One of a Kind
“Surpriiise, Surpriiise” as Gomer Pyle used to say.
I’ll be upfront about this. Shat Acres Zelda’s family has a sordid history of mis-matings. And at a younger age than their caregivers believed the "Z" girls should have been engaging in such behaviors.
Zelda’s dam Shat Acres Zora was violated by the Belted Galloway bull who jumped a fence in 2023 while Zora was being pastured at summer camp near Berlin Pond. This unexpected assault resulted in the birth of baby Zelda on May 19, 2024. (See 5-24-24 post “Bad News”).
It now appears that unbeknownst to us, Zora’s resulting daughter Zelda, from this rapist encounter had a secret tryst with Skye High Glen Rock, aka Rocky in December 2025.
Those “Z” girls.
Both unplanned matings actually resulted in wonderful additions to our Shat Acres fold, confirming that mistakes can be wonderful opportunities to learn. Zelda grew to be a beautiful, super tame, 1/2 Belted Galloway, 3/8 Beef Shorthorn, 1/8 Highland. Her white belly-band sticks out like a sore thumb in our predominantly Highland herd, with guests always inquiring, “What about that black and white one?” Zelda is also much more vocal than our other cattle—apparently a known Beltie trait.
The tiny four-legged fur-ball standing proudly in the field next to Zelda yesterday morning, clearly just a few hours old, was definitely a one-of-a-kind surprise! Staring out the window at a tiny face with full white-blazed visage looking back at me from the pasture, it was my turn to call Ray.
“There’s a new calf in the field. Really new. It’s standing next to Zelda. Come quick. I’ll meet you at the door with the BoSe shot (Vitamin E & Selenium), the shears and the iodine (to trim and disinfect the navel). I’m going to bring some Cydectin and Ultra Saber because there are still flies around,” adding a bit curtly, “did you notice that Zelda was close to calving?”
We like our cows to calve in the barn, in clean straw filled pens. We can watch any close-to-calving residents on the monitor in the kitchen, relayed to us by the barn cameras. We can see if a cow or heifer is going into labor or if they might need assistance. If a vet is needed we can easily put an animal into the squeeze chute. If we need to express colostrum or milk we can do so either in the pen or the squeeze chute. If a momma cow is rejecting and aggressive toward her calf, we need to know ASAP to intervene and keep the calf safe. If a calf is having difficulty latching on we can help. With our mantra of “Save Every Calf” we prefer not to leave potential foibles to chance, although in most instances these concerns are allayed by Highlands easy calving and strong maternal instincts.
Remember those “Z” girls? Now Zelda and Rocky had not only evaded discovery of their December romp, but Ray’s usually laser-like focus on impending births.
“It’s a girl!,” I proclaimed as we administered our proactive and preventative health check and care. Zelda watched intently as we immunized, trimmed, applied, and dosed, while making clear this newbie was her calf. She was not aggressive, but definitely let us know that this spectacular blue-roan heifer was hers, with the confident air of “I got this.”
With first-calf heifers you never know exactly how they might respond to the creature that just exited their womb, perhaps less than smoothly or comfortably. Sometimes momma can be indifferent to their newbie, sometimes aggressive to their calf, or even their humans. Zelda was clearly ready, eager, and willing for the task at hoof.
Did I say one-of-a-kind?
As members of the herd began arriving to check out or welcome this newest member, I worried when some of the older calves sniffed and nudged Zelda’s unusual looking calf. I need not have been concerned as that little spitfire turned on the curious older calves and began chasing them around the hay feeder. At just several hours old!
Zelda led her little girl away from the fray towards one of our stone walls. Little Miss Precocious started nibbling on stems and sniffing moss covering the rocks. Rubbing her head on an outcropping, she acted as if she had been doing this all of her life. Which, at just several hours old, she pretty much had. What did she do next? Finding a small, protective, cave-like space in the stone wall, she nestled herself in and snoozed off into a well-deserved nap.
Did I mention nursing? The biggest concern with our “Save Every Calf” crusade is getting colostrum into all newborns within their first few hours of life. Antibody rich colostrum molecules are larger than those in antibody free milk. Initially porous enough for those antibodies to pass through, the calf’s intestines become less permeable after around twelve hours. Delayed colostrum intake means antibody intake is limited, causing calves to be more susceptible to infection.
Not only was Zelda’s new 5/8 Highland, 1/4 Belted Galloway, 1/8 Beef Shorthorn calf a steeplechaser, head rubber and forage nibbler, she proved to be a born sucker. Zelda licked her baby all over as the calf made loud slurping sounds and butted momma's udder with a vengeance. With all boxes checked and the weather not-too-hot and not-too-cold, Ray and I concurred that Zelda and her new calf should be fine remaining in the pasture. With frequent checkings by her humans.
I usually name our calves employing the same phoneme their dam’s name begins with, to help me remember who goes with whom. By September, most summer flowers have faded and gone dormant. The gardens look drab and monochrome as fall approaches. One species defies this, reaching its zenith in September, its vibrantly colored blossoms standing tall and showy.
This newest Shat Acres arrival will carry on the “Z” girl tradition of dam Zelda and grand-dam Zora, hopefully in phoneme only, not falling prey to fence-jumping bulls or sneaky night breeders.
Welcome Shat Acres Zinnia, the fortuitous mistake who instantly stole our hearts with that early-morning discovery of her one-of-a-kind, blaze-white face. Grateful, thankful, blessed.
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