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Friday, February 03, 2012

Full of Bull

Full of Bull

The back of the truck was full of "bull" yesterday...or least full of "little bulls". LOL DH went for a drive yesterday to pick up 5 of them, one for us, one for Dad & 3 for a friend who has three girls in 4H who wants to raise them for the fair. (Dad's little bull is already out of our truck, and into his...so he isn't in this photo.)

We've been considering trying having a bull around, instead of having our cows AI'd, because seeing WHEN the cows go into heat is hard sometimes...and then if they don't take on the first time we have to have them come back and pay them again, and again till it takes. With having several cows to do every year, that just isn't working out to well...least not to me who hates tossing money out the window, and not getting any return for it. (Daisy has been AI'd three times since she had her last calf...still don't know if she took this last time, although DH thinks she did. We will have to have her checked in another couple months.)

We finally decided to try having a bull around. I've been reluctant, cause Bulls scare me...ok, the cows did too, and I've been working on that, but bulls scare me more than the cows ever did. LOL (This post tells about a bad experience I had with one, back before we got cows and I fell in love with them.) I figure if he gets to big for his britches, and we just can't trust him to not try and kill us, we will shoot him and put in him our freezer...hopefully it doesn't come to that, as I don't want to have that scare, or loose our bull before he can produce several babies. Hear that little fella? Be NICE or be FROZEN, it's YOUR choice! *giggle*

I was kinda hoping for a lighter colored one, but guess as long as this one produces healthy babies what more can I ask for.

New little bull

This is the little one we choose. He is full Jersey (Hubby brought home two full Jerseys, two mixed, and a full Holstein...the Holstein is the one Dad took, cause he's bigger and he wanted him for his freezer in a year or two...his hoofs were sure a LOT bigger than the Jerseys and Jersey crosses...couldn't believe it!). We naturally wanted the full Jersey since we mostly have Jersey cows. A mix would be ok, but I wouldn't choose a mix with Holstein in it again (unless I could have a girl who looked like this anyway) they are just to big and eat to much (A Jersey is bad enough). LOL I prefer to stick with Heritage breeds anyway, which I've read Holstein isn't.

He's a cute little thing...but then most of our farm babies are to me. LOL He is being bottle fed for now, but we are going to try to get him attached to Honey, since she is the only one milking right now with enough milk (Mabel doesn't give much, with just one working teat...and Daisy dried herself up almost before winter got here, guess she thought being in milk over a year without a break was enough. LOL) We tried getting him on Honey this morning, and he did some...but not enough to survive. I do think he will if we keep trying though. He just has to learn, and it seems to me that calves are slower at learning to walk, and eat than baby goats are. He is taking the bottle quite well though...so least he is eating! LOL

This morning, after I left the barn (once we worked at getting him on Honey some) DH finished up with the cows, then turned them back out into the rain. He then took the calf back to the stall area (he had been up in the milk room with him) and fed him. He called me and said the cows were all standing at the gate watching him, wanting the new baby. Honey was even hollering for him, while I was on the phone. Poor Daisy doesn't have any milk for him...so won't be able to be a total mother to him like she would like, but least she can help protect him and take care of him otherwise. LOL I think in a few days (or a week or so) he will have three new Mom's to care for him. Once he is getting around a little better we will give them the chance to take him over. :) Gotta love having cows that want each others babies...cause it makes less work for us, if we get one that needs a new Mom. :)

It's so good to have another baby here on the farm. I'll try to get better photos of him next week sometime...after the snow storm, that is suppose to be headed our way. Naturally we get him just before a cold spell hits...it's rainy today and suppose to be snowy tomorrow, yet it was 60 and above the last seveal days...such a STRANGE winter this year! Thankfully he will be all snug and cosy in the barn with hay to burrow into...with his "future" Mom's standing at the gate longing for the time to fly, so he can come out and be with them. :-))

1 comment:

  1. I think it's cute how much your cows love babies. :)

    Nice looking lil' bull!

    http://multipleblessings.wordpress.com/

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