Once Upon a Time a Cow....

If you've never actually tasted the grass on the other side then maybe you have not really had an adventure. Tuesday morning one of our dry cows decided to try the grass on the other side herself. The dry cows are our pregnant cows that are within sixty days of calving and not being milked.

 
 222 decided she would step over the fence where a tree had fallen on it and walk into the hay field. She was like Cinderella having a wonderful time munching on hay until the clock struck "time-to-eat-breakfast-at-the-barn" which is usually around 5:00 am for them. While she was unable to find her way back to the hole in the fence she was able to walk around to the other side and, like Dorothy, follow the paved road to the barn.

Now all of this adventuring really made her hungry so she decided to stop for a bite to eat at our grain bin. With the obvious help of her fairy god-cow she was able to flip the switch that turned on a grain auger and let it run until it kicked the breaker off. Yes, she did.

She lay there in a slumber like Sleeping Beauty until we arrived at work. Luckily no one had to give her true love's kiss for her to wake up. She heard us coming, woke up, and we let her in through a gate to go back in with the rest of the dry cows who were ready for their breakfast.

Now that the fence has been repaired I think you could say that this story finally has a happy ending for farmer and cow.

Cow Vacations

"But I don't want a vacation!"

Whether you call her a work-aholic or just a creature of habit, 162 has not gotten used to not being milked yet. The day before yesterday she started her sixty day vacation which is also her dry period. Yesterday and this morning she came down to the gate to go to work and be milked even though she doesn't need to.

Dairy cows cannot be milked everyday forever and ever. They need time off just like people do. Cows, generally speaking, are milked for around 300 days and then have a sixty day dry period for the last part of their pregnancy. After they calve they will be ready to start being milked again.

162 is now hanging out in the dry cow pasture. She has access to water and hay. She also comes in once a day for silage, grain, and minerals. In a few more days 162 will realize she doesn't have to "go to work" with the milking herd and can enjoy her time off. Even cows need a vacation.