I’m feeling encouraged by the responses to the pictures in yesterday’s post of Glory Bee! I wish there was a really good pictorial somewhere of the progress of a cow and the physical changes leading up to birth. I did find these two sites with fascinating photos of calf births here and here. But no detailed lead-ups with photos.
So I’m going to make one! I’m going to start a Glory Bee-hind watch!
I think I’ll have to get her in the milk stand in her head lock to get her to let me actually lift her tail because she just wasn’t going for that this morning. She’s a little shy about these porno shots. She’s young, ya know.
She wasn’t even that happy to see me coming. Didn’t I take enough embarrassing photos of her yesterday?
And here’s some more:
I wasn’t taking pictures of her privates before, but I know she didn’t look like that. That looks uncomfortable. But I also have the sense that heifers can be like that a lot longer than a seasoned cow who’s been through calving before. She went to Sarah’s farm the first week of March, so the earliest she should calve would be the first week of December, unless she’s early, so maybe she will be like this for awhile?
I’m going to take pictures of her bee-hind every day and keep a record. I know, can this website get any better? (I apologize to those of you who don’t want to see a cow behind every day of your life.)
Due to the recent storm, I had brought the cows up to the back barn yard earlier than I planned, but I’m going to keep them here for the duration so I can keep close watch on Glory Bee. I’m going to get the milking machine set up this week and start practicing in earnest now, bringing her in to the milking parlor and running the vacuum pump to get her used to the sound.
Milk! Butter! Cream! I’m excited!
Remudamom says:
I don’t know if this will help you or not but heifers bag up much earlier than a seasoned cow will. When we were first married it was my job to ride out and check our heifers twice a day! Gotta say I don’t miss it, we only run steers now! So keep an eye on that bag.
On November 11, 2012 at 9:39 am
doxie says:
I didn’t get any photo’s like you are wanting this time, but I did manage a few birth photos this last baby we had! If you are at all interested, you can see them at the link below. With it being a heifer, hubby helped her a bit at the end, so he is in the photos too. :-))
https://dapperdoxie.blogspot.com/2012/11/clover-and-her-first-baby.html
On November 11, 2012 at 9:53 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
Wow, doxie, those photos are so cool!!
On November 11, 2012 at 10:35 am
walkersrun says:
Cows actually take 9 1//2 months to calf. Don’t count on bagging up, every cow is different. What you are looking at will probably be much longer at calving time and it will look very soft and puffy, her tail head will drop down and if you can feel it it will become very soft and spongy. From the previous picture I’d say there is a calf, as it looked like she may have been laying down and when she stood she was lopsided, since the calf was all to one side. Another great thing to watch for is when she comes in to drink, usually the cold water will send the calf to moving and if you watch closely you may see it kicking 🙂 Have fun and be patient…it will come when you least expect it!
On November 11, 2012 at 10:06 am
gaea303 says:
LOL!!! I love this blog 🙂
On November 11, 2012 at 10:20 am
BuckeyeGirl says:
Here’s a chart based on the days in the months. Less math for you though math is a good thing charts ARE handy! https://www.cattletoday.com/gestation.shtml
On November 11, 2012 at 11:04 am
walkersrun says:
I say we all bet on the baby’s arrival and I’ll be the first….looks like a Christmas baby to me 🙂
On November 11, 2012 at 11:21 am
NancyL says:
This IS exciting, and I don’t mind the graphic GB porn at all!!! Do you have possible names yet?
Nancy in Iowa
On November 11, 2012 at 11:56 am
jeandf says:
How exciting! I can’t wait to learn more about Calving. My eldest SD and her hubby have a farm. And I’m hoping they’ll have a new calf soon. It’ll be good to know more about the process!
On November 11, 2012 at 3:10 pm
brenda s okie in colorado says:
Maybe she’s got one on each side. lol
On November 12, 2012 at 1:08 am
rurification says:
We had sheep for a while and I remember the watching and waiting and the absolute glee that comes with new babies.
I’m laughing right out loud at the GB porn. And I can’t wait for the next batch.
On November 12, 2012 at 7:28 am
holstein woman says:
girl, you are out in the woods on this one, but I’m game for a guess. Lets say Feb 1. When she paws the ground and bellers (yeah, I said bellers) you will know she is in labor.
On November 13, 2012 at 11:18 pm
broncobetsy says:
Its actually pretty easy to pregnancy check a cow, I’ve done it a couple of times. Here’s a step by step tutorial: https://www.wikihow.com/Detect-Pregnancy-in-Cows-and-Heifers-with-Rectal-Palpation
Dont worry about not knowing what you are feeling for, just “go in”, and feel below your hand. If there is a calf in there, you’ll know it!
On November 16, 2012 at 7:10 am
broncobetsy says:
There is also a blood test for cows where you send in one tube of blood via the mail. You can draw the blood yourself if you’re OK with needles, cows have a large vein under their tail you can get the blood from. The mailman will look at you kind of weird when you tell him you are shipping cow blood (at least he did when my mom, at my dad’s instruction, shipped their cow blood off to get tested) https://www.biopregcheck.com/
On November 16, 2012 at 7:12 am