Licorice is 5 days old today and is he ever feelin' spunky! He's been bawling to be with Button and Hoss, so we decided to let him venture out while we were cleaning the barns. He ran, jumped, bucked and kicked out to the other two and then tried to play with the dogs. He's getting 1-1/2 pints of calf replacer every 3-4 hours. He at first didn't like the bottle, so found a softer nipple and now he's doing fine.
Hoss says," Hey! a mini me!" and Licorice was just curious of what it was
Hoss was licking.( see below)
Button really likes
Licorice, that is until he started nosing around her udder area, then she was gentle and simply moved away from him each time he got close to that area of her anatomy. I'm impressed with her motherly instinct, especially for a two year old heifer. :o)
After licking on the mineral supplement and on
Licorice,
Button was quite thirsty, that tub was full when she started! One thing we've found is that with winter feeding of hay they're consumption of H2O increases dramatically. We haul water three times a day, just to make sure they always have fresh, full tubs of water.
It's snowing again today but it's not sticking as it is fairly warm(36F) It's a good wet snow and the moisture before the ground freezes is a blessing and will give the pastures a good start in the Spring. :o)
Did you ever have a day where you just couldn't get motivated, well...... that's how today is starting out for me. The plan is for Cortney to work on a couple of bracelets that were ordered by a friend as Christmas gifts, and I have a few ornaments and small projects I'm working on. Then we need to get supper fixed and do a bit of cleaning before Mike gets home. What I'd rather do is curl up in my chair with some hot tea and read a book! LOL!!!!
Blessings for your weekend.
10 comments:
He sure is a cutie! Could you keep him intact as a bull for Buttons? I'm not sure about sizes between Dexters and Angus.
I know what you mean about water consumption. They sure do drink a lot when they are eating that dry hay.
Can't wait to see the bracelets Cortney is making!
oh they are gorgeous looking...Lisa
Great pictures. Glad to see little Licorice is doing okay.
I enjoy the time of year when the animals are grazing on moisture-laden green grasses. They don't need nearly the water as when they are consuming dry grasses. We'll have to make sure all the troughs are full today. We've got a week of freezing temps. It will be one of those times that we'll be carrying buckets.
I'm loving all the newborn calves running around the surround pastures here. There is one that is absolutely gorgeous. A red roan speckled one. No one can tell me God does not have a sense of great fun, when I see animals at play. :o)
~Faith
Love the cowpics! Who is that in the background with the red hat? I like that hat!
I'm glad the baby is getting along with the older cattle. Sometimes they don't. He's a cutie though. lol.
GW,
Licorice is a cutie and just what we needed to keep us out of trouble and active this winter*wink*
He would be to big a bull for Button, Angus calves weight on average 65 to 80lbs at birth and Dexter calves birth weights are 40-50 lbs and being she's a heifer( never calved before) I'd be afraid to try it. Maybe if she'd already calved a few time it wouldn't be a big deal. Plus Angus don't have a good temperment, so wouldn't want to think of how a bull would act.
We didn't get pictures of the braclets,sorry we didn't think about it and they've already been delivered but they were very pretty and the buyer was extremely happy :o)
Lisa,
Thank you,we are prejudice but we think so too*wink*
Theres just Life,
We are relieved and feel much better about him surviving now, it's the first week that is so important, getting colostrum into them to help build a healthy immune system.
Thanks for commenting, we enjoy it.
Faith,
I too see God's humor, in our daily life and the animals are a good place to see it!
We've been hauling water for over a month, but it's not so bad with only the heifer, steer, chickens and turkeys.
This is the time of year that makes us really miss Mo*sigh* He'd greet us each morning with a soft nicker and a nuzzle of his nose when we got close enough.
Praying your cold lets up and gives you a break, we're enjoying temps into the high 30's and low 40'sF, which after a week or more of sub zero temps feels like Spring!
MarkD60,
Glad you like the pictures and to answer your question, that is ME, with what Mike calls,my "Elmer Fud" hat on, LOL! The animals don't care and it keeps my head and ears warm so no fashion statement is being made just being practical*wink*
SFG,
Hoss, the almost 8 month old calf, was afraid of Licorice at first, but now he really seems to like him. Our hope and plan is to house them together because, Button is such a PIG she eats her portion of hay and then runs Hoss off and eats his too*sigh* Which of course she doesn't need and we're trying to keep her weight in check because Dexters have a way of getting fat easily! We want to breed her in the late spring/ early summer and if she's fat it will be harder to get this accomplished. Have you ever tried to exercise a cow? Not like when Mo would start looking pudgy and we'd work him on a lounge line, what do you do for an overweight heifer, other than dry lot them? So the plan is to keep the weight off. :o)
Thank you all for commenting, we so enjoy reading what you think and answering your questions.
Blessings,
Kelle
so glad everyone is starting to get along! i really like looking at your pictures. that is one cutie!
I found this for you, you're going to need one!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JTBT1tj6fMs/TPzbyYp2-iI/AAAAAAAACgY/LcZ35YmQ40s/s1600/Cow%2BWash.jpg
Thanks Hopeful! They are all getting along great. PTL for the warmer temps and sunshine until Thurs. :o)
MarkD60,
You are a hoot! Thanks for sharing that, If I still had my old Jersey cow, Bessie I could see her doing that but Button is much to skittish and so are the Angus. Although Button does enjoy being brushed :o) People around here( framers/ranchers) think we're a bit nuts because all of our cows are halter broke, load into a trailer easily and love to be brushed( well Hoss is a bit ticklish right now*wink*)
Thanks for sharing that what a fun way to start the day!
Blessings,
Kelle
Post a Comment