I called Donna. As she walked out to the pasture the herd saw her and walked towards her. I then was able to open the gate wider and herd Rose back into the pasture.
I planned to start weaning the calves on Friday the 18 when the Farmer's Almanac said were the best days to wean (Sept 18-26). Donna suggested I start the weaning now as the cattle were willing to follow us to the corral and she was here to help me sort the calves from their mothers.
It was easy to get the cattle to follow me into the corral. And it was easier than expected to sort the mothers from the calves. Mama was the exception as she knew something was up. Before we knew it the cows, heifers and Buddy were back out in the north pasture. Buddy was there before Wednesday as he had broken the top fence wire when reaching for apples on the other side of the fence. He then was able to jump over a two strand fence (which I fixed today). To the rest of the cattle the north pasture was 'new' to them as they hadn't been in the north pasture all Summer. And the grass was the best in the north pasture.
Weaning was off to a good start. A few hours in and the calves and cows were happy.
It didn't last. By late afternoon the bellowing and crying was non-stop. The calves cried and cried. Other than taking short breaks to eat, the mothers mostly stood outside the corral fence and bellowed. Buddy and the heifers eventually made their way to the river side of the pasture to get away from the noise.
Into the evening the calves cried and the cows bellowed. Some of the calves are getting hoarse from their non-stop bellowing. The cows still have their voice.
This is the worst weaning ruckus I have ever had. It will be a very long three days. Early evening I worked on replacing a fence post and the constant noise was getting on my nerves. I imagine the neighbors aren't thrilled.
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| Very start of weaning. |
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| The bawling is beginning. |
Here is a 2 minute video of the cattle's bawling near its start: https://youtu.be/h8vBZDycik0
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