November Monthly Moos {Five Fat Heifers!}

Monday, November 18, 2013



 

Do you remember the story I told you a few months ago about separating our heifers from their Mommas?  (If you missed the post you can read it here.)  Well this is the update on the little heifers.  



They've been out in this lovely pasture all by themselves just eating green grass and living the good life!


The purpose of separating them from the herd is two-fold.  We weaned them from their Mommas and separated them from the bull.  They will be old enough to breed in about four more months.  We will keep these heifers and increase our Momma Cow herd size from thirteen to eighteen.  


This pasture is really nice because it also has a line of trees that provide shelter and shade for them.  

Its also separated from the herd by another pasture, so that decreases the possibility of a Momma Cow or  the Bull breaking through a fence to get to them.  We haven't had any issues so far!


 The only disadvantage to this pasture is that there isn't access to the pond.  So we've been hauling fresh water to them; which of course they love!  (Our grand  girls love to come up and help Grampie water the heifers!)


Its actually a very easy process to haul water.  We go to the garden and fill a tank that we have in the back of our Ranger.  Then...


... we drive down to their pasture and back up to the trough and fill it up!  Rosetta loved this!


Because we had Rosy with us today and she loves "calling the cows" we also brought them some grain!


"Sook, Sook, Sook" and here they come.  I'm pretty sure they don't need any grain!  (I haven't seen them up close for a few weeks and I just busted out laughing when they came running with their roly poly bodies!)


They beat us to the trough!


Five fat heifers can gobble up a bag of grain in a blink!


Good thing its only a treat and we don't have to grain them on a regular basis.  It is really nice to offer them the treat periodically though because its the best way to get them used to coming when we call and also comfortable being close to us.


Rosy loved standing there watching them scarf that grain down.  (I know is looks a little dangerous with her so close to the cows, but Eldon was actually standing right behind her - I just chose to not include him in the picture!)


And of course Belle never gets left behind; especially when the grand girls are around.  She loves them - and they love her.


She's the best dog ever.  


Needless to say, Rosetta had a great time.  (And so did her baby doll and her chicken!)

So that is the update on our sweet heifers.  We are so attached to them.  It will be very exciting for them to be bred and have their first calves since they were born on the farm and we feel like they are truly our babies!

Coming up in December is the job of separating the steers from their Mommas!  We have let them stay with the Momma Cows and nurse longer and they are big and ready to be weaned!



We are so excited for a houseful of company over Thanksgiving week and weekend.  We have so much to be thankful for.   I hope you are gearing up for a wonderful Holiday also.  

6 comments:

  1. Looking at the faces of Rosetta & Belle, pure happiness. Love how the heifers come running for their grain. Of all my favorite blogs I checked today, this made my day. So blessed for you & your husband to be so closed to your grand girls. Pure joy. Kathleen in Arizona

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such cute photos! I noticed the chicken in the ranger in the first picture - Rosy never forgets to take her friends with her! Thanks for watching her yesterday afternoon. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love seeing your farm...Rosy is adorable. She loves spending time with the grandparents.
    We have three of our grand babies near us. And we have 5 in GA. Wish we had all of them
    near us. Blessing to you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fun update on your heifers! What a grand adventure you must have everyday! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What fun! Reading this brings back memories of our days on the ranch my husband worked on here in Florida. They worked cows on a daily basis over thousands upon thousands of acres. I used to love riding with him in the truck on the weekend sometimes to take feed out to the pastures. The cows would hear the truck and just come a bookin' it along behind us, lol! My favorite though was seeing all the adorable little baby calves.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

    ReplyDelete