Sunday, May 25, 2014

What the cows are up to right now

 I've moved my herd of cows onto spring/summer pasture.  This particular property is only 7 acres of grass, so it's not worth trying to hay it, but it does make a great seasonal pasture.  Wait until the ground is firm enough, and then drop the cows off to eat the grass.  When it's this tall the cows mostly just bite the top 6" off and leave the stems -- I'll mow it after I'm done grazing to get rid of the stands of straw left over.
 The angus bull is really looking good.  You can't tell very well from this picture, but he's shiny and smooth and really a nice looking bull.
 My little dairy cow isn't so little anymore; she's due in July, so out with the herd now.  When she gets closer I'll pull her back to the main farm to have her calf, along with the herford in the picture below.
 All told, there are 10 dairy heifers that are new this year, 4 dairy cows that I've had for the last few years, and 6 assorted beef cows (bull, couple of cows, couple of heifers), for a total of 20.  This 6 acres will last for a month or 6 weeks, and then I'll move the whole herd to another pasture that's a bit larger for the rest of the year.
Yep, looks good.  The cows love the fresh green grass.

2 comments:

ellie k said...

The bull looks like a nice built guy.

Karin L said...

Can't see his nuts, but if he's got guts and butts too, then that's certainly a good bull. Especially when he's in his working clothes. I like his topline, he's long in body, and he's nice and deep in the heart girth. I'd have loved to see more of him, like feet and more of his hindquarters, but I have to say anyway: Good choice in getting him!