ByGosh, ByGolly
Cow #8 Crystal delivered her last calf May 8th last year, it was a good looking bull and we sold him in the fall just after we weaned him. He is growing up to be a herd sire at a couple of small farms around Vernonia.
We were noticing that Crystal looked like her udder was beginning to fill up and her back end was starting to spring out. It seems that she wasted no time to get pregnant again after delivering her baby boy last year, but she still looked like she may be a week or two from birthing. She surprised us.
When we were getting ready to drive the Gator across the bridge this morning we saw her standing near the brush line with a little calf by her side. Mike drove over to check the pair and saw that it was a bull calf, small but getting the hang of standing on those wobbly legs. Just past the mother and son, back further in the brush, a second baby was resting entwined in thick buck brush. We stood it up and saw it was a girl.
About that time #8 decided she was hungry and started to take baby number one toward the river to cross with the rest of the main herd headed to the outdoor feeders. This baby was much too small for crossing so we fed her just enough hay to keep her busy while we scooped up still resting calf number two. Placing her in the bed of the Gator, I was sprawled over the top to keep her from trying to get up, Mike drove over the river and deposited her safely inside the barn. Then he got the tractor with a flat pallet on the front loader and we went back for #8 and her baby number one.
This time I sprawled on top of the baby on the pallet and Mike slowly backed the tractor through the river (luckily the river is low since we have been between snow/rain systems for nearly a week now). #8 followed right behind, gently nudging me every time she wanted to make sure her baby was safe. She was mooing in a cooing type of way and baby number one was answering her the whole way across the river, up the road, across the log landings and into the barnyard. Here we moved #8 and number one into the barn to be reunited with number two.
After checking the babies over, we got them both nursing. This was their first taste of milk since neither had nursed yet. #8 was gentle with both babies and attended to them equally. We will keep the trio in the barn and small outside yard until the twins become bonded so they sleep, eat and play together before moving them out into the nursery field with all the other cow/calf pairs.
Welcome to the farm, bull calf ByGolly and heifer calf ByGosh both weighing in at 52 lbs and born on 3/17/21.
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Great story and I love the names. This is one prolific cow, but I remember that twinning is not a desirable trait in cows. I can’t think of a St. Patrick’s Day twist to the story though it was their birthdate.
Twins are not optimal, we prefer only one at a time. Especially one of each sex causes the female to be a Free Martin (no ability to reproduce) and the male is usually not as strong or vigorous growing as a single calf would be. But with all that, they sure are a couple of cuties and are very happy learning to get a long with each other while still getting in there to get a good meal when Mom lets them know it is dinner time.