The Red Poll Ladies

Only two of the cows are pregnant, but some of the others seem to come into heat occasionally. If I can get the timing right, I'll get them artificially inseminated:

They are all healthy, even fat, and living a comfortable life:

I don't let them into the barn except to eat a bit of grain in the mornings, though on most mornings they can't be bothered to walk to the barn to get it:

Life consists of eating hay, then hanging around while it digests. Digestion includes burping up and chewing their cuds:

I go out each morning just as the sun is about to lift over the trees. I see some gorgeous skies on many mornings:

A new hay bale generates much excitement:

Winter storms are taken in stride. You can see the snow blowing past the red bodies in this photo, as well as the snow covered trees in the background:

The barn door was open because this was a morning when Amy and Rosella had come in for a bit of grain:

I hopped off the tractor to move the bale feeder, but Gracie decided that she couldn't wait to taste the new hay:

With a new bale in place, everybody was happy:

This is what winter life is about for a cow - plentiful hay and unfrozen water, the essences of life:

I'd say these ladies are living well:

The Red Poll Ladies In December

The cows seem to be unusually hungry this winter and have begun coming into the barn for a bit of grain on many mornings, something they've resisted for a long time. Jasmine, however, has gotten so spoiled that she thinks I'm supposed to carry grain out to her. She eats it, and only then goes into the barn to see what's inside. A bad bit of training on my part:

Prepare for many photos of the herd at the bale feeder this winter. They seldom go anywhere or do anything else:

When they've eaten all the hay, they burp up their cud for another chewing:

On extra cold days with westerly winds, they shelter on the east side of the barn:

I've been working on getting them into the barn for morning grain - not because they need grain, but so that I can work with them when they need veterinary care, artificial insemination or worming:

Scarlett was artificially inseminated in July, but it didn't take, so she had to be inseminated again. A calf is now expected this summer:

It may be winter, but we still have some lovely days:

The animals don't seem to mind the cold on days like these:

And they sure get down to serious eating when I put out a new hay bale:

I move the bale feeder each time I put out a new bale. I learned the hard way that not doing so makes it nearly impossible to move when spring arrives. Sadly, I seem to learn everything the hard way:

A rare moment when the girls wandered out into the field for no apparent reason except, perhaps, to chew their cuds:

After I drop a new bale into the feeder, I climb down off the tractor and remove the outer 4 or 5 inches from the bale because it's become water logged, icy and moldy. Under that outer layer, the hay is just fine:

The Red Poll Girls

Violet and Scarlet watched me with interest as I snapped their picture. Someone behind them apparently wanted to get into the picture too but was squeezed out:

Life is good for six red cows and one white calf:

Jasmine and Gracie:

Gracie again. Some of my cows have lost weight, but Gracie seems to be fatter than ever:

One morning it was obvious that Rosella was in heat, so I called the A.I. (artificial insemination) technician. Then I lured Rosella into the barn with grain and locked her inside. She didn't seem to mind much, though she'd have preferred to be outside with her herd:

When the A.I. man arrived, I got Rosella into the squeeze chute and closed the head lock on her. She's used to this and was not alarmed:

The A.I. man got out a straw of frozen semen from a champion Red Poll bull, warmed it up and inserted it. It was all finished in short order and Rosella rejoined her herd:

Jasmine is looking very good this summer except that her hooves are beginning to grow too long again:

Finding good, tasty grass took more time and travel during the drought, but now that it's growing rapidly again, there's plenty of time for napping:

They cover every inch of their pasture, making sure they don't let any grass get too tall:

Little Lucky isn't all that little any more and I've taken a series of photos to use when I advertise him for sale. He's not very old, but he's big, strong and independent:

The Red Poll girls are a peaceful bunch, spending their days together as a family:

The Red Poll Ladies (And Their Sons)

This year has been disappointing with the cattle. Only one pregnancy resulted in a purebred calf from artificial insemination, and only two pregnancies resulted from a bull in residence for two months last year. Three cows did not calve at all, one had to have her calf taken away, and there are still hoof problems which I seem helpless to do anything about. Nevertheless, the girls look healthy and happy:

Four of them usually will come into the barn each morning for a bit of grain, and I am trying especially hard to convince the two bull calves that the barn is their friend. I need them to come into the barn on the day their new owners pick them up. I'll then close the door on them so we can load them up when the buyers arrive to get them:

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. It's a peaceful, comfortable life they all lead:

Amy is the cow whose giant udder required me to take her calf. She's over it now, and little Lucky comes in with her each morning to investigate the barn and eat a bit of sweet feed:

Rocket has grown so big he's nearly as tall as his mother. At the rate he's growing, Lucky may soon catch up to him:

Apparently my unimproved pasture has plenty of good food to eat, for both cattle and horses have obesity problems:

They love to collect beneath the Box Elder tree for shade and to rub against each other to get rid of pesky flies:

Scarlett came into heat a week ago (see Amy's head up on her back), but it was on a Sunday so I didn't call the artificial insemination man. If she cycles at 21 days, it may always be on a Sunday, but I'll try to work something out with the A.I. technician:

Despite the problems, they are an impressive looking herd and people love to watch them from the road:

They are also friendly with me and a pleasure to have on pasture:

Lucky is beautiful young bull calf, and I suspect he will sell quickly when the time comes:

Scarlett and her grown daughter, Rosella, still often travel together, even after all this time:

It's A Boy!

If you've followed the blog, you know that I've had trouble with my cows not getting pregnant with artificial insemination and rented a neighbor's bull for two months over the summer. But there was one cow, Scarlett, who might yet have been pregnant from A.I. and she was due in the middle of winter. Her udder began to swell about a week before she was due, then one morning I went out to do chores and found this little red cutie curled up on a bed of hay:

Of course I worried about how such a little thing could survive the rigors of our north country winters, but it seemed to be OK, even though it couldn't stand very well:

Two of Scarlett's teats always swell up too big for her newborn calves, but they use the two small teats until their mouths get big enough to handle the others:

Scarlett has never acted hostile, but she is clearly protective of her baby, so I don't push my luck. Instead, I took photos of the little one's rear end, then enlarged the photos to see if it was male of female. Alas, I still couldn't tell:

I watched the little thing struggle to get a teat. It wasn't successful and I wanted to help but knew I'd upset Scarlett and do more harm than good. So I went back in the barn, glancing back just in time to see the calf connect with a teat:

Gracie came over and lay down on the bed of hay with Scarlett and her baby. The other cows act as aunts to the new calves, keeping an eye on them while they're very little:

I went out frequently the first day but Scarlett was always standing over her baby so I never got to determine its gender:

Being an inveterate worrier, I fretted the second night as the cold winds swirled past my bedroom window. Could the baby survive the winter weather. The next morning, I saw that indeed it could. In fact, it was already looking stronger:

It was a cute little thing, the only purebred calf I'll have this year:

The second morning, I called the cows into the barn for grain, then walked outside to examine the calf. It was clearly a bull calf. I had a guy two years ago who wanted to buy one. I'll contact him and see if he's still interested. Of course there is no hurry, as this boy won't be ready for six months:

I worried a bit about how the horses would treat him, but they were careful not to step on him:

I named the little guy "Windswept Rocket" and will be watching him closely as he gets on his feet and gains strength. For now at least, all is well: