Moving the Herd

Cows need help with bugs every now and then, so we round them up and spray them with some stuff that helps. Saturday was round up day.

We don't have a bunch of horses to saddle up and go after them with, but luckily we do have a good group of cows. Make them think it is dinner time and they will get up from their afternoon naps and come running. Follow up behind them pushing the stragglers with the four wheeler and they come along nicely.

The only thing is they want some results from that deception so they can get kind of pushy and insistant when they start to figure out they have been suckered into something they didn't expect.

Sometimes that can be just moving to a new hayfield, sometimes it means it is time for weaning the babies from their mommies, but today was for bug spray and splitting the group into mommies and babies in one field and the rest of the cows with the bull in another field. That all makes them more careful and wary about what we are doing moving them around.

Of course they aren't the only ones being careful about what is happening. Jake likes to stay in the truck when the cows are getting close. We like him to be there too. The rest of the dogs leave when the cows come around, but Jake likes to stay close, too close. Right under your feet if he can't get under the four wheeler or truck, but that means the cows can see him so they come sniffing. In the truck is better, they can't see him.

So the cows are sprayed, well most of them anyway - one crazy cow went through the fence - the calves are with their moms and here come the rest of the harem herd heading to the spa with their king.
So that was our afternoon of cows. Lots of up hill and down hill jogging in the catch lot. Next - Flowers.