Well, This is becoming a bad habit
Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2019 8:21 pm
You might remember that I got stuck in grain last summer to much ado from first responders and firemen and such.
This was maybe worse.
I run my cowherd for most of the summer and fall on the south pasture. This is located across the road from the home pasture. It usually is no big deal to move them across-we set up a view blocking vehicles and since the cows know the way they are usually more ready to move than we are. However, the calves can be a little spooky sometimes but since we move them across in late summer and back they usually know the trick by now.
We always bring them home the week before deer hunting. It just works better that way. I have run the cows there since 1994 and I ran across something that this abnormally wet fall caused.
There is a bottleneck on the way home that tends to be a little muddy but it has never caused any problems before.
As we were chasing the cattle, the cows went but the calves seemed to be holding back. When we got to the bottleneck I saw why. It was a disaster. There were 4 calves stuck in the mud and I went in to try and rescue the worst one. The others got out by themselves. But I couldn't save this one and it drowned in the mud.
Meanwhile, I got stuck up to my waste in the mud while I was trying to save the calf. Li'l Spock went off to gather help and try to figure out what to do.
He was gone a long time and that was when I got nervous. Several calves were on the back side of the bottleneck and some anxious momma cows were on the other. I was worried that the whole herd would come back through the mudhole and trample me in the mud. I was about 2 feet behind the the drowned calf so a ladder was brought back and was placed on solid ground and the calf but it was too far for me too get much leverage.
Then a longer ladder was used to straddle the mudhole and with great effort I was able to get out. Dad was worried that I would have a heart attack. I got out carrying about 40 pounds of mud. I was so cold when I took those wet clothes off.
Thankfully, my dad, the kids and a friend did a quick bypass of the bottleneck and got the cattle moved by the time I got back.
Project for early next summer is to re-engineer the bottleneck area.
This was maybe worse.
I run my cowherd for most of the summer and fall on the south pasture. This is located across the road from the home pasture. It usually is no big deal to move them across-we set up a view blocking vehicles and since the cows know the way they are usually more ready to move than we are. However, the calves can be a little spooky sometimes but since we move them across in late summer and back they usually know the trick by now.
We always bring them home the week before deer hunting. It just works better that way. I have run the cows there since 1994 and I ran across something that this abnormally wet fall caused.
There is a bottleneck on the way home that tends to be a little muddy but it has never caused any problems before.
As we were chasing the cattle, the cows went but the calves seemed to be holding back. When we got to the bottleneck I saw why. It was a disaster. There were 4 calves stuck in the mud and I went in to try and rescue the worst one. The others got out by themselves. But I couldn't save this one and it drowned in the mud.
Meanwhile, I got stuck up to my waste in the mud while I was trying to save the calf. Li'l Spock went off to gather help and try to figure out what to do.
He was gone a long time and that was when I got nervous. Several calves were on the back side of the bottleneck and some anxious momma cows were on the other. I was worried that the whole herd would come back through the mudhole and trample me in the mud. I was about 2 feet behind the the drowned calf so a ladder was brought back and was placed on solid ground and the calf but it was too far for me too get much leverage.
Then a longer ladder was used to straddle the mudhole and with great effort I was able to get out. Dad was worried that I would have a heart attack. I got out carrying about 40 pounds of mud. I was so cold when I took those wet clothes off.
Thankfully, my dad, the kids and a friend did a quick bypass of the bottleneck and got the cattle moved by the time I got back.
Project for early next summer is to re-engineer the bottleneck area.
