Red Poll Cows And My Learning Curve

I had a lot to learn about cows (and still do), but I've been working on it. I had sworn not to put any more big, round hay bales inside the barn because they waste so much of it, but sometimes the weather is so bad that I do it anyway. The cows love it:

The girls are all eating nicely now, though don't like to be chained. They put up with it, however, for the sake of molasses covered grain:

And they enjoy sleeping on the bedding hay which I put down in the barn. If the weather is not too bad, I lock them outside during the day. But if it's too cold, windy and/or wet, I allow them the shelter of the barn all day long. Of course, that means a very big manure cleaning job for me the next morning:

The girls don't usually seem to mind most of the snow or rain, and can even tolerate a great deal of cold:

They've scattered so much hay around their bale feeder that they now often take naps there:

Scarlett began showing bare patches and I suspected lice, a common problem for cattle in the winter. I called the vet in and he treated them, but the cows were so freaked out by a new person walking around them that Gracie snapped the weld off her chain and Jasmine slipped out of her collar. Now I need to build head locks before the artificial insemination technician can do his work - and get the cows used to being in a head lock. They won't like it at first, I'm sure of that:

They sure are happy when I give them a new hay bale:

And they're happy when they've just eaten their breakfast of grain:

They don't mind the snow at all. I must confess, however, that the snow in this photo was newly fallen. There is usually so much manure scattered over the ground that it doesn't look so clean:

I am planning to leave their tie stalls as they are, but add head locks made of lumber. I had planned to that at the beginning and now wish I had:

The cattle have become so trusting of me that I can walk out to their hay bale feeder and work with them without causing alarm:

In fact, as they get toward the end of a hay bale, I walk out frequently with a hay fork and fluff up their hay, pulling the center out toward the edge where they can reach it. They like me doing this and are not afraid of me. I work my way around the round feeder, fluffing as I go. When a cow is in the way, I simply give her a shove and she will move. They are good natured beasties, but I'm always aware of their great size. They could hurt me without meaning to: