Delivery

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More than a month ago, a farmer from above Seattle was inquiring about purchasing the last herd sire (Grasshopper) that we had from the bull pen along with a pregnant cow that had no relation to the bull.

Gauge is an excellent mother and produces some healthy, quality calves. From those who have followed the farm stories for a long time know that Gauge was born down in the woods beyond the barn, and was featured with a video of her minutes after birth searching for a claiming her first meal. She is part of the Erroline heritage that has enriched our breeding program over the years.

We had agreed to sell the Grasshopper the bull and Gauge the cow after we had weaned the calf  she had this from this spring. The weaning process was calm with the use of the green weaners, once Gauge had dried up her milk supply we separated the baby along with three others we weaned at the same time. While staying with the main herd, we gave Gauge a couple more weeks to adjust to being without her calf.

The day came when we loaded Gauge into the stock trailer and moved her away from the main herd and across the river where she could spend time with Grasshopper before being sold as a pair. The first day alone in the pen with Grasshopper went as expected, there was a lot of circling and sniffing to get an idea who these two strangers were to each other. But once Gauge saw that she was going to be treated twice daily with not just the regular fare of hay that the main herd gets but also grain and chopped apples, she jumped right in to eat and lounge about the pasture area delighting in her good fortune. Grasshopper and Gauge tolerated each other but did not worry about what the other one was doing and we would find them resting and chewing their cud at opposite ends of the pasture.

Within four days, the two bonded and became buddies. They drank water at the same time, moved out of the barn and into the pasture together, and would rest side by side during breaks in the grazing routine.

We were now ready to transport them as a pair. They were loaded into the trailer and hauled halfway to Seattle where we met with the purchasing farmer. Mike backed the two stocktrailers together on a large block of flat pavement at a rest area along I-5, the doors were opened and the pair walked from one trailer to the next without much fuss. The pair are reported to be fitting in nicely with their new herd at the new farm.