Brand new Dexter calf

[genebo]

Beauty of Paradise, a 22 month old Dexter heifer, had her first calf today. I found them with the calf on one side of a electric rotational grazing fence and mama on the other, visibly upset.

The calf had not been licked off. It was wet and cold. I gave it a shove under the wire and mama went to work. In just a few minutes she had the calf dry and standing.

Here they are just as the calf finished nursing for the first time.



Since the mama's name is Beauty, I named the heifer calf Alainn, which means beautiful in Irish. That is not original. It was done back in 2004 by Steven Burdette, but it's such a natural go-together of names that I hope he'll forgive me for copying him.

Beauty and Alainn (pronounced All-in) are doing fine. Alainn weighed in at 30#.

Genebo
Paradise Farm
http://paradisedexters.com

[copperhead46]

Good thing you found them when you did, great job for Momma.

[G. Seddon]

Genebo, what a good mother Beauty is! And I really like the name Allainn. Glad all worked out well for you. At least it was a great spring day....hope they find a dry spot for today though!

[genebo]

No dry spot for these two. On her second day, the calf roamed all over the farm, with mama close behind. No matter how hard it rained, you could see them moving from end to end.

I took them some hay a couple of times, but before mama could finish it, Alainn would take off on her next adventure and mama would have to follow.

Alainn isn't drinking enough. Beauty's udder is full enough to pop. I can't milk, with my hands, so I've offered to let them both go to a neighbor's place where Beauty will be milked.

Genebo
Paradise Farm
http://paradisedexters.com

[grain bin man]

Nice looking animals ya got there. Glad there doing well.
My wife wants us to get dexters next year if I get the house build finished by then.
I have a little under a acre of grass down next to a pond. Real Steep hills on 2 sides.
I was wondering if the steep hills would be an issue & how many to start with?

[genebo]

Maymont Park in Richmond had several different cattle breeds before they got Dexters. The steep hills in the park caused them to replace the earlier breeds. They have had Dexters for several years now, with no problems.

In order to keep even two Dexters on an acre of grass, you'd have to have really good grass year-round. I allow an acre apiece for my Dexters and have to supplement with hay during the winter months and during droughts.

Some people keep Dexters on less grass than that by feeding hay constantly. The best thing going for you there is that Dexters will eat less than the other family cow breeds, so you will have to feed less.

The problem with Beauty's udder was solved for me. I went out to feed them their morning ration with minerals and there was Vera, Bambina's calf, nursing Beauty! Beauty's udder was down to a manageable size and was a lot softer feeling. I imagine that once her udder hurt enough, she let the other calf nurse. It worked!

Genebo
Paradise Farm
http://paradisedexters.com

[M88A1]

Hey....nice looking lil calf....you had same issue with udders i did. After swelling went down momma let the calf nurse, took about 36 hours.

[genebo]

I guess I should have been more careful what I named the calf. Alainn (All-in) turned out to be prophetic.

Our well pump burnt up and had to be replaced. While it was out, the field waterers drained back. One, a 100 gal. tank, was sunk into the ground with about 4" sticking up. It drained back to about half full.

That's when little Alainn must have tried to drink from it. When I turned the new pump on and went to see how the field waterers were filling, I first heard Beauty talking her "mama to baby" talk and licking Alainn furiusly. Alainn was dripping wet and the water tank was all stirred up. The bottom sediment was floating.

I figured that Alainn had fallen in and Beauty had used her horns to help her out. Now she was licking her off like a newborn and scolding her in between licks. "Never do that again!"

It was a lucky thing how it turned out. It could have easily been tragic.

Today, Alainn shows no signs that it happened. She's still too active for her mama to keep up with her.

She is finally drinking enough milk to keep mama comfortable. As soon as she finishes nursing, she goes to sleep. That's the only quiet time Beauty has, for as soon as Alainn wakes up, she's off and running.

There are three little calves in the pasture right now, and I could waste my whole day just watching them. What a circus!

[cowkeeper]

"It was a lucky thing how it turned out. It could have easily been tragic"

A tank with only a few inches above ground, deep enough to drown a calf? Are you going to take it out of the ground now? From the sound of it, you are lucky not to have lost a calf before this incident.ck