When Cows are too good at their job....

[Blaithin]

Can’t go wrong with a Sim cross calf, newguy!

Moved the cows to a small pasture yesterday. The annoying place they are at in the summer is all old sheep fence. A city fella bought it a couple years back but he’s unwilling to put much towards fencing so I’ve hobbled the slickwire together as best I can. Unfortunately about the time it gets the driest and the Hotwire doesn’t work great, is when the calves decide no Hotwire will ever keep them in! So they’ve been cruising the back side of the pasture with all the pheasant hunters for a couple weeks. Like a gang of ruffians, only going home to visit the milk bar before they’re off again.

Was just a short mile walk, not much farther to come home really. But we did cut across the field as there’s still a lot of grain traffic from harvest on the road. Also if we took the road they probably would have just buggered off and come home Hah

Stella and I fell behind on the road portion of the journey.


But once we got into the field, her and I became the leaders! Right behind her is my other feedlot calf. Like a typical Limo, you can’t chase her anywhere, she’ll run the other way. But she follows like a dream!


And we finally made it. The reward at the end of the March.

[burnt]

Stella doesn't look like there was any shortage of good feed this summer!

Those Simmies Sim/crosses are terrific.

[Blaithin]

Stella doesn't look like there was any shortage of good feed this summer!

Those Simmies Sim/crosses are terrific.

Stella is rather useless.

She’s my very first cow of my own. A calf born at the feedlot I used to work at that I brought home in the backseat. She’s not very tall so easily looks fat and she had issues breeding. Didn’t calve until she was 4 and that was an induced C section. Vet said she’d never calve on her own, pelvis isn’t open enough.

Raised her calf, kept her in milk as she didn’t breed back and she raised another calf. Year after that she did get bred so aborted her, she came into milk, made her raise another calf. She wasn’t impressed hah

Been two years since then and she hasn’t bred back again. She’s obese after summer and gets put on a diet in winter.

She’s halter broke, can be ridden and has a 3 pad collar so she can pull the calf sled around the yard. Her real skill is she loves getting on the trailer and will happily go anywhere. She’ll lead the herd or load up to get the calves on the trailer for weaning and then stay with them as an adult influence. She’s just my big baby.

[Blaithin]

Went out to get some photos in the snow this morning.

They’re all in a group... eating thistles!!!

Why do they always wait so late to eat thistles. Can’t they get them earlier, before they go to seed 😆

[woodland]

Went out to get some photos in the snow this morning.

They’re all in a group... eating thistles!!!

Why do they always wait so late to eat thistles. Can’t they get them earlier, before they go to seed 😆

Our cows even wait longer to eat thistles .......... like as in never😉

How do you do it?

Good job and they still look content

[Blaithin]

No idea 😆

They’re also really big into grazing trees. Like to the point they’ll eat leaves before grass. I might have never noticed it before in previous cows because we didn’t have trees haha But this herd will destroy a poplar and enjoy the caragana any chance they get. (Made me do some reading up on tree legumes for forage. Why don’t more people use caragana?!) The Apple trees are a favourite in fall as well.

If they’re really that odd then the only thing I can link it to is that I have a Jersey x Highland. Her highland side comes out heavily and she will browse almost anything, definitely not just a grazer. Since cows are snoopy beasts, if ones eating something they all have to try it, and soon enough your trees toast!

[Blaithin]

Here's a clip from a couple years ago. They stripped all leaves within reach much earlier in the year.

https://youtu.be/L9GaPXv3igk

[Blaithin]

Weaned the two at home. Took them 4 days to realize the silage bale was edible.


Went to the remote herd to cut ice today. They didn’t care. Guess they aren’t that thirsty, they just feel they should have easier food to access.

[burnt]

The thistle-eating thing is something that is quite interesting to observe here.

I have seen them clean Canada thistle off right to the stem most years. Easy control for seed production, at least. It's pretty cool to watch the calves nibble the flowers off early in the season. They are very, very careful. The cows, not so much.

They will also munch down hard on the burdock plants, but those danged things just keep on sending out new shoots all growing season long and usually end up producing some burrs.

Now if only they would develop a taste for the bull thistles - would save a lot of spade work. :-(

[Blaithin]

I’ve heard of people that will mix the weeds - thistles, burrs, maybe even pigweed - into the animals feed. Like chop them up fine and put in grain or something, to get them to get a taste of them. Apparently it’s supposed to get them to eat the weeds better.

Not sure if that actually works, but eating weeds definitely seems to be more of a learned response for them.