Jembella Farm: Rosie - Update 48 hours later.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Rosie - Update 48 hours later.

What a difference 48 hours makes!
Rosie spent her first forty eight hours with us confined in a small yard adjoining the dairy and cow paddocks so the big cows could smell her through the fence and touch noses.
Last evening, after checking her poo was a good healthy colour and consistency, and after we had finished milking Daisy and Lavender, we allowed Rosie to join the cows.
She checked out those very tempting looking udders on both cows and was gently pushed away each time.
Watching her discover she had legs that could run and kick, galloping around the paddock with Blossom, was such a joy as we said good night to the cows and came inside for our evening meal.
The above photo I snapped this morning while I was milking Daisy, so it appears our Lavender is going to be an outstanding foster mum. She happily stood and was fully aware that it was not her own calf drinking because Blossom was sleeping in the sun a short distance in front of her.
For my own sense of peace, I mixed up a small amount of half water, half milk in her calfeteria and offered it to her after she had finished suckling from Lavender. She took a half hearted sip and was clearly quite satisfied, and so was I.
That was easy!

6 comments:

Unknown8 December 2015 at 17:34
yay! I love seeing calves playing together :) Our cows are not so gentle to push calves away, but luckily the hungry calves are persistent. Lavender is very sweet, our cows will only take one calf at a time...
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Sue8 December 2015 at 21:17
I'm so glad that went well. One less job for you to do each morning and a happy calf too :-)
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Emma Christian8 December 2015 at 22:27
Naw, so beautiful! <3
xx
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Emma Christian11 December 2015 at 10:23
Yep, anyone can comment here now! I also have mine set to moderate so I quickly read and and post them, and I usually go back to comment later on them. I don't want anything unkind/inappropriate to go though. So far I have been lucky but my blog is quite small. :)

xx
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About Us

Whether you're living in an apartment, in a house in the suburbs or on acres, you can live frugally and sustainably. There are many things you can do to save money, eat ethically and healthily, reduce waste and live an enriched life.
We are Sally and Brian and we live in the Barossa Valley (South Australia) in a 100 year old house on sixteen acres with 2 dogs, 7 cows, 2 alpacas, 5 geese, 35 chickens, 78 sheep and a few bee hives.
Our way of life takes team work and dedication, but over the years we've learned to be more productive without seeming to put in quite so much effort. We've learned through making mistakes and taking a different approach to what the conventional ways would be. Still learning every day and constantly researching old and new methods, we believe that our lives are greatly enriched, we are healthier and we couldn't imagine any other way of life.
Considered to be living The Good Life, people love to visit us on our small farm to learn about our simple living philosophy.

Why do we do it?
Our love of good food, concern for our health and respect for all animals. The further we got into living on the land the more aware we became that most of the standard practices of growing food were not satisfactory. We couldn't eat with a clear conscience.
Milk from sad cows, pasteurized and homogenized into white liquid. Meat from distressed, hormone and antibiotic pumped livestock. Vegetables and fruits grown and sprayed with chemicals. What to do? Grow our own!
Slowly we grew our knowledge and took one step at a time, becoming proficient in one skill before moving on to the next. The learning curves were steep. We fell over and got back up again. There has been some derision and criticism of our approach from a few, but that's life when you swim against the tide.
If we are not the "norm" then so be it. There is nothing "normal" about growth hormones fed to beef, anti-biotics and chemicals fed routinely to chickens, cruelty and disrespect for farmed animals, meals in a box, GM foods, strawberries and tomatoes in winter.
Thankfully the World is waking up to cleaner and more ethical food. We didn't know back then that Organics and Bio-dynamics would become the "new black". The tide is turning and our swimming is becoming easier.