Sunday, September 07, 2008

Our Newest Addition

There's been a lot happening on our farmstead, but I first wanted to introduce you to our newest addition:

We haven't come up with a name yet, but she is a purebred Jersey cow. She is 11 months old, so it will be a while before we enjoy milk from her.

On Friday we received a call from her owner (friends of ours) to let us know they had just gotten a bull and wanted us to pick up our cow as soon as possible, since she is too young to be bred. Another family that had a stock trailer we could use didn't get home until early Sat. morning, so by the time details were worked out it was close to 3:00 p.m. Jim, Jonathan and David drove the hour and a half down to get her, arriving back home close to midnight. While they were gone, Peter and Andrew diligently worked to install a makeshift fence for her until our fencing materials arrive this week. Needless to say, the fence didn't hold, and we were all afraid she would disappear into the state land adjacent to our property. One of the guys took the truck and stock trailer into the field where she was headed, and thankfully she made a beeline for the trailer. The first thing we need to do tomorrow is purchase a halter!

We are all working on making our cow feel comfortable around us, and hopefully she will soon adjust to her new home. She already likes our German Shepherd; the friends we purchased her from have one of our puppies, and she must be used to dogs.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures. What a pretty cow.

To big to bring in the house though I guess.

Hope you can keep her warm this winter.

Interesting how she headed to the trailer.

Cows are famous for getting loose.

Good luck. I love the Jersey color.

Gp b

Marci said...

She is beautiful!!!! What is her name? I would get a control halter if I were you.

Did you get the note about me giving you an award on my blog?

A Joy, Grace, and Faith Filled Life said...

what a nice cow! :) I'm sure you are having fun with this new addition! How exciting!

Benjamin said...

So the Bartletts have taken the plunge into the wonderful world of bovine perfection. Jerseys are admittedly one of my favorite breeds, and I hope all goes well with your lovely little girl. When are you going to have her bred? Are you guys going to get/have access to a bull, or do you plan to AI her? As far as fencing goes, I've become a huge convert to electric fence, especially for Jerseys, Tilly became a horrible fence tester after being at my parent's and learning that touching the fence didn't have negative consequences- lol. Oh, just to let you guys know- the Lord opened up a place for us to rent for the time being- it's about 6 miles north of Cavalier, with room for our animals. Anyway, congratulations- goats quickly become obsolete albeit cute and fun ;^).
Ben

Susans Family Log said...

You are so brave! I can't even remember to buy milk much less feed or milk one!