Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

Mike CHS

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It was 7 head today. We finally found out who the owner is and got a number from the Sheriff once we had a name. Teresa texted him and the Sheriff's office called him but he kept saying he did a head count and they were all accounted for even after we and the law told him they were coming in the morning and going back mid morning (probably feeding time). He never did return our message so Teresa sent another text this morning along with a picture of his cows. The message this time was if these cows are not yours, the Sheriff's office said to call Animal Control and give them the number the Sheriff gave us and they would come and pick them up. This time he acknowledged.
 

farmerjan

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Not answering your text was wrong... and in their defense, it was probably what you said... they were out and then going back around feeding time. We had 3, years ago, that were doing that... I would go up there and couldn't find them anywhere... every one was accounted for in the field... and I checked individual ear tag #'s... couldn't find where they could even be getting out... took a week of going up there at all different times and caught them sliding in between wires... where I never would have thought they were going... on a deer trail...
This time of year they are looking for green grass and yes... it gets old... but maybe they honestly thought the cattle weren't theirs... still... you have to acknowledge a text or call... this will hopefully stop the problem...
That is why the 3 that were getting out here constantly were moved to the barn with their calves to the field that we call the "peterbilt field" (right next door to the peterbilt shop) ... and then they proceded to go over the wire there, into the lane and into the bull lot that is not fenced off right now, but there is grass there.. and DS got the 2 that were the ringleaders into the barn and we sold them... the third one and her calf were moved back into the peterbilt field, with the other cows, and so far there hasn't been any other problems. In fact he moved some more in there and the "#10 " bull ( the old easy calving bull) to get them out of the lot at the barn so we could do the sorting of all these heifers. It only takes one or 2 to teach bad habits to others...
 

Ridgetop

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So true! The owner probably thought "Why are these crazy people calling me - I can see my full head count right here!" :gig

We had our first flock of 4 Dorset sheep we got for DS2 and drove them out to the front field in the morning so they could eat the grass that had come up. That evening the sheep were GONE! We did not have LGDs and searched all over the empty lot which was not ours yet nor fenced. DS2, age 8, was in tears over his beloved "Big Mama" and her flock members. He was sure that they had been eaten by coyotes or stolen. Finally, after hours of searching we went into the barn to feed the other animals and found that Big Mama had decided it was time to bring her charges back into the barn for dinner! :lol: Big Mama was the tiniest Dorset - one of the old style Dorsets - and very tame. Every day we would lead her into the front field and every afternoon at 4:00 exactly she would bring her flock up to the barn for supper. We finally just left the gate to their stall open for them. We never did find how she got out of the field with the flock.

We had a pair of piglets that did the same thing until they got too large to slip back through the wire into the pig pen in the afternoon.

That herd of cows has decided that Mike's and Teresa's grass is greener than theirs. LOL
 

Mike CHS

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People here are more friendly and open than any place that I have lived and that is literally all over the world. One of our neighbors got cussed out by the cattles owner because he "knew" his cattle weren't out and Roger wasn't going to call again. The man that owns the cattle inherited the farm and literally put a bunch of cattle on the land and doesn't live there. He is on the bad side of the Sheriff's Department so he will probably fix his fence now.
 

Mike CHS

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We have some nice cool season grass that the sheep have been chowing down on for the last week but they still come in to talk me into giving them some feed when I am down feeding the dogs. They haven't touched either of the hay bales for the last week. We only used 11 round bales this winter and it looks like what's left of the last two will be our start in the fall.
 

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