This evening the heifer that Rebekah has picked as her favorite had her calf. This is her birth story in pictures.
Rebekah is watching as the heifer has the water bag out.
The water bag has just popped.
Those are the front feet, this is good. The best position for a calf to come is both front feet first.
The head is coming out.
The shoulders are coming out.
The calf is all out and now the heifer takes about a minute to rest.
The new mama starts licking her new baby. This serves two very important purposes 1) helps the calf dry off and 2) helps stimulate the calf to stand up. It essential that the calf stand up and nurse within the first few hours of life
Mama and baby are watching their audience. The kids were watching them. 🙂
The baby is already trying to find a place to nurse. The first milk that the mama produces is colostrum.
The placenta is hanging out. The mama will deliver it soon.
Rebekah was thrilled to be right beside me when the calf was born. She has named the new little heifer calf “Thumper.”
The sun soon went down so I didn’t get any pictures taken of the calf standing.
Definitions:
- Water bag: The fluid filled bag that comes out before the calf.
- Heifer: A female cow that has not yet had a baby.
- Colostrum: The first milk produced and it contains essential antibodies for the newborn baby.
We have been so blessed to be able to share this lifestyle with our kids! It is so wonderful for them to be able to witness the miracle of life. We are so thankful for God’s many blessings in our lives!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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Congratulations!
Wow, congratulations! What a neat documentation of your calf’s birth. 🙂
I’d like to invite you to share this post and up to two others at our From the Farm Blog Hop, which is live right now. Your style of blog posts would fit right in with the wonderful posts that are shared!
From the Farm Blog Hop
Hope to see you there!
~Kristi@Let This Mind Be in You