dairy cows – Living de Good Life

Saying Good-bye

Saying good-bye is difficult, whether it is expected or suddenly unexpected. As I have written in a few previous posts, we have dealt with many unexpected deaths here on de Good Life Farm. Of course, we raise cattle and chickens for meat, so those are planned and expected good-byes, but even so, are difficult. Life is precious, whether it is a meat chicken you have raised from “chickhood” or a steer you have loved and raised from birth. We take caring for our animals very seriously and thus, the loss of life is painful, regardless of whose life it is.

As I sat on the bucket milking Mocha this morning, I was very sad knowing that the events of the day would be very hard–hard on her and on me. If you have read My Name is Mocha, you know that Mocha left her mama behind when she came to our farm almost seven years ago, and it was very traumatic for her. She was fifteen months old and pregnant with her first calf. She cried the whole trip through town to our farm and for days after. I later found out Jersey cried for Mocha as we pulled away.

Mocha and Jersey playing around in the pasture after days in the barn

THE WHO?

Jersey is Mocha’s mama. Jersey is also the cow I learned to milk on! I am thankful that she and Ralph, her farmer, were patient teachers. I had such untrained, fumble fingers.

Ralph, Jersey’s former owner, visiting to say goodbye

Jersey has been mama to Coco (Mocha’s older sister), Mocha, Billy (Coco and Billy were both born while still at Ralphs’ farm), our sweet Oreo and our sweet Herbie. She has also been grandma to Mocha’s girls: Cocoa (named after her aunt), Caramel, Truffle, Hazel, Elsie and Daisy and great grandma to Snickers, Caramel’s daughter. Needless to say, without Jersey, there wouldn’t be a “de Good Life Farm”.

Jersey’s milk wasn’t the first fresh milk I had tasted, but I and my family, as well as a host of other families who are part of our herd share program have enjoyed her rich creamy milk for a grand total of about eight years! Our vet lovingly calls her “a lean, mean milking machine”. She’s not really mean. She is stubborn and will bully Mocha if she has the chance to get to fresh hay, water, feed or mineral first. I guess maybe she figures she is the matron and deserves to be first!

THE “WHY”

Jersey doesn’t “show” her heats at all (other than occasionally trying to “ride” Jeff) This makes getting her bred a challenge. When she came to our farm in 2016, we thought she was pregnant, but soon found out she wasn’t. Eventually we were able to get her successfully bred and in 2018 she gave us our precious Oreo! What a sweet boy he was! Then in 2019, she gave us our sweet Herbie! She is two for two on sweet boys for us. The problem is that in five years, trying a number of protocols, we have only been successful at getting her pregnant twice. Two calves when she “should/could” have given us five is fairly significant.

THE “NOW WHAT?”

Unfortunately, there aren’t many options when you have an eleven-year-old cow who can’t be bred. And it is also unfortunate that we cannot afford to feed and bed a cow who cannot be bred. Together, Jeff and I prayed that God would show us what to do.

Eventually, I made an appointment to have her sold at auction. It broke my heart but sometimes being a “farmer” means making very difficult decisions with something other than your heart. Then on Monday, I placed a call to our vet’s office to see if they knew of any other options. They said we could try to sell her on a local site as a “pet” cow who is still lactating. So, I placed an ad.

Within an hour or so, I received a response from a guy who has a cow who is getting ready to be dry in preparation for calving and he was interested in Jersey. So, today, he is coming to take a look at her. It would thrill me if she could continue to provide her rich milk to another family and live a little longer. We will see, but we definitely felt this was a sign from God that we were on the right track.

Mocha (l.) and Jersey (r.) in their barn stalls

THE “KNOWING”

So, as I was saying earlier, it hurts me for Mocha, knowing what I know: that she will again have to say “good-bye” to her mama and this time there will be no happy reunion as there was in her book. She will cry and she will mourn and that will break my heart. It may affect her milk production for a few days and I am prepared for that. However, the wonderful thing about cows is that they are very adaptive and eventually she will become accustomed to a new normal.

THE “NEW”

What Mocha doesn’t know is that rather than keeping the stall next to her empty which will be a constant reminder of what she has lost, tonight or this weekend, we will attempt to bring in her daughter, Elsie. Elsie should be coming into heat soon and we will try to get her bred. She’s a bit of a wild child…”Diva” like her mama, with a little wild thrown in since she has been pretty much free in the pasture since she was four months old. Getting a lead rope on her will be challenging. Eventually, we will succeed!

Elsie (Mocha’s daughter from 2019) and Herbie are buddies and have been since she was born in December two years ago. They are the “queen” and “king” of the calves’ pasture. They actually are more like brother and sister than uncle and niece. We won’t take her away from him for good until March–just long enough to settle her down and get her bred and hopefully in the process, ease the pain for Mocha.

THE GOODBYE

You know, it’s so good when you ask God for guidance and then you look back and see His hand. Jersey just left for her new home. It’s even better than we had hoped for her.

The guy I mentioned above came with his daughter and after looking her over and asking the questions he needed answers to, he decided she is what he was looking for!

She dutifully followed me out the front door with only one quick backwards glance toward the back of the barn where she usually exits. She followed me through the back yard to the waiting trailer. I stepped up into the trailer and she followed me without hesitation except for the step up into the trailer. That hesitation wasn’t surprising as cows do not like to step up into anything!

Herbie was obviously bothered and because he was bothered, so were Elsie and the calves. Anything to do with his mama is always of concern to him! Last year when she passed by him on the way to the barn, he ran to meet her. Jersey? Well, let’s just say she hardly gave him a sidewards glance!

Herbie and Elsie upset and confused as they see Jersey get on the trailer

THE FUTURE

Now, not only will Jersey provide milk for a family during the dry period of their regular milk cow, she may actually have the opportunity to get bred! They have a yearling bull that will run with her. That is like the icing on the cake for me and makes this post so much more happy and hopeful! Jersey has a new home, so this is just the next chapter in her life! I think that means it’s time for a new farm book!

Thanks for reading! If you are interested in my children’s books about the farm, you may check out my website http://www.dianeorrauthor.com and click on the “Books” page.

She’s Here! Introducing “Daisy”! I Love Calves!

“Daisy”, Mocha’s 6th calf born on 7/24/21

WAITING…

Waiting for the expected birth of calves always is difficult. And, it feels like we waited an eternity for the arrival of this precious little heifer! Due on July 22nd, the sixth calf of Mocha (and the sixth heifer), she finally made her arrival in the predawn hours of July 24th with a full moon illuminating the dark sky and the earth below!

As is my practice, at the first sign of the impending birth, I usually put the mama in the barn with fresh straw and clean water, with lots of hay, to ensure the new arrival has a fresh place to be born. I saw the first sign (mucus strand) of the impending birth of Mocha’s new calf on the morning of July 21. Although Mocha is usually uncannily “on time” with her deliveries, I didn’t want to take any chances that this calf might come early, so I put Mocha in the barn. Much to my disappointment, the 21st came and went with no calf. She really wanted to be back in the pasture with Jersey, so we put them in a pasture in the back near the barn so that in case her calf was born during the night, we wouldn’t have far to get them to the barn.

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK!

On the morning of her due date, she was SLOWLY progressing, so I put her back in the barn for the day. I checked on her several times throughout the day…running errands and running back home to check on her several times!

The night of the 22nd, I set my alarm and checked on Mocha every couple of hours. STILL NOTHING! The day came and went with no baby! That night, again, I set multiple alarms and checked on Mocha every couple of hours, just feeling for sure that the calf would arrive in the wee hours. But, NOPE!

Duplicate the previous paragraph for the 23rd! Checking on her every couple of hours…still thinking the birth was imminent! The night of the 23rd was also a duplicate of the previous night. Alarms were set every couple of hours and I went out to the barn, half asleep, hoping to find her in full, active labor. But no! Each time I was disappointed.

More than a little bit discouraged, and totally exhausted, I hit “snooze” on that last alarm…just for a few more minutes. However, at 4:30 am, I threw on my clothes and made which seemed like my hundredth trip to the barn. But, my heart quickened as I got closer to the barn! I knew halfway there that she had made her arrival.

She’s Finally Here!

Mocha (and I guess other mama cows do too) has this “sweet lowing” sound she makes for her calf (read my first book My Name is Mocha). It is how she communicates love, care and instructions to her calf. I heard it before I was even halfway to the barn…and as I did, my steps quickened. I KNEW she was here!

And, yes! sure enough, there she was, standing by her mama with milk bubbles on her mouth indicating she had already had her first drink of the the nutritious colostrum. Newborn calves need about five percent of their body weight in their first six hours in order to get the necessary antibodies and nutrients to avoid scours and respiratory problems. This is one reason I typically leave mama and new calf in the barn for the first couple of days…to monitor milk intake and to verify first the first bowel movement (an indication of their gut health and that they are getting enough milk.

“Mama Time”

As with each previous calf, when Mocha feels the calf is stabilized, and all is well, she lets me know she is ready to have some time away from her calf…which means time in the pasture eating the fresh grass. She was ready for her “mama time” last night after chores. Daisy was contented and I led Mocha to the pasture.

She had her head down eating grass for nearly two hours. I kept an eye on her, knowing that she was finished and ready to return to her baby, she would come and stand by the gate. She did and I led her back to the barn.

Daisy was still in the same place, same position as she had been when Mocha left the barn, totally unconcerned that her mama was gone for awhile. This is another indication of a healthy calf. (We have had calves that literally mooed the entire time them moms were away from them.)

As Mocha reentered the barn, she spoke to Daisy with her sweet “lowing” voice and she must have told her to get up and have a drink…because Daisy did just that! Witnessing the instinct that the Creator gave these amazing animals to care and provide for their young is and amazing and wonderful gift!

Healthy Calf

Another sign of a healthy calf is that not only does she eat regularly, but she eats plenty when she eats. This morning, after I gave Mocha her “snack” consisting of oats, barley, molasses, etc. which is the routine before milking, Daisy decided to have her own breakfast. She went and lay down in her favorite spot in the corner of the stall, out of the way. I tied Mocha up to milk whatever was left and there wasn’t even one-half cup to be milked out! She is an efficient drinker…which gives her an excellent chance of staying healthy.

Calves — The Icing on the Cake

If you know me or if you’ve read my books https://dianeorrauthor.com/590-2/ you know how much I love my cows, and the other critters here on the farm…but to me, the calves are so sweet, they are just the icing on the cake! I love the hands on time I get with them in their first four months before they are weaned!

New Book?

I have been asked if Daisy will have her own book. My answer was “Yeah, probably!” Our last calf, Elsie, was included in the last book at the calves We Are Mocha’s Family. There are some special things about Daisy’s birth here on the farm: she is the TENTH calf to be born here; she is the first not to be either Jersey or Jersey/Angus mix (her breed is Jersey/Limousin, check out this link to see what her daddy may have looked like: https://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/39/limousin/.

I am eager to see what her personality is. So far, she reminds me of Hazel and of Herbie, who were both very contented and even-keeled! So watch for news. SUBSCRIBE to stay updated on lots of topics!

Mocha – the Celebrity Diva Cow!

The face of Mocha…that I fell in love with!

What does it mean to love a cow? Can they love you back? I was thinking about these questions this morning as I was milking Mocha.

When I first laid eyes on Mocha, I instantly fell in love with her. She was hiding behind her mama, Jersey, and her sweet little face just drew me to her! As she grew, so did my resolve that she would learn to trust me and let me pet her. That didn’t happen until she came home to live here at the farm, but that didn’t stop me from trying!

One day when I pulled in the farmer’s driveway, she wasn’t in her usual spot with her mom, and I became so concerned. I scanned the fields around and then I spotted her little brown ears sticking up from the bean field into which she had escaped. She was so adorable!

Her face is the most beautiful face I’ve ever seen on a jersey, and believe me, I’ve seen plenty! For years, leading up to having our own farm, we frequented county fairs and I was always drawn to the cow barn, quickly finding the jerseys and hoping to love on them a little.

Mocha, Diva Celebrity, the most beautiful cow in the world!

Her ears, those same ears that I remember so vividly sticking up out of the bean field, are so expressive of her emotions. Mostly they are curved toward the front exhibiting her inquisitive and nosy nature, which of course shows her intelligence!

Her eyes are big, beautiful and kind-looking, always alert and constantly assessing the situation so that she can know what comes next! She has to know what is going on!

But, her personality! Ahhhh! Her personality! That’s is what makes Mocha MOCHA! I have called her my “diva cow” for so long. She is moody when she is in heat and if you don’t do everything exactly as she wants, she lets you know! When she is happy, she bobs her head back and forth and tries to bop me, like she affectionately does with her bovine family. Now that my book “My Name is Mocha” has been published (now available on Amazon), we now call her our “celebrity diva”.

When I go out to milk her, I always give her some dairy feed first. If I am not the first one in the barn and someone else comes in to muck the stall before I get out there to feed her, she impatiently keeps trying to get out the stall door. When I arrive in the barn, if the person who preceded me there was careless and left the stall door open, she just shoves it open and walks out to me where I am dishing out the feed!! She knows what she likes and that’s what she likes!! When I tell her she needs to turn around and go back in the stall, she turns that big 900-1000 pound body around and jumps and hops back into the stall to get her feed!

Mocha with her first heifer calf, Cocoa.

She is an excellent mama. She is now pregnant with her fifth calf. The first four are all heifers: Cocoa, Caramel, Truffle and Hazel. Cocoa and Caramel are full Jersey. Truffle and Hazel are half-Jersey and half-Angus. We have gone back to breeding with Jersey, so this next calf due in December will be full Jersey again. I am hoping for her first son!

Her first calf was born early in the morning in the pasture and she did it all by herself. I loved watching her teach her calf. She instinctively knew how to be a good mama. Caramel was born in the barn stall as was Truffle. Hazel was born in the pasture. But with each calf, she showed her excellent maternal instincts. Knowing that her Creator put those attributes and abilities in her to teach her calf is so precious!

So, now she is a celebrity! People who would never have known how special she is, now know her name. My book, “My Name is Mocha” continues to spread her fame. Who would have thought that the sweet little calf who hid behind her mama and rested in the bean field with her ears sticking up would grow up to be such an amazing mama, dairy cow and celebrity diva! Being a celebrity hasn’t made her a “diva”…she was that long before anyone besides those of us here at de Good Life Farm knew her! Now, those who read her book will know how special she is!

Getting some kisses from my Diva Celebrity, Mocha!

So, what does it mean to love a cow? In my opinion, you can’t love a cow unless you really know her…and I love Mocha and all that makes her who she is!

The “Whoop Whoop” Cattle Call

I have often thought that if people who read my blog could see my life in real and living action and color, they would roll over and fall out of their chairs and onto the floor laughing hysterically. However, since some people may read my blog somewhere other than their homes, perhaps it is a good thing they can’t see it real time!

As I have mentioned before, amidst the rain days, we are slowly acclimating our cattle to the rich-in-nutrients and fast-growing pasture. But, how exactly do you get a 600-800 pound animal (or more like 900-1,000 pound animal in the case of our mama dairy cows) to begin moving in the direction of the not-so-appetizing-anymore hay pile when their time in the pasture is up? Well, I and whoever is with me helping, run around behind them to prevent them from doubling back and getting further into the pasture and thus further away from the desired destination. But, just coming up behind them isn’t enough to produce the necessary momentum to get all of them moving in the right direction.

Trying to combat this issue, I have developed the “whoop whoop” cattle call. I run up behind them, clapping my hands and saying “whoop, whoop” in a high-pitched, falsetto voice and continue doing so until they start running toward the shelter and the hay pile. Now, keep in mind that compared to the richness of the fast-growing spring grass, the hay pile is like a bowl of dry shredded wheat or something even less appetizing than that! So, pulling them away from the pasture grass is understandably difficult.

So, please keep this in mind, if you every drive by my house and see me running around in the pasture behind the cattle calling “whoop whoop”, please know that I haven’t lost my mind! There is a purpose to me acting crazy…and that inside, I am totally enjoying myself and having a good chuckle!

“Here’s Spit in your Eye”

I am sure you have heard the phrase “spit in your eye” or “here’s spit in your eye”, but have you ever LIVED it, bovine style? Normally that phrase means something derogatory or disrespectful but not in this case!

Tonight, after milking Mocha, I went around to all the stalls to strain the hay out of their water (a long story…) and when I went in to strain Mocha’s water, she swung her head around toward me just as she hawked her throat…and PLOP! In went her spit right into my eye! Imagine the timing and the perfect placement for that to happen!!!

Now I don’t know if you have any idea how slimy bovine saliva is…but let me say I could tell there was a film on my eye that needed windshield wipers to clear it off! Had it been an animal other than one that I am totally in love with, it might have really bothered me….but if you have been following my stories very long at all, you know that Mocha is my favorite cow on the farm…probably my favorite animal, so I immediately dismissed it as just one of those hazards that comes with working with animals and not an overt, disgusting, deliberate act toward me!

I have to say that I have encountered, accepted and even become accustomed to many things that my before-farmer-self would never have dreamed, but this was not one of the events I could have predicted! Manure, yes! Smell/odor, yes! But never would I have guessed getting spit in my eye by my favorite girl!

Tag: dairy cows