First calf! And your chance to see more

The first calf of the year was born today!

She's early ... she was in a pasture by my parents' house so my mom saw her first and called Kris. He picked her up, cleaned her belly button, fed her colostrum, and bedded her down with tons of straw in the calf barn. He found her mother so we can start milking her tomorrow morning.

He came home to tell us and of course we all wanted to go to the barn to see her.

She was like most newborn calves - sleepy, all cuddled up, and cute.

She's the first one in the barn, and it seems huge ... just waiting for more calves!  Soon all 152 calf pens will be filled.  

As Kris' shirt says - Clinton County has a great event called 'Family Fun at the Farm.'  It's FREE and super entertaining.  On June 14, two farms (Cook Dairy Farm and Sonrise Farms) will host visitors.  You can see cows being milked, learn about grazing, feed a calf, and take part in many other activities!  

There aren't any tickets or anything - just show up.  You can find out more about it here.  Kris is volunteering at it, as are many other farmers, so you can get any of your questions answered.  

You're welcome here, you're welcome there - and if you're not close, just look at that calf picture.  151 more cuties to come!  

First heifer calf!

Our first heifer calf of the year was born today!

And she's apparently spirited, too!  Kris and I were in our yard playing baseball with the boys - it was a beautiful, warm day - when a woman stopped.  She told us she saw a calf in the field across from the cows.  Usually they stay closer to their mothers, so this was unusual.

The five of us piled into Kris' truck to go get the calf.  Right away our milker and neighbor Dave called and said he could see the calf from his house.  He and his sons picked her up and met us at the barn.



Dave said, "This isn't going on the internet, is it?" I assured him it was.

We fixed her up a bed of fresh straw and told her hello.



Headed in for a nap



Max said, "Hi cow!" in the same voice he uses to talk to babies.

The welcoming committee

She'd had a long walk.  She mooed very loudly, probably because she was hungry.  Kris found her mother, took her into the parlor to be milked, and fed her a bottle of her mother's colostrum.

Welcome to our farm!  Hopefully this year's calves are just as healthy ... and stay a little closer to home. 

First calf

Our first calf was born tonight!  A red and white Holstein that we purchased last year from another farm had her first calf.  She had a big red and white bull. 

Kris pulled it - he said he probably wouldn't have had to do it - but it was late and already dark.  He didn't want to leave her in the field overnight if she had problems, and the calf's head was already out.   

Our neighbor was trying to watch the birth earlier in the night but was thwarted by 1) the dark and 2) all the curious cows coming to see her, blocking her view of the laboring one. 

First of over 400 births to come this spring!  Or, I could say ... 1/400th done!