| Winter Calving ~ January & February
(mostly) Excellent Breeding Stock ~ Calm Temperaments |
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Our
cows are bred in the spring to calve in our barn during the winter.
Come spring, our dams have another
flush of milk on the new grass, and their calves are ready
to utilize the pasture season most efficiently. We use this time of
confinement to handle the calves as much as possible. |
| Kindergarten
Naptime in the Sun at Northeast Corner Farm |
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| Day-old
calves below ~ 9-day-old calves at right |
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| Bull
Calf ~ Several Weeks Old |
Heifer
Calf ~ Several Months Old |
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| Turning
Around A Loss
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| Charm, one of our calmest cows, delivered a stillborn calf one night. To make the best of it, we went to a neighbor's dairy farm and discovered that a bull calf (no use to a dairy farmer) had been born that morning; the farmer gave him to us on the spot. Many beef cows will not readily adopt a calf, but we thought Charm might. Tied up, she allowed the calf to nurse, and within 24 hours, she was as protective of the little Holstein as she would have been of her own. We rarely name animals who will be sold in the fall, but this one was special - we called him "Sparky" after the dalmations in firehouses and by the time he was ready to go, he was definitely taller than his mom but still snacking whenever he could.butt Sparky" after the dalmations in | |||
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Sparky certainly turned a few heads as people passed our herd on I-91 and saw a black and white bovine in its midst! The early summer picture on the right shows Sparky behind his mom out in the pasture - certainly Charm did an admirable job keeping him safe and secure. |
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