Rosie had been looking very uncomfortable for several days. Think whale. Her bag had been full for a little over a week and the ligaments next to her tail head were relaxed for about the same amount of time. Baggy vulva, too, and her gait had started to look unstable. Two days before the calf was born, I took some pictures because I was so convinced it had to be soon. That was Thursday night.
I checked on her Friday evening before I went to bed and she looked pretty much the same as she had the night before.
Rosie's rear end
Rosie two days before calving
Saturday morning Jon went out around 8:00 a.m. and informed me that there was no change in Rosie. I thought, “Great! We’ll have bacon and eggs for breakfast and then go out and do the barn chores and milk Tiddles.” I was still in my jammies anyway. When we were done eating, I began to clear the table and Jon went out again. He came right back in and announced, “There is a little calf standing next to Rosie in the corral!!” That was at 9:30 a.m. Obviously, there had been a change in Rosie; just one that had gone unnoticed! So I hurried and got dressed and here are some pictures of what I found.
Rosie and her new heifer calf
Rosie’s little heifer calf was born around 9:30 a.m. on an unseasonably warm winter’s day, January 29, 2011. We reached a high of 74 degrees that day. Unfortunately that great weather didn’t last long….
The City Girl Farmer 