Baby watch !!

[springvalley]

I don`t get calves this time of year much anymore as I don`t care for the cold weather. But this gal didn`t get bred when she was suppose to , so we deal with cold weather baby watch. This cow (Maddie) is one of my best cows, and is a sweetie. She loves to be pet and scratched and messed with, but as I started looking in on her a couple times during the night she is starting to think me insane. I bedded her stall belly deep yesterday, and made her as comfortable as I could, now it`s up to her, and the Big Guy upstairs. She is not due for over a week and has alot of swelling and filling udder, you would think doing this all my life it would be no big thing, but I just love babies. I will try and take pics, and have Catherine post them for me during this ordeal, maddie is due for a heifer as she has had two bulls before, and she is such a great cow she needs to repoduce herself. Keep you all updated on her next few days, hope all goes well. > Thanks Marc

[Callieslamb]

Good luck to Maddie and the rest of you too!

[momagoat61]

Marc
Baby watch is more fun in the spring and summer I have to admit, but i so love babies also. My Sally girl had her's last week when we had cold and about 3 " of snow coming down. Burrrrrrrr .. Hope all goes well and Maddie gives you a heifer unlike mine giving me her 3rd bull calf. Please post pictures when Maddie delivers. Sandy

[dosthouhavemilk]

I sure hope I am right there beside you.
Isadore could possibly be due next week. Assuming she took to the AI I did 9+ months ago. I sure hope so because it would mean a Jersey calf and not another 1/4 beef calf (like the rest will be). She is hopefully settled to a run of the mill Polled Jersey bull.
We could really use the milk, too. We have 7 kids on lambar right now and dad is down to milking three cows and one is barely giving anything. She is due to be dried off.
At this stage, the humans are drinking the goat's milk so the kids can drink the cow's milk.

[Glenda in MS]

I have two due any day now! I have worn myself out with the night checks!

[springvalley]

Here are the pictures from today. They're not the best, but then I'm not the best photographer. This isn't your typical small Jersey as Maddie weighs close to 1100 pounds. She isn't due until next week so I'm not sure exactly when she'll give birth. Hopefully she'll wait until the weekend when it gets warmer.

The first is a picture of Maddie from the side:



This one is of her udder showing the fullness. When she's dry, she has no udder at all, it's all very flat:



And this final one is of our 4 year old daughter with Maddie:

[scholtefamily]

wow! That is one clean cow with some nice rear teat placement. I'm jealous!

[Callieslamb]

A cow as lovely as that must have a heifer!

[gone-a-milkin]

Everyone in their winter coats too.

Nice pics.

<crosses fingers for a heifer for you>

[momagoat61]

Beautiful girls you have there Marc! All you need now is Maddie to deliver a heathly heifer calve. I am so hoping that's what's tucked away in there. Can't wait to see BABY pictures. Hey, maybe she'll have twin heifer calves, how cool would that be? Ok calming down now. I just had a visual for a moment> I'm good now. Sandy

[myersfarm]

when those tits start pointing outward instead of down

thats when I would start looking for a calf...


one nice cow with a great looking udder

[francismilker]

On my jerseys I know they're about to pop when the udder edema is bad enough that there's a level, straight line from their bag to where there naval should be.

Great looking cow!

[springvalley]

Well I moved Maddie to a new pen inside the barn tonight, it is going to be near 0 tonight and I sure don`t need a baby ice cube. It`s about 30 degrees warmer in the barn, or it was anyway. Going back out to check her again about midnight. She has more udder filling tonight, so getting closer everyday. Later > Marc

[springvalley]

:lock1:

Yea, Maddie!! About 12:35 this morning Maddie gave birth to a little GIRL. We've named her Hope. This first picture was taken right after she was born. Mom is still cleaning her off. The second picture was taken about 5 this morning. We're sure glad we got her in the barn last night as it's 10 - 12 BELOW zero with wind chills even worse! One clue with Maddie was that she didn't want to eat her hay. With her appetite, this was definitely a sign of impending birth. Now to the pictures...

[myersfarm]

very nice big heifer...n
knee deep in straw show you are really taking care of both


congrads

[Cheryl aka JM]

very pretty! Thank you for sharing the new baby happiness!

[Karen in Alabam]

Congratulations

[gone-a-milkin]

There, now my day is made. Thanks.
Congrats on the new-born Hope.

Stay warm!

[momagoat61]

SWEET ! Congradulations on a healthly heifer calf. Marc with Maddie having that beautiful full udder I would be inclined to milk and save some of the first day or so of the colostrum for future needs. The calve will not need all the colostrum by no means. You never know when you might need it in a pinch or someone eles like a neighbor or friend might need it for a calve. You can freeze it for up to over a year and its will be as good as the day Maddie freashed. But thats just me. We have over 50 brood beef cows and we keep powdered colostrum on hand just for an emergency. Trying to milk a beef cow is a whole different story then a maiden dairy cow thats use to being handled. Sandy

[Karin L]

Congrats! I love that look that Hope gave you in that first pic.