On the morning of May 21, our Jersey cow Holly began to labor. She was not due to "freshen" until May 27, however, a low pressure system was coming in, and it is said that that sometimes triggers labor in cows. Around 10 am, I noticed her udder had gotten extremely large. She has some clear, gel-like mucous hanging from her vulva. Tyson had just delivered a beautiful round bale of hay, in preparation for the new arrival. Holly usually chases Tysons truck through the field to nibble at the hay...they love his hay...but on this day, she seemed uninterested. Austyn and I began to spread fresh straw in the small barn, in hopes that she would choose to have her calf in there. Holly was born in the field, in secret, 2 1/2 years ago.
On cue, Holly entered the barn, and rested, chewing her cud. About 10:15 she had a contraction...we knew this because legs and tail extended...her head raised up in the air...it only lasted about 20 seconds. After about 10 minutes, she had another. We watched for an hour as the contractions got gradually closer. At 11:15, gush of water came out. She was still lying down. After a while, Holly stood up, took a drink of water and ate some hay...then she lay back down. The contractions got closer and harder. Hooves appeared, thankfully they were front hooves...which means a normal presentation of the calf. Then a tongue and nose followed....with each contraction, we could measure progress by how much of the calf remained outside of Holly once the contraction was finished. Holly chewed her cud between contractions...she began to softly grunt/talk to her baby.
The mouth was "born" and the tongue was hanging out of the mouth...surely this calf was dead...there was no movement at all...as the forehead pressed against the vulva, stretching it, Holly gave a large push and the calf's whole head entered the world. Definitely alive...another set of pushes moved the shoulders and body out...the suspense was terrible...was it a bull or heifer? Holly's labor seemed to stop at this point. We were trying to peek between the back legs but couldn't see any parts...finally, the calf "wiggled" out and Holly began cleaning HER! We cheered...I'm sure all of Esmont heard our "Wooo Hooos". Nothing against bulls, but a heifer sure is a treat!
We named this little girl "Gingersnap" because of her color! She is half Guernsey, and has white markings all over...very unique looking! We have a lot of decisions to make, since this is Holly's first calf. Do we share the milk with the Gingersnap or separate momma and baby? Most commercial dairies separate immediately. For now we will keep them together for 1 week, milking Holly out 3-4x/day to hopefully avoid mastitis and to at least to have several opportunities to assess for mastitis.
Thank the Lord, that we were patient and waited for our home-grown Holly to be our family milker. Often, I wanted to just go out and buy a cow...but kept feeling like we should wait. Holly trusts us fully. We can handle her without problems. She is not a kicker...we can actually milk her in the field, while Gingersnap is nursing...or even while she is not around! Holly licks us as we milk, just as she licks her calf. It's love, love, love!
The cow-calf relationship is masterfully designed! Once Gingersnap was born and began to nurse, uterine contractions increased...helping Holly to birth the placenta. The rich colostrum that Gingersnap had for her first meal, was like those high-energy drinks...immediately her strength increased, allowing her to stand and walk. Holly licks her baby while she is nursing, stimulating the "toileting" of the calf. So many things working together.
As Holly's colostrum transitions to milk, we watch for milk-fever. This is a dangerous condition common to Jersey cows. It is hypo-calcemia. The demand for milk can cause calcium to be drawn from the bones and muscles of the cow...causing weakness and death if not managed. Sadly we experienced this with Holly's mother last year. Not a happy ending for Sweet Pea, but this journey is all about learning, so I researched milk fever and made many changes this year. Mostly, we did not have Holly on grain during her pregnancy. A diet of concentrates vs. forage contributes to this condition. We gave a Saf-Cal oral calcium right after birthing, and every 12 hours for 2 days. Lastly, we watched Holly for signs of weakness or "depression". Nightly checks in the barn with flashlights, making sure she could get up, she was chewing her cud, and that her ears were warm. I have read that cold ears are an early symptom of milk fever.
We have had a concern with congested udder/ udder edema. We have taken advice from 3 dairy farmers that we trust. Currently, we are applying warm compresses, massaging the udders and milking out several times/day. It is improving. We are watching closely for signs of mastitis (hot udder/painful udder/stringy/clotty milk) So far, none are present. Just a new udder, getting used to the new "function" of milk production. We are enjoying the time spent with Holly and the "investment" in our future years of milk-production with her. She seems to like the special attention she is getting from the family.
Dennis and Alex completed the stanchion/head-stock and milking parlor today! What a blessing that is. We have to walk Holly up the driveway about 100 yards. Thankfully she is halter broken (mostly!). Holly does not like to be sprayed with the natural/herbal fly spray that we have been using...the flies are awful this year...every time she hesitated while walking up the drive, Austyn gave her a little spray with the herbal...she took the cue and walked on! Her reward of beet-pulp, molasses and a small amount of grain was waiting for her in the milk stand. It was a very pleasant experience. This is VERY important, as a cow will not "let-down" if she is upset. I think it is the para-sympathetic nervous system that is responsible for the let-down of milk. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the "fight-or-flight" response. These 2 systems oppose one another...can not work together...so we need to keep the dogs away, use quiet, soothing commands to assure that Holly feels safe when milking...so that she will "let down" willingly!
We are thankful that Holly is well and that she gave us a sweet little Gingersnap! What a great gift!
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