This week a new baby was born. At 5:30 in the morning on Friday 2/15/19 one of our cows, Nile, went into labor and later a baby girl was born. She was named Ninja since her name must begin with the same letter as her mom and cannot have been used in our barn before. She is currently being fed milk replacer out of a bottle and soon will transition to being provided milk in a bucket. Nile will be bucket milked until her milk is safe for selling again. Nile retained her placenta for hours after birth which is normal in cows. Ninja is a healthy and happy baby as of today!
0 Comments
One of the most important aspects of Witter Farm is the time we take to complete a heat watch on our cows twice a day. Twice a day the girls are turned out and observed for 20 minutes. The observer is looking for any signs of heat from the girls that indicate they are ready to be bred. Some signs of heat are chin resting, headbutting, being extremely vocal, mounting, or vaginal discharge. Chin resting is when one cow rests her chin on the back or hip of another cow. Headbutting entails exactly what it sounds like - two cows pushing their heads against each other. When a cow is being more vocal than usual this typically means she is in heat and wants attention. Mounting and vaginal discharge are sure signs that a cow is in heat. It is important to take note which cow is doing what and who initiates what, this is extremely important when observing mounting because sometimes the cow being mounted will stand still aka standing to be mounted which means she could also be in heat as well as the cow doing the mounting. After each heat watch we notify our head herdsperson so she can keep track of who is in heat and when to breed them.
Heat watch is one of my favorite activities on the farm. Not only is it a learning process to see which cows prefer which methods when they are in heat but also it is a time to watch the cows interact with each other instead of just their neighbors when they’re in the barn. You get to see the different personalities of the cows interact with each other. It is also pretty cool knowing that you are taking a part in the breeding and future of the farm. Plus, heat watch in the morning can lead to some beautiful sunrises. |
Archives
March 2022
Categories |