Every Day Is Special

It is spring time and our thoughts turn to babies. Many animals have their young in the spring. However, here at Cinnamon Ridge, we have our dairy calves through out the year. Even though newborn calves happen almost everyday, it is still magical to watch a calf being born. I is a site I do not get tired of watching. The cows maternal instincts kick in and she starts tending to the calf. Other cows will come and help the new mother as well.

In addition to the dairy cows, we have Angus beef cows. Soon they will begin to calve. Some of them will have Angus calves and others will have a Jersey calf. We use some of our beef cows as surrogate mothers for our really good Jersey cows. Another species we have at Cinnamon Ridge is goats. They started having their offspring earlier when it was much colder. Despite the cold weather,  we have a new crop of young goats.

Not every calving goes as nature plans. Sometimes the cow needs help. This is where our daughter, Amy is there to help the cow. Even with Amy's expertise she sometimes needs to call her father in to help. A farmer will work hard to save a calf and each time a calf is saved, there is a sense of joy. If we are unable to save a calf, we all feel a sense of loss. 

So while calving can be stressful and cause us to have late hours, it is one of the miraculous things we are treated to on almost a daily basis.