Baby Bovine Beauties

Spring is a lively season because of all the new life bursting forth. Trees blossom, and the bees waste no time gathering nectar and pollinating. The silence of the incubator is pierced with shrill, deafening cheeps as the hatching chicks find their voice.  The first flowers emerge, and the hills turn velvety green with tender grass. 

The cattle have shed their winter coats, trading their shaggy appearance for a sleek, shiny, groomed look. If the breeding was timed just right, calving will occur when the weather is warm and the grass is abundant, providing mother with a smorgasbord of herbs to make milk for the calf, with plenty left over for the farmstead household. The extra milk will be used for cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, eggnog, custard, and cheese (yes, there really is that much extra!).

The tiny hooves are perfectly formed and pristine clean, but not for long. For the rest of it’s life they will be stained by the grass, muddied in manure, and powdered by trail dust. 

The first steps are wobbly and uncertain. In a few days they will be running as fast as the wind from one end of the pasture to the other; then a sudden stop, a shake of the head, a snort, a change of direction, and another sprint back to where they began. It’s fun to observe them gaining strength and confidence, imitating mom by trying to eat grass even before their teeth grow out.

A cedar sapling as tall as the calf’s knees stirs in the breeze. The movement catches the calf’s attention. Planting it’s front hooves in front of the swaying branches, it dances around the fragile trunk with its hind legs. It encounters no resistance when it butts its head at it, as if in a challenge. The calf wins the contest of brawn, but not of wit. With help from the breeze, the tree outwits the calf every time.

The newborns will have all summer and fall to put on weight, both muscle and fat. Each will develop their own temperament and characteristics; one shy, another bold, some affectionate, some playful. If all goes well, they will make it through their first winter. 

These calves will join in with the main Polyface herd before next year’s calving, where they will live a good life, hopefully free of injuries and illness. Then we welcome a new batch, and do it all over again.