Happy Birthday Biscuit!

My little Biscuit is a year old!  I can't believe it!  This time last year, I was making trips to the barn every 2 hours with a bottle of warm milk to feed our tiny preemie calf.  After the third or fourth night in barn boots, pajamas and a coat, I was pretty tempted to get a large pet carrier and keep her in the house at night.  We don't have premature calves very often, in fact the last one we had this small that I can remember was when I was in high school (and no, we're not going to start counting years).  Preemies can be difficult to keep alive, so the fact that she's a year old is a pretty big deal.

Biscuit - already a year old

Raising cattle can bring many different challenges and every day seems to bring new problems &/or accomplishments.  Dairy farming can be even more difficult at times because we commit so much time to our animals.  Taking a time off requires planning; a lot of planning.  Some dairy farmers I know are fortunate enough to have employees they trust their farms and animals with while they get away for a day or two.  We don't have any employees, so our time away from the farm is usually savored.  The milking still has to be done twice a day, every day...no exceptions.

I know my kids take living on a farm for granted at times, but having a preemie to care for definitely gave them a new appreciation for the huge responsibility we have.  It doesn't matter that Biscuit is a beef heifer and not dairy; we take the best possible care of all our animals.  We did give her some extra grain instead of  cake and ice cream (although she may have eaten the ice cream - she's quite spoiled).  I thought about trying to get a picture of her with a party hat but I'm pretty sure she would have tried to eat it.  Oh well, maybe I can get one of her with a Santa hat for Christmas.  Hmmm...