Got tired of being jostled by the cows at the grain trough when packing their feed in to dump. Average weight of the girls here is 1700 lbs..with a few tipping the scales at 1800. They don't move out of your way...at all...they rush in and jockey for their spot at the trough. Our cows are pretty quiet from being handled from birth which doesnt help.
The older cows push the ones lower on the totem pole out of their way and a person can get stepped on pretty easy.
As much as they have a hierarchy in the herd, you certainly can count on the 'sister-hood' to comes in to play when they perceive a threat to their calves.
Have one cow roar in concern and you've got another cow charging out to back her. Makes for alot of pressure on a dog with new moms all facing you on the defense with heads down.
Quade is pretty handy to make a corridor to walk through with two 5 gallon pails. It's a flat foot walk up and if they dont turn ( and they don't usually unless they've 'met' him before ) he has to hit the head and release the pressure so they can turn. Takes abit of patience on our part as once the cow turns and moves off , her reward is the release of pressure. With the uneven frozen ground I don't want calves stumbled over nor do I want cows slipping/tripping....so he has to listen right away / take his time....and let her make a choice. For the first few chore times we usually encounter 2-3 cows that need a polite reminder , then after that as soon as they see us coming...they move off right away. 2 Cows left to calve...calves growing by leaps and bounds...usually see them in racing games with their tails straight up as they enjoy fun and games.
Worked nites last night and caught abit of the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver.
*Loved the 'We are More' poem by Shane Koyczan
Words to it are on the following link.
http://www.vancouversun.com/More+Transcript+opening+ceremony+poem+Shane+Koyczan/2558526/story.html
Certainly proud to be a Canadian.
The older cows push the ones lower on the totem pole out of their way and a person can get stepped on pretty easy.
As much as they have a hierarchy in the herd, you certainly can count on the 'sister-hood' to comes in to play when they perceive a threat to their calves.
Have one cow roar in concern and you've got another cow charging out to back her. Makes for alot of pressure on a dog with new moms all facing you on the defense with heads down.
Quade is pretty handy to make a corridor to walk through with two 5 gallon pails. It's a flat foot walk up and if they dont turn ( and they don't usually unless they've 'met' him before ) he has to hit the head and release the pressure so they can turn. Takes abit of patience on our part as once the cow turns and moves off , her reward is the release of pressure. With the uneven frozen ground I don't want calves stumbled over nor do I want cows slipping/tripping....so he has to listen right away / take his time....and let her make a choice. For the first few chore times we usually encounter 2-3 cows that need a polite reminder , then after that as soon as they see us coming...they move off right away. 2 Cows left to calve...calves growing by leaps and bounds...usually see them in racing games with their tails straight up as they enjoy fun and games.
Worked nites last night and caught abit of the 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver.
*Loved the 'We are More' poem by Shane Koyczan
Words to it are on the following link.
http://www.vancouversun.com/More+Transcript+opening+ceremony+poem+Shane+Koyczan/2558526/story.html
Certainly proud to be a Canadian.
No comments:
Post a Comment