Red Poll Girls - An Update

The cows got the last big, round bale of hay on April 18, though I've been feeding them small, square bales ever since then. I gave them their last small, square hay bales yesterday morning. I will now calculate their rate of consumption, the length of the hay feeding season, etc. for next year's planning:

Little Annie is cautious about muscling her way into the feeding frenzy, but she does eat hay when it looks safe to do so:

Amy and Jasmine have no such hesitation. They push and shove to get all the hay they can eat. By the way, the odd coloration in this photo is partially a result of the camera and the angle of the sun - but also partly true to life. I've noticed that as they shed the winter coats, the cows often look slightly orange:

And speaking of four-legged-appetites, that's Rosella on the left with little Annie just behind her. At the rate Annie is growing, she'll be as big as her older cousin very soon:

"Excuse me, excuse me. Just looking for a nibble of hay, please:"

Once mealtime is over, the ladies lie around, burping and chewing their cuds:

Big bellied girls, digesting their hay:

Annie truly knows how to get comfortable:

Who, me?:

The grass began to take on a slight green tint in mid-April and that was good enough for the Red Poll girls. They've been supplementing their hay with what little green grass they can find ever since. This week's warm weather has caused a spike in grass growth. In fact, everything is now beginning to turn green and growing at an accelerating pace:

I was standing inside the barn when I took this picture of Amy, Violet and Annie. They were waiting for me to get out of the doorway so they could come inside for grain:

The day I put out the last big, round bale of hay, the bale feeder was behind a short section of fence. All the cows watched me as if they didn't know how to get around the fence. Apparently they did, however, for they ran to it as soon as I drove away on the tractor: