Enter The Lion

It was a wild and stormy day for the First of March. Even the evening news reminded us of the old saying regarding this month, ‘In like a lion, out like a lamb.’ This day had downpours, and sunshine, high winds and hail. It was a perfectly nasty day.

It was also the day that #191 Quiet, decided to go into labor. I first noticed her at evening feeding time. She staWhen I walked from the barn down to the woods, she came at a slow pace up to the barn. By the way she was twitching her tail and her walk, I could tell that she was in labor. She still decided to stick her head into the stanchion (headgate) to eat hay, but she did so hesitantly, and pulled back when she had a small contraction.

I moved her to her own pen, and made sure she had plenty of hay to eat before finishing all the other evening chores.

Checking on her progress at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm only showed that her water had broke but still no calf. At 8pm, I moved out to the barn and settled myself for what could have been an all-nighter. Quiet paced and talked to herself in a low moo, she would lay down when a strong contraction would hit, but mostly, she would continue to stand. Only a single light bulb was on, not much more than a night light. In the dimness, I could see her shadow as she paced.

At 9pm she laid down, and delivered the calf. Her mooing was over, as was the laying down, she had to get busy and clean her newborn.

Welcome to the world, Leo.