All went well. The hooves were sticking out when Nate left for work and the calf was born when I checked an hour later.
Brielle and I got to watch as the calf flopped around and eventually took some steps. She made her way to Clydette's bursting udder and figured out the self serve system in a jiffy!
Brielle watched quietly from her perch on the 5 gallon pail.
Clydette gladly guzzled down a pail of warm molasses water. We didn't milk her on Day 1, but did a little bit on Day 2, and gradually increased it to full milking by Day 4.
We were prepared for milk fever (which is more common in the Jersey/Guernsey breed), and sure enough, she did get a little wobbly. The man we bought her from came out and shoved a calcium pill the size of a calk gun down her throat and she got over it with flying colors. He's been SO helpful in guiding us in the milk cow journey. We feel very lucky to have his support.
We let the calf be with her Momma for the first few days, and then started separating them for 8 hours during the day. This way the calf gets tame and Clydette is more willing to come in for evening milking.
Clydette is very gentle during milking. She never kicks the pail and usually just stands calmly and chews her cud. We've settled into a routine. I do the morning milking while Nate is getting ready for work, and Nate does the evening milking. It's so peaceful. We both enjoy it more than we anticipated!
We turned the downstairs bathroom into our milk room. Thanks goodness the calf takes her fair share because we have PLENTY of milk to go around!! The average lately is two gallons a day for us.
Our first try at making butter. YUM
Rhya almost always accompanies her daddy at evening milking time. She knows to sit on the stoop and wait for her turn to milk. She gets some squirts out but they usually go flying in random directions!
How's this for a cheese press? The real ones are over 200 bucks...
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