During the long days in the hot and brilliant sunlight, erecting the high-tensile fence around our pasture, one thought consoled me: The Calf. As recompense for the free child labor that I provided, my parents had promised me the first calf from our family milk cow, Georgia. You can imagine my delight when the calf finally arrived. It was a girl, and I named her Dixie May. (She was born on the first day of May, 2015.) All my dreams had come true.
I was so excited in 2016 when Dixie got big enough to have a calf herself – the start of my own little herd! The pregnancy progressed beautifully, but what we didn’t know is that our bull at that time was fathering some really big babies. Dixie’s labor was very tough, and we lost her little bull-calf (and almost the mama herself). I was heart-broken by the tragedy and helplessness of that delivery. It’s been the only labor I’ve had to assist, and I realized that the world is better with small-calf genetics and unassisted delivery.
Of course it was a little worrying to breed Dixie again, but we did. With a calve-ease bull, of course. We were on vacation around her due-date (in 2018), so tension was high. What a relief when our farm-sitters called to tell me that Dixie had delivered a little heifer-calf!
And when we got back, what a surprise awaited us.
That calf was, and is, the funkiest-looking heifer I’ve ever seen. A funky calf deserves a funky name, so she became known as “Douglas.”
There’s something about that quirky darkness around her eyes that make them look huge. And that exceedingly flat face. Her neck is short and she walks with a peculiarly stilted, rigid gait. She has a way of looking at you with an lemony expression.
And her head! It’s kind of ruffled up top, like she has a bed-head.
At least that’s what I thought until this week. You see, her hair isn’t just ruffled.
Douglas is growing horns.
?!
For one thing, it’s simply a strange sight when you’re used to hornless cows. It’s surprising, like seeing a family friend show up with horns suddenly sprouting out of their heads. Is this a demonic attack?!
And furthermore, it’s not possible. That’s not how genetics work. The polled (hornless) gene is dominant. Our bull is a Respectable and Properly Registered Black Angus who certainly must have two dominant polled genes.
So Douglas isn’t… possible.
Unless Dixie is a little… loose.
After all, we do have some neighboring bulls, as well as bulls who just come wandering by, lusting after our mama-cows.
Yet another episode of the farm soap opera.
I can see the tabloid headlines now:
May’s Calf Not Possible, Geneticist Says WHO IS FATHER?
So anyway, that’s what’s been up on the farm this week. First the shocking discovery of Douglas’s horns, and then speculation over Dixie’s fidelity.
In related news, Georgia is majorly pregnant and we expect a (hopefully hornless) calf any day now. Check back next week for an update. Remember : the potential for a soap opera is anywhere.