Viewing a thread - Small patches of grass and cow families (pics)

Forums | Classifieds (2) | Skins | Language

You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )

Small patches of grass and cow families (pics)	View previous thread :: View next thread
Forums List -> Stock Talk	Message format

Jim

Posted 5/3/2010 01:19 (#1183978)
Subject: Small patches of grass and cow families (pics)

Driftless SW Wisconsin

Seems a bit slow on here with all the field work etc. I finished planting my strip till corn last week. The cattle are tired of hay and want something green. The main pastures are not quite ready yet so I've been using electric wire to use up odd patches of grass before the main pasture rotations start probably late next week.

Here are couple pictures of some of my Herefords enjoying a small hilltop patch of good grass. If there is such a thing as "aggressive" grazing they were into it!

Watching them I noticed something I have seen before - cow families grazing together. Here is a picture of one of my cows, her heifer daughter next to her and this years bull calf along side his older sister all grazing together - at least until the calf decided I was too close... Very often I will see 3 generations all hanging out or grazing together, side by side. They are in the process of going from winter to summer coats so they look a bit scruffy.

When I open these small patches I sometimes have to put up a hot wire around things such as the water hydrant or they think I left it as a scratching post and can cause some expensive damage. I walked by the hydrant and what do I see but a new 2 day old heifer calf right in the middle of the hot wire circle....

Here also is a picture of a few more of this years calves running around while their Mom's graze up on top of the hill. I hate to waste good hay so I just dropped the remains out of the feeders in the corner by the corral for them to clean up - or use it for hide and seek!

My bull is still in an adjacent field by himself and appears to be doing fine. He is a pretty mellow guy - for a 2200 lb bull. I gave him a small pan of sweet feed just to keep him coming to me. Maybe I'll try to keep in there for a bit longer. Next weeks rotation he will be along a fence from his girls and that seems to keep him happy. He seems to be just counting the days to June 15th...definitely a grass-fed bull, should be in good shape for breeding season. Here are some pics.

Jim at Dawn

Edited by Jim 5/3/2010 16:46