looked like Nat was starting to push. He came over to check on her, and YEP – 2 feet were visible!๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป




In the couple minutes it took me to climb over the gate and get closer, the calf was born!๐ฒ

Nat started right away to clean her calf up.๐๐ผ


It didnโt take long for Granny and Tilly to come over and introduce themselves, lolโฆ๐


Itโs a boy! Meet, โDude.โ (Think John Wayne movie, Rio Bravo.๐ค ๐) This is Natโs 4th calf for us. [Click here to read about when Nat was born.] [Click here to read about the calf she had last year.]



Less than 15 minutes old, and already trying to get up!๐๐ผ





We decided to let Nat finish cleaning Dude up, and then come back for him after coffee break.โ๏ธ (Dude was up and standing right after we left the field.๐๐ผ)

Dude was sound asleep in the warm sunshine when we returned.โ๏ธ And he is pretty big – maybe the biggest one this season? What a blessing that he is so calm and willing to walk with the halter on!๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ




Heโs also VERY photogenicโฆ๐ท








Almost thereโฆ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ


Made it!!๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป We milked Nat and got enough colostrum for Dudeโs feeding in a few hours.๐ผ


Now Nat has returned to the pasture with her friends, so she is happy!๐ฅฐ


Only one final calf left – from Angel. This will be her first one for us.๐๐ผ She is due on the 17th.๐๐ผ

Tally so far: 2 boys+2 girls and one more to goโฆ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ
Thank You, Jesusโฆโ๏ธ๐๐ผ
Love seeing all your Blog, Blessings!!
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Thanks!โบ๏ธ
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I love ready your accounts of your cow family! The photos are so heartwarming. I thank Jesus for all you do!
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They are fun stories to experience, and then look back on and remember! Love you, Susie!โค๏ธ๐
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