Another cow through a fence

What is going on with my cows?   Several days ago no cows through or over a fence.  So I thought I was done with this behavior.  Today I found a cow in the south pasture.  A different cow than the previous one.  And a different pasture.

This was a bigger cow so it didn't make it over the fence.  And this fence doesn't have an additional wire fence.  So the top three barb wires were either broken or pushed down by the cow as it went over and through the fence, and one metal fence post pushed to lean.  I had partially straightened the fence and post when I took the photo.

The cow was standing near where it had gone through the fence.  I opened the south pasture gate so the cow could go and join the rest of the cows.  The rest of the cattle were in the NE part of the middle pasture by the gate to the north pasture.  They weren't near the hay bale I had placed in the middle pasture on Sunday.

Before dark I fixed the fence and tightened and reattached the barb wires to the fence posts.  By the time I was done it was too dark to go walking about to see if I could see other tracks in the snow.  Tracks other than one made by cows.  I'm starting to think something is chasing these cows through and over the fences.  A dog?  A coyote?  Something else.  Maybe even Bigfoot as Donna is fond of Bigfoot.

Cow on and over a fence again

What is up with this cow?  The end of December I posted about a cow that jumped on and over a fence into the hayfield.   Days later she did it again.  The second time she did it at the fence section next to the one she jumped over before.  Also that day another cow broke a fence wire and got into the north pasture.  By the time I went out there everyone was near one another in three fields.  I got them all into the corral and gave them some hay.  I fixed all the fences.

Today I found the one cow back in the hayfield.  She went over the fence section she last went over even though when I repaired the fence I made sure it was high.  A metal t-post was bent, two strands of barb wire were broken, and the rest of the fence was a little bent.  This time I let the cows in the middle pasture go first to the corral for more hay.  Then I opened the hayfield gate to let that cow join the other cows in the corral.  That cow just stayed in the hayfield and followed the other cows along the fence toward the corral.  I called and called for this cow.  Finally she came over to the gate where I was standing and holding it open.  As she started to step through the gate area her front foot slipped slightly in the snow and she quickly turned around and ran back into the hayfield.  What?  Knock it off and come through the gate.  She stood and stood and stood and watched me and the gate area.  Then looked over to the cows in the corral.

Okay.  I'm not wasting any more time.  I left the gate open and went off to dump my fireplace ash out in the pasture.  I then shoveled some snow to clear an area where I will put a new hay bale tomorrow for the cattle.  A few days ago we had about 5 inches of snow, and last night maybe another inch of snow.

Then I went back to the hayfield gate.  That cow was still standing out in the hayfield.  What is wrong with you? Go through the gate and join the other cows in the corral.  So I had to go out into the hayfield and through the snow and herd the cow to the open gate.   The first time she turned and ran away from the gate as she got close to it.  Again I went out, and after some herding around and around, the cow finally went through the gate and then to the corral.  By the time she got to the corral a lot of the hay had been eaten by the other cows who had been there a while by now.

Tomorrow I will have to repair the fence. I don't know why this cow is making such an effort to get over this fence.   The hayfield is covered in snow and there is nothing there for this cow to eat.

Gate down

Yesterday I saw something odd out on the hayfield / south pasture fence.  The area around the gate looked odd.  I got out my binoculars and saw that half of the gate was down.  I thought I had installed the gates so this wouldn't happen.  Nothing like this happened over the years.

I have lag bolts up and down.  So the gate wasn't lifted off the bolts.  I guess the hinge on the top part of the gate must have slipped down.  How?  Who Knows?  No cattle are in the south pasture.

I put the gate back on the bolts and readjusted and tightened the hinge.  The gate should stay in place.

2024's bicycle miles

I rode 6540 miles in 2024.  My goal was 6000 miles.  Last year the milage total was only 5770 miles.  Since Na Nina was predicted for this Winter, and that usually means colder and snowier for us in the NW U.S., I tried to make the 6000 mile mark earlier than usual as I didn't want to ride many miles if it was cold and snowy.   Been there, done that for cold snowy bicycle riding; and I'm getting older.

I made 6055 miles by the end of November.  Goal accomplished.   Since La Nina now became somewhat late and milder than predicted, we have been about average to a touch above average for moisture and temperatures.  Cold enough I couldn't do much ranch work outside but decent enough to keep riding my bicycle.  That is why the yearly total was 6540 miles.