#calfwatch2015

February. The time of year when the cowboys start checking heifers every 2 hours. Watching for new calves. More specifically, watching for trouble with calving. The heifers (first-time mamas) need help gettin’ that big calf out, occasionally. So we watch. And on Instagram (my favorite social media platform!) you can search #calfwatch2015 and bring up a lot of ranchers and cowboys who are checking heifers and watching for calves. Because the babies – they are what we plan our whole year around. 🙂Even when there is snow, we the guys go out and check on the livestock. Especially when there is snow. I go out sometimes… but not usually. 😉 When a heifer is giving birth, we bring her into the warm barn, out of the snow and cold. She stays there a day or two, giving the baby a chance to dry off, and giving the two of them a chance to bond a bit before we take them out to the ‘heifer-pasture’. These new mamas need a bit of help at times, getting used to being a mama. After the first year, they are usually just fine. Our boss recently hired an extra hand for night-calving. That way my husband (and our boss) can sleep all night. 🙂 Incidentally, the nightcalver is my brother-in-law.