The Bovine Bugle

The heifers explore their new home

I lead the young heifers and steers to their new paddock this morning after chores. It's interesting watching them explore a new place. They are so much like young kids, having to stop and check out every little thing, going over rocks and through puddles instead of around them. When they finally made it to the open meadow they put up their tails and took off on the run. After a few times around they settled down. I wonder if this is where the expression "high-tailed it out of here" came from.

I headed back down to the house for the usual coffeebreak after morning chores and the young stock followed me part of the way down. After the break we moved the dry cow group into the grazing strip the milk cows had just been in. The dry cows do a good job cleaning up what the milking herd left behind and the "leftovers" are just right to meet the nutrional needs of the cows during their dry period. The cows that calve in the summer almost always have fewer problems than the cows that calve in late fall/early spring.

>--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont