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Most evenings, just before dusk, Kevin and I walk up into the paddock with three buckets of treats — one for each of our beloved cows. The contents of the buckets depend on what scraps we have generated during the day. Lemon and orange peels are very popular, as are avocado skins. The absolute favourite seems to be kiwifruit skins. Sometimes we add a handful of palm kernel to the buckets if there are not many scraps.

Apart from the fact that we just enjoy spending a bit of time with our bovine friends, we also have some practical reasons for these daily visits. For one thing, it’s a chance for us to check up on the animals, the pasture, the water trough, and the salt and kelp rations that we leave out for the animals to pick at. For another thing, our evening visits ensure that the cows are used to being handled, and are in the habit of running over to us when we arrive with the bucket. This should make life a lot easier when it comes time for milking! Since we do not have a dog to herd our cattle, it’s a big help that the cows are in the habit of following us.

Becky cuddles and feeds the heifers

Esmerelda, Queen Bucket Brain

Kevin usually feeds Esmerelda her treats, while I feed Rosie and Coco. A bit of extra care needs to be taken with Esmerelda, because of her horns, so it’s easier to manage her on her own. Rosie and Coco have been together all their lives, and are used to being looked after as a pair. All three cows love to be rubbed, patted, and fussed over. Rosie was quite wary of us for a start, but by now she lets me rub and pat her for ages. Coco has been like a big teddy bear since the day she got here! As for Esmerelda, she likes attention too, but since The Ambler got here (about a month ago now) she’s often in such a hurry to get back to her boyfriend that she rushes away as soon as she’s eaten her treats. The Ambler was not hand reared like our cows, so he’s not too interested in being fussed over and given treats in a bucket. Sometimes he wanders over to see what the cows are up to, but usually he just keeps on chewing grass contentedly somewhere up the paddock.

It has been an exciting day on the farmlet. The Ambler, a handsome angus bull, has come to visit our three dear cows.

The Ambler

We are pleased that The Ambler could find time in his schedule to come over here, and are very grateful to our neighbours, Ronnie and Kevin, for lending him to us. He should be a fine mate for our cows. For one thing, he is not too large. This doesn’t matter so much with a bigger cow like Esmerelda who has already had one calf, but we have heard that smaller heifers like Rosie and Coco can end up with calving problems if the sire is too large. The Ambler is also very quiet and good-natured, as bulls go. We are glad we can still go into the paddock to check up on our cows without the threat of being charged by an aggressive bull. The angus is a good breed for meat. That suits us well, since we are not looking to breed any replacement milking cows this year.

This morning, we lured our three cows into a nice new paddock by tempting them with a bucket of kiwifruit peels. We left them in their new quarters while we walked over to Ronnie and Kevin’s place to fetch The Ambler. Then Ronnie, The Ambler, Kevin and I all ambled back to our place. Two of Ronnie’s friendly hand-reared sheep wanted to come with us as well, but we left them behind once we walked off Ronnie’s property.

The Ambler seemed very excited to be arriving at a nice fresh grassy paddock with three beautiful cows in it. As we approached the paddock, he smelled the cows and made what Kevin describes as “monstrous and terrifying sounds” — a lot of snorting, lowing, and strained breathing. Kevin and I wondered if our lives were in danger, but Ronnie assured us that, as long as we didn’t get between him and the cows, everything would be fine. While The Ambler was distracted by getting a kiss through the fence from Esmerelda, Ronnie quickly opened the gate. Moments later, The Ambler was in the paddock. None of our cows are in season at the moment (Coco was in heat yesterday — bad timing!), but they seemed pretty happy to see The Ambler, just the same. Esmerelda, in particular, has been licking him, butting him with her horns, and generally acting loopy over him. She watches him very jealously if he starts spending too much time with Rosie and Coco.

Anyway, The Ambler seems to have settled in for a good stay. With any luck, all three of our cows will be in calf by the end of his visit, and three little angus-cross calves will be born on the farmlet next year.

Take a look at this picture from a couple of days ago. Notice how Coco, the cow on the right, is outside the electric tape?

What’s wrong with this picture?

The entire pasture is ringed with a permanent electric fence. We use the portable tape and standards to break up the pasture into smaller paddocks so the girls will graze down the grass and not just pick the tops off the grass over the entire property. Coco decided that she didn’t like that plan. This is what happens if you try to get by without enough electric fence standards.

Splendid beast, Coco, basking in the afternoon light

Coco actually didn’t want to get too far away from the others for long. She wound up following them around, just on the ‘free’ side of the tape. I could still go up to her, pet her and even feed her by hand, but she didn’t want to go back into the smaller paddock.

Eventually, I managed to lure her back in with a bucket containing a tiny bit of palm kernel meal. Have you ever seen a child who’s addicted to sugar? That’s what our cows are like with palm kernel. Until we get a dog, this is the best way we have of moving them. Most of the time, though, they’ll just follow us around.

Farmlet reader, SH, contributed US$25. Yesterday, Becky and I went to RD1 and used those funds to buy a dozen more portable, pigtail fence standards. Thanks so much, SH.