Missing Switch or A Tail Tale

I found a switch hanging on the gate by the chain that was wrapped around as a lock. It was only the last inch connected to a foot of hair.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a switch is a cows tail. It is very useful to swat flies that land in the middle of their back. One good swipe and the pesky fly has to go looking for new territory. The tail itself may only be as long as their knees, but the ball of hair on the end may grow another foot or two. Many of the older, more senior cows grow the tail hair long enough to drag on the ground as they walk. When they swing their tails its more like a club than a broom.

The tail appendage narrows down to very small bones and at the very tip is only cartilage. Cows love to itch and scratch and finding clumps of tail hair wrapped onto barb wire or caught between fence boards is not uncommon around the place. This time the itchy scratch-er must of flipped her tail and got it stuck in the chain. When she walked away, the last inch of the tip remained behind.

The switch I found tangled in the gate chain was jet black, not a single white hair denoting age of an animal. That narrowed down who may have lost it. In this area of farm are the 4 big show cows, 2 young cows, the herd sire, 6 baby calves and 3 yearling heifers. The coloring brought the scope down to the 3 yearlings or the 2 young cows.

One quick look in the barn confirmed my suspicions. #95 was standing there calmly chewing her cud with the last part of her tail missing. She still has a few long hairs and will be able to swat away what bothers her, in a couple of days she will not even miss her switch.