We were wondering if Dixie was EVER going to drop her calf. Although you can track when a cow goes into the pasture with a bull, you don’t always know what day she got bred. Usually it happens pretty quickly but Dixie must have played hard to get for almost a month!
I was getting concerned – we’ve had a pretty good cold snap – in the upper 30s at night – and then we moved back into warmer weather. Thank goodness she waited for warm weather! A new wet calf in the middle of the night in cold weather can spell disaster! She did have this baby either at night or very early in the morning. He was on his feet nursing when we spotted him around 7:00 a.m.
She had a healthy boy which pleased us greatly! The last two years our cows have only given birth to heifers…anybody need a good milk cow? We were hoping for males – we have a steer to butcher next month and now we have two new steers for beef the year after next. I’m always more excited when we have males – I just don’t need this many heifers! Most farmers like it the other way around. We have some girls in with our bull now so that we can sell them…hopefully bred.
Dexters are a hardy breed. Their milk is fabulous! Their meat is delicious and you can even use them as oxen. They have a very gentle nature. They are the smallest breed that our Father created and have very few health problems. We’ve been so pleased with our little herd.
Our cows actually come when called. They love cow cookies when we visit them or are working with them and they respect the electric fence. What more could you ask for?
To learn more about Dexters pop over here!
I’m grateful that this last baby of the season is here!
Do you have cattle? If so, what kind?
Grace & Peace!
Cheri