Post by robinp on Oct 30, 2009 7:03:51 GMT -5
We have the perfect cow. Really... She's 8yo and we've had her for eight weeks today. She's calm and friendly, comes in to be milked and stands there without halter or stanchion like a dream.
But there have been three times that she's gotten wild. The first time, shortly after we got her, she had come in to be milked and we discovered that the dogs had chewed through the extension cord to the milk machine. We had our relief milking friends over so they could go through the paces of learning what to do. It got pretty chaotic after that with my friend and I trying to hand milk while her husband drove somewhere to get a cord. Lynette was cool as could be...until we finished milking her. Then she turned around and RAN to a hay bale (that our children were sitting on top of) and rammed her head into it. She was bucking and stomping. The kids were running away.
The second time, we were running electricity to the barn and my husband had rented a "ditch witch" to cut for the wire. She was very curious about the whole thing and had to check it all out. (She's worse than a cat.) She was fine during milking. After that I was feeding the chickens and she was bucking again, then she charged me.
Yesterday two men were working on an addition to the barn. She paid them no mind most of the day and then came over to be nosey. She again was great during milking. But after, when my husband was locking up the chickens, she charged him and chased him completely around the barn until he could duck into the tack room. He has a little light that clips onto his cap which she does NOT like and he thought that may have spooked her but I told him that was the third time she's done that when something different (and crazy) was going on.
Any insights? She's a wonderful cow, but buddy, when she turns mean, she's mean.
But there have been three times that she's gotten wild. The first time, shortly after we got her, she had come in to be milked and we discovered that the dogs had chewed through the extension cord to the milk machine. We had our relief milking friends over so they could go through the paces of learning what to do. It got pretty chaotic after that with my friend and I trying to hand milk while her husband drove somewhere to get a cord. Lynette was cool as could be...until we finished milking her. Then she turned around and RAN to a hay bale (that our children were sitting on top of) and rammed her head into it. She was bucking and stomping. The kids were running away.
The second time, we were running electricity to the barn and my husband had rented a "ditch witch" to cut for the wire. She was very curious about the whole thing and had to check it all out. (She's worse than a cat.) She was fine during milking. After that I was feeding the chickens and she was bucking again, then she charged me.
Yesterday two men were working on an addition to the barn. She paid them no mind most of the day and then came over to be nosey. She again was great during milking. But after, when my husband was locking up the chickens, she charged him and chased him completely around the barn until he could duck into the tack room. He has a little light that clips onto his cap which she does NOT like and he thought that may have spooked her but I told him that was the third time she's done that when something different (and crazy) was going on.
Any insights? She's a wonderful cow, but buddy, when she turns mean, she's mean.