Post by donnaclyde47 on Jul 14, 2023 15:33:31 GMT -5
So a friend of mine had to move on from farm life because of her son’s extremely severe allergies to hay and rye. She wanted to know if I wanted her half Jersey, half Hereford cow named Glory. She is extremely generous and gives away farm animals all the time. I have plenty of grass, so I told her I’d take her, train her to milk (she had been with her dad’s 25 beef cows for over three years) and then sell her and give her the money. The calf was going to stay back because all 25 calves go to slaughter in August anyway.
So I went and picked her up and brought her home. She’s pretty calm-natured but obviously the move was stressful and she misses her calf. She also would nurse any other calf in the beef herd.
I put her in the barn pasture with two cows and she briskly walked all over the pasture, mooing for her calf. This morning I milked the two cows (we planned on milking her in the evenings only) and took all three to another pasture for the day. Two hours later, I get a call from a friend asking if I’m missing a cow. She lives across our busy road about a mile or more as the crow flies. Sure enough, Glory had gotten through TWO different barbed wire fences, crossed our busy road, went through my neighbor’s property across the road (100 acres) and onto her land to see her 25 head of cattle. They were in hot wire so she couldn’t get in.
I almost jumped in my minivan to go get her. LOL Redirected myself to the truck and trailer, and sped over there. I really thought we wouldn’t be able to get her. She had now gone to the neighbor’s property and even when she saw us shaking the bucket, she headed the other way, deep into the woods. I called my friend and said I’m so sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to get her and she’ll probably eventually be lost in the woods and hit by a car. She was sweet and said it didn’t matter, she felt badly about us being inconvenienced.
As I was talking to her my 12 year-old got her to eat from the bucket without running and long story long, we got her home. We put her in a small area, and another daughter drove two hours RT to pick up a calf. I was certain she’d nurse her because Angela said she LOVES calves. Well, she kicked her and butted her with her head and laid her flat.
I feel like all she wants to do is go home, and if having a calf won’t keep her here, it seems hopeless. One teat has a horrible gash from the barbed wire. I can’t watch her all day or tie her up. It’s 100 degrees.
Any wisdom to give?
So I went and picked her up and brought her home. She’s pretty calm-natured but obviously the move was stressful and she misses her calf. She also would nurse any other calf in the beef herd.
I put her in the barn pasture with two cows and she briskly walked all over the pasture, mooing for her calf. This morning I milked the two cows (we planned on milking her in the evenings only) and took all three to another pasture for the day. Two hours later, I get a call from a friend asking if I’m missing a cow. She lives across our busy road about a mile or more as the crow flies. Sure enough, Glory had gotten through TWO different barbed wire fences, crossed our busy road, went through my neighbor’s property across the road (100 acres) and onto her land to see her 25 head of cattle. They were in hot wire so she couldn’t get in.
I almost jumped in my minivan to go get her. LOL Redirected myself to the truck and trailer, and sped over there. I really thought we wouldn’t be able to get her. She had now gone to the neighbor’s property and even when she saw us shaking the bucket, she headed the other way, deep into the woods. I called my friend and said I’m so sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to get her and she’ll probably eventually be lost in the woods and hit by a car. She was sweet and said it didn’t matter, she felt badly about us being inconvenienced.
As I was talking to her my 12 year-old got her to eat from the bucket without running and long story long, we got her home. We put her in a small area, and another daughter drove two hours RT to pick up a calf. I was certain she’d nurse her because Angela said she LOVES calves. Well, she kicked her and butted her with her head and laid her flat.
I feel like all she wants to do is go home, and if having a calf won’t keep her here, it seems hopeless. One teat has a horrible gash from the barbed wire. I can’t watch her all day or tie her up. It’s 100 degrees.
Any wisdom to give?