Isabel joined the Griggs Family Farm recently. She is a purebred Holstein 4 year old cow. She's due to calve on March 17th with her 2nd calf. She is a year minus a day younger then Maggie :) They are both from the same dairy and we checked their records while we were there. Maggie's original name was Mindy, which we changed because we have a friend named Mindy. But we have no friends named Isabel so Isabel it will be. The dairy names them for paper purposes but refers to them by number so Isabel doesn't know her name, that also makes sense as to why Maggie learned her name so fast.. She'd never been called anything and Maggie was really her first name, not her second like we thought. I think it will be a bit of a challenge to name Isabel's calf when it's born if it is a bull.. as we name them with the first letter of their mothers name. Iggy?? Ian? Inch thick steaks?? lol. We shall see. Isabel is bred to a mixed semen lot from a Holstein, Jersey and a unknown beef breed. So we could get just about anything, but we are sort of hoping for a Jersey heifer.. NOT a Jersey or Holstein steer, or a beef steer!! Or maybe a Holstein heifer?? There are a lot of possibilities!
Isabel and Maggie taking a walk to the water. She's just as tall as Maggie but her hip bones are wider.. Not sure if that is because she's a month from calving or because she's just wider. Maggie is SO happy to have company and if it all works out the two of them will not be separated.
Isabel and Maggie went head to head at their 1st meeting literally! Isabel just came out of a herd of cows about 75 strong and she really felt she need to make sure Maggie knew Isabel was the boss. They went at it forehead to forehead and shoved each other around some. Maggie gave up rather soon and, I think, she was just so happy to see another cow she didn't care who won! Later that night they were standing head to tall for warmth and the next morning they were best friends sharing the hay bale. Papa has already gone out to the hay bale with a bucket of our sweet mix we use instead of grain and poured some out for both cows so that Isabel will catch on to the wonderfulness of it and we can slowly start to stanchion train her before she calves so we can easily milk her when she does calve. Isabel so far has not realized that there will be food available at all times and is pretty possessive over the food. Apparently when Papa dumped the sweet mix out on to the snow she headed over there and demanded her share which really works to our favor. Soon she'll be like every other bovine on the place and drool while Papa mixes it, bawl for a taste and INHALE it when ever she's allowed some. Perfect! They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.. I'm not too sure about that but I know for a fact that the way to a cows heart is through her stomach :)
A few things we have to watch for.. Isabel has never out on snow. She didn't seem to mind it at first and thankfully the cow pen is not super icy, only one area is even the tiniest bit icy, but after half an hour or so she would pick up her legs and give them a good shake trying to get the snow out of the hoofs. This morning she looks a bit foot sore, gingerly picking her way along.
She also is fascinated with the pigs and chickens.. When/if either of them escape their pens Isabel will probably react badly.
Because Isabel is a food hog, so far anyway, milking could be interesting for a couple of days.. if she figures out there is sweet mix in the milking parlor and chases Maggie out of the milking parlor before we lock her in or if she tries to get Maggie's sweet mix WHILE Maggie is locked in.. well lets just say we'll try really hard to NOT let that happen as the results could be interesting to say the lest!
All in all both Papa and I think we made a good choice. Time will tell as in all things but she's perfect for us in many ways. She'll calve in the right month so we will not have to have a dry spell with no milk while we wait for Maggie to calve. She's already on a spring calving schedule which is really handy! Maggie is only giving just over a gallon a day now but should, if she follows her pervois pattern, be able to keep giving a gallon until Isabel calves in March.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.New International Version (©1984)
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