CALVING IN FREEZING WEATHER

       It's -14 degrees at 11:30 a.m., and the cows are starting to calve. We lost one calf last night. The cow had separated herself from the herd during feeding time, gone through a gate that the guys later closed and she was unable to get back with her other pregnant friends. She and the dead calf were found about six this morning, not far from the gate. The calf was still warm but couldn't be revived. The cow was okey. So sad when those things happen. We are a bit short handed right now as Derrald is laid up and that puts extra pressure on the rest. But we will make it through.
          We had a float in one of the waterers break during the night, so Boyd had to fix that one, and he just came in the house to get a bucket of hot water as one of the other waterers is freezing. There are definite advantage to calving this time of the year, but also some disadvantages. When the weather gets this cold it is a great disadvantage. We are always thankful for a warm home, and for a shed to put the birthing cows in. The sheds don't have heaters but they do have canvas covers to protect the cows from the cold. And we do have the homemade incubator to put the newborns in until they get warm.
      It's a special time on our ranch, a busy time but a time of rejoicing birth. A time for lots of hot chocolate, soup and hot rolls out of the oven. A time to appreciate what we have and recognize what our resposibilities are. And where we are a family-run ranch, it is a time to appreciate and to voice appreciation to our family for all they do.