Sometimes I have nightmares about fences down, cows getting out, and chasing cows around trying to get them back in the pasture. The first few times cattle got out on our farm were pretty stressful. It doesn't happen as often these days, but a cow or calf still does get out now and then. We've learned over the years that these problems can be minimized, and when they happen, it … [Read more...] about How to Get a Cow Back in the Pasture
Cattle Behavior
The Bond Between Mama Cow and Calf
One of the most special parts of running a cow-calf operation, is seeing the bond between mama cow and her baby. I captured some sweet moments over the last few days and wanted to share here. These "babies" in the pictures below were born in spring-2019. This is our first year on a delayed-weaning schedule. Normally, the calves would be wintered separately on the farm. It … [Read more...] about The Bond Between Mama Cow and Calf
Tales from the Cattle Farm: “What are you DOING?! Get out of THERE!”
Fences are a great invention. We like fences. Fences are good. They tend to keep our animals where they need to be. Emphasis on the word "tend". As I shared in a previous post, moose and fences don't really get along here on our farm. When a moose takes on an electric fence, the fence usually ends up flat on the ground! We train our animals to respect the electric … [Read more...] about Tales from the Cattle Farm: “What are you DOING?! Get out of THERE!”
New Blog Series: Observations from THE PASTURE
These last few weeks have found me getting more and more exited for our 6th calving season, and for ALL of this snow to disappear. With calving on the mind, I have been tossing around an idea for a future blog series. Seeing the attention our post, That Cow is Gonna Calve Soon: Signs of the Onset of Labor, has garnered since it's inception in 2014, I had a light-bulb … [Read more...] about New Blog Series: Observations from THE PASTURE
Thinking Ahead to the Beef Calving Season
Apparently, it is springtime now. It sure doesn't feel that way on the farm. For us, spring doesn't really emerge until April or May. But, spring will arrive to our neck of the woods soon enough and with it, preparation for our 2019 calving season. We pushed back our breeding season last summer by one week and therefore, we anticipate calves to start hitting the … [Read more...] about Thinking Ahead to the Beef Calving Season