August Monthly Moos {How Do You Call Your Cows?}

Can you believe that our oldest heifer (female) calf is almost eight months old?  I feel like the Mommy that says, "How did my baby grow up so fast"?   Well, the dreaded day came when Eldon said, "It's time to separate the heifers from the herd".  The purpose of this is two-fold:  we need to wean them from nursing their Momma and also separate them from the herd before they come into a breeding cycle.  We do not want them bred this young, so they must be moved away from the bull and into their own pasture.

 

 

To get all the cows to the corral where we can separate the calves, we call them.  Literally we call them.  As in:  "SOOK, SOOK, SOOK"!!!  I get this job and it is so much fun.  Today I had my grand-daughters with me in the Ranger and we slowly drive by the herd calling, "SOOK"!  The cows come running.  See Old Red?  She's always in the lead! 

 

 

Not only do they come when I call, they also answer back! 

 

 

If I get too far ahead of them they really holler!  So.... what makes them come when they are called you ask?

 

That wonderful, luscious thing called grain!

 

 

So.... this was the plan:  The little girls and I would drive the Ranger and call the cows down to the corral where Eldon, our horse Promise, and Justus (our son-in-law) were waiting to calmly welcome the herd into the corral (where their grain was awaiting them)  and we would calmly close the gates behind them. 

 

 

Well, that mostly worked.  Except for one very big problem. 

 

Wise old cow #10 remembered what happened the last time all the calves were in the corral (the little bull calves became steers!).  So, she did some communication with all those (no longer little) calves and said, "You just stay right here with me and we'll go hide out in the woods".   And of course they listened to her. 

 

 

 

 

But Eldon and Promise (and Justus on foot) were able to go in the woods and bring them out, no problem.  Until they saw Andrea with the camera around her neck and her arms out, the little girls sitting in the Ranger, and me at the corral gate and ......

 

 

.... they turned tail and scattered into the woods!  Luckily we could all laugh because it really was quite funny.  They are pretty smart, those calves!

 

Well, I won't go into all the sweaty, exhausting details but you can picture it:  Justus running through the woods like a wild man,  Promise (with Eldon on her back) running through the woods like a wild horse, Andrea finally took the camera off her neck and became the wild woman running wherever the boys told her to, me manning the gate, and Jillian and Rosetta happy as can be watching it all!  After it was all over Jillian said "Mommy can run really fast"!  And Justus said, "I need my own horse"!  Eldon said, "I lost my hat somewhere".  I was just thankful my job was manning the gates!  And I think Andrea was too tired to talk!

 

 

The end result?  Success.  We were all so hot and exhausted we could hardly hold our heads up but we did it!  All heifers in their own new pasture now!

 

So.... how do you call your cows?  I grew up out West hearing my Dad call "Sook", out here in the South it is "Sook" with a strong drawl to it.  Some people whistle, some call"Calf", some holler "Bossy".  Whatever you choose to call them - they will come if there's grain in the picture! 

 

Whew...  I barely got this August Monthly Moos done before September.  Hope you are having a lovely Labor Day weekend!