Photos: Bessie and Johan, in front of the chicken coop (yes, out of the pasture and grazing in the yard!), Bessie and Johan, Me giving Bessie a much-needed beauty treatment, and Bessie looking quite small with the barn looming above her.
The sheep were being put to good use, finally. Actually, the reason we got sheep 2 years back was so that they could mow the yard. Feed your lawnmower/conserve gasoline and labor.
But we didn't have fencing in place, which turns out to be a necessity to keep your foraging lawnmowers in the right location (and not crossing the busy road!). So the sheep have been a fun addition to the farm, but were not put to work grazing the lawn until last week.
I encircled the "yard" with an electro-net fence, hooked up to the electric charger by the side of the barn. The sheep were ushed into the thick, lush area. They didn't work quickly enough. With the perfect spring temperatures and the rain we've gotten, the grass in the "yard" was much longer than it should have been. The sheep did a decent job of nibbling, but....just not enough to make a dent in the mowing that needed to take place.
The new goats were tried next, on tethers attached to trees. But they only wanted to go to the pasture to bother the sheep, who they could see, but not get to. Lots of annoying goat-noises later, I gave in and let them into the pasture. Where they refused to graze, but instead took over the sheep area on the south end of the barn and continued to bleat noisily as the sheep milled around in confusion.
So, I risked everything and brought out the real grazing powerhouse, Bessie. Out of the pasture, where she had only been twice before. Once, when she was delivered and nearly escaped into the surrounding cornfields. Once, when her daughter Ruby discovered that the gate was not latched and I had to chase both cows back into the pasture where they belonged. Both times, cows were headed off before they left our property. But the memory of worst-case-scenario stays fresh in my mind.
I suppose I can chalk it up to a few years of experience, because even one year ago, I would have been a nervous wreck, worrying the entire time that Bessie would fulfill my neighbor's dire prophecy about how they were "waiting" for the time that our cow would get out of our fence. (Thank-you, well-meaning neighbors, waiting for a good laugh at our expense....!) :(
Apparently, children on a farm used to "walk" the cows to graze them, so why couldn't Bessie be trusted to graze calmly on the grass which needed attention?!! Well, consider Prince Johan (aka Jonny-Boy) her calf, who is the epitome of spunkiness. She would follow him anywhere, moo-ing mournfully, and if he dashed through the electric netting in a panic, she would go, too. And consider that she isn't trained to graze peacefully while a child with a stick walks calmly along next to her. Bessie is capable of kicking up her hooves and galloping at quite a pace when she feels like it. If it's inside the pasture, it's humorous, as her big udder swings back and forth while she runs....
But OUTSIDE the safety of the perimeter fence? If she got too far away, grain shaken in a bucket wouldn't have much of an impression to bring her back.
So, worry-wart that I am, I sat outside for 2 hours with Bessie and spunky calf, while Bessie calmly grazed the nice, thick grass and weeds that we call "lawn", and Johan/Jonny left muddy skid marks in that same "lawn" from his crazy dashing, twirling, skidding to a stop, erratic behavior. He challenged the fringed rug that was hanging on the clothesline. He kinked his tail and dashed the short distance inside the electric net. He stuck his nose onto the electrified wire again (and again, and again) just to test it. He pranced around his grazing mama, butting her in the head, nipping a sip of milk, butting her in the head again, as she patiently put up with his antics.
Bessie was rewarded with a spa treatment as she grazed. I brushed and groomed the winter coat out of her, and she was transformed into the beautiful, stunning black-and-white girl that she is. (You can see coarse tufts of winter fur all around her in one of the photos). All while filling her stomach(s) on grass that the sheep hadn't grazed too short for a cow to enjoy.
She enjoyed it so much that she didn't want to leave, but ultimately she gave in to my pulling on her halter and leading her back to the cow-yard behind the barn.
So, we've either "arrived" as a farm family (to have cows grazing on our lawn), or we've devolved into back-country rednecks, who think it's perfectly fine to usee livestock keep our grass clipped to perfection. Not sure which, but....
Bessie was happy, the grass filled her up, and a point was proved, if only in my own mind.
Every inch of this property can and should be used. We just need to figure out the best way to do that! And good perimeter fencing is the beginning point, the point where we can move forward and utilize every blade of grass without having our cow/pigs/sheep/goats find out how appealing the crops in the fields around us can be (or how dangerous it can be to try crossing the road!).
Now if only we could train Bessie to graze without leaving mushy souvenirs behind! I imagine that I should regard the ploppers as natural "fertilizer". :)
Laura
