Monday morning I walked in the barn and nothing new to report. I fed the girls and put some fresh bedding for that cow that just didn't want to calve and she just laid down on the fresh hay. She was checked the day before and the breeder said there was an error on the due date. She was due on the 27th of June. OK... that explains things.
When I returned to the barn around 4:30 pm, I saw a calf laying beside the cow in the birthing pen. I called my son to tell him that #291 just calved and I walked to the milk parlor get milk ready for the other calves. When I returned I proceeded to give grain to the heifers and I saw another calf on the other side of the cow. So I called my son again to let him know that she had twins. A bigger heifer and a smaller bull. Both will have to go as we don't keep the bulls and there a good chance that the heifer calf is sterile. The cow was treated and the calves moved to their little pens. The first one was all cleaned but the last one was only half cleaned. Mama was too tired to finish the job so I put a jacket on the trembling smaller wet calf. Both are doing well but Mama misses her babies. She comes by the nursery often and moo for her babies.
Today was hot outside and I decided that I better take some pictures of my vegetable garden as I promised and I took lots of flower pictures too. I think that the light was too bright as some of my photos are a bit washed out.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. JB
What beautiful irises! The colors are amazing!!! I love the picture of the clematis. They are one of my favorite vines.
ReplyDeleteI hope your little calves do OK. Would the heifer be sterile because it was born a twin? I don't know much about cow genetics.
Too bad about the twin calves. That was always something that you don't want. Someone sold my grandpa a twin cow once. I remember wanting her to calve so bad, she was such a beautiful cow.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are so beautiful. Everything is worth the wait and I am so impressed with your garden it looks just beautiful. That is just the way summer is so much work to do. I am glad you come and visit me. :)
Hi Pat, thanks. There is a great probability that the twin heifer will be sterile because the other twin was a bull. There is a cross over of the blood between male and female while in the uterus that causes the female to be infertile. I think that it has to do with testosterone of the bull that is passed on to the female. There is always a slim chance that the female will be OK but it's not detectable for quite some time and could be too costly to raise a heifer with no guarantee that she will conceive and then produce milk. JB
ReplyDeleteJulia...your flowers are stunning! Your garden looks fantastic too.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about the twin calf thing!YOu learn something new every day!
ReplyDeleteThis thing about siblings affecting one another in the womb is quite common. In animals that have large litters, a male baby that gestates close to two or three females will eventually show traits that are more on the female end of the spectrum and less on the male end (e.g., they are less aggressive). It is, as you mention, caused by the hormone content of the fluid they are in, and the hormones do migrate a bit. I'd never heard of the effect being so extreme that it caused sterility, but the effect on traits of the grown up offspring are well known.
ReplyDeleteJulia,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is so lovely...I'm getting my flower fix through your blog! I really like that white iris! It's so pure! You do sound busy. I'm also lagging on posts. Very interesting about the calves. It's fun to learn these new things from you! Have a great day!
Courtney
What beautiful color in all those flowers! Would brighten anyone's day :)
ReplyDeleteI admire you and your work that is done with your animals. I know for a fact that I couldn't do it. I feel so bad for the mamma :(
Thanks, Julia, for the explanation about the calves. I had no idea that the testosterone would pass to the female. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are beautiful! It's a bit chilly here this morning. I think I'll just grab my coffee and stroll around YOUR yard this morning!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Debbie
We do tend to get busier in the summer don't we.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the tall spikey flowers. Lupin's? All your flowers are beautiful. I love the hosta also. I plan on planting more of them this fall.
Interesting learning about your cows. Stuff I never knew. Of course maybe because I have never owned one.
That second picture with all the lavender I love. What is that?
Thanks for your comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteFlowers are what keeps my sanity. They bring me so much joy. They don't last long but there always some color to keep me satisfied. Weeds are in abundance too.
Katie, I'm sorry about not naming the flowers, I was too tired and just needed to get to bed.
The tall spiky flowers are indeed lupins and the low mat of lavender color flowers are Mother Of Thyme. I planted a tiny plant along the drive way and it's growing right on the pavement now. It has a sweet fragrance. JB
Julia I love Iris . What a beautiful garden! Everything looks like it should be in a magazine of garden borders. Summer is here and it's hard to blog when it's so fun being outside.
ReplyDeleteHaha i was laughing pretty hard! Sorry!!! I'm glad your tongue is doing fine now!
ReplyDeleteGreat great story!
Leontien