SURPRISE!!!

Maggie turned out to be a great 'mother'- ing cow and unfortunately let Bindy's calf nurse this morning! EEK. So little Mr. Calf is no longer in with the milk cows but has his own buddy in a smaller pen. In the picture he is nursing Maggie (who's bag is much easier to get at) while Bindy licks him. Maggie would NOT leave him alone.

Papa got out of bed before me this morning and then came right back and told me I had to come see something. His voice was almost dull and so I got up right away and went and looked. He went to the kitchen window and I saw Chip in the sandbox and noted it.. nothing new there.. then he goes to the living room window.. and there is Bindy and Maggie.. and SURPRISE a little black calf. Maggie was licking him but I knew it was Bindys!! To back track a little bit Papa was not impressed for the same reason I was not. Bindy has a low bag, as you can see, and last week she stepped on her front left teat.. skinning the tip right off it. NASTY!! We've been quite worried that it would not heal in time for her calf.. and with her calf 3 weeks early (possibly our dates are off) it will really not be healed. In fact this morning it split open on the bottom and looks even worse! But it might be a better thing all in all as it can drain now.

Amazingly enough we think her teat will be fine for next year as the middle part where the milk ducts seems to be fine! But for now we will have a 3 teated cow to milk. Poor Papa has to milk her as I can NOT get that low.. he told me this morning that it made his belly sore to lean over that far to milk.. so there IS NO WAY I CAN!! Which means Papa will be getting up at 5ish to milk both cows until we get our milking buckets. They were suppose to be here 10 days ago but they sent the wrong ones so we are still waiting and still milking by hand. Papa says once we get them and he gets a mechanical milking system going I should be able to 'milk' mornings again which will be a great help to him.

SO now we are bucket feeding 2 calves, one we are babysitting for a neighbor who is going away for a month and our own little bull calf who as of yet has no name. He needs a B name and Bindy, Billy and Bobby are all taken.. any ideas??