Simba

Mama, bull calf, and obligatory chicken

So this was interesting. A week ago Friday Matt and I were on our way somewhere, and as we turned around in the driveway we noticed that the 6-year-old cow we purchased in February was laying up by the fence. And it looked like she was in the middle of giving birth, so we stopped to wait and make sure everything came out okay, as they say.

But after a few minutes it was apparent that something wasn’t right. She had a vainal prolapse. So the vet was called. But by the time he got there, which wasn’t much time, everything had returned to its proper place and she was standing there calmly chewing her cud.

Vet said as long as everything went back in, it was okay. She’d likely calve within the week, so just keep an eye on her. (And then he made Matt promise his picture wouldn’t appear on this here website.)

As I said on Tuesday, storms bring on labor. And sure enough, Wednesday morning this little guy greeted us. She’d had him in the barn, no problems at all, and everything is still in its proper place.

It’s hard to tell by this picture, but Simba is a huge calf. At birth he was bigger than his herdmate, Dot, who was 8 or 9 days old at that point.

So not everything around here is gloom, despair and agony. (Thank goodness!) 2 more calves to show you, with 4 more to drop yet. Stay tuned…