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06/30/2007: "More Baby Pictures"

Here's more pictures of Living Green's Rainbow.


We managed to get Aura to put her head in the stanchion, which allowed us free access to the calf. Aura bellowed and mooed and tried to break the stanchion, but it was a quality construction job and held her tight (thanks Mark!). So we took turns playing with Rainbow. We picked up each hoof, stuck our fingers in her mouth, her ears and all over her face and body. She needs to get used to having humans handle her all over. And day one seemed to go pretty well.

More below!



She's starting to scamper about a bit and enjoy testing out her legs. After a while though, she exhausts her muscles and lays down trembling. She's very cute.


Her coat is all dry now and she's a glossy black with a few white spots on her belly. My black cat, Winter, also has white spots on her belly. I guess it's a theme around here. Her hooves had a gelatinous covering on them that she wore off throughout the day. It worried us a little to see her slightly spongy hooves, but we quickly figured out that she has nice hard hooves underneath.

Aura is doing very well, and aside from a reduction in the size of her belly and various bits of membrane she is still passing, you couldn't tell she has just given birth. We're hoping her attitude might mellow out a bit. She's a little bit of a concern when you come between her and the calf.


This is a quart of colostrum, the first milk produced by the cow. It's full of antibodies that the little guy needs. Nate calls it "an immune system in a teat". The calf hadn't taken much colostrum (but is nursing), so we decided to milk Aura mostly out this evening. We found a recipe for "colostrum custard" that we might try. Nate took a sip earlier and said it was very thick and rich, like a custard, with a custard flavor even.


The colostrum was a hit with Winter, she of the white spots. She drank an entire saucerful (we had to look up the discography of Pink Floyd to make sure I spelled saucerful correctly...) Nate says he might try some with his yogurt tomorrow, unless it's too delicious straight.

We're very happy to have a lactating cow again. We've missed our cream, milk, cheese, whey, and especially kefir. It'll be a few milkings before she starts giving regular milk, but we'll be ready. We're also considering adding a weiner pig to our farm to help take care of the excess skim and buttermilk. But now I think everyone's ready for a night of rest. What a day!