greenmojo
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2012
- Messages
- 297
- Location
- Badger Mountain, WA
- Tractor
- John Deere 4300, John Deere 450C
We picked up a 1 year old bred heifer (Angus x Wagyu), and had her delivered to her new pasture. This is my first cow, and other than being around a few when I was a boy, I know nothing about them outside of perfecting a few good techniques on the Traeger.
The starter pasture is about one acre, one side is wooden posts, the other three are t-posts. Four strands of 4-point barbed wire at 1' intervals, top wire being 4' off the ground.
We had her delivered in the late afternoon from a place about 2 hours away. The heifer was from a small herd of about seven or so cows. First time out of her pasture, first time in a trailer, etc.
At first she was fine, standard mooing, eating and the like.
Then about 10 minutes after the owner drove off with the trailer, she began to get agitated, and running the fence line of the pasture.
She took a few good runs at what appears to look like the shortest part of the fence (however it is all 4'), and each time she would turn at the last minute.
Finally, she took one more run and this time, she lifted off like the most beautiful 750 pound heifer you could imagine flying through the air and landing quite gracefully on the other side, dragging her back feet through the top strand of barbed wire.
A long evening of circling out in front of her as she crossed 3 different property lines we finally had her stopped. A call to a local cattleman friend, and he came up with his dog and we were able to walk her up through two fences, back onto the property and into the pasture. I didn't believe this was possible while I was nearly puking from running 2 miles through sagebrush hills.
She spent that night in the trailer and the next day she was jailed in 12' ranch panels.
She spent 2 days in her 12' x 12' cell, and then the last day in a 24' x 24' cell. I put up a Gallagher S17 hot wire (solar), but I think it needs to charge a bit more, touching it is only a slight zap, nothing that would stop me from anything.
I let her out for a few hours to graze today, then pressured her back into jail this evening. When she was out, she mostly grazed, but a few times she seemed to be a bit agitated and ran along the fence, then attention went back to eating. I got a bit nervous for a moment.
Long story, my question... how long to jail her? is getting another heifer or steer going to solve the problem?
Any tips or guidance, I am all over it.
Thank you,
~Moses
The starter pasture is about one acre, one side is wooden posts, the other three are t-posts. Four strands of 4-point barbed wire at 1' intervals, top wire being 4' off the ground.
We had her delivered in the late afternoon from a place about 2 hours away. The heifer was from a small herd of about seven or so cows. First time out of her pasture, first time in a trailer, etc.
At first she was fine, standard mooing, eating and the like.
Then about 10 minutes after the owner drove off with the trailer, she began to get agitated, and running the fence line of the pasture.
She took a few good runs at what appears to look like the shortest part of the fence (however it is all 4'), and each time she would turn at the last minute.
Finally, she took one more run and this time, she lifted off like the most beautiful 750 pound heifer you could imagine flying through the air and landing quite gracefully on the other side, dragging her back feet through the top strand of barbed wire.
A long evening of circling out in front of her as she crossed 3 different property lines we finally had her stopped. A call to a local cattleman friend, and he came up with his dog and we were able to walk her up through two fences, back onto the property and into the pasture. I didn't believe this was possible while I was nearly puking from running 2 miles through sagebrush hills.
She spent that night in the trailer and the next day she was jailed in 12' ranch panels.
She spent 2 days in her 12' x 12' cell, and then the last day in a 24' x 24' cell. I put up a Gallagher S17 hot wire (solar), but I think it needs to charge a bit more, touching it is only a slight zap, nothing that would stop me from anything.
I let her out for a few hours to graze today, then pressured her back into jail this evening. When she was out, she mostly grazed, but a few times she seemed to be a bit agitated and ran along the fence, then attention went back to eating. I got a bit nervous for a moment.
Long story, my question... how long to jail her? is getting another heifer or steer going to solve the problem?
Any tips or guidance, I am all over it.
Thank you,
~Moses
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