Well, We Wanted Cattle.
My oldest granddaughter, Tiffany also decided purchasing a few cows would be a good investment. She bought 4 cows from her parents and we said she could keep them at our place. Two of her cows are very tame and the calves are somewhat friendly. The bad weather has hampered us getting hers, and our cow and calf out of the larger herd they are in with on the property next to ours. The property and large herd belong to Bill's dad, Francis.
A few days ago during our last snow, Tiffany's cows and an extra cow showed up at our place eating at our hay ring at the barn. We couldn't believe our good luck. We didn't have to herd these cows over here now!
As luck would have it, today our cow, Heidi. and calf were down the fence line with several dozen other cow, calf pairs. Joe went to the barn and grabbed part of a bale of the " good tasting" grass hay. I called our cow to the fence and started feeding her through the fence. ( the grass is just starting to grow so she was happy to get some good tasting hay). I would walk about 30 feet and wave some hay through the fence, call her, and she would come for more hay. This continued until we got up the hill to the gate. Joe had gone ahead and opened the gate so I could bribe Heidi right on to our place. (Normally the gate is open, but our horses decided to explore Francis' property today so we now keep it shut. The horses exploring is a whole other story!)
Well, this sounds all fine and dandy, but Heidi wasn't the only cow to notice I had hay. By the time we got Heidi and her calf in, and the gate closed, there must have been about 30 cows and calves mooing at our gate wanting in to be fed. Joe went to grab more hay so he could go out the gate and lead the mooing cows a ways down the road on their own field. Low and behold, here comes the bull to see what is going on and why half his herd is gone and why they are mooing. Just before Joe returns with hay on the tailgate of his Toyota, about 20 cows head farther up the hill past our gate. Next thing I know these cows have found an opening in the fence and come crashing through the brush in the upper field and head over to the barn! Tiffany's cows are eating quietly at the hay ring so the new cows decide to stop and eat with them with a few spreading around on the pasture to eat.
Ok, so we have a few extra cows we will have to separate in the morning. At lest we have the 6 we wanted over here. Then...a calf or two decide their moms must be in the bunch OUTSIDE the gate. I open the gate and let them out. We realize maybe we have pairs separated, so we open the gate and in saunters the big bull followed by the remaining cows by the gate. They head to the hay ring and pastures to eat. At this point it is dusk and we close the gate and all are in for the night. We had talked with Francis about letting his cows over to help eat some of the grass so we will leave the cows here for a few days and then Leslie, Bill, his dad, and brother in law can help us herd them back out - minus ours and Tiffany's , we hope. We need to string some strands of barded wire up the hill where the cattle came from Francis' fields into ours. Once they realize there is uneaten pasture here they will be back if we don't fix that fence.
All and all, at the end of the day all is well. The horses are home and the cows are eating quietly. The birds are roosting, frogs are croaking by the pond, and the stars are shining . Another good day at Duck Lane Farm.
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