All born yesterday. Poppy’s labour lasted all night and was not without its problems but she has nine lovely live and very active piglets and they are feeding almost non stop. The piglets are still on lock down so the only image of them I have is from the monitor.
But here is Lady Astor with her baby. Born yesterday at lunchtime. I saw her looking uncomfortable – moved all the other cows out of the field she was in, she lay down as I walked away and within about 30 minutes we had a little bull calf.
It was a beautiful comparitively warm day so they hung out in the field, baby got up soon after birth and was drinking shortly after that, while I dealt with the milking set up. I had everything ready just not all put together.
Then I walked the baby all the way to the barn with Mama close behind.
It all went quite well considering my deep sleep deprivation. Adrenalin goes a long way.
Later I milked Lady – her udder is so big and swollen and engorged, it was no fun for her. But it was getting impossible for the calf to latch on and very painful for the cow.
Here is that rather gruesome sci fi image of Poppy and her crowd of babies.
I milked again this morning at five am in a massive dark thunder and lightening storm. The weather was very, very loud and the rain was coming down in sheets.
To alert the sows to my arrival (the sows and their babies, and Lady and her calf are in the barn where the milking room is), I put the soft milking music on, the phone tucked into my pocket, so they could hear me coming and going and moving about. With the milking music and the rain and the pump chugging away and Lady mooing to her calf: the sows joined in with their feeding chorus, grunting for their piglets to come out for a drink, and the piglets began to squeal and it became very noisy in the barn at one point.
It is 7.58 now. I am cleaned up and back up to the house. The workers are outside doing chores. I am having my second coffee. The ground is waterlogged. We had way too much rain last night and more coming this evening. It is going to be a soggy day. I am thinking of loading everyone up into the truck and off we go to get feed and supplies. Best use of a rainy day.
Merciful heavens yesterday was crazy. It all happened at once but we have all forty feet on the ground. And soon we will have milk!
Have a lovely day.
celi
Weather says more rain.
The Kitchen's Garden 
56 responses to “NINE PIGLETS AND A BULL CALF”
Today sounds like the day for a nap. I know you usually keep working while everyone else naps but come on….take a nap! You deserve it.
Congrats! When you queried the other day whether every baby would arrive at once … I thought it was a great sense of foreshadowing! There is a picture today of you with your hands on your hips looking at the little bull calf – and Lady Astor is to your right. At first it looks like you are resting your arm over her back and the both of you are admiring him … or constructing a plan …
Wow, congratulations on your Spring brood. I get tied up and am not reading for a while and look what happens…the farmy has grown tremendously! Hope you can get some rest.
Wonderful news. Plus, the photos are fabulous, especially the photo of the mother licking her bull calf. Well done!
Oh wonderful babies. And fresh milk. I know you were saying it wouldn’t be a milking year, but I could sense a bit of disappointment at no fresh ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and milk. Your rain is headed out way again and it is so soggy here I can’t even work the gardens. There are beds to weed, beds to plant, flowers and herbs to get in the ground. Maybe after this weekend. We just missed a late frost night before last. Some of our region got it.
You are an amazing woman.
Wonderful news about the piglets and well done, good wishes for Lady Astor.
Rain up here, too. 😦
Good Gracious! What a day. A glorious day!
Ohmygoodness! Lady A’s udder was nowhere near what I would have expected to see in a cow that close to calving! Hmmmm. Guess we need to be on the calf watch too.
Have a wonderful day Miss C.
Congratulations! She just popped that little thing out! And more cutie piglets! Hope you get some rest!
wonderful! what a bountiful day….thank goodness for your sty camera! Stay dry and have a great day!
Congrats on healthy babies. I hope you get a good solid night’s sleep tonight.
Thank heavens all at once! AND in the daytime!!!
Congratulations on the new additions to the farmie, how exciting. I am glad there weren’t complications. Years and years ago (I was in grade school), my dear Mom took my brother and I to the Toronto Exhibition, there in the farming pavilion a cow was about to give birth and my dear Mom thought it was a great opportunity to see it in action. The poor cow had such issues, they eventually had to tie the calf’s legs with rope and pull it out. It was a very long time ago and I still remember it.
What wonderful mamas you have! I wonder if they feel tenderness or love for their babies, or if it’s an in-born survival instinct. May all of it rolled together? In any case, congrats on your lovely farm full!
Oh just spectacular pictures–I especially love the ones of you lifting the new calf up and shepherding him along with Mama close behind. Sooo cute!! Her licking him is precious just precious. A wild day you had. I too checked back a couple times yesterday for news and figured there was plenty a-comin’! Congratulations to every single mother!!!