Cattle Starter

Category: Calving

  • Tales from the Cattle Farm: “The calf is coming!”

    Calving season is by far the most anticipated season on the farm. We have had 6 calving seasons so far. The wonder at watching new life come into the world never ceases to amaze us. I have been blessed to witness many births over the years. Most of the time, I am alone but a few times, I have had the boys with me. What an experience and education for them! And, this past calving season, all four of us a witnessed a birth, together. That was pretty special.

    Over the course of the calving season, I conduct herd checks frequently throughout the day. Anytime Jer gets a call from me during the day (he is at work), it almost certainly has something to do with the cattle! Whether I have discovered a new calf or have discovered a cow in labor, Jer has heard the phrase “The calf is coming,” many times over the years. Within an hour, I am flooding his phone with texts and pictures and videos of the new baby calf. Those are the joyful moments, filled with relief that we have a healthy calf and healthy mama. Then, there are the moments filled with dread. Moments that every cattle farmer goes through. When you KNOW something just isn’t right with a new calf. Sigh. You question everything and go over the what if’s a thousand times in your mind…..

    Over the last six calving seasons, we have lost three newborn calves. One was a stillborn. The other two had some sort of weakness syndrome/condition and despite our best attempts, never did stand. Those losses were all hard. The stillborn stands out the most in my mind, though. I was 5 months pregnant with our second son, and Jer was gone in the field for a few days, away from cell service. What I thought would be another blessed opportunity to witness new life come into the world, changed in the blink of an eye. It was a hard one…straight to the gut for my then-pregnant self. A complication during delivery and what started as a live calf ended with a stillborn. Those moments will live in my memory forever. The dead calf and the grieving mama. She cried for that baby and was fiercely and aggressively protective over it, rightfully so….. This happened during our 2nd calving season and those memories follow me through each calving season.

    Losses like that stick with you, but that’s life on a cattle farm.

    Birth and death.

    A stillborn calf one afternoon and new, healthy baby calf the next morning.

    And life keeps marching on.

    Faith and renewal in our purpose here on the farm…

    We look forward to our 2020 calving season, when we can start saying “The calf is coming!” again!

    Calving is always a favorite topic to blog about.

    Please be sure to browse through our past calving-related posts!

    That Cow is Gonna Calve Soon! – Signs of the Onset of Labor

    Snow, Rain, Sleet…It’s Calving Time: Part 1

    It’s Calving Time: Part 2

    Thinking Ahead to the Beef Calving Season

    New Blog Series: Observations from THE PASTURE

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 1 – 2019 Calving Season

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 2 – 2019 Calving Season

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 3 – 2019 Calving Season

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 4 – 2019 Calving Season

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 5 – FINAL WEEK OF THE 2019 Calving Season

    Hello, World! Baby Calf Being Born.

    Naptime, Baby Calves!

    Pulling a Calf – Headgate and Chains

    2015 Calving Update

    Estimating Calf Birth Weight

    Gearing up for another Calving Season

    Introducing the Wood Farm 2014 Calf Lineup!

    Springtime on the Farm: Baby Calves and Green Grass!

    Colostrum: aka “Liquid Gold”

    The Calving Bucket

  • Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 5 – FINAL WEEK OF THE 2019 Calving Season

    Spider-man and Camouflage-man – Ultimate Protectors of the farm!

    Another calving season is in the books! Over the course of 31 days, our herd added 19 healthy newborn calves!

    Please be sure to check out week 1, week 2,  week 3, and week 4 of Observations from THE PASTURE – 2019 Calving Season

    Monday, May 27 – Sunday, June 2

    Monday, May 27th – Wednesday, May 29th – Nothing much to report these days. Checked the cattle, gave out mineral and supplements, and slopped through the mud and rain. Our lone pregnant cow continued to be very pregnant.

    Thursday, May 30th – Our calving season is finally complete! I discovered an adorable and newly born calf – calf #19 – during my first check of the morning. The 2019 calving season comes to a close, and we look onward to the 2019 BREEDING SEASON!

    Yay! Our final calf – calf #19 – of the 2019 Calving Season!
    Good job, mama!

    Final Thoughts

    This calving season was a good one. We did not have to assist in any births, (we usually have to pull at least one calf) and all 19 of our calves were born strong and healthy, and standing, nursing and walking around well within 1 hour of being born. Calving started on April 30th and ended on May 30th! While there was a week gap from the birth of calf #18 to our last calf – calf #19, we are still pleased with the tight span of births over a 31 day period.

    I have said it before and I will say it again –

    We cannot stress enough how important bull selection is to your operation. Selecting the right bull should be a top priority (and given very careful consideration to) when planning out your breeding season.

    With that being said, be sure to check out our next series on Observations from THE PASTURE: 2019 BREEDING SEASON. This will be the last breeding season for Nebula, our Red Angus bull, and the search will then start for our next herd bull for the 2020 Breeding Season.

    Thanks for reading!

    Best wishes for a safe and productive rest of spring and start to summer!

  • Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 4 – 2019 Calving Season

    Calving activity is winding down here on the farm. We had two baby calves born during week 4. We only have one calf left to be born! There is always such anticipation leading up to the calving season and then in a whirlwind (or so it seems), you have a farm full of baby calves. You wonder where those weeks of waiting went!

    Mama cleaning her baby.

    Although our calving season is almost complete, the farm is busy, busy, busy. Springtime is an incredibly busy time on the farm.  After such a long, cold winter, it is SO nice to be working outside, without the snow and ice.  Our spring has been a cold and rainy one so far, but we have still gotten started on some spring projects.  Right now, we are busy building a second woodshed, cutting down trees and chopping, hauling and stacking firewood.  We heat our home entirely with a wood-stove, so securing our winter’s worth of firewood is our #1 non-cattle related priority in the spring.

    We also plant a large vegetable garden every year.  We preserve our vegetables through canning or freezing methods as well as storing root vegetables, onions and potatoes in our root cellar. We are just starting to till our large garden patch, and we will be planting in the coming weeks.

    Please be sure to check out week 1, week 2 and week 3 of Observations from THE PASTURE – 2019 Calving Season.

    Monday, May 20 – Sunday, May 26

    Monday, May 20th – At this point in time, we are down to only three cows left to calve, with two of those being first-calf heifers.  As has been the case many times, I could see that we probably had a new baby calf upon entering the back pasture gate.  I was doing the first check of the morning and the entire herd was up and grazing with the exception of one cow, whom was laying down. I was pretty certain that the dark spot next to her was a baby.  I wasn’t sure yet which cow it was but I knew it was one of the first-calf heifers.  Sure enough, we had calf #17!  Mama and baby looked good.

    Calf #17

    First-calf heifer mama with baby calf #17

    Tuesday, May 21 – Wednesday, May 22 – No babies born during these days.  Lots of fun had by the calves!

    Mama cows and calves relaxing.

    Thursday, May 22 – The kids and I had early morning dentist appointments, so Jer did the check.  Sure enough, baby #18 from our last first-calf heifer!

    Friday, May 23 – Sunday May, 25 – Our sole pregnant cow is still holding on.  Hoping we get to meet our final calf – calf #19 – next week!

    and then there was one…..

    Be sure to check back next week for Observations from THE PASTURE – Week 5 – FINAL WEEK OF THE 2019 Calving Season.

  • Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 3 – 2019 Calving Season

    Happy Monday!

    The men of the farm, walking back home at day’s end.

    Welcome to the Week 3 post on our 2019 Calving Season.

    Please be sure to check out Week 1 and Week 2 of our 2019 Calving Season.

    Week of Monday, May 13th – Sunday, May 19th

    Monday, May 13th – Thursday, May 16th – Very quiet. No activity on the farm in terms of calves being born. Lots of calves playing in the field!

    Friday, May 17th – While doing an afternoon check with my youngest son, baby calf #14 came into the world. Immediately upon going through the gate to the back pasture, I could see a mama cow in labor. This cow’s tail was lifted and bent in that tell-tell sign of labor.

    Tail lifted high and slightly bent

    I have seen many baby calves born over the the last five calving seasons and the awe and wonder has never wavered with each birth. Each birth and new life is just as exciting as the previous. This particular birth was extra special as my youngest son was able to witness it with me. I quietly explained to him what was happening and why. As we watched the mama cow push out the calf, he was so amazed! My camera died on me during the delivery but here are a few pictures of calf #14 being born.

    Zoomed in on calf #14 entering the world!
    Head out!
    Almost all out!
    Calf #14 a few hours after being born.

    Saturday, May 19th – I was doing a check before supper and as was the case the previous day, I immediately knew we had another calf coming. This mama cow was way across the field but I could see 20 cows, standing and grazing, and one cow laying on her side and I could see a speck of white by her tail. I excitedly walked across the field. I discovered that this cow was one of our first-calf heifers. We have four this year and one had already given birth. This heifer already had her calf’s hooves pushed out but seemed to be a bit stalled.

    First-calf heifer laboring hard to push out her calf.

    First-calf heifers often labor longer and this one was no exception. In the end, though, she was able to deliver a beautiful baby calf – all on her own. She worked HARD. Calf #15! All four of us were able to witness this birth – a first on the farm! Jer and I have only been together for births that required us to pull the calf! It will be a neat memory to look back on, all four of us silently cheering on our first-calf heifer and pumping our arms in the air when calf #15 finally made his/her appearance AND was healthy!

    and we have a calf! Good job, first-time mama!

    Calf #15 standing!
    Calf #15 the day after been born.

    Sunday, May 19th – I had predicted the previous evening that one of our remaining mama cows would have a baby the next day, and I was proved correct during the morning check. Calf #16!

    Calf #16!

    This calf was already walking around like a champ with his/her mama and nursing like a pro.

    Taking a Sunday stroll with mama. Calf #16

    What a great start to our Sunday morning!

    Our calving season is winding down. and we only have a few more calves left to be born. So far, we have not had to assist with any births. We believe that this is mainly due to our calving-ease bull. He had already proven himself to be a sire of primarily smaller calves, that are easy to deliver. Proof of his reputation as a calving-ease bull is currently in our back field, in the form of 16 beautiful baby calves!


    On our farm, we want our baby calves to just slip-out, so to speak. As such, we cannot stress enough how important bull selection is to your operation. Selecting the right bull should be a top priority (and given very careful consideration to) when planning out your breeding season.

    Be sure to check back next week for Observations from THE PASTURE – Week 4 – 2019 Calving Season.

  • Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 2 – 2019 Calving Season

    Happy Mother’s Day! We had a very busy Mother’s Day weekend on the farm. We had five calves born over the weekend and seven calves born in total over our second week of calving.

    Be sure to check out our:
     Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 1 – 2019 Calving Season

    and on to……

    Observations from THE PASTURE: Week 2 of the 2019 Calving Season.

    Week of Monday, May 6th – Sunday, May 12th

    Monday, May 6th – After our streak broke on Sunday, I was pleased to see a new baby calf today! Calf #7! I discovered him/her during my first check of the morning.

    Calf #7!
    Feeding time
    Calf #7 snoozing!

    Tuesday, May 7th – No activity during the first check of the morning. After putting my son down for a nap, I went for another check and discovered…..baby #8! This calf had probably been born in the last 45 minutes. A mini-me of his/her mother!

    Calf #8. Mini-me of his/her mother!
    Sweet, white-faced baby calf.
    I stand!

    Wednesday, May 8 – Friday, May 10 – No activity during these days. Just lots of babies running around, play-fighting and exercising. Some trouble making, too, for the calves. haha! Lots of napping for the babies and the still-pregnant cows!

    Saturday, May 11th – Boy, oh, boy…today sure made up for the last few days! Three babies born today!

    The first check of the morning was calm, no new babies. The next check was the complete opposite! I discovered calf #9 and a cow in labor with calf #10!

    Calf #9
    Calf #9, enjoying the sunshine.

    After checking on calf #9 and mama, I went back to see how the cow in labor was doing. Her water had already broke. I kept my distance at this point, used the zoom feature on my camera and let nature take it’s course. Here are some pictures:

    Water has broke and two front legs are presenting themselves perfectly.
    She pushed for less than 60 seconds and baby was out!
    Welcome to the world, calf #10!
    Seconds away from taking that first stand!
    A rainstorm was just starting, but I was able to snap a picture of baby going to nurse for the first time.

    I always feel so honored and blessed to be able to witness a birth. This was my first one of this season. I have seen many babies born, and I have given birth to two of my own. I am still, though, always in awe of what these creatures do. There are simply no words to describe it. I always count my blessings that I have been able witness such miracles on the farm.

    I was already in bed Saturday night when Jer discovered calf #11! Wow! What a day!!

    Calf #11, taken the day after being born.

    Sunday, May 12th – Mother’s Day! – Today did not disappoint! I had a wonderful day with my three men, and we welcomed two new calves on the farm.

    After being served breakfast in bed and drinking my coffee, I went out to check the herd. I always enjoy checking the herd, especially this time of year, but the first check of the morning is always fun seeing if anyone was born since the previous evening. I entered the back pasture, and I immediately could see what looked like a new baby in the distance. Sure enough, we had calf #12!

    Calf #12

    I continued on with checking the herd. The herd was spread out quite a bit, and as came up on the last group, I noticed a calf that looked mighty new-looking! He/she was curled up, sleeping, with a cow grazing nearby with a bunch of discharge hanging out. Hello, calf #13! I call that a GOOD Mother’s Day morning! 🙂

    Well, hello there, baby! Calf #13
    Mama and calf #13

    Week 2 of calving sure ended with a bang! So far, calving has been uneventful (in a good way!), and we have not had to pull or assist with any births. Just the way we like it. Letting mother nature and the natural instincts of the animals take the lead. 13 calves so far. We are excited to see what week three brings for us here on the farm.

    Happy Calving!

    Take care!