It is calving season at our house right now.
I love this time of year with little calves running around the fields. They are so cute and cuddly looking (DO NOT attempt to cuddle a calf: “kick” will have a whole new meaning to you)!
The process is so amazing and familiar. The mom’s know exactly what to do once they go into labor, the heifers ( first time mothers) may struggle a little bit at first, but it comes to them.
The young calves want to be like the older calves, and hang back timidly as the older calves run around and play catch with each other. When I see them grouped together walking around the pasture, it reminds me of teenagers at the mall.
Periodically, the mothers will have some “mom time.” The calves will all come together, and then one of the cows will hang out with them while their mothers head to another part of the pasture.
I could watch them for hours!
We raise Beefalo, which is a cross between a bovine and American Buffalo. They are interspecies hybrid, and with this comes some neat qualities. Part of what makes this process so fun is that you never know what color the calves are going to be. It is almost like a game to wonder and guess.
Our bull is black and, as you can see, our females vary in color. This year the season kicked off with twins: one black and one red, born to a brown mother!
One of the hardest parts of calving season is naming all of the animals. Because our animals are registered, a letter is assigned to each year. This year is X, so every name will start with X.
Yes, X…. Do you have any suggestions? We need all the help we can get!
~Natalie
Tags: Farm Animals, Natalie, Recreation
