Baby D Born Easily

Toots was due on Sunday. We've checked her daily to see how she's doing: teats and udder filling. Yesterday her tail looked a bit more flexible, and backside a bit more swollen and loose. This morning, when Phil moved them: not much change.

Midafternoon, he was working on the water line and called me over. "I think she's in labor. She's low-moaning and standing apart from the other cows."

We walked over, and no wonder she was mooing: there was a calf there! And Toots was standing up, having delivered the entire placenta. It's been four births since a mother both delivered calf and placenta easily: what a blessing.

Since we weren't sure how long the baby had been out (she was dry, but the weather was sunny and in the 80s, so I don't know how long it would take to dry off a baby), I stood her up. She trotted with her Mom into the shade, Mom lowing all the time.

Baby D did not precisely which bovine belonged with her. Clover the yearling bull came over, and Toots shooed him away with her horns. Baby D followed Clover, and Toots followed Baby, licking her bottom to stimulate nursing. Baby's nursing attempts on the bull didn't yield any milk.

While Mom and baby rested in the shade, I milked out a little colostrum into a cup and poured it into the baby's mouth. Most of it came back out. I went and got more equipment, and made Toots stand up to nurse. The baby latched on, but I think Toots hadn't had any nursing before, and after a couple of seconds, she lashed out at the baby, who broke her latch and stumbled away.

I redirected, and Toots settled down. It is so precious to see mother and baby working together to get baby the food she needs.

Toots laid down again before she was all milked out, so I milked one quarter, and tubed that down the baby's throat.

Yesterday, Phil pointed out that he had left the cows in their paddock too long: the grass is clipped about 18" over the line, which shows that the cows were nibbling under the electric wire. They were hungry.

We laughed at the string of chickens walking back to their chicken house at night.

Today we weren't as happy, as Phil found evidence of predation on at least one bird. It could be as many as four were taken out in the last 24 hours. In that case, since the birds really aren't doing much scratching around the cow pies, we'll bring them home and keep them here. Six eggs a day starts to be the minimum we need, just to feed ourselves. (Somehow in the thrill of rotation, we forgot that Joel Salatin said somewhere that he lost one-third of his birds to predation before he got guard dogs).

Yesterday I planted Siberian pea shrub and goumi in little soil blocks in the greenhouse, and I put goji berries in a wet paper towel in a plastic bag out of direct sun. Those three are supposed to create a food hedge for feeding chickens, so I have started from seed.

We took out all the raspberries from the greenhouse, and Phil tilled it up. I've planted out cucumbers, and plan to put in the remaining flats of vegetables, then any tree or shrub sprouts that need a sheltered place to overwinter. Maybe my herbs will end up there, too, and any remaining flowers that don't fit in the moon bed.

Based on the bee trays under the hive, the Daffodil nuc-turned-hive is building up the remaining frames in good fashion. The Damaris hive is eating through the paper to merge with the queenless Celestial hive. And I have no idea what the queenless original hive is doing, but they appear to have plenty of activity going on.

And my grafts are simply one of my favorite things. Yesterday I went and on every tree that showed green growth on the scion wood, either green tipped buds or actual leaves, I pinched off all the sprouts on the rootstocks. It was amazing, when finished, to see how few green leaved rootstocks were left! I would not be surprised if 75% took. Today it was more fun, because it was obvious which trees hadn't taken yesterday; another five or so had shown green tips today!