Dairy Farmer's Thankful Thursday

Preparing for extreme cold weather is always a challenge on the dairy farm

but when you add a layer of ice it's a double whammy.

As we tried to bring the two expectant mamas into the maternity barn

to shelter for the night, the first cow slipped on the ice.

Luckily, she was able to get up and walk on to the barn.

After seeing the struggle of the cow getting up on the ice, 

it was decided the other cow would be  left in the pasture.

Cold weather doesn't create the same risk as the broken leg or hip injuries.

Several large hay bales were unrolled for the cows to rest on.

As luck would have it, the cow in the pasture calved and the cow in 

the maternity barn did not.

Cody brought this new baby into the maternity barn as soon as he found her

and put her in a hutch with a heat bulb. She looked pretty cozy when I 

went to check on her after calf feeding.

I thought about climbing into the hutch with her for 

a warm-up!

It's been a rough couple of days trying to stay warm

and upright walking on ice but I'm thankful for the 

fact that we have a healthy new baby and that 

no animals, employees or family have been injured

down on the dairy farm.