The Bovine Bugle

Three times the lady...St. Pat's week brings new calfs

After the rush of getting out the sap buckets over the weekend, the weather turned very cold and the trees and the sugar rig are frozen. We did manage to gather two tubs of sap on Tuesday, but it wasn't quite enough to produce any new maple syrup from the evaporator pans so we'll have to wait until things warm up again. Meanwhile, things in the maternity room are buzzing along.

Last week, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday saw a new arrival born each day! The luck of the Irish must have been with us, because all three calves were heifers (girls). It had been three months since the last calf was born, and almost 4 months since the last heifer calf. We were pretty excited with our good fortune. All the moms and babies came through the births just fine. The first two calves were from first-time moms, or, as we would say, first-calf heifers. The last calf was the third for Dandee, a 5-year old cow.

I am treating the two first-calf heifers with a drench to give them extra energy and niacin. Because they were a little over-conditioned at the time of calving, they would be prone to having ketosis. The 10 ozs. of drench I give them every day for the next 5-7 days will get them over the most stressful period, and keep them eating and functioning normally as their bodies get used to producing milk every day for the next ten months.

--Jonathan (left), Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

ABOUT THE BOVINE BUGLE

If you wish to subscribe, send an email with "Bovine Bugle" in the subject heading to chalvorson@stonyfield.com

Got a question for farmer Jonathan?
Click here and we'll try to make sure your question gets answered.

Ever wanted a cow of your own? Check out our Have A Cow program.

Posted by Blogger Chris at March 22, 2006 03:08 PM