**Alan took this last summer with his phone and I stumbled upon it yesterday while cleaning out my inbox. I believe it is the Kingpin daughter, Bayliner, down below the barn yard gate, having escaped in order to eat box elder trees. I don't know what it is with that family, but they all will do whatever it takes to get to the darned things and eat them....and personally they could eat every single one on the farm right down to the roots and I wouldn't get mad.
We had three springing heifers, Rosie, my milking shorthorn show heifer, and one open heifer to bring into the cow barn yesterday. (Well actually we had several open ones, but they didn't cooperate.)
At first they didn't even want to come down off the hill at all. They didn't want to be driven. They didn't want to come when called. They wouldn't even come down when they heard the skid steer which brings their food to them.
After waiting for a while (in the bright, crisp sunshine, not too much of a punishment) I went and got a bucket of grain.
That got their attention.
We kind of wanted to bring all of them down and put those that are not springing up to calve in a pen in the back of the barn where can keep a better eye on them. However, Shamrock, the Jersey, Rio, a milking shorthorn, Cevin and one other Holstein wanted nothing to do with us so they are still out.
Getting the others down to the barn was only part of the equation. Getting them first into the barn was one project, then getting them into stalls or the pen, depending on how close up they are to calve was another.
It was good to have Al home. He caught some with a halter and just pulled them in and put them where we wanted them, and tolled the others with that trusty grain bucket. Liz got back from work and helped too, so although it took quite a while it went pretty well.
Nothing like young folks to make a job go a lot easier.
Now we will have to watch them close to make sure they can handle their new locations safely. Cows can be pretty godawful dumb sometimes. I'm glad they are in though, because we need to watch the close ups real closely.
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4 comments:
There is no way you could ever, ever, ever have a boring day. Never :)
i CAN NOT IMAGINE what being around thousand pound critters requires.
Well, on second thought . .. . maybe I can.
Alertness.
Where do you get the energy? How are you still standing???
Could you make a list defining all the different types of heifers, etc.? (I can figure out "milking heifer," but what's a spring heifer, and so on?)
My non-dairy enquiring mind wants to know. :)
Dang! Wish I'd a been there. Nothing like roping and encouraging unwilling bovines! ;-)
threecollie said...
Cathy, it is true that the only time I am really bored is when I am standing around waiting to work. ...and I am getting squashed a lot lately by a certain cow named Zinnia and I cannot wait for spring turn out. Then I can milk poor little Scotty, who stands next to the big stinker, without having bones cracking and such. lol
Susan, alas, I have about as much energy as a turnip. It has to be done so I help do it, but I would be much more contented to curl up and sleep.
A springing heifer is a young cow, close to having her first calf.
A regular heifer is one who hasn't calved yet. We farmers often call one who has had her first calf a "first calf" heifer, but technically that is incorrect. An open heifer is one that is not yet pregnant for her first calf. Hope this clears up any confusion, but if there is anything else I can tell you, please ask.
JB, I wish you'd been there too!!!! In fact when we were getting them down I was wishing for either your good stock dog, or you and a good horse, or maybe all of the above. I really miss both having a saddle horse, even one not trained to chase cows, but willing to go where I point it, and much more so a good, smart, hard working dog.
If we don't have a dog to send, we gotta send ourselves, which can get old fast. Old Mike loved to get out there and gather cows...me not so much. lol
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