The Red Poll Gals In Winter

The Red Poll cattle mostly stick together. They are herd animals, though sometimes they surprise me by going their separate ways:

And most of the time in winter, they can be found at the hay bale feeder. It takes a lot of roughage to keep those big bodies warm:

Both Tabitha and Maggie are still nursing, though they have reached the age where they could be weaned at any time. I have no place to separate them from their mothers, at least until they're sold, so their mothers will have to wean them:

Like the little horses, the cattle don't seem to mind the cold at all:

The edge of the bale feeder ring makes a comfy place to bed down because of the wasted hay which has been dropped there:

OK, I'll admit that I have too many photos of the cattle at the bale feeder, but that's where they always are. There are few opportunities for any other photos:

I'd just dropped a brand new hay bale into the feeder and then used the bale spear (on the front of the tractor) to break open the top layer of ice on the bale. The outer 5 or 6 inches then falls off, leaving the good stuff inside the bale to be easily accessed:

The wet spot on Jasmine's flank is from sleeping on unfrozen manure. I used to think that was not good, but if the cow pies are warm and form fittingly comfortable, I suppose it's really a good thing:

Early in the morning, after eating their grain, they all walk to the stock tank for a drink of water:

Scarlett looks so thin compared to the cows who are not currently lactating. Those gigantic calves guzzle a lot of milk!

Gracie, for instance, is looking rather fat because she hasn't been nursing a calf:

Tabitha, one of the rapidly growing milk guzzlers of whom I speak: