Cow has flipped her gourd....why?

allenslabs · #1 03/27/12, 10:29 PM

My jersey is a three year old, so I know she's young. She's a jersey so I know is more inclined with an attitude. I get this BUT....my girl seems to think I am her cow counter part!

I don't like this.
See...I now have a grass lot I can let her on but she's either really dumb or really smart...not sure which. See...we live on top of a hill (I am so sick of living on a hillside) and our house and barn are at the top and the grassy pretty area is at the bottom and all the way across that green grass is the fence line that the other cows are visible at. So, every evening I have to go and get her and lock her into the wooded lot she lived in before with hay in front of her all the time. Then, every morning after milking, I have to go back down and open the gate at the bottom of the hill to let her into the grass.
Well, there is not getting her to come into that wooded lot on her own, I have to go get her and lead her back every single night. When I do, she gets all antsy and literally jumps around like a puppy. Like, all four feet OFF the ground, jumping sideways, head down and bellering like a mad idiot. Usually I laugh but tonight...I wasn't in the mood I guess and she really tried me. I had even decided a few times it best to let her run ahead of me and she would run sideways and buck and kick and act...nutty!! LOL!
So....I guess what I am asking. Is is better to just leave her in the wood lot and feed her hay and grain and such or go through this aggravating ritual just so she can be on grass for 9 hours a day. And her milk production has gone down with her on the grass. Not sure if it is because she spends so much time hollering at the other cows or what.
I love that my cow loves me....I just don't love that she really thinks I'm a cow and want to play like a 7-800lb cow would play. It is really funny though to see an uddered up cow jump and leap like that. If I had a video camera....I would show you all. It's quite entertaining. And she is supposed to be bred but I'm not sure. I've not had her sleeved just was told she was Ai'ed.

bajiay · #2 03/27/12, 10:36 PM

Sounds like she acts like my dog...
Video would be funny!

**gone-a-milkin** · #3 03/27/12, 10:37 PM

Sounds like the standard tantrum you get when dragging cows off new grass to me.
I am surprised you can even get her to EAT hay at this point. Maybe that is why her production is down?

Why does she need to go to the woods at night?

You do want to find out if she is bred *for sure* though. One way or another.

allenslabs · #4 03/27/12, 11:21 PM

Well, I started putting her in the woods at night as I milk at 11 morning and evening and I have no desire to walk 1/4 mile in the dark over the hill and through the woods and across the pasture to get the cow to walk it back....in the dark might I say again. LOL! Actually did that a few times, once was in the rain. I can't say I enjoyed it. But by going down just at dark, my kids are still up and they revel in the idea of driving my Kubota RTV and so one of them will drive while I lead miss Evie back to her wooded area.
I intend to taking her to the vet soon as if she's not bred I want to get her AI'ed so she will calve in spring.

allenslabs · #5 03/27/12, 11:22 PM

And she really does act like a dog!! I have two pups that dog this jump twist thing and she does it too! It's like she is running sideways with her body bent like a macaroni noodle! I don't get it. Very hilarious to watch so long as you are out of her way. Although I will have to say, she doesn't act aggressive just REEEEEEALY playful. LOL!

springvalley · #6 03/27/12, 11:54 PM

You havn`t been around jerseys much then, I turned mine out last week and I would have bet I turned a bunch of heifers loose. They where jumping and kicking and running, and I have got some pretty old cows in this group. I still feed hay as I don`t think new grass has as much in it as it will later in the spring, and production has gone up. Jersey cows are like a bunch of kids, they try and figure out how much trouble to get into, and when. If you can figure out your cow, good luck, I havn`t got mine figured out yet. > Thanks Marc

countryfied2011 · #7 03/28/12, 04:09 AM

Cows Celebrate--cute video

Cows Celebrate Video - Cute

Valmai · #8 03/28/12, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

Why does she need to go to the woods at night?

.

For the teddy bears picnic?

Cindy in KY · #9 03/28/12, 05:24 AM

Going on here too. Jersey Girl does not want to come in from the big pasture in the evening anymore. She hides. We have some smaller rolls in our pasture and she can go down in the little valley just enough we can't see her. She peeks out at us. When DH starts walking out that way, she starts running away. LOL. Rosco, her big calf thinks it's all to fun. My DH has to walk all the way back to the barn to get grain to shake in a plastic jug. That is working so far now.

It's beautiful here, all the Apple, Peach and Pear trees are blooming. I guess it's really spring. And the grass is coming in good, as we have had tons of rain and lots of warm weather.

thequeensblessing · #10 03/28/12, 05:34 AM

Our jerseys both come running out of the pasture every night for us. Why? Because that's the only time they get grain, at milking time, morning and night. They LOVE their grain and they come running for it, literally. But they've been trained to come for the grain bucket since they were calves. It makes it so much easier.

Cheryl aka JM · #11 03/28/12, 07:22 AM

Bess does that, Boss doesn't Boss is too dignified and Bess got enough silly for the both of them! Usually when she knows she's gonna get grain is the worst, she'll come tearing up to me jumping, kicking and twisting with that sideways run you describe. FUNNY but pretty scary when she gets close doing that! Thats where the "Better be good" stick comes out again. I usually just show it to her and she remembers she is not a balarina before I have to start slapping her ankles with that stick!

Its cute for sure~ but I would be carefull not to let her do it while your leading her, too close to your body if she should misjudge a landing after one of those pirrouettes. Slap her ankles with a stick a few times and she'll keep them closer to the ground when she's close to you.

allenslabs · #12 03/28/12, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valmai

For the teddy bears picnic?

That has to be it! LOL! Except it is the jersey picnic as she has to come into the woods for her grain....LOL! Good one!!

I guess it must be a jersey thing I guess. She does have a round bale out while she is on the grass to help with the chances of not getting bloat and I see her at it once in a while. She's definitely a goof ball!! It's funny describing her antics to people that don't have cows though. On my bus I drive I have a monitor and she loves to hear about my crazy farm animals as she just never pictured cows and goats acting the way they do! LOL!

Oakshire_Farm · #13 03/28/12, 12:10 PM

I recently had a visit from the SPCA, we just had a great walking trail put in that come out right next to our pasture. Lots of new city people walking past our place. So someone called because they could see "hip sticking out on the cows" so the nice lady from the SPCA doing her job came to check out my skinny cows..... when I told her I had Jersey cows she laughed and said I understand, lol, so I took her out to meet my girls. I opened the gate and the cows were on the far side of the pasture so I called them. The 4 cows and my bull came RUNNING as they do when they are called my old girl 13 years +/- was the leader of the pack! The lady from the SPCA saw the stampeed of wild cows and took off running! She jumped the fence and looked as if she thought the cows were going to kill us both. I just stood there and the cows all came running up to me and other than a few bucking spurts of energy they all came up to have head scratches...... The nice SPCA lady then slowly came back into the pasture and nervously stood behind me... she still was looking at my cows like they were going to kill her. She apologized and said she grew up on a farm that raised beef cows and they had a feed lot and any time the cows ran like that they were trying to chase something off! hahahaha, she then realized and pet all the cows and said they looked fantastic and drove away. I had a chuckle and went back to what I was doing.

allenslabs · #14 03/28/12, 12:50 PM

Love it!!! City folk seem to have no idea of cattle and how they should look. LOL! Had a friend who showed goats at the state fair one year. She had several of the breeds nubians (with the big floppy ears), alpines, obers, saanens (which all have erect ears) and then lamanchas who of course have no ears. She had several people ask all day what happened to that goats ears...talking about the lamanchas. She got tired of it by the end of the day and finally said, "we just harvested them. They're pretty good fried. See that one over there (talking about the erect ears) we just did theirs not too long ago. Then those over there (talking about the nubians) are just about ready to be harvested." She said those people just looked at her like she was insane! LOL! Like I said city folks have no clue! LOL!

Karin L · #15 03/28/12, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenslabs

My jersey is a three year old, so I know she's young. She's a jersey so I know is more inclined with an attitude. I get this BUT....my girl seems to think I am her cow counter part!

I don't like this.
See...I now have a grass lot I can let her on but she's either really dumb or really smart...not sure which. See...we live on top of a hill (I am so sick of living on a hillside) and our house and barn are at the top and the grassy pretty area is at the bottom and all the way across that green grass is the fence line that the other cows are visible at. So, every evening I have to go and get her and lock her into the wooded lot she lived in before with hay in front of her all the time. Then, every morning after milking, I have to go back down and open the gate at the bottom of the hill to let her into the grass.
Well, there is not getting her to come into that wooded lot on her own, I have to go get her and lead her back every single night. When I do, she gets all antsy and literally jumps around like a puppy. Like, all four feet OFF the ground, jumping sideways, head down and bellering like a mad idiot. Usually I laugh but tonight...I wasn't in the mood I guess and she really tried me. I had even decided a few times it best to let her run ahead of me and she would run sideways and buck and kick and act...nutty!! LOL!
So....I guess what I am asking. Is is better to just leave her in the wood lot and feed her hay and grain and such or go through this aggravating ritual just so she can be on grass for 9 hours a day. And her milk production has gone down with her on the grass. Not sure if it is because she spends so much time hollering at the other cows or what.
I love that my cow loves me....I just don't love that she really thinks I'm a cow and want to play like a 7-800lb cow would play. It is really funny though to see an uddered up cow jump and leap like that. If I had a video camera....I would show you all. It's quite entertaining. And she is supposed to be bred but I'm not sure. I've not had her sleeved just was told she was Ai'ed.

In an answer to your question, I can only think of one thing:

SPRING FEVER!!!

It is hilarious to see those animals acting so kooky like that lol.