Learning new things....

On Wednesday my babes get home a little earlier than normal.  And they love that! This past Wednesday was very exciting for them.  We live on a farm and there is lots to see and learn.  The Mister and I share all aspects of this life with the babes.  We want to teach them everything so that they can be a part of it all. They will one day run this farm.  Little Lady is treated no different than her brother.  They work with the brood cattle, show cattle, breeding, calving, planting, hay and harvest. They are in the trucks, tractors, skid steer and semi.  The more knowledge they have the safer they will be when they are out with us.

Right now the big question is "did we have a new baby?" They ask first thing in the morning, when they get home from school and after the last check before bedtime.  Their is excitement when there is and groans when there isn't.  We have talked to several people who have mentioned that their calves are coming early.  We move the mommas to the calving lot at 10 days before their due date.  Our first calf came 8 days early and number 2 just one day.  We currently have 3 that we are watching closely.  The cattle are checked several times a day and when one shows signs of going we will check during the night.

1st calf is out of Little Ladies show heifer from last year.

On Wednesday one of the mommas was acting strangely so I decided to put off going to the grocery.  I texted the Mister a few things I needed and asked him to stop before he left town.  At about 2 I checked and momma was definitely in labor.  So I let the Mister know.  I went to the house and got all the baby shots ready. I stuck a post it note on the door for the babes to let them know I was in the barn with a cow calving.  We give a round of things.  A&D, nasal, selenium, bolus and we douse the naval good with iodine, and they get a tag.  I trudged back to the barn and I saw a foot from the angle I was at and it was pointed right.  After 30 mins and no progress I texted the Mister to let him know she had 15 minutes and then I was jumping in.  I called the babes when I was sure they were in the house and told them to get their barn clothes on and come to the barn.

After no more progress I let the Mister know that I was going to help and I would let him know when  I was done.  I had Little Lady give me the chains and gloves.  I got the head out but I only had one leg.  So I sleeved her and couldn't feel the other leg.  So I asked the Little Mister to help me pull.  We ended up  pulling for a bit and out came the calf.  The shoulder got caught on the pelvic bone because of how the leg was pointed the wrong way.  Even with how hard it was to get HER out, she was up and at it in no time.  The babes were troopers!  Little Mister was super excited that he got to help deliver his first calf.  Little Lady was great help making phone calls and giving us what we needed to get the calf out. 

This is the calf we pulled.
She is doing really well, and momma loves her.

It's so interesting when they try and explain some of the things we do to their friends, because they can't understand it. The kids just don't understand why their friends don't understand, when it is so second nature to them.  So we let them know they have to explain it the best the can and answer any questions. Like showing cattle, helping with planting or harvest and helping a cow calve!  The best part is their friends faces when they come over and see new things and all the space they have to run around.  Life is awesome on the farm.  We love sharing it with friends and family.  Knowledge of this life is what helps keep people from making assumptions and wrong decisions about something they don't know about.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend!