![]() Milking this morning, I walked up through the cow shed, cubicles just before 6am rising the cows that were not yet making their way down to the parlour and I noticed an after-birth on the floor. It looked to fresh to be from any of the cows that had last calved on the farm, so I thought it more likely has come from a cow that has miscarried, but as I was just about to turn at the top of the cow shed to then walk down the other set of cubicles. I noticed a cow stood looking at me in a manner, as to warn me something was around the corner. As you get up the end of the cow shed, there is an open space which has little light and I felt what was around the corner, before I could see what it was. What I felt buffing my knee was a freshly born Angus cross Friesian calf trying vigorously to find it's Mother's milk. Accidents happen. The farmer, Steve, I work for this year has had a few of the dry cows running with the milking cows and a couple weeks before calving they are removed to the calving shed. Dry cows are cows around six to eight weeks from calving, that are not being milked. The cow that had calved was one of the dry calves, from the size of the calf it did not look early and I thought it was most likely a human error in recording service dates, as this cow would of been served in the Spring (Just corrected this, as when first published, I accidentally put Autumn. If the cow had been served in the Autumn, it certainly would of been born early), by their own Angus bull, Papa, running with the herd. The cow and calf are fine. Angus crossed with the Friesian make for very robust calves. He was covered in shit, so he had to be washed off and Steve told me he seemed to enjoy the little warm bath he gave him. So that was a lovely little surprise I had first thing this morning and on my arrival home I was greeted with this over our home.
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“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you,but he will make a fool of himself, too.”
― Samuel Butler Me (Jane) with Puddin' and Teagol, waiting patiently to flush a patch of kale, December 2019
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March 2022
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