Our Rural Roots

Jennifer Campbell, Contributor

A watched pot never boils. It's true of birthing calves, too. Leave a cow you've watched for hours for five minutes, and you'll miss the whole performance.

Calving is possibly one of my all-time favorite seasons. But, in all honesty, according to my husband, I say that about all seasons as they approach.

Every February, I get overly excited and spend an awkward amount of time in the cattle barn staring at the back end of my cows. Cattle are my hobby, so I have the luxury of being a mother hen during calving -- watching every flick of the tail, every shift of weight and every udder expand.

There are hours spent leaning on gates, quietly watching. Sometimes after bedding the stock, I find myself gazing down from the loft and convincing myself that this is it.

Then, inevitably, I get called away to do actual work, and when I sneak back again to check, there it is. A damp, wobbly calf is already on the ground with the mama cow licking it clean like she'd been waiting for her privacy all along.

Waiting on calves is a lesson in patience and trust, because cows don't follow schedules or care about our impatience or how many years of experience we have in the calving barn. It involves learning to watch without hovering, having enough courage to wait without the vet on speed dial and sometimes, following them around with calving chains and a jack.

Mostly, it is accepting that sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of the way. Knowing when to intervene and when not to is never an easy call.

I've pulled my fair share of calves out of necessity, but my favorite thing is to blend into the landscape so I can secretly watch those first moments happen naturally, as they were meant to. That's magic.

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-- Jennifer (Jent) Campbell writes about agriculture and watches calves from a seven-generation Indiana family farm. Follow her on social platform X @plowwife. Find her Farm Wife Feeds blog at https://farmwifefeeds.com/…

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