After a long and arduous labour, that had me quite undone (nothing like seeing a cow heaving around with two feet sticking out (still shrink wrapped) – that can leave a girl in a state), and Lady exhausted and disoriented she gave birth to a big fat bull calf. And in the interim Lady managed to scrape up her udder – how I do not know. So now we have a wounded teat to deal with too. But she was up and down. Up and down and so engorged. It was horrible to watch. She startled when I approached so I had to keep clear.
But after way too long she managed to give birth to a big bull calf. She got straight back up and after only a few minutes of licking he tried to get up too. So both recovered fast.
After he got his land legs he kept stumbling under her searching for a drink. But he could not latch onto a teat. They were so hard and swollen and he is so tall that he could not get to her. 
And because her udder was so bad: after only a couple of hours I brought her in to be milked. I adjusted things for the injured teat and she gave 50 pounds of colostrum without lifting a foot. 50 pounds which is five gallons which is 18 litres. Too much. Bobby T and I will be working hard to get this udder back into order.
So as her baby still had not had any colostrum I gave him a good drink (he drank from the bottle without even blinking) and then put them into the side room in the barn to bond (baby had taken to following me about which is not the best idea if I want to share milk with Lady). But we will see, for a wee while Bobby T will be with her 24 hours a day and I will be milking twice a day to try and clean up this udder. I will give him a bottle as well and see how we go because if he tries to suck from that injured teat she will push him off – I will keep a good eye on things.
I did this with Naomi and it worked out.
He is very tall and was way too big for me to carry. He had to walk all the way to the barn with me pushing him poor boy. I picked Naomi and carried her about without any problems but this boy is Huge!
I will have more pictures for you tomorrow of course – yesterday just got too busy. I did not relax until I had Lady milked and her wound doctored and then it was time to feed all the other animals and birds – everything was late. No dinner!!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
PS ‘T’ is the letter for this year. (So anything born in 2016, that we keep, will be named with a T otherwise I just forget how old anyone is). This was determined by Txiki of course.
PSS. Camera house got put down in the line of fire and is having a good clean today. Poor Camera House – the things he has to deal with.
The Kitchen's Garden 
61 responses to “Meet Bobby T”
He’s ENORMOUS! No wonder she looked as if she’d swallowed a barrel. And clearly there won’t be any problem with enough milk to go round. I think you need to come up with a special flavour ice cream for the freezer and call it Ice (Bobby) T. Oreos and cream…? Congratulations to Lady A, to you for managing what could have been a messy and troubled situation, and to the Farmy for its new little (big) life.
Ice (Bobby) T!! lol 🙂
I am so glad it is over! I do hope she’s in top form very soon. And I’m also very glad she calved in the light of day, in the sunshine. That’s SO much easier to deal with than a barn in the dead of night. Well done, all of you!
Congrats Lady A! I am relieved that all is well. That did sound stressful though, hope today is quiet and uneventful.
What a big boy he is! Sending good wishes that everyone continues on the speedy road to full health and happiness!
Congrats Lady A! I am relieved that all is well. That did sound stressful though, hope today is quiet and uneventful.
He is beautiful, well done all. Laura
Bobbi T looks like he is wondering what just happened! Glad all is well and Lady A will be able to feed him well!
Bobby T is huge and I feel for your day. Lost the first calf we had due to it being way, way to too big and a new mother and us, green calf birthers. It too was a large bull calf. I now have goats and unfortunately had to help twice this year because of size coupled with a yearling for one and a baby totally turned wrong for a seasoned mother. That one had me shaking because mom was exhausted and baby was coming out wrong. Thought I killed the baby pulling but both are alive and well. I don’t know what you use for injuries but an infused oil of calendula and comfrey used after you are sure no infection is present works wonders. Before that I use a salve with an infused oil of calendula, plantain and lemon balm with lavender and tea tree. I believe all those are safe for cows. Safe and works amazingly. I’m a clinical master herbalist and the above herbs my favorites. A weed, a flower and an herb that all grows well in our area And can work miracles in many situations, human and animal. Hopefully haven’t overstepped. Hope your day is a calm one and things go well with Bobby T and moms injured udder.
No you have not over stepped at all. in fact we all like reading advice in the comments. I use oregano oil in her feed, and for the moment the wound has dried pretty quickly. I find good clean food and the outside pasture is one of the most important for recovering cows especially with udders. Do you have cows? c
Not now, used to. I now have an 11 female dairy herd that I’m trying very hard to raise totally naturally if possible. I’ve discovered almost 100% of what I read before and right after I got my goats is Not the best way to raise my animals and get amazing milk. Figured out how to treat mastitis, staph, and a host of other injuries and illnesses without conventional treatments. Working on parasites now since goats are more susceptible. You are right that sunshine, fresh air, and grass/ pasture are vital to an animals health. Hoping this year is Not a repeat of last year which was hard on everyone, animals and humans. Look forward to your posts. Have a great day, work and all.
Whew even reading all that I was on the edge of my seat! I am sure you poured yourself a wee toddy last night once you got to sit down. So glad it is all over as far as the birth is concerned and I am sending big positive hugs to Lady A and Bobby T to help them in the days ahead. Don’t forget to breathe Miss C
Congratulations! I bet you are glad that’s over 🙂
May 5th…… He is a good looking calf. Poor Lady A though. Good and bad that you have so much experience with udder issues. 😦
YES. Pat. your prediction was right on the nose. Well done.. c
Wow! What a beautiful boy! Good job LadyA. Glad you didn’t have to pull him. It’s a fiddly problem when the babies are so tall that they don’t learn how to get what they need right off! We used to have to teach some of the lambs to kneel, and after a few times, they would get it. I can’t imagine having a baby bull calf!
Phew! Congratulations to all concerned for coming through that ordeal. I hope Bobbi T manages to find his way to the food supply today and that Lady A has recovered from her hard day. Why is it that these events are rarely straightforward?
Have a good day
love,
ViV
Hooray a live calf on the ground. He is a big one. The thought occurred to me a couple of days ago that this might be a big bull calf based on past experiences with late cows. In the past we even pre-milked and saved the colostrum when the udder had just gotten too congested. I know it is not the optimal way for things to go but it did help the cow a lot. Love his tidy white belt and glad to see his front hooves weren’t turned under at the joint which happens sometimes with a large calf. They usually straighten out fine but it makes it difficult for them to stand and walk for a few days. It will be interesting to see him and Txiki play. I picture it as Tinkerbell and the Hulk having a play date.
I too am pleased to see him standing up straight. You know I did think about pre-milking and was ready to talk to the vert about it yesterday – I certainly will next time, he is drinking marvellously straight from the bottle, his belly was empty this morning so i gave him another bottle that he woofed down. She does not stand still for a calf at the best of times and is still so engorged she looks bruised, but I can feed him until he is more sure of himself and her wound is healed. Either way it works, baby will be with her. c
I wonder if milking a late cow will help induce labor like breast pumping does for pregnant humans?
Congrats on the new baby boy. I’m breathing a sigh of relief and gratitude that all went as well as it did.