Amy continues to come into heat, inspiring some of her herd mates to mount her, but I can't allow her to get pregnant because her udder problems require her calves be hand fed, a mighty job which costs far, far more than the calf would sell for. I also don't think her genes should be perpetuated:
The bale feeder and consequently the herd are permanently on the east side of the barn until the weather warms up. This protects them from westerly winds, which is primarily what we get:
And I continue to move the bale feeder each time I bring them a new hay bale. This not only saves the feeder from ruin (as I learned the hard way) from becoming frozen in waste hay, but gives the cows some hay to sleep on:
I am amazed at how much protection the barn provides on windy days:
The cows (and horses too) are so well insulated that the snow builds up on their backs without melting:
Sometimes on mild days, they do a bit of exploring, but they don't go far. Their life in the winter centers around the bale feeder:
We had a freezing rain which covered the herd with ice. They didn't seem to mind:
They looked as if they had crystalline threads all over their bodies:
I wish I could say that they knew enough to get out of the way of the tractor, but they don't. I have to be very careful:
Moving the bale feeder before putting in a new bale helps, as the animals are still concentrating on the former site:
Jasmine is often the first cow to the bale feeder:
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