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Well, sometime between 00:00 and 03:00 today, another calf was born. Since the previous calf, a male, was given away, we get to keep this one, a little female.
Unfortunately, the original mama cow was recently was sold. She had cut her tongue and had to be fed by hand, due to not eating on her own. Even more unfortunate news was, she too was due soon. So, when this happened, we not only lost a cow, but a yet-to-be-born calf, as well. And, Chan's mom didn't want to buy another cow to replace it. Oh well.
However, a bit more good news is, we have one more cow that is carrying a calf.
Oh, back to the "give a calf, take a calf" deal. The next calf born of this same cow, will be given to the owner of the cow. Then, the cow will be ours to keep. So, any offspring from then on, will be ours.
One of the cows just gave birth to a calf at the farm. So, we now have two calves. Only get to keep the first one, though. The one born in November. Here's why.
The first cow, and others at the farm, belong to us. All calves they birth will belong to us.
The second cow, however, belongs to someone else. This is some deal, from what I understand, where they allow a poorer farmer to look after the animal and to help them out. In this case, it is Chan's mom who is looking after the cow and any calves the cow produces.
The second cow will birth at least 3 calves, with the first and third going to the owner of the cow. The person looking after the cow, Chan's mama, pays all insemination fees. This will be about $10 USD, per calf to be born.
The first calf born belongs to whomever owns the cow. That calf milks for a year and is then weened. It is then turned over to the owners of the cow. The person then has the cow mated again.
The second calf belongs to the person looking after the cow. She can do as she wishes with the second calf - keep it, or sell it. This is repeated once again, with the third calf being turned over to the owner of the cow.
After this, the person looking after the cow is allowed to keep any further offspring from the cow, as well as the cow.
So, in short, someone gives a cow to a poorer farmer to look after. Two off spring, the first and third, are given to the owner. The farmer then gets a cow out of the deal.
Okay, not what you thought. You see, it looks like mama cow is gonna be squeezin' out another one in about 9 or 10 months from now. She just recently went into heat and was mated. So, if it took, we will probably know for sure, by next month. This is the same mama that had a calf last November. Here is a link to the thread regarding that calf being born. Two more, hopefully, should come into heat before this calf is born. Looks like we may build our little herd up a bit faster than we thought.