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

Scarlett was drawing close to her theoretical calving date - if indeed she was impregnated via artificial insemination. If so, she would be the only cow for which A.I. was successful this year:

Amy was always one of the calmer, friendlier cows, but she became even more so as the cold strengthened and she became accustomed to getting grain every morning. I had pulled out my camera to snap a photo and she came lumbering through the snow, hopeful that I had come bearing grain. Alas, I had none with me:

One thing the grain has done is to make me more interesting to the cows. They stop what they're doing and watch me whenever I appear in their yard:

Scarlett's udder began to swell, likely a sign that she was going to calve soon. I've been wrong before, though, so I snapped a photo of her udder (on the left), then compared it with a photo of Violet's udder. I had planned to compare it to Rosella's udder because she is Scarlett's daughter and built much like her, but her udder was so small I couldn't even see it to take a photo. As each day passed, Scarlett's udder became more swollen and I became more worried about the brutally frigid weather we were having:

Jasmine was herself through it all. She's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but she's calm and friendly and easy to handle:

For two days, our weather warmed up and all our snow melted, even the 6 foot drifts. Alas, all the melted snow began to flood the pasture and I then worried that Scarlett might drop her calf in the water, where it would surely drown:

But our two day warm spell ended suddenly and spectacularly with a snowfall of two to three feet and temperatures nearing -20 F. I went out the next morning and found this pitiful face looking through the partially open barn door. They were all crowded by the door, hoping for grain:

They had up to 8" of snow piled on their backs and faces:

And icicles hanging off their bellies:

They ate their grain, shook off a lot of snow, and went back outside for a drink of water and more hay:

Our weather finally moderated to near normal temperatures, still not ideal for calving, but better than it was. As I type this, I am still waiting for Scarlett to calve:

I keep moving the bale feeder and try to replace it before they really get low on hay. They probably like the extra hay so they can pick and choose, but all the wasted hay is making quite a mess:

Are These Ladies Pregnant?

Those of you who have been following this blog know that four of my cows have not gotten pregnant via artificial insemination this year, and two of those four have not calved in two years. The remaining two cows, due in October and January, may or may not be pregnant, but given the track record so far, I couldn't count on it. I rented a neighbor's bull for two months and now can only wait and see:

 I believe the problem has been that I let my cows become obese. I've heard of others who have had the same problem. Apparently there is a downside to cattle with great feed efficiency:

 Cows, especially obese cows, seldom show their pregnancy and I can now only wait nine and a half months to find out. Of course if any should come into heat, I'll know they aren't pregnant - but they weren't showing when they came into heat either, which was part of the problem with using artificial insemination. This cow, by the way, is Jasmine. She is the sweetest girl in the herd and a real beauty:

 I believe they have lost some weight this summer - not enough, but they do make a striking scene as they grace the south field:

 Violet is the cow who we think had been carrying a mummified fetus. The vet gave her a hormone injection to get her to expel it but I never found anything. I also never saw her flirting with the bull when he was here, so she remains the biggest potential problem. That's Blue in the background:

 Amy and Scarlett:

 Rosella is tame and gentle, but also young enough to be frisky and not want to hold still:

 It's a peaceful scene as we move into autumn, with contented cows and mini-horses:

 Gracie still looks quite obese and I can only hope the bull was able to impregnate her. Producing milk for a calf will help trim her down:

 This is Jasmine again. Remember the previous picture where she looked so beautiful? This is her looking like a space alien:

 They've kept the grasses and weeds short since I bush hogged the field in July. I believe that was a side benefit of having the bull in the field - his large appetite. Otherwise, the south field might again be overgrown by now:

 Amy is due in late October and Scarlett is due in January. The rest of the ladies will probably remain a mystery until April and May:

The Red Poll Girls

The last of the 88 big round bales was gone in late April, which in most years would have been just right. But this year, I had to keep bringing small, squares bales out to the bale feeder from inside the barn. That ended the first week of May:

Violet tested negative for Bovine Leukosis Virus, which was a blessing - but as far as I could determine, she never passed the mummified fetus. The next step is to take a blood test for progesterone level, but Violet does not want to be fooled into coming inside the barn again. In fact, none of the cows have been willing to come into the barn for nearly a month now. I ring the bell for them and they lift their heads, look at me, then continue grazing:

Gracie and Amy:

Gracie again. She looks much thinner in this photo:

I've come to realize that Red Polls develop large briskets, which is the projection on the cows' breast, and an indication of how obese they are. My cows have gotten much too fat:

Life is good for these girls, and they have no job to do but lounge around and eat:

Rosella is pregnant, but not due for a few more months:

Jasmine was due April 30 and looked enormous, ready to pop at any moment. Alas, it never happened. It's not so unusual that the artificial insemination didn't take, but I worry that I haven't seen her in heat over the past 10 months:

Gracie and Scarlett:

Gracie too was due April 30, but she also disappointed me. You can see why I believed she was pregnant. I guess she was just fat:

But despite the problems, the girls are healthy. I don't believe there is anything wrong with them except obesity. The problem is my letting them get so fat and not watching closely enough to know when they are in heat. There may also have been a problem with the semen used, but all the old semen is gone now anyway and we are using a new bull's semen now:

Gracie and Scarlett. I've been very discouraged by these failures, but will need to double down on my management of the herd:

Red Poll Cattle Update

My five bovine girls have grown fat and happy over the summer. They graze contentedly in the pasture and lie down beneath the Box Elder trees to chew their cuds:

The also like to lie down on the bare earth near the stock tank. I believe they enjoy the warmth of the soil and they also throw the dust up over their backs to chase away flies. Notice the white tassel on the upraised tail. That's a breed characteristic:

This is Scarlett. She doesn't look pregnant, does she? But she began developing an udder and apparently will be calving soon:

In contrast to the above photo, they all look pregnant here (but they're not). It just demonstrates how a photo can emphasize different things - and also that cows are pretty wide animals, pregnant or not:

Peaceful, breezy summer days:

They seldom are more than a few feet apart, but this cow was too comfortable to get up and move:

They have a small Box Elder on the southwest corner of the barn, a favorite place to hang out:

And they still get grain once a day. They don't need it, of course, but I need to keep them tame and coming into the barn when called:

This is Scarlett again, this time looking more pregnant. You can also see the beginnings of an udder:

I have two cows who should calve any day now, two who have been bred to calve in the spring, and one who is not yet bred:

All in all, I am happy with my cows and think I made a wise purchase. Only time will tell how well the calves will sell. Heaven knows I'm doing my best to promote the breed:

One last shot of three contented cows, chewing their cuds and enjoying the good life: