Two weeks ago, we had split up Tad and his pasture mate, the very pregnant Charolais heifer, Daisy, fearing that the massive steer might be a bit rough with a newborn.
A week ago, Daisy safely delivered her calf and just as the baby stood and attempted to walk, the two Blank Angus heifers that we'd left in with Daisy and her little one -- as a sort of bovine secret service detail -- moved in and got nasty. Libbey drew Daisy away from the calf while Tove proceeded to butt the poor little guy, sending him flying.
It had been black as coal, but all I could see was red. I'd run Libbey down the pasture and gotten her penned in short order, but Tove had been more difficult. It took waking my son, Nick, and getting his help. Did I mention it was a cold, dark, moonless, and stormy night? Yep.
Every since the big event, Daisy and her child have had the whole big lower pasture to themselves as well as a temporary shelter. Tad has grazed in the adjacent pasture and he and the calf have touched noses many, many times.
So today, my eyes swept from the open gate toward the shelter. There, Daisy stood in the entry way. Tad and the calf were further back, comfortably standing side by side under the tarp roof, enjoying some male bonding time as the big steer hoovered up Daisy's leftover hay and alfalfa.
It was a photo opportunity I didn't want to miss, so I jogged to the house, put the dogs away, grabbed my camera, and sprinted back to the pastures. By the time I returned, the calf had curled up for a nap and Tad was keeping watch.
Tad, Daisy's "Drop-In" Babysitter,
Keeping an Eye on the Daisy's Calf
Daisy must have trusted Tad because she took full advantage of her drop-in babysitter by moseying up to the upper pasture where, yep, the grass is indeed more lush.
Getting all the cattle back where they needed to be turned out to be easier than I had expected. First, I went to the barn and collected grain, hay, and alfalfa. Next, I got behind Daisy and simply walked her back to the lower pasture.
Amazingly the gate latch appeared to be in perfect working order. Go figure! There was a good amount of Tad hair on the clip, so it's possible the steer simply let himself out by rubbing on the gate post. Of course, I may have a bovine Houdini on my hands, too.
By this point in time, all three -- Tad, the calf, and Daisy -- had sauntered up to the gate and were watching me intently. As I shook the grain can and dumped a good portion into Tad's feed dish, the steer moved up to the gate. All I had to do was to hold the gate open for Tad -- he did the rest.
With Tad back in his pasture, I headed down to the shelter, where I replenished Daisy's supply of hay, alfalfa and grain before moving on to the Black Angus heifers' pasture.
All this cattle wrangling has made me one happy camper. Now that I know Tad can be trusted with Daisy's calf, it will be interesting to see if he figures out how to undo the doubly secured gate.
Okay, okay, I know... It's time to stop writing about "the calf." Daisy's baby is a week old and he needs his name. Since his coat is silver, I'm thinking Argento or Sterling. King works nicely too, although I wouldn't want the little guy thinking he runs the ranch. Suggestions?
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