In the Thistles

During the spring, summer and most of the fall(depending upon the weather) our dry cows and open and bred heifers and springing heifers are out on our hilly pasture to freshen naturally. We have less problems with them and they seem to be happy about it. When the time comes to bring momma in to return to work(milking)it becomes sometimes quite a adventure to find where the little lady or gentleman in hiding. Seems deer-like, just like when a doe hides her fawn while she grazes, a calf is told in the secret cow talk to "stay until I come back to get you" by her momma and the little calf frequently does just that. Many a times another dry cow will "adopt" the calf and watch over it like their own baby even though she have yet to freshen herself. This summer we had a cow #215 out to pasture when another cow had twins. #215 stole both of the twins from their mother and would not let us near them. Then when another cow had a calf she stole that heifer calf, too. So this dry cow had THREE babies on her as a just dry cow and raised them! She finally had her own heifer calf and we decided to take it from her as soon as it was able to stand to make sure it received colostrum. #215 did not have any colostrum as she had been feeding those three stolen calves for a month by then.
SO frequently after we put the newly freshened cows back on the milking line, we have to go hunting for the hidden calves. It usually become a rodeo of sorts, tumbling around on the hills in admist the thistles, trying to get ahold of a scared little calf. The calves usually come out by themselves when their bellies say "I'm Hungry!!!"
We still haven't caught two of those three stolen babies miss #215 had over the summer. They are WILD little brats and are of course weaned by now but are in al sorts of trouble. We'll put catching them on the chore list.....