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.
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| 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...
