Post by Lannie on Jan 10, 2012 18:00:21 GMT -5
And I need some aspirin.
Here's a reason why you shouldn't spoil your heifer calves that you're planning to keep: They have NO respect for you! I got her on the trailer with a minimum of chasing around the pen but then I had to tie her up in there while I got Bonk. She flipped out! Bandit, bless her pointy little head, was mooing loudly from outside the pen, making matters worse.
I thought Cricket was going to fall down in there, and I had her tied up short, so she would have been hanging from her halter if she HAD fallen, but luckily, she kept her feet. Bonk went right in, and Rich shut the trailer door behind us. All I had to do was unclip the lead ropes from their halters and slip out the door. Yeah... that's all I had to do...
Bonk decided it would be a good time to nurse, so he stuck his head under her flank, and I went forward to pull the slip knot I had Cricket tied up with. I got that undone, and she started spinning. She had me pinned tight against the wall at one point (boy am I glad cows are mostly soft!) and Bonk gave up trying to nurse and decided it would be ever so much more fun to try mounting gramma. Yup, I had my back to him, stupid me. Good thing he's still relatively small, I had one foot on each shoulder and his chin on my head! LOL! I elbowed him in the gut and got him off me, then tried to work my way to the back of the trailer to GET OUT!
I just told Rich to open the door a crack, when Cricket saw daylight and tried to go out first. Uh... NOT! "SHUT THE DOOR, SHUT THE DOOR!" CLANG! So I'm still in the trailer with two wild beasts, trying to figure out whether I'd be dead at the end if I had to ride all the way to the bull ranch in the back with those two! I decided one way or another, I needed to get out, just so I wouldn't get pooped on, if nothing else.
I was punching Cricket in the shoulder as hard as I could, and she was just not paying me any mind at all. Bandit immediately moves over when I do the punch in the shoulder thing, but not Cricket. She's spoiled. She's a princess! How DARE I punch her in the shoulder and tell her to move? I finally managed to get the lead ropes out, so at least I had two hands to work with, and then I started giving her the old one-two punch. I FINALLY got her turned partway away from the door and yelled to Rich to open it a crack (good thing I'm skinny!) and I slipped out. I had to bash Cricket in the head with the door, because she was RIGHT behind me. But finally, they were in, I was out. Whew!
Bandit, meanwhile, being absolutely certain that we were hauling her daughter and grandson to the slaughterhouse, never to be seen again, was RUNNING up and down the fence line, mooing her fool head off! At least I know she's feeling better.
We got to the ranch, and met the owner on his way out. He was moving cows today, and was on his way to pick up the next batch, so he just told us which corral to put them in and left. So we went on in, found the right place, got backed up to the alleyway, and opened the door. I've never seen a cow RUN out of a trailer before! Cricket first, with Bonk hot on her heels! Bonk was COVERED in Cricket crap. WHY don't they get out of the way? Every time I take one of the girls and their calf over there, the calf comes out covered in poop.
The gate down at the far end of the alleyway was still shut, so they didn't get far, until I went down and opened it, which was dicey in itself because this big ol' Angus bull was in that corral, VERY interested in Princess Cricket. Hmmm... open the gate INWARD or OUTWARD? I can't even remember which way I decided to do it, but fortunately, Cricket and Bonk went through and the bull stayed on his own side. Another whew! And the best part was Bonk didn't rub his new poop-coat on me when he went by. ;D
Since all the excitement (for us) was over with, we spent a few minutes and watched the interactions. The bull was following Cricket, of course, and so was Bonk ("Hey, I'm in a scary new place, I need my mom!"). The bull swiped at Bonk a couple of times with his head, and for a minute I was a teeny bit worried that Bonk might get hurt (the corral we turned them in to isn't that big), but the bull went back to sniffing Cricket and left off menacing Bonk.
A few minutes later, I was saying something to Rich, and when I looked back at the cows, I saw Bonk nose to nose with this huge bull. They were sniffin' each other. Then Bonk, true to his name, BONKED the bull on the head. Once. Then twice. Then three times! I couldn't believe the nerve on that boy! But the bull took it all in stride, and ignored the pushy little whippersnapper and went back to following Cricket around (who was mooing HER fool head off, by the way). Cows...
Anyway, I feel pretty confident that Cricket will come back pregnant in a few days, and then we don't have to do this circus again for a while. I wonder, if I get too old to wrestle full grown cows at some point, will the neighbor just bring us a rent-a-bull? I'll have to ask him.
~Lannie
Here's a reason why you shouldn't spoil your heifer calves that you're planning to keep: They have NO respect for you! I got her on the trailer with a minimum of chasing around the pen but then I had to tie her up in there while I got Bonk. She flipped out! Bandit, bless her pointy little head, was mooing loudly from outside the pen, making matters worse.
I thought Cricket was going to fall down in there, and I had her tied up short, so she would have been hanging from her halter if she HAD fallen, but luckily, she kept her feet. Bonk went right in, and Rich shut the trailer door behind us. All I had to do was unclip the lead ropes from their halters and slip out the door. Yeah... that's all I had to do...
Bonk decided it would be a good time to nurse, so he stuck his head under her flank, and I went forward to pull the slip knot I had Cricket tied up with. I got that undone, and she started spinning. She had me pinned tight against the wall at one point (boy am I glad cows are mostly soft!) and Bonk gave up trying to nurse and decided it would be ever so much more fun to try mounting gramma. Yup, I had my back to him, stupid me. Good thing he's still relatively small, I had one foot on each shoulder and his chin on my head! LOL! I elbowed him in the gut and got him off me, then tried to work my way to the back of the trailer to GET OUT!
I just told Rich to open the door a crack, when Cricket saw daylight and tried to go out first. Uh... NOT! "SHUT THE DOOR, SHUT THE DOOR!" CLANG! So I'm still in the trailer with two wild beasts, trying to figure out whether I'd be dead at the end if I had to ride all the way to the bull ranch in the back with those two! I decided one way or another, I needed to get out, just so I wouldn't get pooped on, if nothing else.
I was punching Cricket in the shoulder as hard as I could, and she was just not paying me any mind at all. Bandit immediately moves over when I do the punch in the shoulder thing, but not Cricket. She's spoiled. She's a princess! How DARE I punch her in the shoulder and tell her to move? I finally managed to get the lead ropes out, so at least I had two hands to work with, and then I started giving her the old one-two punch. I FINALLY got her turned partway away from the door and yelled to Rich to open it a crack (good thing I'm skinny!) and I slipped out. I had to bash Cricket in the head with the door, because she was RIGHT behind me. But finally, they were in, I was out. Whew!
Bandit, meanwhile, being absolutely certain that we were hauling her daughter and grandson to the slaughterhouse, never to be seen again, was RUNNING up and down the fence line, mooing her fool head off! At least I know she's feeling better.
We got to the ranch, and met the owner on his way out. He was moving cows today, and was on his way to pick up the next batch, so he just told us which corral to put them in and left. So we went on in, found the right place, got backed up to the alleyway, and opened the door. I've never seen a cow RUN out of a trailer before! Cricket first, with Bonk hot on her heels! Bonk was COVERED in Cricket crap. WHY don't they get out of the way? Every time I take one of the girls and their calf over there, the calf comes out covered in poop.
The gate down at the far end of the alleyway was still shut, so they didn't get far, until I went down and opened it, which was dicey in itself because this big ol' Angus bull was in that corral, VERY interested in Princess Cricket. Hmmm... open the gate INWARD or OUTWARD? I can't even remember which way I decided to do it, but fortunately, Cricket and Bonk went through and the bull stayed on his own side. Another whew! And the best part was Bonk didn't rub his new poop-coat on me when he went by. ;D
Since all the excitement (for us) was over with, we spent a few minutes and watched the interactions. The bull was following Cricket, of course, and so was Bonk ("Hey, I'm in a scary new place, I need my mom!"). The bull swiped at Bonk a couple of times with his head, and for a minute I was a teeny bit worried that Bonk might get hurt (the corral we turned them in to isn't that big), but the bull went back to sniffing Cricket and left off menacing Bonk.
A few minutes later, I was saying something to Rich, and when I looked back at the cows, I saw Bonk nose to nose with this huge bull. They were sniffin' each other. Then Bonk, true to his name, BONKED the bull on the head. Once. Then twice. Then three times! I couldn't believe the nerve on that boy! But the bull took it all in stride, and ignored the pushy little whippersnapper and went back to following Cricket around (who was mooing HER fool head off, by the way). Cows...
Anyway, I feel pretty confident that Cricket will come back pregnant in a few days, and then we don't have to do this circus again for a while. I wonder, if I get too old to wrestle full grown cows at some point, will the neighbor just bring us a rent-a-bull? I'll have to ask him.
~Lannie