Iris and Violet are born!

[Icu4dzs]

Well, this year calving has been ok for the most part. Since I lost Daisy and her calf in February things were touchy for me.

Finally we had a brief break in the weather and Violet was born on 13 APR.

The next day it snowed and was wet and cold and icy. Not wanting Rose to deliver a calf outside in the rain, ice and snow, I locked her in a stall with a thick bedding of hay, a small round bale of hay, and a 2 bushel basket of water which I filled every day and gave her some nice corn/creep feed every day.

Yesterday, I went out to feed Rose and noticed that she looked really "skinny". Then it dawned on me, DUH...she delivered. So I looked down in the stall and there was Iris. She was up against the wall (NOT on the bed of hay) but just barely born...maybe an hour at the most. There was no sign of afterbirth and she was kind of dried off but still moist so I took a towel and dried her even more. Rose just stood there and let me dry her. She hadn't even stood up yet she was so new. HOOOOORRAAAAYYYY!!!!

I went over and closed the barn door a bit to keep the wind down inside the barn and waited. Sure enough in a little while she began to try to stand up. I was Soooo happy.

I had to leave the farm and stay in town because I was on call, but fully expect to see her running around behind Rose today.
Violet is so much bigger than the day she was born and so this year's calving season was 100%!
I am so relieved. Both were 1st calf heifers. Now they are Moms!
//BT//
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[Neko-chan]

...

 

[Icu4dzs]

Thank you, Neko. It was so kind of you to notice. Many read but not many take the time to express their feelings. I was happy when I wrote it, but not now. I found Iris lying dead in a puddle of cold water when I arrived home from the hospital today.

My joy is now grief and despite this fact, at least one more chick hatched from the two that I took straight out of the coop about 19 days ago.

I have been thinking about this ever since i got home tonight.

An Open Letter to the Angel of Death

Dear Sir:
I am writing to you tonight to express my deep and overwhelming grief and dismay at your recent visit to my farm today. Once again, you have come to my farm as an unwanted guest to rob from me that which is most vulnerable and innocent.

Yesterday, my beautiful calf was brought into this world by her young mother who suffered the pain of carrying this calf for the past 9 months and bore her pain to give birth to her and now you come to my farm and rob not only me but her! What does she do now? She has no baby to suckle her swollen udder and she stands over the body and cries. Now she not only feels the pain of birth, she feels the pain of loss and the pain of her swollen body that no calf will relieve.

This is not the first time you have come unwanted to my farm. In February, you took my beautiful cow Daisy (Iris's grandmother) and her calf as well. Why? What did they do to deserve so undignified an experience as to die in the snow? Last year in April, you came in the form of some miserable varmint and took all of my beautiful hens and my rooster similar to that time in September of 2008 when you took 7 of my 9 hens and my rooster. Why are you so disdainful of my effort to take care of my own needs rather than depend on others to do it for me? Is this repayment for some misdeed of my own?

Every time I get to the point where I am finally about to recover from the grief of your theft, you do it again. Have you no shame? Does your ego allow you to think that you will break my spirit? You have traveled the farms of my county for the past several weeks attempting to break the spirit of my fellow South Dakotans and I can assure you that no matter how hard you try, you may annoy us but you will NEVER break us!

You sir are supposed to come in the form of a long lost friend, to help guide a tired old traveler to their long awaited home of joy and yet you come to steal the youth and take their chance to enjoy what this world has to offer.

I am however reminded that you sometimes make choices as to exactly who you take when you are sent on your mission. I am reminded of the time you and your companion visited the farm of an old man and his wife. They invited you into their home and fed you and gave you a warm place to sleep for the night, but then on the following day, you left taking with you their cow. When your companion asked why you would take the poor old farmer's cow that he could hardly afford to lose after his generous hospitality toward you and your companion you answered, "I was sent to bring his wife, but chose instead to take his cow."

Well sir, I live alone here on the high prairie so I am not sure who else you could have taken this time other than me but if that is the will of the Almighty Supreme Architect of the Universe then there is nothing I can do or say to prevent you from doing your job.

It is however true that I spend my every waking moment of my day in the profession where I make my best effort to keep you away from the people in my town and this world for as long as I possibly can, always knowing that you will always win, eventually. Why do I work so hard to beat you knowing that I will never win? Often I ask my self the same question. 30 years ago, you took my son. Today, you took my calf. You visit my town with regularity and for reasons I can only begin to guess, you must get orders from some other source because I do not believe that G*d in HIS wisdom makes poor choices. I would however, at some point before you come to escort me, like to know just how you make YOUR decisions so that I might, if only once, win my fight with you, if only for a few minutes.

//BT//
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[Farmfresh]

So sorry for your losses. Sometimes things are just hard to understand. They seem so unfair.

Will you be able to at least milk Rose?

 

[Lady Henevere]

So sorry for the loss of Iris. Congrats about Violet and your chicks. I hope they live long and happy lives.

 

[framing fowl]

Losing a life in any form is never easy. You have a beautiful way with words and your letter was very touching. We keep opening our hearts and fighting for life because there is joy and blessing between the coming and going.

 

[Boogity]

Aww man! So sorry to hear of your difficulties. What a bummer.

 

[Denim Deb]

So sorry.

 

[AnnaRaven]

 

[justusnak]

So sorry for the loss of your calf. You have a beautiful way of expressing yourself.