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

[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.

[burnt]

Based on my observations over the years, I actually think that it is an appetite/needs thing.

I recall commenting that to my wife one fine spring day - after watching them turned out for the first time onto pasture. One cow was munching along happily on grass when she deliberately reached out of her way to chow down on a big, healthy dandelion.

There's an education to be had in watching cows' grazing patterns. We all know that they have their preferred species of forage. I have seen them clean off the dandelions to the nubbins when there is soft grass right next to the "weed".

In another observation just this summer, I sat and watched the cows and bull graze over a very small patch of regrowth connecting 2 paddocks - maybe 30' wide and about 50' long - which had grown grass and a variety of fairly mature weeds, like lambsquarter and ragweed.

Some of the cows nosed right past some of those weeds after quite noticably taking a sniff at them, while others reached right for them.

What was particularly amusing was to watch the bull ambling slowly thru the stretch after the cows, cleaning off everything they left behind!

[Blaithin]

Cows don’t care about weeds. Weeds are a people thing. And generally they’re a weed because of our poor management.

Most cows will eat a little of everything. It’s when there’s too much of one thing, like thistle or sweet clover or pig weed, that it’ll start to seem like they never touch them. Can’t blame them for not wanting their entire meal to be those plants. Plus each animal will have their individual tastes. Stella refuses to eat soaked beet pellets, or even wet grain, despite being an absolute hog for just about any food. I can safely leave her in with another cow getting crunchies as long as those crunchies include soaked beet pellets. Leave the beet pellets dry and she’ll hoover up all the crunchies before the other cow has swallowed one bite. Moose is an apple fiend. She will reach as high as possible to eat every apple she can with a fully extended tongue. Nobody else is that keen on them.

Coincidentally if Moose isn’t around to teach others about yummy apples, nobody ever really seems to eat them straight off the tree. They’re windfall grazers only.

They do learn a lot from one another and then have their preferences based on what they’ve learnt.

[Blaithin]

Sold four of the calves to my regular guy today. He picked the two big fatties and two younger heifers. I really enjoy being able to sell them this way. Auctions are NOT my thing.

Now to post the rest on Kijiji and see who wants to be a homesteader this year 😂

With prices being a bit low maybe I’ll have more bites than normal. Or more likely people will want to pay even less than the less currently on tap.

[burnt]

How did the big fatties weigh up?

Any bites on the rest of them?

Our one son usually buys 3 or so from us to raise for his freezer orders. I might try selling the rest privately too this year. We are down to a handful of cows now, and it makes selling smaller packages less worthwhile than the days when we had a ring full at a time.

[Blaithin]

Don’t weigh any of them. Just eyeball and give him a number. Could be leaving money on the table, could be taking extra. Try and offset it a bit by staying on the high end of the market. He’s never complained!

Haven’t got the rest posted yet. Took some photos yesterday but nothing that was really pleasing. Maybe go out tomorrow if it’s not still a gale outside. Snow might make them pop a bit more than the brown.

Saves me driving them places when people come and pick them up! And I have a kind of rule that I don’t like putting them on a trailer unless there’s a pasture on the other end. No stressful ride, auction ring, another trailer, god knows where....

Here’s a photo of the four the day he took them. The two big greys are heifers he bought last year.


All six in the photo were raised on my nurse cows. None were single raised calves.

[burnt]

Good looking calves! And their condition shows that the mommas were milkers!

That a great idea for achieving super-efficiency on numbers where that is a feasible management strategy.

Something for our one son to consider as he looks to maximize productivity on his smaller acreage.