The Baby Cows

I thought I’d give you an update on the baby cows. I went to see them the other day and they are growing like crazy. The pasture is growing thick and it will be even more lush as we head into spring. They are grazing and eating their oats. We estimate their weight to be somewhere around 170 pounds, too big to pick up. Their owners, John and John have been caring for them well and are learning as they go along. They know more about cows now than they ever thought they would. Recently they castrated them, using an old tried but true technique. It’s called Banding. They acquired the kit from the local feed store. What they did, was apply a tiny rubber band above the calf’s testicles…they leave it there until the testicles shrivel up and fall off. It’s kind of like an umbilical cord. It doesn’t seem to hurt them, but I couldn’t do it. It took John and John and two other guys, to hold the calves down and apply the band. You would think that guys would have difficulty doing this kind of thing, but I guess they tried not to think about it too hard.

The calves were happy to see me and even more friendly than before. One of them kept licking my hand, his tongue was long and rough like a cats. Runt loves to be scratched under the neck. They are like big dogs! Here are some photos I took on my visit to the farm.

All Three Of Them

Beavis In The Middle