Brand New Calf!

Bridget had her baby this past weekend!!!!!

It was a healthy baby girl. We named her Latte.

Latte the Jersey calf, a mere 4 minutes old and yet unable to stand.
The chickens looked on in bewilderment.

The delivery was fast and smooth. She went from first presenting (in the front yard) to birth (in the barn) in under 2 hours. Thing #2 got to witness the whole thing. I caught most of it, as we were preparing for company later that evening.



During the delivery ALL of the animals stopped and watched. The sheep stood at attention, and the chickens stood still aside from the occasional head twitch. The homestead was nearly silent (except for the pigs, who couldn't see). The miracle of life transfixed us all - human and otherwise.

I kept Mamma and baby together for about 36 hours straight to make sure baby got all of the colostrum she could drink. As soon as she was licked off and standing, instinct kicked in quickly.

Latte, still damp, drinking her colostrum.

She has been a nursing champ. She was not too energetic the first few days, but since Tuesday, she's been bounding around and scampering all over the place. Her mouth gets all foamy from nursing.

Taking in her surroundings after her first meal.

Once she dried off (the next day), her light color really came through. Bridget has a reddish hue, but Latte is a lot more creamy in her complexion.

Latte, dried off and chillin.

The cutest thing (perhaps besides her little moo) was when I came in to check on her, and found her curled up in the milk stanchion.

"What?"

I'll try to get some more pictures this weekend and post them next week. It's tough, since she is ALWAYS MOVING when I'm there with her. She's a little ball of energy. This makes things like standing still for a photo a bit difficult. I'll see what I can do.

We're very happy that Bridget gave birth to a healthy, energetic calf. God is good, and we have been blessed tremendously.