ahh ... the miracle of life

One thing about the barn at the farm is that it doesn't have a maternity stall. This is usually not a problem as the cows mostly calve outside where it's always clean and where they can totally abide by their bovine instincts. But in the winter, they have to have their calves while they are tied up in the barn.

Yesterday, Nutty finally decided to have her baby. She had been holding her tail up all during morning milking and by the time i was done cleaning the barn her waterbag had burst and two little perfect white feet where poking out.

I always feel that birth, inspite of the fact that most living things got here this way, is an odd and amazing thing for me to watch. While I was doing my other work I observed as the feet went out and in with a little more coming out each time. Two steps forward and one step back is mostly how calves get born. Then the nose started to come out. Then you could see the eyes. This is particularly bizarre since the eyes look around sometimes from behind their protective membrane covering and you can tell that baby is thinking "what the fuck is this?". Like a human baby, after the whole head comes out the rest is usually pretty easy.

Nutty gave birth standing up and the 3 foot drop always seems a bit cruel to me. But it does knock any fluids from the calf's mouth and lungs preventing pneumonia and allowing them to breath. Outside, this would be when they mom turns around and starts cleaning off her baby. But the mom is hooked in her stall so this was when Ivy tries to, as gently as possible, lift a slippery, flopping, wet, squirming, 70 pound baby cow up over the lip of the stall and up to the cow's head so she can clean it off.

Use your knees, not your back.

By the time I came back from lunch 30 minutes later the calf was standing up and looking for a drink and Nutty was grunting contentedly at her baby. I like that part.