Wednesday, December 10, 2008

~It's a Girl !! ~


December 9th, 2008 4:39 p.m.

Introducing Tylerfarm's Gertrude (AKA "Squirt McGert")


We went to the barn in the morning for chores as usual and all was normal. Jan was still as big as a house and very uncomfortable. It was snowing lightly but I put her out so she could proceed with her morning routine and I thought the exercise would be helpful. I put her in around 11:30 as it was snowing harder and I didn't want her to have the calf outside. Her udders were so full they were practically sticking out sideways. I knew it wouldn't be long now :)

We checked her at 2:30 and she seemed somewhat distressed. Breathing heavily and getting up and down, not being able to get comfortable. My adopted daughter, Shane, came to visit yesterday afternoon and Tom went to the barn for night chores before we got out there. We saw him running back to the house and we knew we had a calf arriving. The photos that follow is what we saw when we arrived:


CAUTION: Birthing photos.......

Normal presentation....two front feet & nose

delivery was a very short process.........I did go in the stall and quickly remove the sac over the nose.....

Jan is such a great mother - she immediately went to work cleaning up her calf.....

You can see a short video of Jan cleaning off Gertrude (it's rather dark but you can tell what she's doing and listen to her communicating with her new calf)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSEnFGf9tFg



In about a half an hour Gertrude was on her feet and looking for the food supply. All seemed fine so we finished our evening chores and let them be.


She's very alert and inquisitive ~

Tom and I went out again at 9pm and both Jan and baby were fine. Jan had passed her placenta and the baby had nursed on all four udders. The calf was lying in the a pile hay and Jan was munching away. We cleaned out her stall, gave her fresh hay and water and marvelled and this beautiful little creature. No matter how many times I witness the miracle of birth, it never ceases to amaze me. We are so blessed and I am grateful, as always.

This morning Mom and baby are fine. I grained Jan in her milking stall, hand milked her to relieve her udders where the baby hadn't nursed, cleaned her stall and checked baby all over while Mom had her grain. She's perfect! They are resting comfortably and all is well.

It was 7 degrees yesterday morning. This morning it was 50 degrees.....talk about weather extremes. We were very happy that she waiting until last night to deliver instead of the day before. Cold weather is expected for the end of the week but Gertrude will do fine with her Mom when it arrives.

~ Have a great day ~

16 comments:

threecollie said...

Congratulations! Great pictures and great news!

Throwback at Trapper Creek said...

Congrats to Jan and you Deb! So glad all is well and you are getting a little relief from the cold.

Yeah - no more milk from the store. :)

Nancy K. said...

I am so glad that she had a girl!! I can just imagine how easily one could lose one's heart to a little girl calf....

;-)

Thanks for sharing and I look forward to watching her grow!

DayPhoto said...

YEAH!!!!!

The photos are great! I rejoice with you!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Far Side of Fifty said...

Congrats to you all! A heifer looking really healthy! The miracle of birth on a farm..how wonderful! The video tells it all, the soft mooing and the cleaning up process..thanks for sharing! :)

Tammy said...

Congrats! She is a little beauty. :-) Glad all went well.
Tammy

Candy Duell said...

Congratulations, what a great post. She is beautiful :) Thanks so much for the great pictures, and story of her birth. Enjoy!

Christy said...

Oh congratulations! How wonderful. She is beautiful.

Michelle said...

Yes, congratulations! Now, pass on your secret for getting just what you ordered like that. I have my own requests for lambing next spring....

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

you're a McGrandma to McGert!

yeah, you got a girl, Lil McGert looks great! :-)

Unknown said...

This is a wonderful farmpost!! This is what life on the farm is all about...it just captures the essence of the love for farming and living in the country!! I can't wait to see more pictures as she grows up!! Thank you for sharing:)

Deb said...

THANK YOU all for your congrats and good wishes ~ Gestation seems like such a long wait but it's always so worth it! "Squirt" has already stolen my heart and Tom's as well.
When I decided to raise cattle, I knew I wanted to raise my mother cows from babies, not buy them. I knew I needed to buy one good cow to start with and Jan was worth all the research and every penny I paid for her.
I truly believe I have the best job on earth!!

Thanks again, having you all to share her birth with made it so extra special.

ps.....michelle - I wish I could pass on a secret for getting what you order ..lol.....I'm lucky with Jan - very rarely does it work that way with my sheep :)
Good luck - I hope you get what you wish for.
My goats kid in March; of course I'm requesting all doelings :)

Egghead said...

Deb,

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I just was reading about Jan and what a miracle this little calf is. Love the photos. Brings me back to my childhood and watching our cows give birth. I also watched my mom pull calves many a time in the middle of the night. Wow!

Joanne said...

Thanks for sharing the birth with us! How beautiful and amazing it is--every time. :)

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

http://www.petfinder.com/

thank goodness there are snactuary's and folks that foster the farm animals, breaks my heart

Anonymous said...

How wonderful!
I am so glad Jan didn't have a rough time of it. I guess Gertrude wasn't a big head like Belle's big boy.
The pictures were great.
Pam