Our Belted Galloway Calf – Poppy
Our newest farm edition is this adorable Belted Galloway Calf named Poppy. Learn all about her and how her name came to be.
My love for cows is not a secret. I grew up with them and I have always had a soft place in my heart for their gentle nature. I knew that one day we would have a place where we could have our own cows, and that time is now. We purchased our first calf, a Belted Galloway named Poppy.
About Belted Galloways
Belted Galloways are a Scottish bread of cattle. The are smaller than typical cattle and Females at 10 to 12 months of age are no more than about 40 inches at hip height. They are a hearty bread that does great being grass fed and have good mothering instincts.
They are called Belties or Oreo Cows because they have a white belt around their center. That makes them resemble Oreo Cookies.
Where We Found Her
I have a bad habit of scrolling the internet looking at animal for sale ads. Most days it is an innocent way to fuel my happy endorphins looking at cute animals. Some days I end up with a cow. LOL
I found a picture of a calf for sale and texted it to my husband. Most times he rolls his eyes, this time he said contact them if you want. The farm that had her was in Georgia and I knew it was a drive. Long story short they did not have the calf pictured any longer but they sent me a photo of Poppy and I about died. She was so stinking cute!!
So, a big thanks to 4 Season’s Farm for our new baby!
Travel
The next day my hubby loaded up and went to Georgia to pick up this brand new bottle baby. Since our farm is young and we didn’t have any larger livestock yet, we were without a cattle trailer. How did we get Poppy home? The back of our SUV. Since Belted Galloways are tiny and she is just 1 week old. She fit perfectly.
I laughed and laughed because he stopped several times at rest areas and let her potty and she went. No messes in the truck. People would come say how cute she was and love on her. I wish I had photos because have you ever seen someone walk a cow at a rest area?
Her Name
This was hard. We name everything and I knew we wanted a theme when it came to our cows. While we don’t have a bull yet, we have known for a long time that when we do get one we would name it Ferdinand. We have kids and we just loved reading that book to them when they were small.
Well, Ferdinand loves flowers so we thought we would give each heifer a flower name. Since this little calf was born last week the flower for the month of August is Poppy. Poppy was PERFECT!
Routine
Right now we are on day 2 of baby Poppy. She is already perking up and getting to know us, and her new surroundings. She gets bottle fed about 7 am and 6 pm, she is drinking water, and licking my plants. I think she is trying to decide what she is going to taste first.
The kids love to brush her and sit with her while she naps. This will be the most spoiled cow in the history of cows. When we let Poppy out she walks with us like a puppy and loves to chase the chickens (which is hysterical).
Future
I don’t have a crystal ball, but our plan right now is to raise up Poppy, and get her a sister eventually. Later down the road we will get a bull and raise our own little Belted Galloway babies to share with others.
