The Red Poll Ladies (And One Boy)

Spring has now really, truly arrived and the cattle are fat and happy:

Jasmine's rear hoof grew too long once again, but this year I was prepared with heavy duty loping shears. She is tame enough to allow me to snip off the end of her hoof while she is lying down, relaxing:

There is now ample grass and mild temperatures, neither too hot nor too cold - and the biting flies are not yet out in full force:

The girls like to nap next to the horses' corral. I find it touching that they still consider their little horses to be part of the herd:

As for the little bull calf, he's growing like a weed and running like a deer. When he sleeps, he likes to do it in a secluded corner like this one or beside his gigantic mother:

All is well right now, a blessed relief from trying to deal with crises:

"Ha ha! You'll never catch me!"

If the afternoon sun gets hot, the girls retire to the shady east side of the barn:

Gracie is a handsome cow. Alas, she hasn't been coming into heat so has not calved in several years:

Rosella and her little bull calf are doing well:

 Jasmine likes to recline in the soft grass:

The bale feeder ring is still in the field even though I haven't put hay in it for quite some time. I'll roll it out of the way one of these days. Right now there is just so much else to do!:

Autumn Red Polls

We had a pleasant early autumn and the red ladies seemed to enjoy it. The flies were gone and the grass was still plentiful:

I always say hello to the cows when I walk out into the field, calling them by name. These two were Violet and Amy:

I enjoy the cool air and beautiful scenery. The cows enjoy the grass and the freedom from biting insects:

The two little horses grazed while Violet and Amy watched me as I moved around them:

  I saw Jasmine lying down near Scarlett and I had two pairs of pruning shears with me, so I walked over:

Jasmine has a problem with her hooves growing too long and she's the tamest of the cows - so I've been trying to clip off the end of her longest claw when I see her lying down like this:

Success! I clipped off the end of the claw under the yellow arrow. The two claws on her other foot (under the blue arrow) broke off naturally this year:

Jasmine has been keeping up with the herd better than before. I try to give her a little extra nutrition also:

Rosella should be pregnant but she sure doesn't look like it, does she?

Lazy, pleasant autumn days:

But as I posted yesterday, I finally had to start putting out hay. I popped off the outer layer before I dropped the rest of the bale in the feeder, and the cows ran over to help themselves:

Then the horses came over to join the feast:

Red Ladies Of The September Pasture

The cows are fat and lazy, preferring to lounge comfortably in the field while they chew their cuds:

 Jasmine, my favorite, still has overgrown hooves and I am investigating some way to get them cut:

When they're not lying down, they get up just long enough to graze. Once they are full, they lie down again for more cud chewing:

I call them to the barn for grain every morning but they're so sated with grass that they mostly ignore me. They not only don't come into the barn, they usually won't even lift their heads to look my direction:

 Jasmine, resting apart from the herd. It's a soft, pampered life they lead:

I took a series of photos of Lucky to use on Craigslist, but with him no longer coming into the barn each morning, I haven't yet advertised him (catching him in the barn is the only way I have of transferring him to a new owner):

Every so often, Rosella and Scarlett come in for a bit of grain. Sometimes Lucky and Amy come in. Jasmine, Gracie and Violet almost never come in:

But they are happy outside in the field and their big, fat bellies show that they aren't going hungry:

 Gracie and Jasmine, resting in the soft Smartweed:

 Jasmine again:

They are comfortable with me walking among them but don't want me to get all touchy-feely (except for Jasmine - she likes attention):

They remember when I used to bring apples and pears out to them and clearly hope I'm bringing some again when I walk toward them. With their obesity, though, I no longer give them any:

The Red Poll Cattle

Rocket is growing into a majestic looking bull. He is sold, and I have a deposit on him. He's to be picked up in about a week and I can only hope I can get him into the barn on that morning. I've been encouraging him to come inside every morning, so he gets used to it:

 Little Lucky has reached the cute and curious stage:

 Life is good and there is much sleeping to be done:

 Gracie is a favorite aunt to little Rocket:

 Notice the sleeping position of the cow in the back (I'm not sure who it was):

 Rosella fed Lucky while Rocket grazed:

 Jasmine is very sweet but she still has hoof problems. I'm not sure how this will all work out:

 And Amy has udder problems. While she is drying off well enough, I don't believe I can or should breed her again. Sigh.

 Elvis was growing so fast, consuming so much milk replacer and taking so much time (not to mention the time spent cleaning his stall twice a day) that I decided to try selling him. But who would want a bottle baby calf? Lots of people, I found out when I advertised him. Now he has a new home:

 The herd loves to lounge beneath the Box Elder trees on the east side of the barn:

 Scarlett and Lucky, her grandson:

Another Cattle Crisis

The cattle seemed to be doing fine now that Rosella had recovered from her porcupine quills:

But sweet natured Jasmine did not seem to feel well and stood up as little as she could get away with:

I had previously noticed that she had one claw of a back hoof which was overgrown, so I went out to take a closer look while she was resting. It looked long, but not as long as I'd remembered it:

Alas, when she stood up it appeared much worse and was obviously painful for her:

I called the neighbor who had tranquilized Rosella when she had the porcupine quills. He came out and shot Jasmine with a tranquilizer dart. Remy pulled it out and ran around with it in his mouth until we took it from him - but it had been in Jasmine long enough to have emptied:

Jasmine was slow going down and never went out completely. I had to repeatedly push down her head to keep her from trying to stand up while the neighbor inspected her hoof:

He found a bad crack in her hoof and began paring away at the overgrowth and trying to open up the crack because it had become infected inside:

Rosella and the little horses were very worried and kept checking on Jasmine while he worked:

You can see the crack in the front of the lower claw which he opened up with a knife and rasp:

When he was done, he filled the crack with black ointment to draw out the poison, wrapped the foot in an ACE bandage and gave her a shot of penicillin. Sweet Remy came over and lay his head on her lovingly, while Blue just wanted to check out that bandage:

The next morning, I found Jasmine on her feet and apparently feeling much better. Sadly, I also discovered another big hoof crack, this one in a front claw. I don't yet know how this will be resolved or why her hooves are cracking: