Have I mentioned lately how much I love my cows? I go out to the pasture, call their names, and they come running. It's actually a little scary, so I make sure there is always a fence between us, just in case they have trouble putting on the brakes at the last minute. They love their alfalfa treats, but they also love scratches under their chins, on their necks, and on their backs. As Irish dexters, they are about as tall as they'll get, which means their back is level with my waist.
Can you believe how long Molly's tongue is? She's wrapping it around the alfalfa cube in my hand. Their tongues are really rough, like giant cat tongues or sandpaper.
Isn't Molly a pretty girl! She'll be a year old in December. Unlike Bridget, she is polled, which means she'll never grow horns. I'm planning to get a polled bull, so most of our calves will also be polled.
Molly is still a little more shy than Bridget. It's incredibly hard for me to get a good picture of Bridget because she is in my face constantly when I'm in the pasture with them. I had to snap this photo really fast, before she got too close again and I got another blurry photo. Bridget will be a year old in November. They can calve anytime after they turn two, and they're pregnant for nine months, so over the winter I'll begin the search for a boyfriend. After they have their calves, we'll begin milking them, so we can start making butter, sour cream, and some cow milk cheeses.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my cows? I go out to the pasture, call their names, and they come running. It's actually a little scary, so I make sure there is always a fence between us, just in case they have trouble putting on the brakes at the last minute. They love their alfalfa treats, but they also love scratches under their chins, on their necks, and on their backs. As Irish dexters, they are about as tall as they'll get, which means their back is level with my waist.
Can you believe how long Molly's tongue is? She's wrapping it around the alfalfa cube in my hand. Their tongues are really rough, like giant cat tongues or sandpaper.
Isn't Molly a pretty girl! She'll be a year old in December. Unlike Bridget, she is polled, which means she'll never grow horns. I'm planning to get a polled bull, so most of our calves will also be polled.
Molly is still a little more shy than Bridget. It's incredibly hard for me to get a good picture of Bridget because she is in my face constantly when I'm in the pasture with them. I had to snap this photo really fast, before she got too close again and I got another blurry photo. Bridget will be a year old in November. They can calve anytime after they turn two, and they're pregnant for nine months, so over the winter I'll begin the search for a boyfriend. After they have their calves, we'll begin milking them, so we can start making butter, sour cream, and some cow milk cheeses.
2 comments:
Molly and Bridget are wonderful!! I didn't know about Irish cows and that they were so small. How perfect! Molly's tongue is awesome! I'm glad you pointed out about curling around the alfalfa or I wouldn't have seen that. How sweet they come running to you.
Is polled something that has been done to them or is it a characteristic that is bred into them?
Thank you for another glimpse into you farm.
Polled is a genetic, so the babies are born without the ability to grow horns. I'm glad Bridget has horns since it will help her protect her babies from coyotes out here, but it's a little scary sometimes. One day she turned just a little too quickly towards Katherine and gave her a nasty bruise on her leg. It might also make it a little challenging to get her into a milking stanchion if her horns get really wide, but we'll deal with that when the time comes.
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