In late March Farmer D. decided that the field was looking
way too empty
and needed to have some cows on it.
What good is the field without an animal grazing it?
Now, we know nothing of cows. Well, not quite nothing.
We know they give us milk,
moo, taste good and poop a lot.
Long story short, a week later we purchased the three cows and
had them delivered over spring break.
These are Corriente cattle, a heritage breed not known for
their meat,
but used for roping and grazing open range areas.
Smaller than standard beef cattle they are
not overwhelming in size
(except for their horns - just look at those things!)
When crossed with beef
cattle the meat is supposed to be more lean, but have great flavor.
If their visit with Mr. Red Angus last fall was successful
we may
have some young calves to raise for beef.
If not, we may have paid for the most expensive grass trimmers EVER.
Say hello to Cali. Cali is the most shy and
wary of the cows.
If we get within 15 to 20 feet, she will move at least that
far away from us.
I’m hoping that she
will learn some trust or this may be a difficult relationship.
 |
| Cali trying to decide if we are too close or not. |
This is Bessie.
Farmer D and I call her Bossy sometimes as she is well...bossy!
Always the first to the trough
for feeding, she is also the plumpest of the cows.
Bessie also likes to lock horns to assert her dominance.
 |
| Bessie giving us the "don't mess with me" look. |
Finally Ginger – because she’s a red head.
She is the most curious of the three and will let us get closer.
She goes back and forth between Bessie
and Cali as her grazing buddy
but they all three stick close together.
 |
| Just chilling in the corral. |
The ladies were pretty skinny when they arrived, having been
nursing their calves
and coming out of our hard winter.
 |
| Ginger on day one looking a bit ragged. |
Needless to say, 4 acres of pasture and hay morning and
night has plumped them up.
I don't have a good photo right now, but I'll try to catch Ginger for a comparison shot.
UPDATE: Here is Ginger now. Much better! Yes, she is bony in the hip, which is a trait of the breed, but she is looking so much better!
UPDATE: Here is Ginger now. Much better! Yes, she is bony in the hip, which is a trait of the breed, but she is looking so much better!
We still have a lot to learn.
For now we’ll just enjoy
seeing the ladies slowly grazing about the pastures
or napping together in the
sun.
