Three Bull Calves and a Heifer

Sprout gave birth to a bull calf this week. Though we tried to watch our heifers giving birth each time, we were always a wee bit late until Sprout. We could see from our vantage point on the hill that she was in labor in the early afternoon, so we grabbed the camera and jumped on the four wheeler. She didn’t go away from the rest of the herd, but she was restless. Unfortunately we were called away just before the calf dropped. By the time we returned, Sprout was licking her calf. The next day when we opened a new section of pasture and the mamas were busily eating, we found the new calf in an attempt to tag and band it. (Why banding instead of cutting this time? Fly pressure.) He wasn’t about to take it lying down. Bolting through the gap between farmers, the calf high tailed it down into a new pasture, disregarding fences along the way. We caught up. After the procedures, he wanted to find his mama and despite our gentle herding, broke away again and ended up a hundred yards distant in a neighbor’s field. DP carried him back to his mama, and the calf found his comfort.