Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

The mature cows, coming up from the back pasture for a treat of some range pellets.  Small price to pay to know that they are still where they belong!

Call them, and they will come...

I can say that when they are called, they don't waste any time in responding.  These girls, all of them expecting calves early next year, came RUNNING to see me (wishful thinking, they just wanted the treats).

The mature cows, making sure they don't leave behind any range pellets.

Remember the phrase from that old Madonna song - "girls just wanna have fun" -- well, this girl is having fun!

Pop asked me to take a bale of hay out to the pasture, and to wrap a cattle panel around it.  Well, the cattle panel was not long enough, so this is what I came up with.  Nobody cringe, it's getting the job done AND still holding several days later.

Labor Day

Labor day I spent time in the round pen with the weanlings.  I knew they were going to be moved to pasture later  that day, so I wanted to pet and brush them (as they would allow), and try to get a halter on Valentine.  Persistence paid off and I did get the halter on Valentine, and we walked around the round pen for a while, mostly with me following her from hay to grain, getting her used to wearing a halter.  We did gradually progress to some "leading" by me.  

Belle with T-Bone - September 2, 2019

The weanlings were easily moved from the round pen to a pasture with Belle, mother of our youngest longhorn, T-Bone.  As expected, they were happy to go from hay and grain to green grass.  In fact, we had to shoo them on from stopping to grab bites of green.  They didn't move far into the pasture at first, but enjoyed eating, although they had just finished their hay minutes earlier.  

Weanlings and Daffodil the chicken - September 2, 2019

There were some power struggles, of course, as there were already two older calves already in the pasture, one being Belle's calf from last year, Lulu, and an older calf belonging to one of our friends.  I watched as Belle and the older calf each took turns butting heads and trying to push around Buddy, one of the bull calves.  Nothing was heated, and everyone eventually settled down to grazing and napping under the trees.  

Weanlings - September 2, 2019

I decided to take the dogs out to the pasture and sat down under the trees and watched everyone, taking pictures of the goings on.  I also wanted everyone to get used to each other; everyone being the dogs and the cows.  Rocky, my golden boy who has to stay on a lead because he wanders off (he has been found miles down the road, it's in his blood), introduced himself to one of the heifers.  Sheba, who is more trustworthy about staying home, ran around chasing crickets or whatever else she could find.  

One of the weanlings and Rocky - September 2, 2019

It was a very enjoyable, stress free afternoon.

Weanlings, Belle and T-Bone - September 2, 2019