We are still enjoying beautiful fall weather.
This morning was the first morning to milk Willow again. DH had her up in the holding pen and all I had to do was walk her up the ramp into the barn. She was very cooperative but I was surprised at how little milk she gave....was she holding out or just is not giving as much in her old age......
I got a gallon which is enough but still was surprised. We turned her out in the grassy lot west of the house and kept the baby separated from her. She will probably not eat anything but stand and talk to her baby through the fence. She does love her babies.
While in the barn I did some more cleaning on both sides. I am still not quite finished and will buy another set of shelves for canning jars. I keep them stored in the side where I process the milk and where the extra fridge is.
I took a few pictures yesterday.
This baby is redder than any of her other calves; it is a bull and has to be out of one our Black Angus bulls. I don't see a white spot anywhere on it.
They are standing in the shade of a giant Elm tree on the west side of the old barn that I had new doors made for.
This morning was the first morning to milk Willow again. DH had her up in the holding pen and all I had to do was walk her up the ramp into the barn. She was very cooperative but I was surprised at how little milk she gave....was she holding out or just is not giving as much in her old age......
I got a gallon which is enough but still was surprised. We turned her out in the grassy lot west of the house and kept the baby separated from her. She will probably not eat anything but stand and talk to her baby through the fence. She does love her babies.
While in the barn I did some more cleaning on both sides. I am still not quite finished and will buy another set of shelves for canning jars. I keep them stored in the side where I process the milk and where the extra fridge is.
I took a few pictures yesterday.
This baby is redder than any of her other calves; it is a bull and has to be out of one our Black Angus bulls. I don't see a white spot anywhere on it.
They are standing in the shade of a giant Elm tree on the west side of the old barn that I had new doors made for.
Good looking calf! What breed is Willow?
ReplyDeleteShe is a registered Milking Shorthorn. We are still scratching our heads at the intense red.....
DeleteGlenda,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cow and calf. Love the coloring.
Willow is nothing if not steady as clockwork on breeding back and calving withut a hitch! She had one red daughter but not this red and with the pink nose.
DeleteBeautiful. That calf is a prize winner.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to keep him as an interesting herd sire. We already have one from her that we are using....figure getting some Shorthorn in the gene pool will be a good thing.
DeleteI always enjoy seeing Willow's babies. This little guy is handsome.
ReplyDeleteHugs ~ FlowerLady
I need to count up how many she had had for us....never missed a season yet.
DeleteI know nothing about cows or cattle but all babies are so special and that one is adorable. Too bad he's too big to hold in your lap!
ReplyDeleteHe is a cutie but cows are not good for pets.....my Jersey heifer may be the friendliest cow I have had, certainly not Willow or her offspring.
DeleteLovely cows! I dream someday I have a coupe of cows, then I get my own cow milk. Your blog absolutely interesting and inspiring me. I like gardening. Thank you for sharing. I invite you to visit my blog.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day
Endah
Indonesia
A visitor from Indonesia! Isn't the internet a wonderful thing!
DeleteI hope you get your cow, Endah....I got my first way back in the early 1980's, then we had a small commercial dairy....drank that milk too and missed it so much when we retired, I bought Willow. I also have a registered Jersey heifer that should calve around the end of the year....will milk her also.
Oh, you and Willow have such a long history. It's good that she is a good mother but I wish she wasn't so cantankerous with you when you're trying to milk. You were really lucky not to have so permanent damage that time she stepped on your foot.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a cow but I'm already "pinned down" enough with the chickens. Since that winter that I had surgery on my foot, Hubs has taken over many of the trips out to open and shut, and to check for eggs. I still go out there part of the time but it's nice to have him taking over the changing of their water.
I remember my mother making cottage cheese in a tea-towel when I was little. She would put the cheese and whey in the middle of the towel and draw up all the ends, and then attach the ends to the clothesline with several clothespins. It looked so funny hanging there like a bowling ball. The geese would gather under it to try to eat the whey as it fell to the grass. That was some good cottage cheese though.
It's hard to find anyone that has dairy cattle in my area. It's all beef. We bought some Jersey milk off a farmer quite a few years ago when our kids were young. OMG, so much cream in that milk. It was wonderful.