At least this time they didn't go rogue. Around noon last week eight cattle crossed the river from the middle pasture to the peninsula, then across the west river channel to the small island, then once they explored the small island back across the river to the south pasture.
So now I had cattle in two pastures. The eight were perfectly content in the south pasture. I let them be and bided my time for them to want to rejoin the herd.
In the meantime I fixed the middle/south pasture gate. The barb wire gate was a mess of wire and patches and whatnot. I plan to replace it with a real steel gate next year but the gate got to be a mess as I have opened and closed it more than usual this year. So while watching and waiting for the eight cattle I rebuilt the gate. I removed the patches and made sure the wires each individually stretched across the gate instead of being patched into one another. I better secured the wires to the frame in the middle and added stays on each side of the frame to help keep the wires separate when the tension is relaxed when the gate is opened.
The cattle circled around the pasture while I worked on the gate but wouldn't come near.
I came back late afternoon when the twelve behaving cattle took their siesta near the gate and the feeder with the bloat blocks. One of the eight cattle was by the gate and he came through when I opened the gate. The other cattle were in the area and they slowly came to the gate. Other than #40 seen below few of the other twelve cattle taking a siesta were interested in going through the gate. Still, I didn't drop the gate and stood holding it open. It will be real nice once I install a real gate that doesn't collapse when you open it.
The cattle would s-l-o-w-l-y come through the gate. The would mostly stand in the open gate way, look and sniff at the gate I was holding up, and look at me. Then stand and chew their cud for the longest time before walking the rest of the way through the gate. In a hurry? Me?
Finally the last of the eight (seen in the background in the above photo) came close to the gate, and seeing everyone else by the feeder, s-l-o-w-l-y came through the gate.
Getting the cattle back together only took four trips out to the pasture. No wonder I don't get anything done.
Oh yeah, by the way, I also had to fix and straighten the corral fence where the white mare broke a fence post when she masturbated against it again. Good thing the fence is a chain link fence so the fence stayed up even if the fence post was broken.
Then the next day... three of the eight cattle were again in the south pasture. They were under a tree near the gate while the rest of the herd was taking a siesta on the other side of the gate around the bloat block feeder and trees.
*sigh*
I walked out, opened the gate and since the herd was laying and chilling, left the gate on the ground and walked over and herded the three cattle through the gate to rejoin the herd.
It appears they broke a fence wire and hopped over the fence into the south pasture. I fixed the fence.
Now that we had a day of rain and now cooler weather the cattle seem more relaxed and better behaved.
Then Saturday night while I was spraying weeds along the south hayfield fence I heard barking and a commotion. One of the cattle was running towards the SW corner fence and it seemed like there was a dog there. The rest of the herd ran over too. By the time I got over there I did not see any sign of a dog through I heard some barking off towards the river. If I was a dog I'd run too if a herd of cattle came running towards me. The cattle were milling around the SW corner fence and I noticed the bottom two wires were broken.
*sigh*
The cattle were interested in me and the corner fence. Some looked out into the south pasture. At the dog whom I couldn't see? I hung around for a bit and the herd just stood and chewed their cud. Fine. I need to finish spraying weeds so I can fix the fence. I watched from a distance while I sprayed weeds and the cattle eventually drifted off without going through the fence. Once I finished spraying weeds I got some short pieces of barb wire, a fence stretcher, pliers and a flashlight. The flashlight was needed so I could see to fix the fence.
And I'm getting how many of my projects done?
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