11/5/2023
DATE | TIME | CONDITIONS | OBSERVATIONS |
11/5/2023 | AM | Mid 40s Light Fog | Liberty is with the herd & grazing. Occasional grunts for Midge. Mama is keeping her in sight at all times. Yuchi & Cimarron seem to buddy with her most often. Canada is keeping her at a distance. |
11/5/2023 | Mid Day | High 60s Sunny/Clear | Bulls are in south corner backfield being bachelors. Rest of the herd is grazing hay stacks. Liberty has been eating good, comes for drinks at the trough with the herd. At 1:46 she wandered from the herd toward the woods, after a couple of grunts, Mama stopped grazing and caught up with her. Mama stayed between her and the herd until Yuchi caught up and followed Liberty out of sight. Once El was with Mama, they too disappeared into the woods after Liberty. Herd then followed. |
11/5/2023 | PM | Dusk-(5:30) Cooling low 50s | Herd is together, Liberty following the lead of others and continues constant/steady grazing. Belly looks round. Need to pull fecals for follow-up to 2ccs of Dectomax 3 weeks ago. Mama was less attentive, seemed more relaxed and confident in Liberty's wandering around with other herd mates. All came to the gate when I called, but Liberty is unsure what to do with herself in that close-up situation. Good sign. Her instincts are alert and self-preservation appears on par. Not afraid, but aware and cautious. Trying to find the acceptable balance for my presence and them restructuring the social ladder is a challenge. *Sidenote: Nate is still nursing his gut-wound. No drainage, no swelling, wound is clean and closing. From size/circumference, definitely appears to be a Cadillac horn, and Nate's behavior around Cadillac is one that indicates he took a beatdown for some reason and doesn't want a round 2. **Sidenote: Grasses are all gone after last week's two-day record-breaking cold. Hay distribution is now twice daily AM/PM and output is max. |
Happy with the progress I'm seeing in such a short time. Still worry about Liberty because she is so small. 70 lbs, and should have had another 4-6 months of milk available. Will that stunt her growth? Will size impact immunity?
If Mama continues the role of surrogate, will Liberty be a higher-ranking herd member than she was born to be as Midge's calf? Has Liberty's destiny been changed?
11/6/2023
L= High 40s/H = Low 70s Sunny Clear Breezy SW winds
Liberty is around more of the herd without Mama guarding. She's not searching for Midge any longer, and seems to have accepted that she's now on her own. She is trying to find a place among the younger heifers and Seneca for companionship but will tag along with Yuchi at times.
Mama is still adamant that my presence is not fully trusted and welcomed at this point. So I'm giving them distance. I talk to the herd while putting out hay so my voice will be a common sound and [hopefully] remind them I've been of no threat so far. I always remind myself to "think like a buffalo" -- and, while I'm not one of the herd, I am accepted as a non-threat at most times when around them. So, hopefully. I'm a part of the social re-structuring and that is what Mama's message is to me.
Liberty's appetite appears better than ever. But, she's now lacking the mothers milk and nourishment. So I want to keep an eye on her intake, her "output" and visibly monitor weight/body condition. I am expecting her digestive system to show signs of shock since her weaning was abrupt and strictly solids/forages and water are now her only sources.
11/7/2023
L = Low 50s/H = mid 70s Clear/Sunny no breeze
Today I avoided in-field observation till late afternoon. The herd stayed primarily in the backfield and woods most of the morning and early afternoon. When I went to clean and refill the troughs, they came into the corrals.
I put fresh minerals in the tubs and Liberty showed zero concern about getting her share. There was no horsing or bullerying from older calves or yearlings. Apparently, Mama has made it clear to leave this one alone for now.
As I watched the tiny little thing bounce around from tub to tub to get her share, I realized she was staying pretty close to El today. When Mama brought the herd in, El and Liberty followed together behind her. In the corral, Liberty would search for El. But then two things happened, the first nearly brought tears to my eyes, the second just melted me.
First, once Mama had her fill of minerals she started searching the corral for the babies (El AND Liberty). When she got to the two of them, she started grooming Liberty.
Just typing that still makes me a little emotional. I was sure that Liberty would never again feel a 'mother's attention'...but that dang old ornery cow just proved me wrong and I am so very thankful she did!
The second thing that I watched happen that gave me even more reassurance was the exit from the corral. Three of the cows (with calves) stood outside the corral waiting for their calves to follow orders. Typically, Mama gives a few grunts for El and then starts to move on, knowing that El will follow and catch up. But today, Mama waited for El and Liberty both to respond and catch up with her before leading them out through the fields. It was so touching to see little Liberty trotting alongside El as they followed her across the hill.
*Note - El tried to nurse 3 times around the corrals, Mama kicked her off. Not sure if this was because Liberty was in tow, or if she's tired of nursing. Seems a little early for the weaning, but -- El is a HUGE heifer, so will monitor.
11/8/2023
L = High 40s/H = Low 80s Clear/Sunny DRY no breeze
Hay intake is increasing. Liberty is showing some signs of increased loose bowels. I have to assume this is the result of the dietary changes. But will be pulling fecals for assurance that the stress has not increased susceptibility for increased parasites.
She is becoming more independent, not that she realizes it. She's just moving around and doing what the herd does, what her instincts are telling her to do. But her independence from Mama's watchfulness is growing. She moves off with the "bigger kids" more and is approaching me with Midge's same curiosity. Interesting...that whole "nature vs nurture" test -- will Midge's personality, traits, behaviors, health, etc play the key to who Liberty becomes? Or will the herd matriarch's influence her more?
Milkshake is helping with the oversight more today. Mama is off doing the lead cow stuff, like inspecting every hay stack I place before deciding if she wants to eat it or move on to the next one. That old gal does not miss a meal.
The girls are all seeming more settled with the new changes, and are again approaching and following me around safely as I put out hay morning and evening. And, if they hear me at the barn or the corrals, Canada or Milkshake will come to check on me.
Liberty in the meantime is spending time with both El and Cimerron today. Yuchi checks on Liberty but seems to be more attached to his mommy again since Midge (his buddy) is gone.
*3 different wildfires in close proximity are being monitored. 2 around Parrotsville side and 1 on the mountain on the Tweed side of the Cherokees.
11/9/2023
L = high 50s/H = mid 70s Sunny with some clouds winds out of the SW (high at times)
Air quality today was poor. A lot of smoke from the fires. Tweed area has crossed the mountain and is visible from the farm. Air support is dumping water and ground control is working non-stop to get it under control. Reported 70 acres remains out of control by nightfall. *For some reason, Marshall Tucker Band's "Fire on the Mountain" played on loop in my mind all day*
Forecast calls for rain early morning and parts of Friday. So, I put out about 500 lbs of hay in total today hoping that it rains and I won't have to get out on the fields in the morning.
Liberty is looking so dark today. Almost as if her 'red dog' babyhood disappeared overnight. I'd like to see a growth spurt right away. She's still so much smaller than the other '23 calves, given, she is 2 months younger than them and Midge was a small cow. But her size is worrisome in comparison to the others. Especially with winter around the corner.
She is trying to be a big girl, but still too small to reach the herds trough for cool drinks. So her 'baby trough' remains available. She understands the pecking order. And, the yearlings and calves accept that she has to get into the watering area with them, so she's drinking plenty and staying hydrated without milking.
Showing signs of some diarrhea, but may be the additional water that is the culprit. Fecals haven't been collected because she has not voided at all when I'm in the fields monitoring. But her weight appears to be remaining steady, her hips area is still frail and needs to round out (gain), but not really noticing any loss of mass.
11/10/2023
L= high 40s/H = low 60s Overcast High humidity a light sprinkle this morning
Plenty of Timothy hay piles left scattered around the fields this morning. Herd is choosing to overgraze the fields rather than eat the Timothy. Orchard hay is preferred currently.
Liberty is doing amazing! She eats from her hay piles like a champ. She's on the herd's schedule. If they rest, she rests. If they move, she moves. This afternoon she finished filling up on a hay pile, then walked over to where Cimerron lay and cozied up next to her (until the yearling bulls got rowdy next to them). Once the boys got Cimerron up, she decided it was time for Liberty to be on her feet as well. But Liberty was ready for rest and eventually, she lay a few feet away from El and Mama. Canada is still not giving her a second glance, but Milkshake and Mama seem to always know where she is.
Again no fecals. If none collected in the early morning I may have to run her through the chute to collect. Just wanting to avoid the additional stress to her if possible.
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