Best Laid Plans

I must learn to be careful what I write. Just as soon as I put fingertips to keyboard and publish a post, the universe conspires to change things up on me again. A week ago Thursday, I told you how Chuck was taking flying runs at his elders but Mabel was not. The next day, she decided to outdo her brother. As with all other things, she puts even more energy and enthusiasm into her latest tricks than does Chuck. While Chuck sneaks up from behind, Mabel is now launching full-frontal assaults. While her vertical lift on approach is impressive, my joy at her athleticism is somewhat tempered by the fact that she is not nearly so easily parried as the boy buff.  Trying to defend against both simultaneously has quickly put paid to any notion I had about relaxing in the pasture with these two.

And it's not just me. Mabel took to play charging Effie and Eschol on the other side of the electric fence. I don't know if Eschol couldn't take the taunting or if it was the agitation of yet another flash flood Friday afternoon (no lasting damage this time--just lots of black walnut limbs that had to be removed from the electric fences), but I awoke around 5:30am Saturday to the sounds of a very unhappy buffalo.

Effie was racing back and forth through the fish pond completely beside herself, grunting like crazy. I went over toward the barns to check on the others and Effie followed close behind. A very saggy electric fence tipped me off right away that Eschol had unilaterally decided to reunite the herd. Something about the sound of flood waters really seems to get him going. I assumed he was up in the big barn with Audrey and the calves, so I raced to erect the electric fence behind the big barn that serves as my only protected access when the bull is in residence. Then I had to take down the electric fence that Eschol had jumped to let Effie through before he spotted me. I think Eschol was well-pleased with himself and was thoroughly occupied with re-establishing his position as king of the barn. Me, I wasn't too pleased about all that excitement before breakfast (and more importantly, before coffee).

Well, so much for my idea about hanging out with the calves. And letting Audrey have the good grazing on the Booth to herself. The reunited herd complicates life for me but it also simplifies things (only one water tank, one mineral block, one herd to move....). On the whole, I think they're much happier being back together. There was a day or two of Eschol chasing the calves but they are both fast and sure of hoof these days so they were able to keep ahead of his horns for the most part. I'm glad they had a few weeks to get strong. Eschol didn't let them get much nursing done in that first day of reunion but things have calmed down considerably. He's still trying to mate with Audrey and Effie and that's not great but they know how to resist his advances. It's the barn that suffers when he gets frustrated. And Audrey got a little roughed up by Eschol and Effie as they re-established the pecking order but no lasting damage that I can see.

On the plus side, the calves are learning to wallow properly. Audrey didn't waste any time once she got access to the big wallow again. I went out one morning to find this adorable scene:

Baby's first wallow. Mabel took to it just like she'd been doing it forever. I can't wait 'til she starts submerging her head in the water tank and blowing bubbles like her biological mother, Effie. And no worries about getting stuck in the mud. When she was done she hopped right out from the deepest part of the wallow.

She was in a playful mood that day. First, she went over to bug her brother.

Then she bounded over to check out the lady with the camera.

Then she spied Eschol and Effie up the hill. Maybe they'd like to play. First, gotta get mom out of the wallow and collect Chuck.

Chuck was way ahead of her. He bounded up the hill and nosed Effie, then made a run at Eschol. But as soon as Eschol started to run at him, he made a big course correction and ran up into the barn. Could Chuck be chicken? Just a good survival instinct, I think.

Meanwhile, Mabel made her way up the hill with Audrey. Effie met them halfway and I watched to see if she would show any interest in her calf after all this time.

Nope. Only a little annoyance. Mabel ducked behind Audrey to avoid Miss Shaky Horns then they all proceeded toward the wet-weather creek. Mabel gave it another try, approaching Effie from behind but Effie just walked off so Mabel bounded back to Audrey. I'm not sure if Mabel knows that Effie is her birth mom or if it matters to her. She may just be checking her out the new big creature in her life. I've since seen her do the same with Eschol, fearless little girl that she is.

The rains have continued here, nearly every day. The barn is horribly soggy but the wallow is full. Good thing, too, because it's getting a lot of use now.

And that, my friends, is this week in buffalo.

Effie Does Not Care for Turkey

A few days ago, I crossed Effie and Eschol into the lower pasture for their evening graze. As I turned my attention to preparing my own repast, I looked out the window to see Eschol maxing and relaxing. Effie, true to form, was most definitely not relaxed. She was staring intently toward the corner of the field nearest the house.

The walnut tree obscures the intensity of her gaze but take my word for it--she was not happy. The objects of her attention? A flock of wild turkeys. Sensing that they were unwelcome, the flock of about a dozen hens and juvenile turkeys tried to stick close to the fence. But then Effie charged. The flock split with half heading for the driveway and the other half hugging the edge of the creek. Strangely, they all stayed within the pasture rather than ducking under the wire. Effie seemed pleased to have shooed them away and she bounded back towards Eschol, reveling in her victory.

Victory, as we well know, is often short lived. The split flock tried to reunite on the far side of the pasture.

Not on Effie's watch, oh no. And this time she brought reinforcements.

Two 1500-pound buffalo charging at full speed was enough to convince at least a few of the turkeys that trying to make a graceful exit was not in their best interest.

Much flapping, squawking, and ungainly flight ensued as the laggard turkeys tried to save themselves by making a break for the low branches of the nearest black walnut tree.

Effie did her best to stare them out of their perch but they stayed put while the remainder of the flock snuck out of the pasture. Eventually, Effie lost interest as flight is not nearly as entertaining as fight.

I do not know why Effie does not care for turkey. Certainly, she has chased all manner of critters out of her territory in the past. But the turkeys are frequent visitors here and I can't recall her ever giving chase before. Was it something they said? Maybe they kept her up at night with their incessant gobbling. That would make me cranky, too.

They Grow Up So Fast

Three weeks. It seems impossible that it's been three weeks since the baby buffs were born. It seems equally impossible that there was a time when Chuck and Mabel weren't a part of the daily routine around here. Not just a part--without question the best part.

And so much is changing already. It's rare now for me to find the calves lying down; they're almost always up and exploring or playing. Should I happen upon them at rest time, they quickly jump--not to attention but for attention. (above and below: Chuck left, Mabel right)

Chuck found his land legs. Once he got the hang of running, he seemed to transfer the muscle memory from that experience over to the complexities of walking. His gait no longer looks awkward or unsure. In fact, he seems to have quickly made the leap over to cocksure. Shortly after he discovered the fun of bashing into his sister, he started taking running aim at the back of my knees as I went about cleaning out the barn. Fortunately, he's not nearly as sneaky in his approach as he thinks, so I've managed to keep his not insignificant skull from making more than the lightest contact with my most fragile joints.

More amusing to me is when he spies Eschol on the other side of the electric fence and pretends to charge him. Dad just stands his ground and looks at the little whippersnapper as if to say, "just try that without an electric fence between us, son, and we'll see who the real bull is."

Mabel holds her own well against her brother. Yesterday, I watched as he tried to push her by pressing his head into her chest as hard as he could. She would not be moved. When she wearied of the game, she simply used his head as a lever to launch herself on top of him. Game over. I suspect that will not be his last humiliation at her hooves.




Mabel has shown her own mischievous side. Not towards me. Or even Chuck as far as I've seen. No, she likes to let her playful side come out with Audrey. One steamy afternoon (is there any other kind anymore?), Audrey wanted to roll around in the mud in front of the barn to get a little extra help cooling down. That pink belly is a sure sign that she needs some wallow time.



Mabel thought this was an invitation to play hop on mom.



Mom never gets a moment to herself.

I noticed today that Chuck's horns are already starting to grow. Those little horn buds that were largely hidden by his Elvis hair are starting to get rounder and taller. I'm not looking forward to the day when his horns are long and pointy. So, instead, I'll focus on how good it is to finally feel him filling out a bit--not just skin on those ribs anymore. Both the calves seem taller and more fully-fleshed. Audrey is doing a stellar job keeping these little guys fed. It helps that water buffalo milk has really high butterfat content so the babies put on weight quickly.

What really surprised me was how quickly the calves started to make their first forays into the world of solid food. They were barely a week old when I saw Mabel start to imitate Audrey, grasping a blade of grass with her tongue and shearing it off between her teeth and dental pad. A few days later, I found Chuck nibbling on some old straw in the barn. I don't think either of them is really eating solid food to get nutrition at this point; probably just learning the technique for future reference. But they both regularly drink out of the water tank, proving that they can already take care of their own hydration needs should the milk go away abruptly. Audrey has good incentive to keep the milk flowing, however, as she is getting special feed to keep her strength up. Normally, we keep the buffalo on grass or hay with no grain but lactation is a major energy hog and providing for two calves could seriously sap her reserves, so Audrey gets the royal treatment foodwise (plus lots of extra attention and her own barn for being such a champ).

They haven't started wallowing yet. Audrey seems to be keeping them out of the deep mud. On the rare occasion that she lets them hang with her when she wallows, she keeps them in front of her in the shallowest, firmest part of the wet-weather creek. They get to lie in maybe a half an inch of water but no rolling around in the mud. While that makes them much more pleasant to touch it also means they are attracting a lot of unwanted attention from the ticks. More often than not, Audrey tucks the calves in the barn or some other shady spot before she goes for her mud bath. They get their spa treatment later when I give them nice massages to distract them from the fact that I'm pulling ticks off of them.

I don't feel like these photos are doing full justice to the calves. For instance, I don't think I've managed to capture the little white switch each one has at the end of the tail. Audrey has a nice golden switch and I suspect that as the calves grow up, the deer-like white tip of their tails will become more blond. Well, I guess you'll just have to come visit and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed. These little guys have charmed everyone who's come by so far, from city slickers to seasoned farmers.

Typically, summer is a season of low maintenance and low contact with the buffs. No feeding, no mucking out barns, and just a bit of attention to the water supply is all that's required. Not this summer. But that's ok. Over the weekend, I got the temporary fence put up across the creek so Audrey and the calves can go grazing on the Booth where the forage is plentiful. Effie and Eschol are getting twice-daily excursions into the newly-reinforced lower pasture--more about them in the next post--so everyone is well-fed and seems to be content to stay within the confines of their respective fences. We're all settling in to our new routines.

Note to self: go sit in the field with Chuck and Mabel before they get too big. With Eschol in exile, I am rediscovering the joy of spending time in close contact with the buffalo. When we first got our trio a little over two years ago, I loved hanging out in the pasture with them. It wasn't at all unusual to sit down in the field and have a buffalo come over and lie down next to me and put her head in my lap. That gets trickier as they get older, (and downright stupid with an adult bull), so I need to go make the most of the time I've got before they get big and hormonal. You should, too. Do come visit before they get all grown up.

Chuck and Mabel

So, here we are, several days in and things have calmed down considerably. Audrey's eye cleared up the day after she calved. Eschol and Effie have quieted down now that they're together again. No more jail breaks. Chuck's leg is looking straighter--as much as one that is so naturally knobbly kneed can possibly look--and he and Mabel are both nursing well. The one unfortunate thing is that we never were able to convince Effie to take an interest in her calf. She fought us hard on this one, complete with bluff charging us when we tried to move her into the pasture near the barn where her calf is residing. In the meantime, her udder is getting very flabby. Maybe it never was that full but it sure isn't in good form for providing milk to anyone now.

Audrey, however, is turning out to be a champ at mothering. She is letting both calves nurse and treats them as if they were both her own. If they aren't where she wants them to be, she can move them with just a look or a gentle grunt and boy do they ever respond.  She has taught them how to stay hidden when she goes out to graze and she has both visual and vocal control over them. Several times now, I've gone out to check on them and thought I'd lost a calf. There's not much grass in their pasture (had just taken the herd off of it recently to let it regrow) so it's pretty easy to scan and see everything. Or so I thought. 

See the buffalo? I didn't. That's Chuck in the weeds down by the culvert that runs under the driveway. It wasn't until Audrey and Mabel came out to see why I was wandering around that I figured it out. They made it easy by pointing to him with their gaze. Silly human. They're so easy to fool.

I realized that I didn't give you many pictures of Mabel from her birthday. The second child always gets shafted. Here are a few to help make up for the initial slight. 

Not to worry. She's not hypoxic. Just a weird function of the early morning light in the barn and my limited camera skills. 

That's more like it. Except now she's doing the dog thing with one ear up.

Breakfast time.

It's been fun having both calves at the same time. When I started keeping bees I was told it's best to have two hives so you can compare their progress. As a first-timer with water buffalo, it sure has been helpful to have two. I don't ever know which one is the representative of what is typical and maybe neither of them are but I find seeing the variations between the two somehow calming.

Mabel definitely takes after her biological mother, Effie. Her hide is a slightly lighter color and her haircoat is much less thick than Chuck's. She is also quite assertive about getting her needs met be that food, attention, or time to explore. She found her feet the very first day and has been climbing, running, and jumping ever since. I really need to rent a video camera so I can capture her in all her exuberant glory.

Chuck, on the other hand, is much more like Audrey. Darker coat, thicker hair, and calm. So calm I was worried about him the first few days. He spent so much time lying down, I wasn't sure he was getting enough to eat. Maybe his leg was bothering him. But then I thought about Audrey and realized that it may just be personality. And calm buffalo is so much nicer than spaz buffalo when they get bigger. I've seen enough evidence both on the gozinta and the gozoutta end of the digestive process to know that he's eating.

Chuck was very slow to find his feet. He's still not a graceful walker but he is moving around more as of yesterday. And today he discovered running. He's much better with momentum on his side. Maybe he's overthinking things when he tries to walk. I notice that he seems unsure of what order the hooves are supposed to hit the ground. He's very tentative. And when he goes to turn left for example, instead of moving the left front foot first, he picks up the right and crosses it over the left. But when he goes pronking across the barn floor or races out into the pasture, he has no such hesitation. The little spurts of energy don't last too long but they sure are a delight to see.


Also new today, sibling playtime. Today's the first I've seen these two really interact with each other beyond jockeying for pole position at the udder. They are starting to sniff each other, bump into each other, nap together, and generally act like they recognize that they're part of a herd, not just individual buffs. 


I am loving early mornings in the barn right now. Everyone's very mellow and there's a lot of love going around. The calves run up to me when I arrive, sometimes to their mother's consternation when she clearly is trying to get some rest and rumination time. It's best if I can sneak in while they're nursing so I can just sit and watch and listen to happy slurpy sounds. Then we can have playtime when they're done. Both calves are already doing the roll over for a belly rub thing. I love that this behavior seems hardwired in them. It's also a hoot to see a calf do it. Mabel's so flexible that she flops over on her back like a dog, letting her legs flop out on each side. That won't last long I'm sure but it sure is cute. I try to soak in as much of this happy as I can before returning to the long to-do list.


Right now, we're running two separate herds in our very limited space. And the flood threw our rotational grazing plan into disarray. It would be tough with one unified herd but with two groupings, it's really nuts. Normally, I love a good logistical challenge but this may eventually outstrip even my considerable talents in this arena. We made some progress clearing out flood debris and taking out the damaged barbed-wire fence this weekend but it will be quite a while before we can get the permanent fence redesigned and installed (still haven't had a day without rain since the flood). I've got more temporary fence supplies on the way and will work on creating something halfway feasible once those arrive. At least the new windows for the house are in and the final trim work on those should be completed tomorrow. Am looking forward to having window screens again. The june bugs are getting quite aggressive. Maybe because it's July.

27 Hours, Part 2

Chuck and Mabel. That's really what you wanted to know, right? You've been very patient, so I'll let you know that much of the story upfront. Now, back to where we left off.

I'd been told that water buffalo are pretty sneaky about giving birth. Even lots of experienced farmers get surprised by the appearance of a calf. One person told me that it's rare to see the actual event and if you just happen to be nearby when the telltale bit of mucus starts emerging from the backside of the cow, don't blink or you'll miss the event. That's the only sign you're getting. I saw it and took the risk of running back to the house for my camera. When I returned a couple of minutes later, this is what I saw:

Click on the photo above to enlarge it and you'll see a golden-tipped hoof starting to emerge. Then there were two hooves:

This is correct presentation for a calf--hooves first and pointing down. Knowing this, it's clear why those little hoof tips are so soft. The hooves harden really fast after birth but I'm sure all buff mothers are grateful that the hooves are soft when they're making their way through the birth canal. At this stage, Effie laid down so I took the opportunity to cross to the other side to get between her and the feeder creek which is just past the electric fence (I had already turned off the power so no one would get zapped during labor). Effie was so close to the fence I was worried the calf might slip under and end up in the very swollen creek. Here's what Eschol was doing: more pizza for the expectant father.

When Effie stood up again, she started licking something on the ground. Yup, just that fast, Effie's little girl calf was out. The whole process took about 10 minutes, maybe 15 at the most.

Welcome to the world, Mabel.

Eschol came over to give her a sniff and then I gave him my best "you mess with this calf and you will be on my dinner table by next week" look. Don't know if that's what did the trick or he just wanted more pizza but either way he wandered off. The rain (oh, yes--it's still raining even as I write this on Saturday morning) was picking up and it was getting to hard to manage the camera and keep track of two newborns in fairly precarious places. So, I put the camera down and picked up the cell phone. First call to Jim: find your own way home from the airport tonight. Second call to the neighbor: tell the kids to be real quiet when they come up to see the second calf of the day. Third call to my friend, farmsitter, and fellow vet tech: you know how you say I never ask for help? Well, today I'm asking. Not sure what I'm going to need but I definitely needed someone with a functioning brain. An extra pair of eyes and hands and oh maybe a little dinner would be great, too. Big gold star for Beth who came right over and provided all that and more.

Effie gave Mabel a few licks but didn't do the thorough job that Audrey did with Chuck. Mabel sounded a little juicy in the lungs but after a few minutes her breathing seemed to clear up. And then we were off to the races. Mabel is a little spitfire. She was up on her feet in minutes with no assistance from mother or me. She found her legs fast--not just up but walking with remarkable steadiness despite being in a really boggy, soggy area. She hardly stumbled at all. Effie didn't seem too happy to have her up and trying to nurse (Mabel knew right where to go and what to do) so she kept knocking her down. I assumed she didn't want the calf trying to nurse until the placenta passed but maybe it's also an instinct to keep the newborn down and out of sight of predators. Either way, she was very insistent. Really put her horns into it if you know what I mean. At one point she managed to catch Mabel's head in the curve of her horn but Mabel freed herself. Good girl. Then Eschol came over to join in. Tough love, buffalo style.

Poor Mabel. So full of life and enthusiasm but only the humans wanted to see her up and about. Her herd was not amused by her precocious behavior. Because Eschol was trying to roll her down the hill towards the creek, I quickly set up a way to get him out of there and into the field across the driveway, the one where Chuck had been born half a day earlier.

Somewhere in there Beth arrived with food and a level head. The neighbors showed up to see the calves and finish filling in the rutted driveway and it looked like there might be a little calm. The only problem was that Effie kept wandering off toward the flooded end of the fish pond and leaving her calf alone. Mabel was clearly interested in exploring so we kept a close eye on her to make sure she didn't get into trouble. Her ambulatory skills were already so much stronger than Chuck's, it was a delight to watch. Beth captured a bit of her on her smart phone. Sadly, it was about the only time that Mabel tumbled so take my word for it that she really was quite steady on her feet for the most part.

While the neighbors kept an eye on Mabel, Beth and I worked on things like getting water set up by the big barn and solidifying the temporary fence that would keep the calves out of the wallow and keep the bull from getting to the barn where our cow/calf pairs would be hanging out. As the evening wore on, it became clear that Effie was completely uninterested in her calf. Not good. As it was getting close to dark and I had visions of coyotes running through my head, I decided to start leading Mabel towards the barn where Audrey and Chuck were in hopes that Effie would follow. Mabel was a champ. With only a few attempts to detour, she got up the big hill, mostly just following me. Here's a picture that Beth snapped of us on our way:

We got all the way up to the barn before Effie noticed. She eventually made her way up but didn't seem that engaged. Then again, her placenta still hadn't passed. Meanwhile, Eschol was fussing like crazy for being separated from the herd. Effie and he kept talking across the driveway. She seemed more concerned about him than her calf. Not sure what that's all about but none of the buffs have ever liked it when any of the herd is separated. But this was way more vocalization than we'd ever heard. I wanted to get Eschol back across the driveway where he could be just on the wallow side of the electric fence. That way, he and Effie could touch noses across the fence but I wouldn't have to worry about him tearing apart the barn or the calves. But it was getting dark and he refused to move. Crap. Well, not much to be done now.

With things winding down for the night and Jim on his way, I sent Beth home with my eternal gratitude. I went back up to the barn to check on everyone and double down on the straw and hay. Effie still was being standoffish. Fortunately, Audrey is turning out to be not only a great mom, she's also a great surrogate mom (truly a buffalo after my own heart). She let Mabel nurse while we waited for the placenta to pass. Jim got in around 10pm and came up to the barn to meet the two new members of the herd. Much happniess all around. So wonderful to be hanging out with the calves and moms. Not having Eschol around means we can be right in with the girls and Chuck without having to constantly watch our backs. Eschol quieted down after dark (except when we walked by) and that seemed to calm Effie down. She finally passed her placenta or at least part of it. It's not great if she retains any of the placenta so we hoped she'd pass the rest without incident. I scooped up the placenta as I'd done with Audrey's. Don't worry. Not going to do anything freaky with it. I just think it's coyote bait so I wanted to get it as far away from the calves as possible. The next morning we found the rest of the placenta in the barn, so I'm pretty confident that it's all out now. 


Once we had soaked up enough happy, we left the buffs to settle in. I think we got back to the house around  11:30 or 12 but it's all a bit blurry now. We still had a bit of work to do to move furniture, etc. away from all the windows in the house because our contractors would be arriving first thing in the morning. After that, the much-needed shower. Then bed. And blessed slumber. 

Up before dawn to check on the buffs and the start of another crazy day. The short version: Effie is rejecting her calf, Eschol made a jail break overnight, and once we corralled him, he showed Effie how to get past the temporary fence so she could join him in the fish pond. So, yet another go at designing that fence to be more buffalo-proof, fixing the fence that Eschol busted through earlier in the day, then we started the really heavy work of clearing the debris off of the destroyed barbed-wire fencing leading up to the Booth (the large knoll where we originally intended to have the buffalo stay and which under normal circumstances would be a very secure area for bull or calves). Jim manned the chainsaw, cutting up several large tree trunks and branches while I helped haul the debris off to a place where it wouldn't take out the fence again if we have a repeat of the flooding. We kept trying to lure Effie back to her calf but to no avail. Audrey continues to be a champ, doing double nursing duty.

I hope we can convince Effie today. I think if we can just get Mabel to try nursing her, it might stimulate the hormones enough to get Effie to let down her milk. At least I don't have to worry that the calf isn't getting colostrum or milk. But if Audrey has to keep nursing two calves and Effie won't let anyone have her milk, there's not going to be much cheese being made here. But right now I don't care if I never get a drop of milk as long as the calves get what they need.

OK, back to it. Need to go finish pulling the soggy stuff out of the workshop. Keep your fingers crossed that the sun comes out today and helps us to dry out a little. And that Effie's maternal instinct kicks in.