Every morning for the last 10 days John has pulled the 4am shift – he gets up that early anyway. I would check Daisy when I finished reading about 10pm, and when he got up to get ready for work in the morning at 4am, he would check her on the firewood run. 
Yesterday morning I lay awake listening to him shuffling out to the verandah, down the steps in his Crocks, across the yard, the sqrunch of gravel as he crossed the drive, silence as he crossed grass then the wee distant tired squark of the Popes door in the big barn door being opened. Yesterday morning I listened to the slow sounds moving away, then cocked my head on the pillow at the pause, then heard the sounds hurrying back in reverse. John never hurries. I was already half dressed when he barrelled back into the bedroom and said, Baby on the way!
I went to the barn, he went to make coffee. He brought me my coffee 5 minutes later thinking I would be leaning on the gate watching and Daisy and I were drying down a new calf. Wow, he said. Daisy grunted as if to say she does not muck around.
The new Bobby (all the bull calves are called Bobby) took a while to stand up, but had an alert head and bright eyes. He is heavy and his feet are so small. But later (three hours later) he was up, dried off and in his jacket nosing about for a drink. The Breeder said that such a heavy calf is often slower to rise. I fed everyone else as the sun rose. The barn letting out a sigh. 
Later I opened the big door and Daisy led her calf out into the sun, and there they stayed the rest of the day. She licked his jacket right off him, she was so proud. But when it cooled off in the afternoon I put it back on. They had both slept most of the day.
I milked Daisy at lunchtime. The breeder had been out to visit and was a little alarmed at the size of Daisy’s udder. She had begun to kick at herself and was ripping the skin. The teats were so far apart that the milking cups would not be able to reach. Like a toddler trying to stretch her tiny fingers on finite palms to find the octave on the piano. So at lunchtime and then at 7pm I milked one side and then dragged my hoses and crept under the calf gate and milked the other side. It worked. Tending to her poor frayed udder. Using udder balm to massage her poor stretched skin and coax the colostrum out. After the second milking she relaxed a little. Massage and vacuous chatter does help an engorged udder. 
In the evening I fed her baby from a bottle and settled him in the sunroom with Marcel who I brought in from his day with Minty. In the night when I checked them they were in separate corners, snuggled up against the straw bales that created cosy warm nooks. All was quiet. Daisy who is free to wander to and fro now standing guard from her pen.
This morning when I milk her I will let her calf back out and they can spend the day together again, and until I know I have her udder and the mastitis under control Daisy will be milked three times a day. But my plan is to let her have the calf in the daytimes hoping that the frequent sipping from the calf 
during this time will promote udder health. Then with a bottle I will settle The Bobby in the sunroom at night then I will get a full milking in the morning (which will be shared with him too of course).
The milking parlour has been redesigned so that the calf can stand next to her while I milk but cannot get in the way. This feels kinder. The important thing is to make sure the calf gets plenty of milk and the farm does too so I am sure there will be adjustments along the way.
So, now, I will reshuffle the days, wriggling a little to allow for the milking to fit in, like sand shifting down the side of a glass with the movement. Finding a way for the calf and I to share the milking for a couple of months. And then milk for the next seven months. I am so full of plans.
But am so grateful that we have our wee calf and both Daisy and calf are both well so far.
Poppy is trucking along, developing a playful streak and I must be careful not to turn her into a big fat pig as well!!
Just think of the cheese! Oh I cannot wait!
I hope you all have a lovely day
your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
113 responses to “The Bobby is here at Last.”
Love your work, Miss Daisy. That’s a very handsome calf. Sounds like she has milk and to spare, so I foresee Celi’s pantry full of beautiful cheeses, yoghurt, kefir, butter, etc. And I love the shot of Queenie looking through the fence and wanting to have a sniff at the new arrival.
and ice cream! Oh I missed the icecream!!.. morning kate.. c
So glad it all went well! He is a beauty. I’m sure you will be busy these next few days. Good luck with the mastitis I hope it clears up quickly. Will be thinking of you. Miss A thinks the bobby is adorable. 🙂
Once I get the kunekune in and settled we should start talking about a visit. Poppy is SO friendly. Miss A would love her I am sure.. and the lamb will follow her everywhere she goes! c
That sounds wonderful! The kids were just talking about a visit yesterday. They loved the pics of the bobby. 🙂
way to go daisy! i am so happy for all of you! will you be naming him? he could be a harry. he has the zigzag mark on his forehead like harry potter’s scar. will he stay on the farm?
He is a bull calf so he will be joining Queenie’s beef herd, but he will be here for a couple of years and thank you by the way! Thank you very much. For the package. You will be hearing from me very shortly.. c
I’m so happy! He’s beautiful! And Daisy seems very proud of him…
So exciting! I wish I had a cow, especially one as beautiful as yours! What a sweet calf… He will be sweet and wonderful to play with and have around for now, and he will make great burger’s when that is through! That is sometimes the best kind of animal!
So happy all is well Celi! It has been a long wait for the Bobby, that’s for sure!!! Yes, you must be careful that Poppy stays on a moderate, healthy diet! And that Our Sheila does too. It’s amazing how quickly they ‘pork’ up, pardon the pun! 🙂
I know it! And now we have milk as well.. Oh dear. But Sheila is being very slowly moved away from any grain at all. Just vegetables, milk, eggs and hay. And now that the calenders are selling I can buy her some fresh veg until the garden begins to produce. Still she is awfully large! c
Congratulations to you all… what a handsome little bobby… hope you can get a littol more sleep now, in site of the milking…
Enchanting he is and his size! He does not have that “I’was just born so I’m a little puny” look about him at all. He looks properly filled out and ready for the world. Daisy can now lick him as much as she wants. I see that Queenie is quite interested in the new development, watching very carefully from the fence. Perhaps she wants to help with the licking as well.
All of this anticipation has made me think of James Herriot’s books. I adore those books and his stories I will have to read them again.
Congratulations! Daisy knows what she is doing!
Yea! Good news about the bobby – and how fast the birthing seems to have come about after all that waiting.
Good luck with Daisy and the mastitis. (Been there, done that groan emanating from the Cutoff, knowing how the girl feels.)
Great news! I am so glad to here that everything went well. I am still waiting for my Callie to lamb…due today.
Oops…that should have “hear” not “here”.
Yahoos and Yippees and 😀 coming from our farm to yours. So happy all went well.
Congratulations! So happy that everything went well! Very excited to read the headline this morning.
Congratulations! I’m so glad everyone is well. The farmie must be very joyful today.