April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Fresh from the Farm: Cassie the Cow
I am so gullible.
He had bought a feedlot heifer that he didn't know was bred. He came over the hill carrying this tiny, 30-lb calf under his arm. I said that it had been too long since I had messed with cattle, and I didn't think I had the ability to keep this calf going. I loaded it in the truck and brought her home anyway.
I mean, what else do you do with something you don't know what to do with? I also made that dreaded call I have made so many times telling my husband I was bringing another animal home. I promised I would not breed her; I would just keep her as a pet.
Once I got her home, I decided that since we had an abundance of goat milk that would be Cassie's diet to start out. She lived with some of the goats, and of course the horses, chickens, dogs, cats, etc... She played in the yard with the children and had a pretty good life. She learned from the other animals. She had no idea she was a cow. And she grew. Boy did she grow!
Goats will stand on gates and fences with their front feet. Cassie must have watched. We learned that fences and gates will not hold a 900 lb heifer. She would break down the chicken fence and go into the chicken pen and stand while the chickens roosted on her. More than once, while I was milking, she would come running into the barn and eat all the dog food. I really waited for the day she would start barking.
Cassie continued to grow and started to have heat cycles. I was going to stand my ground on not breeding her until my husband was out in the pasture with her and she mounted him. I tried to explain that she really did like him, and she didn't mean to put her hooves on his shoulders. He didn't buy that. She had to be bred. I had to take her to be bred and was a little apprehensive about that first trailer ride with her. Like the trooper she is, I simply said "Cassie get in" and she never missed a beat. She hopped right in that trailer, and away we went. Cassie has given us numerous calves over the years.
If we forget and leave her in the yard, she will go and visit the neighbors. I simply stand in the drive and call "Cassie cow come home." She comes better than any dog I have ever had. That little 30-lb calf was 1400 lbs in her prime. She is retired now and leads a life of luxury. At least for a cow. She loves to be scratched, talked to and loved on.
If you drive by my house and see a cow in the yard, you might stop and say hi to her. She loves attention, and I assure you, you will never meet a cow like Cassie cow.
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