A Surprise Calf

We bought a bred cow back in January. Friskie is a red Belted Galloway cow. (Belted Galloway cattle come in three colors. Black is the most common, but they also can be red. Our herd bull is dun, a shade of brown. All Belted Galloway cattle should have a complete white belt around their body between their front and back legs.) But when we bought Friskie, we didn't know when she had been bred. As a result, we weren't sure when she would calve.

​Last week, she began to act as if she might be about to calve. So we started to watch her closely. On Sunday, during a rain storm, Friskie surprised us with a small red heifer calf, which weighed about 30 pounds. We are glad that her calf is healthy and doing well, but disappointed that this calf does not have a complete belt. Occasionally, the genetics which give the Belted Galloway their belt are not strong enough, and the belt is incomplete.

On Tuesday, while checking on Friskie and her calf, Jeff got an even bigger surprise. Lying on the ground, side by side, were two red calves! One calf had a complete belt and one did not. Apparently, Friskie had a second heifer calf, weighing about 35 pounds, either before or after, the calf we had observed on Sunday. Friskie is nursing both calves and they follow her around the pasture. What a pleasant surprise!