Fathers Day Morning

[Dempsy's Mom]

Fathers Day Morning was a busy morning.  First we went for a short sweep of the farm on the 4-wheeler - note Demps and Els butt-to-butt for better balance .... now that's using their heads.    Then Oops'es mom couldn't find Oops and she was frantically searching for her little Oops.  We found her comfortable resting outside her pen on the other side of the shed.  I gathered her up in my arms and carried her over and she was quick to find breakfast.  Note her little bottom teeth showing in that pic - Doesn't she have the sweetest little face?  Almost as cute as a baby Cairn. Then, while checking the remaining heifers to calve, we discovered a new baby.  Now Oops has a playmate - On that last clip that is little Oops running out to meet her playmate.  At the very end on the clip you can kinda see the two calves together.  Oops is on the left and is about two weeks old - the newborn is on the right and is a pretty normal sized calf. 

Anyway - we hope you all had a wonderful Fathers Day with your two legged and four legged families!

Edited June 20, 2016 by Dempsy's Mom

[Idaho Cairns]

Ah yes, on a farm the work goes on everyday--no sitting around basking in the celebration of "your day" with the kids.  Love the video--Oops is coming along well, he's a handsome little fellow and has a good voice as well.

 

[Sam I Am]

Oops is adorable...enough for me to have to give up eating beef I think!

[Sam I Am]

Do the mums ever charge you, or do they know you and don't?

[hheldorfer]

Loved the video.  Dempsy and Elsie are very smart, bracing their butts together for balance.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Yes they do.  And sometimes they have a good inkling too, but decide to go with the intimidation stare instead.  Like this mom - she gave us "the look."  It depends on their hormones and personality.  Oops mom is very sweet and this new mom is good too.  You learn to read them.

[sanford]

5 hours ago, hheldorfer said:

Dempsy and Elsie are very smart, bracing their butts together for balance.

Yes... I also got a chuckle, seeing how they braced themselves - butt to butt!?

[Malcolm's Dad]

What a day. Searching for the missing Oops. Looks like she wasn't going to get up. Glad you had a good day.

[Autumn & Lola]

On 20/06/2016 at 5:06 PM, Dempsy's Mom said:

Yes they do.  And sometimes they have a good inkling too, but decide to go with the intimidation stare instead.  Like this mom - she gave us "the look."  It depends on their hormones and personality.  Oops mom is very sweet and this new mom is good too.  You learn to read them.

What do you do if they charge you? Run? Scream? Faint? Pray to baby Jesus? Threaten to turn them into hamburger?

[Dempsy's Mom]

Haha.  You stand you ground and whap them across the nose with a stick. If you run, then you have a mean cow forever.

[Sam I Am]

OMG.... Lori you are a very brave gal! I once owned an Irish wolfhound who used to be able to run circles around my galloping horse...one day i was driven out to a field to be shown the new calves. Pepper, the IWH , upset the mamas, by just being there. The mama started chasing her , Pepper flew under the truck out of harms way, but them Mama decided we were just as good to chase. She chased us around the truck , I don't think I have ever moved that fast in my life...we leaped into the truck just before I am sure she would have killed us. She has a rack of horns to boot!

[Dempsy's Mom]

A mad cow can definitely raise your adrenaline.  Most of the time they learn respect with a hit of the stick across their nose and allow you to go about your business with their calf.  But sometimes they are just plain ticked off.  It is not fun to be engaged with a cows overwhelming desire to kill you.  I have been lucky and am more than willing to retire from calving.  All farmers that calve cows have stories that will make you tremble in your boots.  Now days they have cages that farmers/ranchers can put on their 4 wheelers.  They drop the cage over the calf before they attempt to work on them.  I have never used one, but they say once you use one you won't do it any other way.  I think I will just retire. ... but I am glad I was giving the chance in life to work with cattle.  It's been a great ride.

[Autumn & Lola]

16 hours ago, Dempsy's Mom said:

Haha.  You stand you ground and whap them across the nose with a stick. If you run, then you have a mean cow forever.

Woah!  You are one tough lady!  But you can't retire because we all enjoy your farm stories too much. Or will Dempsey take over the farm?

 

[Autumn & Lola]

15 hours ago, Terrier lover said:

OMG.... Lori you are a very brave gal! I once owned an Irish wolfhound who used to be able to run circles around my galloping horse...one day i was driven out to a field to be shown the new calves. Pepper, the IWH , upset the mamas, by just being there. The mama started chasing her , Pepper flew under the truck out of harms way, but them Mama decided we were just as good to chase. She chased us around the truck , I don't think I have ever moved that fast in my life...we leaped into the truck just before I am sure she would have killed us. She has a rack of horns to boot!

Holy Moly!  You were lucky!

However, this raises another question - and why Lori can't retire. I thought only boy cows (bulls) had a rack of horns or big horns. I thought girl cows only had small, dainty ones.   And while we are on the subject, can female cows be used for beef? or are they only for milk? AND - if they *are* only for milk, what happens when they get old or don't give any more milk? And what type/gender of cows are used to make leather? See, I have many cow-related questions to be answered! Well, there's always Google I guess...

 

[Dempsy's Mom]

Yes google.  To many cow questions for cairn talk.  The most important one from you list is:  We feed out the cows and they make the beef.  We have only had a couple bulls (when they break a leg or a back) and that's usually all hamburger - at the butcher they mixed a little fat with it. 

[Autumn & Lola]

Thanks for that. Good to know.

I spent last night Googling cows and Harry Styles. It was a weird night.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 

[LindaMC]

Loved the video and Oops is adorable!  Love your farm....I've always wanted to live on a farm and have lots of animals, unfortunately it never came to be, but always enjoy watching other people's clips of their's.  Thanks for sharing!

[sanford]

On June 23, 2016 at 10:10 AM, Dempsy's Mom said:

 Too many cow questions for cairn talk...

Yes, Lori... Too many questions, but that is understandable because you seem to lead the most interesting/challenging/exciting life on this site! ?

Like most of us here, I always look forward to your posts & pix of life on the farm, but as you suggest, I'll save most of my questions for Mr. Google!?