2017 Fall Calving Wrap-Up

​My fall calving wrap-up blog post is a little late this year. OK, it’s more than a little late. I’m hoping to complete it by the first day of spring! Why bother? I already had notes compiled, pictures taken and hated to waste all that effort!
 
We calved out 70 cows, including ten first-calf heifers, this past fall—the most since we started the cow/calf operation. Here are a few of the highlights.

Adoptees and Twins

The calving season started with an adventure: First-Calf Heifer #258 lost her calf and tried to adopt another heifer’s calf to fulfill her purpose in life. Usually, Bill wouldn’t attempt an adoption with a first-calf heifer but #258 wanted so badly to be a mother, he decided to chance it with a Holstein bull calf from an area dairy. I posted the full story, “Kickoff of 2017 Calving Season,” on Sept. 10, 2017.
 
A few days later, one of the cows, #608, birthed a stillborn. Bill made another trip to the dairy for an adoptee. That story, “Another Adoption, But Without the Drama,” was posted on Sept. 15th.
 
In October, we added yet another Holstein adoptee when second-calf heifer #362a lost her calf. Our adoptees are usually only a few days old, but this one was born about two weeks earlier. Since he was much bigger than the other two, Bill named him Hoss.

At least one set of twins per calving season is becoming the norm for us and this year was no exception. Our twin story, “Another Calving Adventure…or Two,” was posted on Sept. 17th.

The Hereford Dynasty

In my fall calving posts, I’ve always included pictures of one of our herd favorites, Hereford, and her calves. Sadly, Hereford’s last calving season with us was in 2015. She didn’t have enough milk for her calf, Frosty, which necessitated supplementation with milk replacer. Their story was posted in “Romper Room Calves – Part 3: Frosty, Hereford and Heartbreak” on March 29, 2016. We kept Frosty as a replacement heifer and she had her first calf this year. We were doubtful whether or not she was bred because she wasn’t showing signs of impending birth. Finally, in early November, her udder began to swell and she calved a nice bull calf a few days later—the last calf of the year.

​Thanks to Frosty and her four half-sisters The Hereford Dynasty lives on, but as black white-face progeny instead of red white-face.

The Toe Family

Another one of our herd favorites, One-Toe, presented us with what we initially thought was a nice heifer. We even named her “Four-Toes,” thinking she could be a potential keeper as a replacement heifer. Later, Bill discovered that, oops, “she” was a bull!  

A couple of days later, we discovered One-Toe didn’t have enough milk to sustain her calf, necessitating supplementation with milk replacer. Sadly, another of our herd legends will be taking her last trailer ride after calves are weaned in late spring.
 
But happily, daughters Two-Toes and Three-Toes both calved this year. The Toe Family Legacy lives on!

(Photo quality isn't good but I discovered long ago that most of the time you have to settle for what they give you; and sometimes you get lucky, but not here!)

Settled in for the Winter

As usual, after the cows and calves were worked, 60 pairs were hauled to a ranch about a 45-minute trailer ride south of us to spend the winter. We aren’t set up to cater silage or large quantities of hay. The cattle we kept and fed hay and grain at home include:

• Eleven replacement heifers, born fall of 2016, that were bred in December and January so will have their first calves next fall;
• A few cows that birthed late calves—it’s easier to keep them here rather than haul them to the ranch later;
• “The Gimpy 4” – Four older cows with mobility issues that we need to monitor. One-Toe is included in this group, and all have advance reservations for their last trailer ride after their calves are weaned. "Do advance reservations guarantee us window seats?"
• Two bulls to breed the replacement heifers and late-calving cows. The Gimpy 4 may also be bred but won’t be calving, at least not here.