As soon as the calendar hits March, we begin anticipating the new arrivals on our farm. Sometimes they arrive even earlier than we expect. Last year we had our first baby calf at the end of February. Cows have their babies after nine months of gestation just like humans do. We know approximately when each one is due, but every baby arrives when they want to. Anthony sets up a spreadsheet that calculates the due dates based on each cow’s previous gestation. He also includes the date of the full moon, and even the breed of the cow but none of those extra details have been statistically significant.
Dave said when he checked the cows before bed on Wednesday evening that Carrot was looking very close. If you take a look back at our baby calf pictures from 2020, she is the cute little tan calf licking her lips with a white slash on her forehead. Now she is all grown up and having her second calf! If it will be extra cold, one of us will wake up around midnight to go and check for new babies. That night was supposed to be warm, so we just put extra bedding down around Carrot in our warm barn.
We awoke early the next morning to a beautiful day. The spring sun was shining and a new baby calf had arrived! The baby was already up running around with his mom. He was a cute little boy with tan hair and big brown eyes. Those features are a sure sign of his Jersey breeding. Welcome to the farm little one!
We’ve decided to go with an Irish naming theme this year. Nika is spending a semester abroad at the University College of Dublin in Ireland. We messaged her and asked for a name recommendation. She chose Craic, an Irish word that means fun, enjoyable, or good times. We hope every calving this year is as fun and enjoyable as this first one.
Just a reminder to our eager raw milk customers: the babies get the first several milkings of their mother’s milk to help them start out growing strong. Once Carrot is giving enough extra, we will start bottling a gallon or two for sale here at our farm. We don’t expect to have milk available until mid-next week at the earliest. We recommend placing an order through our website or calling ahead to make sure we have milk before you come. For our delivery and wholesale customers, it will probably be another two weeks depending on how quickly more babies arrive.
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