Nursery Field Family

This falls into the no news is good news category.

Our three heifers in the nursery field across the river and their three mothers are settling in to the delineation between them and the main herd. The three young heifers are hanging together as best friends and we see them meandering around the big field investigating their surroundings. This grouping is good because it is less likely they will have any issue with coyotes if they stay together even if the mothers are off grazing on the other side several acres away. While the main herd is just over the fence and along the base of the hill most of the time, the short barb wire fence is enough to keep the three pair and the main herd separate from each other, so far the calves have not tried to escape nor have any of the main herd tried to break into the large pasture/grass/hayfield.

That is the no news/good news part, but there is something looming that we will have to be watching for.

The oldest calf, ZuZu is now over a month old and her mother Zion appears to be about ready to come back into heat since delivering her calf. The herd sire, Sky High, is ready to jump into take care of business even though we would prefer for the mating to hold off for another month or so giving the cow time to enjoy this baby before getting on with the business of growing a new calf. The main herd watches over the fence at the six of them grazing in the green pasture while they are contending with the mud along the logging road and around the outdoor feeders but no one has yet breached the fence line although I did observe Sky High lingering and getting some ideas.

The disappearing act that Sky High did a couple of months ago when we tried to move him to be with the cows by the show barn that ended in several fences, the garden and the county road all breached in an effort to get back to the business of being with the main herd, we are not sure what to expect when one of the new mothers does begin her cycles. We will be monitoring the situation.