Our baby calf has arrived. Both mother and baby are doing just fine. I am going to let the images tell the story. A few of these shots are of the actual birth which was perfect. Magic in the field. I thought I would warn you of the birth photos ahead of time, in case you are a little fragile and want to whizz down the page to the pretty ones at the end.
We started at midday. And it was all over by 1.30. I was very lucky that the breeder was free and able to come over and support me. Of course Daisy was fine and managed it all herself. I was the one that needed propping up. I was on a steep learning curve yesterday.
First your new calf. This is Baby Bobby Blanc. He is mostly white and a very big boy! He has one white nostril and one red one, like a minstrel.
He is big but not that big. 
Now here are three shots of the birth, You can close your eyes and scroll down but I cannot censor these three. It is too wondrous. 
Big feet said the breeder. 
Big head, said Daisy.
Ok. Awesome but pretty graphic so lets get to the cute shots! We pulled her baby around to her head and Daisy mooed and cooed and licked and got him all cleaned up. 
We had to force her to stand up as she was on the ground a bit long.
Time for Bobby Blanc to stand up. He tottered about and was ready to suckle quite quickly but Daisy kept backing away from him so I left them for a while.
Later and Bobby Blanc was nursing.
There now.
When John got home we loaded this incredibly heavy calf onto the back of the pick up truck and I held him with Daisy trotting alongside and into the barn we all went.
With Bobby Blanc alongside, I milked Daisy and tended her udder. Daisy just stood beautifully while I milked. To get the cups onto her ridiculously swollen udder, in my unpracticed cack-handed way, I was almost knelt right under the cow. A prime target for a good kick, but she just waited. I will get better at this I told her as we finished. Once she was free, with the smallest switch of her tail, she sauntered back out into the field and began to eat like a starved teenager, leaving me with her baby.
Good morning. They both had a quiet night and very shortly I shall go out and milk again.
And so it begins. Suffice to say I did not get a cup of tea yesterday either. It was all too new to me and I could not settle for a smoko break at all. But I did have that glass of wine you recommended as the sun went down on a very successful day.
Have a lovely day. I am back on that learning curve. There will be a lot of calf gazing today too! And lots of prettier pictures tomorrow. And plenty of shuffling chores into a new routine!
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
107 responses to “Introducing Baby Bobby Blanc”
Wonderful post and beautiful pictures. Funnily enough a new series “Call the Midwife” started on BBC last night which must have got Daisy going.
That is amazing! Thank you for sharing – it’s good to start the day off being reminded of the circle of life 🙂 Welcome baby Bobby Blanc!
Congratulations on the birth of the beautiful baby boy!
He is beautiful! Looking forward to more pictures…maybe even of the milking? It’s been a dream of mine to someday have a milk cow too.
Daisy did quite well for a first time mommy unlike some of us two legged critters. He’s beautiful. Now go have that cup of tea with a shot or two of something “medicinal” in it. t
Mother Nature has been good to all of us. And our miss C sounds quite content.
Daisy did quite well for a first time mommy unlike some of us two legged critters. He’s beautiful. Now go have that cup of tea with a shot or two of something “medicinal” in it. t (sorry if this posts multiple, having WP issues this morning)
O.K. Dumb question time. The animal rights people are always railing about the evils of keeping cows pregnant so that we can have the milk. But it sounds like Daisy has enough milk for Bobby Blanc and you and John, too — is that right? So Daisy will feed her calf for a time and then he will be weaned, right? Congratulations on the successful birth. Good to know that Daisy and Bobby Blanc are doing well.
No that is not a dumb question. She already has more than enough milk for everyone, though we will not drink it or make cheese for a week or so. With me milking her that will encourage even more milk, so I will milk her twice a day and bottle feed her calf myself.for at least two months, that way we do not have mastitis or bruised udder worries. The reason i have Daisy is so she can provide milk for the whole farm. This is why i call her the Mother Ship.. She will come into season again while she is milking. Ready to get pregnant and calve again in the spring. The beef cows feed their calves for about 8 months and are pregnant at the same time. It all happens naturally that way if you have a bull around. Have a lovely day sharyn.
Aw, congratulations Daisy! Finally! Will he be a pet cow as he has a name then? Daisy and you have a wonderful relationship, it makes me scoff at those who say that animals don’t have personalities and don’t ‘know’ things. 🙂
All the male dairy cows are called bobbies in NZ, so he is a bobby… and will join the beef herd later on.. Our other Bobby is called Baby Bobby, the one before that was called Bad Bobby.. so no he is not a pet really, bulls make bad pets!! (laughter) c
Oh OK, slightly different destination then. I had never met the term a bobby before which is where I came unstuck, I like the whole alliteration thing going on in the non-name name. 🙂
I may need to clarify that for others too, just so we don’t get mixed up.. c
Udderly mooooving.
Amazing. Miraculous. Congrats to all, Celi!
Just the best!
Oh, he is too cute! Well done 🙂
Have fun with your new calf and milking. I always enjoyed milking–the warm cow, the marvelous capacity of the udder to produce all the milk in just hours each day…hard to explain. You may find yourself with less blog time though, adding that chore and cheese making to your day.
What a handsome boy! I’ve come across calves shortly after birth, but have never been privileged to see the birthing process as I would wish to. Thank you for sharing, and congratst to you and Daisy.