Calving Again

Calving season is upon us again here on the Greet Ranch, and with a whole new set of joys and sorrows to be had. Sometime it seems the joys outweigh the sorrows, and sometimes it’s the reverse. Unfortunately ours isn’t off tho the greatest of starts, but there is time for things to look up, if only they will!

Calving had arrived on the ranch about a week ago, but Big Trails Beef starting calving in the early morning hours on Saturday. This little AI heifer had bit of a rough start in the extreme cold and when Brandon found her he was afraid her ears were already so cold she would lose them. Only time will tell if they fall off or not. He got her up and fed and left her mama to finish licking her off and hopefully get her nice and dry and warm. Throughout the day we checked on her, worried over her, and tried to get more food in her. She seemed to be eating, nice full feeling belly. But she was just never very lively when we would go out to check on her and we haven’t caught her in the act of eating.

As the day progressed we hem-ed and haw-ed over whether or not we should bring her in for the night to make sure she stayed nice and toasty. But finally, with an 8 o clock check, the inside of her mouth being very warm, and no apparent shivering, we decided it was best she stayed out with her very capable, and quite frankly sick of us messing with her baby, mama. Brandon checked her again around three , after his 2am check on the ranch’s heifers, and she wasn’t as warm as he might have liked but not concerning since it was all of 3 degrees out. However, when he went back around seven he decided she was just too cold and brought her to the house.

My little helper

I quickly snuggled her up in Gemma’s blanket. Gemma was more than happy to come in off the porch and made herself right at home in the kids’ blankets, remnants from last night’s sleep-out. I then got an electric heater plugged in, propped up and pointed straight at her, and went to work rubbing her body to try to get her warmed up. While i didn’t really think it would help, I also worked on her ears a little in the hopes of saving them. Quinlan and Lorelei were excited about the new addition and argued with me about keeping her as a permanent house guest while they helped pet the new baby. After a couple of hours her mouth and the rest of her were toasty again and we set out to reunite her with her mama. She had been missed, and the two found each other right away. Again, she wasn’t very lively, but I knew she was warm and when Brandon went back he said he thought it had looked like she had been eating.

Good thing she isn’t bigger or she wouldn’t have fit in the floor board.

So for now, we are cautiously optimistic our little slow starter will be up and wild soon. Wish us luck this calving season and all of the other people in Agriculture who are trying to bring little ones into the world during the frigid February and March weather.