Post by thystledown on Dec 3, 2022 19:25:39 GMT -5
It's been a bad day. One of those where everything I touch goes wrong. And I've been thinking about funny cows, cow notions, and cow frustrations which are often one and the same. So the late Heiferlump gave 5 to 6 gallons at peak and generally 3-4 throughout her lactation. Had to put her down in August. Her daughter freshened 2 weeks later at 22 months for the first time and I get 5 to 6 quarts. I have to milk everyday (so much more work for so little return!). Heiferlump fed two calves and I did not have to milk everyday. I could make cheese from already warm 5 gallons of milk where I just added culture and set the timer. I bottle raised Heiferlump and she loved me. Esther her daughter took a swing and a miss at me last week. The next day she did it again, and I came off the stool and all over her with her tail over her back and told her the behavior was unacceptable in terms she understood. I finished milking and she slid her foot back in to place (she had ended up standing awkwardly) very slowly without picking it up. Ever since then, she won't eat her grain while I milk. Good let down. She may chew her cud, but she won't touch the grain. Apparently, she was eating grain when she took that swing at me and now thinks that eating grain is also not allowed along with not picking her her feet up. After I finish milking, all she wants is her calf, so then she won't eat the grain either. She gobbles it up at night when I separate them. This is just a notion she has now. Sigh! Better to laugh. It could be worse. We had a cow go down after freshening when I was a kid. Dad lifted her with the tractor and mom would hold the chain on her neck to keep her stable and calm during the process. Then she'd stand there and hold her chain while dad milked. The cow was standing on her own. But as soon as mom let go of the neck chain, she'd fall in a heap. She had the notion that my 5'2" 100 lb mother was holding her up. In the end, she had to be put down. She was just fine. Could even walk with mom holding her neck chain, but had it in her mind that mom was the only way she could stand and walk. We could not get that notion out of her head. The last weird notion I'll share is when I had a pet heifer as a kid. I used to ride her. When she freshened the first time, she wouldn't push or try. Just threw a fit (thrashed on the ground) and cried (bellowed). My dad called me to come to the barn yard where she was and I had to sit down with her head in my lap and then she calmed down and had the calf just fine all by herself. NO PROBLEM! Dad forbid me to make pets of the calves after that. She had a notion she couldn't calve without me holding her head.
Have any cow notions to share? I could use some funny stories or else misery likes company. Not sure.
Have any cow notions to share? I could use some funny stories or else misery likes company. Not sure.