our weekend with the baby

Well we have settled back into the life of a dairy. Milking twice a day. It's nice. I have yet to milk Maggie at this time. I know my time is coming soon, but my husband has been doing the milking. I'm OK with that. Like I said there will be plenty of time for me to get my turn! I'm looking forward to it!

Miking Maggie for the first time this freshening 

 We are letting Daffodil stay right with Maggie and eat whenever she wants to. There is still some colostrum in the milk, and we think it's better for her mama to raise her, and we just gentle her and get her used to people. It worked well with Dandie, so we'll go this way again. We'll probably wean her at 6-8 weeks or so.
 Daffodil is wonderful. She keeps mama and big sister on their toes with her antics. She goes out in the pasture, sticks her tail straight up in the air and runs! Then stops, and lets them catch up to her, then takes off again. It's quite funny to watch. She'll try her hand at a leap in the air, and fall over. She is still working on her landing!

Our herd.

On Sunday morning when my husband went out to milk he fed Maggie, and she didn't eat her grain. He felt her ears, and they were cold. He knew that was some signs of milk fever. We've been keeping an eye on her for this. He called a nearby farmer and he said he would come right over and help give her some calcium (that is what they need when they have milk fever). When they get milk fever it's after they calve. She was just at the beginning of it. Another sign is they can't stand up, their muscles won't let them. This is when it's farther along. They can die from this if not treated. The kiddos and I headed off to church. I was reluctant to go, but did. I knew she was in good hands, and would be in contact with him. She was given the medicine, it takes about 2 hours to work, so he stayed home to keep an eye on her. She did come out of it. She was outside laying in the sun with her girls when I got home. I asked how she was and he said fine. Sunday night she ate some of her grain, before Daffodil decided to sleep in it, and her ears were warm again. We were
pleased with that. This morning she ate her grain, her ears are warm, and she is now outside eating with her girls. Another lesson in dairying life for me. A whole new lesson. I'm thankful it turned out well and that this was caught early and the end result ended well too. Very thankful for the help that came too, with no hesitation on his part, he helped when we needed it.

Sunday morning snuggle time with mama!

Have a great day all!