First Grazing Week Over

I have several objectives that are satisfied when I turn the cows out for the grazing season.  One, I want to quit feeding stored goods, the single biggest expense in keeping a grazing animal.  And two, I want the cows out on grass 30 days minimum before calving.  Our first calf is due around mid May, so I am OK there.  As for feeding stored feeds, not so good; we are now getting snow off and on, so I have been feeding some hay on days there is snow.  When I turned the cows out I assumed the weather would continue to get warmer, or at least hover at the same temperatures we had been having.  Not so – it’s been feeling more like February than April.  Those pictures on the last Wordless Wednesday post?  Taken last week on the one sunny day we had

The first grazing week is always a little stressful.  Why stressful?  Any change is stressful.  My routine is changed, the cows routine is changed and the work load is different, not bad or harder, just different.  I have the cow hierarchy to take into consideration, because I did some switching around.  Namely, putting Ty back in the herd.  Sounds simple, but that also means Jane has lost her buddy and Ty is thrown back in with the jackals.  He’s a bruiser, but in his mind he is just the odd man out.  So he gets bullied a bit.

All the fence needs inspecting, and repaired or replaced if needed.  I don’t worry much about the fence during the winter when the cows are in, we have frequent wind storms, marauding elk and deer to whom a fence line is a mere suggestion of a barrier.  I am checking the fence just one field ahead of the cows as we move through the rotation.  Any sooner and I risk having to do it again.  Once the cows have moved through all the fields and sullied the grass for the ungulate palate I should have way less fence problems.  Before that is a waste of my time.

Where’s Ty?

The cow hierarchy probably brings the most stress.  I’ll put it bluntly  – I dislike Boss cows, affectionately know around here as Battle Axes!  If you’ve worked in an office or been in group of some sort you know what I mean – people behave the same.  The Boss Cows are the ones who get their way with force, and constant intimidation.  “You want water?  HA! I can stand here and chew my cud all day with one hoof tied behind my back, just try to sneak in here and get a drink!”  ” No one drinks until I say so.”  “Want to go through that gate?”  “Just try it and you’ll get your ribs battered.”

I am not kidding, and it is very annoying.  The personality of cow or steer or heifer I prefer is the Lead Cow.  Or the Bell Cow.  Each area has their nickname for the same animal.  Bellwether is the term.  It’s very important, too, to seek these individuals out, they know of what they graze.  They are the animal that watches you and takes that first step when you give the signal.  They might seem a little timid or dumb because they aren’t the blowhards of the group – they just do what needs doing when it needs to be done.  They are the leaders. The bellcow takes the first step to go to the next paddock with most following suit, and meanwhile the battle axes Boss Cows try to ball up works by standing broadside and not letting more timid animals pass.  Don’t get me wrong I don’t really hate any of my cows, but I sure can get mad a couple of them.  To avoid any problems, (file this under:  LTTHW – learned this the hard way) no animals that really have it out for each other get thrown together in confined spaces like the feeding shed.  I’m grazing in large paddocks now, soon the cows will be busy with newborns and they will have less time on their hands, or actually hooves, to pick fights.  By the time the paddocks are smaller most of this will be sorted out.

As for Jane, without her cow buddy she has to resort to the horse and us for companionship.  She missed Ty the first day, as the routine had changed.  By the second day she no longer expected Ty to be there waiting for her in the morning.  Handling her everyday is great and goes a long way towards making her a good house cow.   With Ty gone now, Jane comes to the gate at night chore time and is ready to go to her stall, instead of me having to go get her from the pasture.  Her routine now is much like it will be when she grows up and is a milker, only without the calf and milk part.

With the second week of spring grazing almost finished, I’m satisfied with the low stress levels we experienced.  The fence didn’t suffer as much this winter, so repairs were minimal.  And the cows are so happy to be kicking up their heels on the pasture.  Even though it is a cool one, spring feels good.

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