Things I never thought I'd say #117
As first time farmers, we need a lot of help. We have thankfully found ourselves in a community of people that are willing to lend their expertise. We are also thankful for YouTube! I can’t tell you how many videos we have watched, trying to learn. Taking care of Dolly the cow has been surprisingly easy. I was concerned at first that it was going to be pretty time consuming to care for her, but no, all she needs is space and grass and water. After Declan came into the world, we had even more to research and learn because we wanted to castrate him, we really don’t want him breeding with his momma. Our neighbor offered to help us out with that and we found out that Declan was a little too small at first and Billy couldn’t fit the band around both testicles. We don’t see Billy everyday, so the next time that he came to help us, we couldn’t catch Declan. I wish I had video of us trying to catch Declan, I’m sure it would have been entertaining. I bought Steve a lasso, but he hasn’t even tried to use it yet. Lame. I really am going to get video if we ever use the lasso! HA! Anyway, now I think it is too late to castrate him... at least with bands because the bands that we have are not for use on calves 250 lbs and over.
All of that to say that we need to get Dolly pregnant very very soon. I should start a list of things I never thought I would say and keep it somewhere. I don’t remember all of them at the moment, but on that list would be, “Steve, I bought semen today.” When we decided to get serious about getting Dolly pregnant, I reached out on our local community chatter Facebook page and asked for recommendations of someone who does artificial insemination in the area. We were given a few names and spoke to a gentlemen who is going to help us with the procedure and even store the semen for us. So I picked out Dolly’s mail order groom online. His name is Rocky and I think he is handsome: he has the right genes for good milk, all his offspring will be polled, and will either be red or black. I ordered his semen and sent it to Jared for safe keeping.
Jared walked us through the basics of what we would need to be prepared for, and now we have to catch Dolly in heat so he can come and inseminate her for us. The next phrase that I am going to add to my list is, “Don’t forget to check Dolly’s vulva today.” She goes into heat every 18-28 days and this is what we have to watch for.
Mounting Other Cows. (Not gonna happen, she is our only cow)
Mucus Discharge.
Swelling and Reddening of the Vulva.
Bellowing, Restlessness, and Trailing.
Rubbed Tailhead Hair and Dirty Flanks.
Chin Resting and Back Rubbing.
Sniffing Genitalia.
Head Raising and Lip Curling.
Now, it’s part of our chores every day, food, water, check the vulva. Early on I said to Steve, “Hey, does she look swollen to you? And her tail is raised a bit.” Then she pooped. #facepalm It should be weird that I am looking at and evaluating a cows whohaw every day, but its really not. I have seen it so much that I should be able to spot when it looks different and give Jared a call. In the meantime, I have to get Steve to build a chute and head catch so that we are ready for when it is time. I’m actually excited about this.
Overall, having cows has been my favorite part. I like when we park the truck the first thing we hear is Declan and Dolly yelling at us. If we take care of the other animals before we take care of them, they yell at us the whole time. They really like the sweet feed those spoiled cows. And just today, I was finally able to pet Declan. Such a sweety!! It makes me smile. I’m a farmer!
