I should have suspected that the cows were up to something when they were all bunched up at the gate waiting for me when I went over to the barn to clean the barn and feed them. Usually, I bring the tractor to the gate, open it up and move the cows back and then drive in and then close the gate behind me. This day was a bit different though. I opened the gate and drove in to the barnyard area and as soon as I got past the gate, the cows bolted on both of the sides of the tractor out past me . When I stopped them on one side they just went around the other side of the tractor and headed for green grass.
8 cows were able to make the break before I got the gate closed to hold the other 27 cows. I wasn’t too worried about them going too far because they stopped as soon as they got to the grass. All my portable fencing equipment was in my Mule at the house so I got onto the tractor and went to the house. I came back to the escapee’s munching peacefully on fresh grass. I had to move swiftly because they tend to want to roam when grazing. I circled them with posts and polywire and went to move them back to the barn. The one problem now was opening the gate to let the cows back in while the others are inside wanting to be out on the grass. With a little maneuvering, I was able to use a back line and move them into the barn area. The escapee’s were reluctant to go back into the barn but did what I wanted them to. I should have known they were plotting for a breakout when I saw them all collected at the gate. Next time I will be more cautious.
This week’s special will be 20% off our 2 pound packages of ground beef. Stock up for winter because this special won’t last forever.