My new neighbor, Jim, mentioned his concern about having tall grass in his pasture. He doesn't want to burn it in the Spring. He looked into buying a couple of cattle to put on his grass until Fall then slaughtering them for beef. Dan has a couple of Charolais cross cattle for sale and Jim looked at them. In the end he decided it was too late to buy cattle this year. Besides he was leery about needing to fence along the river and wanted to add fence before getting cattle.
This afternoon he told me his decision. Earlier I told him if he didn't get cattle and wanted my cattle to eat his pasture down I would run them in there. He has a touch over 5 acres and I figure the cattle would have it eaten down in about a week.
A good part of his pasture is low ground that gets standing water during Spring runoff. Grass that stands in water for a good amount of time has a different taste. Or so I'm told. Cattle will eat this grass but tend to eat other grass first. The grass down there is a foot or taller than my 6 ft. Lots of grass, but a good amount will be wasted as the cattle step on it and smush it to the ground.
This evening I walked Jim's pasture fences and checked his river front. Half the fence to his northern neighbor is 4 strand and the other half is 3 strand. 3 strand is not ideal for holding cattle as some figure how to step through the fence. My internal pasture fences are 3 strand, and the cattle have not gotten through.
The river is half fenced with a 2 strand fence. This is not really a fence. The little fence I have along the river is 2 strand, but it works because the ground between the fence and the river is a yard or so. Not worth the effort of getting through the fence.
Jim's 2 strand fence has plenty of ground and grass between the fence and the river. Where this two strand fence starts on the river is a little shallow now. It was enough to keep Lyle's horses from crossing around the fence, but I imagine the cattle may get around it.
The two strand fence ends at the corner of the neighbor, which has a bushy tree right on the steep river bank. I didn't go in the river to see how deep it is there. Later. Jim's northern neighbor had horses until recently and they ate the grass down before being removed. So this is less of an incentive for the cattle to cross to that pasture, especially as Jim's pasture has plenty of grass.
The unfenced river bank is steep until almost the two strand fence. I think the cattle may drink from the river. Jim had a water tank and he filled it with water. So the cattle have easy water access. The problem is that there are 30 cattle so that water won't last long before needing to be refilled.
Tonight I let the cattle into Jim's pasture. They were in the middle pasture and returning from the river when "T-bone" saw me and the wheelbarrow and immediately came over. As it looked like all 30 cattle were seen, I opened the gate and "T-bone" and a few others came through. The other cattle immediately saw what was happening and rushed over and through the gate. Cattle look like they are just eating and oblivious but they are usually quite aware of their surroundings.
I had closed the gate to the corral which was a good thing as the cattle went to the gate in an effort to return to the barn, their "home". After their mooing didn't convince me to open the corral gate, they set to eating the grass in the north pasture.
I knew the cattle would work their way along the north fence and would find the open gate. I wanted their movement to be natural and not stressed by being herded. While they were eating I got the salt blocks and a wood container to hold the blocks and moved them into Jim's pasture by the gate. Then I waited by the open gate.
It took about 10 minutes for T-Bone and the other three cattle in the lead to get closer, then see me. They immediately trotted over to me and found the open gate. Or the other three did. T-bone saw the salt though the fence and put her head through the fence to lick the salt.
"Sure! Do it the hard way. Come here through the gate you knucklehead."
Most other cattle saw what had happened and came over and through the gate. The other seven took their time with the last heifer really taking her time. She also got distracted by the salt and tried to lick it through the fence.
So the cattle are in a new pasture with plenty of grass. Jim's timing was good as I had planned on moving the cattle back to the south pasture tomorrow morning.
My only concern is that Jim's pasture is treeless. With our near 100 degree temperatures, the cattle have been spending longer siestas under the trees the past week. There is a little shade closer to the river from trees on my pasture. I hope that will be enough for them.
I hope my cattle are good visitors and keep out of trouble.
Cattle initially in Jim's pasture. In the second photo you can see one of my cattle still has some of its winter fur. It had got to be hot on these hot days. At least it is losing it as the few cattle still with some winter fur have less now than a week ago. The rest of the cattle are sleek and look good.
The straggler.
Off into the sunset in a new pasture.
T-bone in the middle pasture. She likes playing with the baling twine.
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