Episode #56: Cows are curious animals

 If you have never had cows or worked cows, it may surprise you to know that they are among the most curious of animals. I cannot help but laugh at them. After they have been in one area for a period of time and they are used to their surroundings they will notice when something has been changed or out of their 'ordinary' and they will have to check it out. If they notice that I have closed a gate that is usually open, they will immediately go over to check it out and see what is up.

It is not just the 2 cows I have now, they have all been like this. I cannot tell you how many times I have shut the gate to the small pasture next to the house so as to move hay, or cut trees or some other activity that I do not want them in there, they will walk up to the gate and just stare at it, as if they stand there long enough it will just open up for them.

Anytime there has been a very strong storm, I almost always some tree damage that will range from a broken branch to a split tree. When I get the chain saw out to trim the tree or cut it down, they are right there in the middle of my business. Then when I finish, I will drag the limbs or tree to a pile that I will eventually burn, they will follow me and will start eating the leaves before I even get to the burn pile. You would think they are staring to death, but they are well fed.

These cows, like many others I have had in the past will eat cattle cubes out of my hand just like a dog so they are as docile as they are tame. When I want them to come to me, all I do is get outside the house call them up or rattle a feed bucket and they will immediately come running up from where ever they are. 

Though I have had those exceptional ones that are as mean as hell itself. I had one cow that was so mean I named her Black Widow. She was a big and tall gal that looked like she was part Brahman. I could never get her to come up to me, she was tall and 'nervous' and would jump the fence and got out a couple of times. To stop that, I put up a 'hot fence line' along the top strand of barbed wire which was 5' high. As stated before, they are curious animals so it was in her nature to see what I had done and she walked up to it and touched her nose to the wire. When it shocked her, she let out a bellow like a bull and reared up on her back legs like a wild stallion. She learned her lesson that day and did not get out of the fence after that! 

She was one cow that when she had a calf, I could not even close to her to check on them without her trying to charge me. She was a good mother cow and had a really good calf, but she was just too mean to have around I had to get rid of her. 

Earlier this week I borrowed a trailer from a friend of mine to buy hay for the winter. Depending on how wet and cold the winter is these two cows will eat between 6 and 9 bales of hay. These bales are usually 4'x4' or 5'x5' round bales and will weigh between 900-1400 pounds each so I need to keep at least 10 in the barn before winter starts. The trailer I borrowed will carry 4 bales and I purchased 8 and with what I have in the barn now that gives me 15 so I have plenty for this year and if we have a mild winter this will last me 2 winters.

In the pictures below you can see I shut the gate to keep the cows out of this small pasture while I had the trailer hooked up to my pickup. As a result of the closed gate that is usually open, they come over and just stand there and look at it as if they look at it long enough it will magically open. By the time I take this picture, they have been standing there motionless for almost an hour.

Their curiosity amuses me to no end!