top of page

SEARCH BY TAGS: 

RECENT POSTS: 

FOLLOW ME:

  • Facebook Clean Grey
  • Twitter Clean Grey
  • Instagram Clean Grey

Our first baby...

First to start off, John and I have been interested in the idea of starting a herd of our own. He works at the feedlot in the hospital department as a management trainee. Because of somethings that have happened out there he is basically a supervisor in his department. The feedlot is where steers (non intact or neutered males) and heifers (young cows that haven't had a baby calf yet) are sent to be feed out and fattened up before going to the processing plant. Heifers are supposed to be "open" not pregnant, because they aren't there to be mommy's but there to gain weight for beef. Sometimes a few slip through and calves are born at the feedlot. The feedlot isn't a space where the cows can raise their babies and it isn't what this side of the industry is about. Usually the cowboys or pen riders see these babies and take them to the hospital. At the hospital their is a list...this is where John and I come in at. He signed us up on this list and when calves are born feedlot employees can take these calves and raise them. The first calf weighed roughly 30 pounds, the usually birth weight of a newborn calf is 70-90 lbs. It was a Friday and John called me probably about three times during my last hour of school...this is really not normal for John to call me during working hours. I called him as soon as my kids left at 3:30, he said a calf was born and she is tiny and really cold (bad sign in a newborn). They hadn't had a lot of time to take care of her and she was born around 11 that day. I told him I would gather some supplies and be right out. March in Kansas is a lot different that Idaho, a lot warmer than I am used to - but I gathered up supplies, checked in to the office at the feedlot and meet John at the main hospital. "One" as we call her, is a Angus black baldy (usually a Angus crossed with a Hereford). She was super cold and laying on the ground all bunched up. I mixed up colostrum, which is the first milk and is full of antibodies. Antibodies is the passive immunity which is passed from mom to calf. After about an hour and a half, I got her completely dry and had her drinking milk. By the time we got to the house, she was standing and walking a little. On Sunday March 6 we purchased another calf that was born the previous day, she had a little hitch in her hip that since Sunday she has worked it out and walks way better. In just a weekend we have two heifers to start our herd and we are in the crazy world of raising bucket calves!!!

March 3 at the hospital with our first baby!

bottom of page