I had fun hanging out with Googly and her heifer calf, Glory, while they snacked on the bale-of-the- day.
This June born calf is still nursing off of her mom. Proof is this nice "milk face."
Meadow hay and milk keep calves growing strong during this winter weather.
The smell of the hay and the noise they make while pulling hay off the bale and getting it into their mouths is all part of the experience of "visiting" them during lunch.
The facial expressions that happen while they eat were comical.
Similar to my spaghetti eating experiences.
Cows eat quickly because they do not have to chew their food initially. First they rip it off the bale and swallow it. Later they will regurgitate it back up, as cud, to chew it properly and swallow it again.
My cows like to go to a special place to lay down and relax while they chew their cud.
Usually under the trees after breckfast and on the hay mound after dinner.
Mothers always eat with their daughers. Side by side.
And no matter how big the bale is, mom and daughter will share the exact same area of the bale.
Cow ettiquette is important in this herd.
After they eat they go together to the water tub for water and then they go lay down, together again, to chew their cud and keep warm during this -10 degree night.
Hope all of you and your livestock are staying warm and safe during these extreme tempertures.
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we upped the "groceries over the last week as our temps plummeted to -35C and below, too lazy to figure the conversion but -40 C and -40C are the same so you get the picture
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see that the cows are back on the blog. I have missed them.
ReplyDeleteIt's neat to see how they stick together. In our dairy herd, they don't do that! And is that a barn I see going up in the back ground?
ReplyDeleteHere it was +4F, not as cold as it's been. But the wind has been horrible, so we've closed the doors at night because of it. That barn is a wicked wind tunnel, but then it was built to be (old tobacco shed).
ReplyDeleteBut mostly they go in and out as they please. They were standing out in the rain for hours the other day. They are fed inside to conserve the manure/bedding pack for compost.
But a good deal of cud chewing is done outside, side by side.