Cattle feeding

Things are pretty quiet around here.   The Winter is coming along nicely.  Some snow.  Below average amount so far - which is good.  Slightly above average temperatures so far - which is great!

To make my hay last I am back to feeding the cattle with a pickup load of hay twice a day like I did last Winter.  Earlier I had been putting out a large hay bale but found the cattle would devour the bale in 1 2/3 day.  They loved the second cutting alfalfa and couldn't stop eating it.  Once I fed them with pickup loads I was back to taking three days to go through a hay bale and the cattle were no worse for it.

Now that I have used up all the second cutting alfalfa bales I put out a large bale for the cattle last week.  Partly to see how fast the cattle ate a hay bale from either Wyatt's or Donna's field, and partly because we were going to have snow and colder temperatures for a couple days.  It took the cattle 2.75 days to eat that bale.  Still, I decided to go back to twice a day feeding for now.

One thing I noticed over the past week was that in the morning feeding some of the cattle would be in the south pasture.  Usually the bull and three other cows.  Every time a different mix of cattle but usually a combination of the same suspects of the half of the herd who can be naughty at times.  I have the gate to the south pasture closed so these cattle walk the river around the fence.  The river is low but they still get wet.  Today when Maria returned via the river I seen the bottom of her belly was wet.

I would open the gate after I put out all the hay.  You'd think having to watch and wait would discourage the cattle from going to the south pasture where there is just snow and nothing to eat.

Today when I came out to feed the hay Maria immediately headed to the river to make her way back as she didn't want to wait.  The bull saw Maria head for the river and ambled towards the river.  Sugar and cow 40 hung along the fence.  I hadn't completely cleaned the pickup when I decided to open the middle gate for Sugar and 40 to come get hay.  40 immediately came to the gate and walked through.  Sugar came to the gate but came along the fence side of the open gate and not the opening.  The bull noticed us and walked back.  So I let them be as Sugar would come around the gate and come through and the bull would then come.  But no.  Sugar ran past the opening and to the bull.  Once the bull came to the dead tree he stopped and the next I knew I heard the fence wires.  The fence is only three strands of barb wire and not tight.  The bull squeezed through the wires near the tree without breaking any wires.  Ya kidding me?!!!

Sugar tried to follow the bull but she couldn't quite figure out the technique and by then I also yelled.  I had to go over and herd Sugar to the open gate.  She made it hard as she wanted to go everywhere but that direction.  I eventually got her to the opening and she walked through.  I am not pleased the bull figured out how to squeeze through the fence.  Once he learns something, he doesn't forget.  I don't have plans to rebuild that fence until next year (2020).  But if the bull starts making this a regular thing I will have to change my fence plans (once again!)

The hay should be right up to the feeder sides all the way around.  But some of the cattle (the bull, Maria, and cow 80 especially) push against the feeder.  The feeder - though heavy - slides along the icy ground when pushed hard.  While the sliding can be good as they can eat all the hay in the center, if the three pushers are on one side of the feeder they push the feeder with all the hay in it, before you know it the hay can be reached only from one side.

See how they like to eat the hay to the ground.

The feeder can only accommodate twelve cattle at one time.  Since there is not all-you-can-eat hay bale in the feeder, I also make a half dozen small hay piles nearby.  That way the smaller cattle - Mama and the three heifers - get a chance to eat hay.  Of course, with the 'grass is greener elsewhere' mentality often 8 or 9 of the cattle end up going from hay pile to hay pile and eat the hay there.  Over time I have been putting more hay outside the feeder so the bullies don't hog it all.

After our run-in a few weeks ago, Mama is careful when coming to a hay pile I just set down and we have not had any run-ins since then.   One time my foot caught on a hard cow pie in the snow.  This acted like a lever and I slammed to the ground.  Hard.  My right hand and arm came between my body and the hard ground.  I must have bruised my chest as I could tell exactly where I fell on my hand and arm.  I hurt for over a week.  It hurt worse than when Mama and I collided that time.