Showing posts with label cud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cud. Show all posts

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Making Cud

Sub zero temperatures make the cows consume large amounts of hay so they can maintain their body heat.

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.

~