It's a bull !!

[genebo]

Today, when I was putting out a bale for the Dexters, I noticed Bambina was missing. She had been stringing mucus, but the calendar prediction was for a February 1st birth date.

I left the herd eating hay while I went looking for Bambina. All my cows like to hide in the woods when they calve, so I knew which way to head. I hadn't gone far when I heard Bambina talking "mother talk". I knew what I would find. Sure enough, as I entered the woods, there was Bambina. She would look up at me, then back down at the ground. I could tell she was guarding her new calf.

He was nearly buried in leaves and had not yet been licked clean. I don't think that he had nursed or even stood up, yet. Bambina let me lift him up to examine him. He is tiny! I still can't carry him to weigh him, so I'll guess his weight as 27 pounds, the same as so many of the smallest calves. He is definitely a bull.

I didn't have a camera, so I went to the house to get one. Babe had lunch ready, so I ate before going back. After all, this wasn't Bambina's first. She knew what she was doing. By the time I got back to her, she had licked him clean and dried him off. He was standing without a wobble and searching for a teat. He tried the wrong end for a minute, so I pushed him toward the back. He found a teat and latched on. You could hear that he got it. There is no doubt he will have a belly full of warm milk for his first night. Good thing, too, for it is supposed to start raining tonight. We're in for nearly a week of wet weather before it stops raining or snowing.

I think it was Eve who was born in the rain and never saw the sun until she was 5 days old.

Here's Bradan of Paradise, tryig to drink from the wrong end:

Here he is, drinking from the right end:

[lakeportfarms]

Congratulations Gene! We had ourselves a little black bull calf this morning out of Chautauqua Moira and ? . It could either be Mike's, or possibly another bull we had in with them, Old Bratz Atlas. We had Atlas all tested some time ago, but we have to register him with the ADCA. Atlas is a traditional bull out of Barlow Bubbles and WF Caemgen. I'm not sure we'll use him beyond this year, since we found Shadwell last summer. If he's Mike's he's probably the last calf he sired by natural service.

Since it was still pretty cold this morning, we brought him in to warm up and dry off by the wood stove for a hour or so. But it started warming up quite a bit this afternoon, and the temperature is in the mid 20's now and again tomorrow, before back down into the single digits Tuesday and Wednesday. It feels very warm after the below zero temps, strong winds, and snow squalls we've had for the past week or more, so he's back out in a stall in the barn, and we'll probably put them both out tomorrow since we have about 4 or 5 that are due to calve anytime now and need the stall.

Happy to hear you are getting around quite well if you were able to make the trip back and forth to get your camera. The recover will be faster when you can get out there to enjoy your herd.

[genebo]

Hans,

I use the Kawasaki Mule to get around a lot. I'm approved to use a cane while I walk, with occasional little walks without the cane.

You know what it's like to be a competitive athlete. You have to push the envelope.

It started raining as forecast last night. This morning we were feeding the cattle at the far corner from the barn. Everybody was there except for Bambina and Bradan. Suddenly, here came Bambina at a trot! Alone! She was very aggressive about getting some sweetfeed. She and McBrenn got into a shoving match. She was hungry, he was being a bull. We metered out some more sweetfeed into a bucket for Bambina and Babe stood guard while she ate it.

Then we went on a search for Bradan. All around the pasture we went and up into the trees, without a sign of him. Then I spotted Bambina trotting back our way. She went straight into the barn, where she had little Bradan stuffed into a corner, pretty well hidden in some loose hay. I thought that she had done as well as I could have wished, keeping him out of the rain, so I closed the gate and locked them in the barn alone. Lots of hay and water is available and McBrenn won't be able to bother Bambina. Apparently she is giving off some pheromones that his young bull nose detects.

I'll go let them out if the rain slacks off. Otherwise they can stay dry right where they are. He's so tiny it makes you want to protect him.

[lonecowhand]

Congratulations Genebo and Hans! Good thinking on Bambina's part to get the calf in! It's amazing to me that these little
newborn critters can survive single digit temps, and cold rain. Happy for all ya'all!

[wvdexters]

Great news and Congratulations to both of you!!!

Gene, you are going to have little ones zipping all around you soon. Have fun!! 

[lakeportfarms]

I think cold rain is the worst weather for calving and young calves. It always amazes me about the instincts of mothers and their youngsters! Keep up the good work on your recovery. I think it's time for me to check the barn for some new calves, and maybe I'll get a picture of Moira and her little boy in the stall before I let them out.

[Donlin Stud]

Congrats on the new arrival. I also found it great to read you are getting about a little more.

[genebo]

Hobbling is a good description right now. I passed a milestone tonight by taking care of the animals by myself. Babe had worked hard all day and fell asleep just before time to go. I couldn't bear to wake her, so off I went in the Mule.

I stopped at the hay barn to get a bale of hay. I cut the strings and loaded it in 5 pieces. One for the feeding area, one for the barn where Bambina had Bradan hidden, one for the shed roof beside the barn, one for the corral and one outside for the goats. It was a big bale, weighing about 80 pounds and the reason why I sold 6 Dexters. Babe can't handle bales like this.

Then I got the chicken bucket and drew all the ducks and roosters and guineas and hens into the henhouse. When I came out I found out that Cathy had come over to watch me. She was just outside the henhouse fence. When I swung open the gate, she took off. It was so dark that she immediately disappeared. I was making my way back to the pasture gate by placing my hand on the back of one Dexter after another, when I came upon Cathy again. She is really getting curious about me. I'm betting she'll let me pet her well ahead of the normal schedule.

Bradan stayed stock still in the barn, snuggled in a pile of hay. He's very calm. Some I've had were frisky at his age (a whole day old), but he seems content to nurse and sleep.

In case you are wondering, walking among the Dexters in the dark is a nightly ritual here. The poultry won't all go into the henhouse until it's pitch black and the Dexters congregate between the barn and the front gate. Once I turn out the solar barn lights, I grope my way back to the mule using Dexters as support and guidance.

How many times have you ever heard about a cattle farmer doing that with other breeds? Praise Dexters!

P.S. They all have horns, but I never even touch a horn as I pass through them. They have better eyesight than I have, and make room for me.

[genebo]

Well, we lost Bradan.

But, we found him, 4 hours later.

I noticed Bambina in the center of the pasture, without him. I looked all around for him without luck. Bambina came to me and followed me around as I looked. I was really getting tired, so I went home to rest.

I went out a second time, hoping to find him with his mama, but he wasn't. I covered the entire pasture, woods and all, without a sign of him. I guessed then that he had gone through the fence and was somewhere outside. Half of my fenceline is field fencing, the other half is 5 strands of electric. I've had calves walk through the electric before. At his age, I don't think they feel the shocks.

Finally I called for support. I had Babe bring Powder, the super dog, out to find him. Powder has an uncanny ability to find things for me. She found 4 lost ducklings, two lost calves, an injured squirrel, guinea nests and about a thousand field mice. She is the world's greatest pretty good dog.

I met them at the corner of the pasture. Babe turned Powder loose and I asked her to "Find the baby!". Powder put her nose down and wlked straight into the woods from where we were standing. She walked about 30 feet and stopped, standing over the calf. Amazing!

The calf was under a big rose bush, in a tunnel. Babe had to go in to get the calf, since I can't bend down that far. She came out carrying Bradan with her arms under his front legs and his hind end dangling, saying, "He's too heavy for me!" That was mostly because she was so stooped over. She put him down and pushed him under the fence wire.

He ran through another fence and ended up on the opposite side from Bambina. She fixed that! She ran full tilt around through the gate so she was on the same side as him. They came together in a rush, mouth to teat. Both looked relieved that the ordeal was over. I know I was.

I'll sleep good tonight.

[lonecowhand]

I 'm so glad for you, Gene. I saw the first line and my heart sank! All's well, and you have an escape artist on your hands! World's Greatest Pretty Good Dog Indeed!

[wvdexters]

What a jolt ... scared me too Lonecowhand. LOL

Now that my heart's back beating again. Glad you found him and I think I want to borrow your dog. Mine just looks at me with her head sideways, like Huh? And we follow deer trails, jump rabbits, even check out a few squirrels... she never finds anything!

[genebo]

I put the spoiler in the second line just so I wouldn't scare anyone too much.

After Bradan got back with his mama and was nursing, I pulled his tail hairs. I have them in an envelope, ready to go, but I'm not going to send them right away. I'll wait until he gets big enough to respect fences, and I can be pretty sure I'll still have him when the test reports come back.

Powder is a wild dog, a mongrel from a Labrador Retreiver/Chow father and a Beagle/Australian Cattle Dog mother. I took her from a litter that was born in the barn next door. All six of the pups looked different. Even with the same parents, the mongrel genetics made many combinations. She was free, but I love her as if she is my youngest daughter. Being a pretty good dog, she loves me back.

I have no idea where she got the ability to find lost animals. Yet I can tell her to "Find the baby!" and she will lead me to my lost animal. It's uncanny.

When dogs got into my neighbor's goat pen, they killed all but two, a mama and newborn kid. Standing in the middle of the gore, I told Powder to "Find the baby!" and she went straight into the barn which had previously been searched. She found the baby inside a 5 gallon bucket behind some barrels, alive and unharmed.

We went outside the pen and Powder searched around until she found the mama goat. Bleeding from many wounds, with no ears and only half a jaw, she was still alive. I covered her with triple antibiotic, trimmed off the loose stuff and sewed up a few places. Then we put her back with the kid. The kid nursed immediately.

The whole neighborhood heard about Powder's ability. She has been called on to find other people's goats, but so far, no other calves.

Mostly she sleeps.

That's so she can be rested and ready.

[genebo]

Powder has her share of trials and tribulations. Even the World's Greatest Pretty Good Dog isn't immune to trouble. About a month ago, I found a swelling, a soft tumor, on her side. She had one already, on her left hind leg, but this one was bigger and seemed to have sprung up all of a sudden. A biopsy indicated cancer, so she was scheduled for surgery day before yesterday. The operation went smoothly. Tests shoed that the leg tumor was benign and the chest tumor was a liposarcoma. Nothing to do but wait and see if the vet got it all.

Powder was a pitiful pup that first day after surgery. She couldn't climb stairs, so I slept on the couch downstairs with her. She got a "cone of shame" to wear if she chewed on any of the wounds, but thankfully, she didn't have to wear it. Last night I took her to the barn in the Mule and let her walk around while I locked up the chickens and fed treats to the Dexters and goats. She had a good time.

This morning, we let her walk on a leash to the barn. She got tired. She rode home in the Mule. All day today, as I worked on my sickle bar mower, she stayed nearby, sleeping and resting. Late afternoon, she got frisky and went up the stairs to her dog dish. I got the message. It's time to feed the dog!

She really looks good, now. Outside of some shaved areas and stitches, that is. I mean she looks to be feeling much better. She will be back to being the World's Greatest Pretty Good Dog very soon.

Here she is in April 2003.



Here she is grown up.

[lonecowhand]

Scared me again, Genebo... Glad for you and Babe and Powder, shes a good lookin' dog!

[genebo]

She was in fine shape tonight. She went out and did her business, then moved confidently toward the barn. We put her in the mule as she got to the corner of the pond, because we didn't want her wounds getting wet. She got out at the barn and barked at the goats. She and Midnight have an intense mutual hatred for each other. We put her back in the Mule until we got to the same spot, then let her walk home. The exercise is good for her.

Once she got into the house, she did a celebration dance and played with some of her toys. She's going to be just fine!

[Blessings Farms]

Thats Great Gene animals sure can steal and heal your heart.

[otf]

Wow, Gene, I missed this thread. Very glad that Powder is doing better and hope her recovery continues without any issues! That puppy photo is incredible and the recent one shows great dignity, doesn't it? I know you're taking good care of her.

Gale