A new calf

On Sunday at about noon, I saw an eagle land in the produce patch a little ways from where we are parked. When I walked over there, I saw that the eagle had "encouraged" some buzzards to leave... and while I was watching, a hawk flew by -- no pictures unfortunately (I didn't want to get close enough to disturb the eagle). When I told Jimmy, he thought that maybe one of the cows had given birth and they were "arguing" over the afterbirth. So, a little later in the afternoon, we saw Jimmy heading to the cow pasture to see if there was a new little one, and we tagged along.

What a beautiful pastoral scene!

The Hereford coloring against the (still) green grass makes a pretty picture!

Some of this fall's crop of calves down in the woods.

That's the momma cow lying down on the other side of the waterer.

And... lying down there between the red one on the left and the black one on the right is the new baby calf - looks like a reddish smudge on the ground.

Jimmy approaching the new baby:

Measuring around his hoof to get an approximate weight -- 77 pounds

One of the other momma cows was very concerned about what was going on!

Banding to make him a steer (not a bull)

The new calf's momma cow is still lying down (on the left side of the picture), while the primary photographer (Carl), the new calf, and Jimmy are in the middle of the picture (along with another calf and another momma cow).

About to put the ear tag in (the calf isn't sure he wants to have a pierced ear!)

Jimmy does the application of the ear tag quickly and then rubs the calf's chin to take the sting away:

 

All done, he is ready to get up (he had probably been up and nursed earlier, but had been bedded down when we arrived).

He wanders over looking for his momma...

This one smells to see if he belongs to her... nope!

"Do you know where my mother is?"

Jimmy got the momma cow to get up to encourage her to go mother her baby...

She went to look where she had left him bedded down -- and he wasn't there anymore... Jimmy picked him up (all 77 pounds of him!) and carried him over closer to his momma...

... and the calf found her and eventually got a snack too!

She looks like she is picking up on mothering her new baby.

Some more pictures of the momma cows and their calves...

The babies are so cute!

This particular calf was born a few days ago, but I think Jimmy said that she was only 45 pounds when she was born - so she is still quite small! He said that he thought that she may have been premature.

 Some of the fun activities we get to participate in here on the farm!