Didn't know we had a trick steer...
Sept 25, 2017 20:22:52 GMT -5
lew92, elnini, and 10 more like this
Post by daisyhill on Sept 25, 2017 20:22:52 GMT -5
Today was Dandy's date with the freezer. We brought him up to the barn in the evening yesterday, to put him in one of the box stalls so early morning loading would be easy and stress free. He came in quite peacefully, we gave him a little bit of hay and a pail of water to amuse him for the evening, and shut all the stall doors. Just to be sure, I tied the half door shut with a couple of pieces of twine (I've had that latch malfunction a time or two). I thought about shutting the top half of the door, but it was so hot I decided to leave it open for plenty of ventilation. BIL backed the trailer up to the stall door, and for good measure he opened the trailer door. This created a neat triangle of trailer door, barnyard gate and barn wall. It looked perfect, we went into the house for supper quite satisfied.
About half an hour later, one of the kids called me, "Mama says come quick a cow is out!" "Who?" I hollered as I grabbed my shoes and jumped off the porch. "I don't know, one of the Devons," came floating back to me as I ran for the barn. I was trying to imagine how Dolly, Daphne, Garnet or Digory could have escaped from their respective paddocks, but I was sure that Dandy at least was secure. Well, how wrong I was. Dandy had neatly jumped over the half-door into the triangle formed by the trialer, the gate, and the barn, and was interestedly investigating the inside of the trailer. The twine I had tied around the tricky latch was in place just as I had left it, and every other gate was tightly closed. There was no room for a running start, and barely room for a landing. He must have had legs like massive pogo sticks. We had never once had trouble with Dandy escaping in the past, and we leave the top half of the barn doors open all the time in the summer--I had no idea a full grown steer could jump right over a half door like that.
I do think he will be safe in the freezer...
About half an hour later, one of the kids called me, "Mama says come quick a cow is out!" "Who?" I hollered as I grabbed my shoes and jumped off the porch. "I don't know, one of the Devons," came floating back to me as I ran for the barn. I was trying to imagine how Dolly, Daphne, Garnet or Digory could have escaped from their respective paddocks, but I was sure that Dandy at least was secure. Well, how wrong I was. Dandy had neatly jumped over the half-door into the triangle formed by the trialer, the gate, and the barn, and was interestedly investigating the inside of the trailer. The twine I had tied around the tricky latch was in place just as I had left it, and every other gate was tightly closed. There was no room for a running start, and barely room for a landing. He must have had legs like massive pogo sticks. We had never once had trouble with Dandy escaping in the past, and we leave the top half of the barn doors open all the time in the summer--I had no idea a full grown steer could jump right over a half door like that.
I do think he will be safe in the freezer...