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01/16/2007: "One Smart Cow"

Now that Nate and Channa are back in classes at OSU, Nate has switched Aura to once-a-day milking, around 4:30 in the afternoon. He said that it is working out OK; Aura gives about three-quarters of the production that she was giving with twice-a-day milking, but the milk is richer. It's like drinking half-and-half from the store. While I was down at the farm last week I had a chance to observe the milking procedure in its fully mature form. I learned that Aura is one smart cow! She knows her part in the routine, and eagerly does it.

The routine starts with Nate taking his scythe out to the quarter acre plot of wheat and oats. He cuts a large apple picking bag full of oat shoots or wheat shoots, and brings it back to the cow shed, where he dumps it in a large two by two foot pile in front of the stanchion that our friend Mark built. The stanchion is made of two-by-fours, and restrains Aura in place while Nate milks her - she can reach her feed, which is the thing that she cares about. And boy, does she like the fresh cut grass! Late in the day she watches for Nate to arrive, and when he has dumped the feed on the floor and opened the parlor gate for her, she scampers into position, putting her head through the stanchion to get at the feed. The most amazing thing about this is that putting her head in the stanchion is not the most direct route to the feed, but she knows the drill - and does it! Smart cow. Nate showed me the triangular-shaped depression on her upper right flank that indicates her rumen was empty.

I was happy to see that Aura is not exhibiting much sign of lameness. As we have written about before, she was a kind of a gift cow from a woman with a herd of Dexters. Aura was showing some signs of lameness then, and wasn't able to keep up with the others, which is why we were given the opportunity to care for her. She's looking pretty spry right now, though she doesn't have much need to move about - we keep her in the cow shed during the mucky winter weather. We also don't know for sure whether she is carrying a calf - we think she is, as we haven't seen evidence of any going into heat, but we don't know for sure. I need to call and ask a vet to come out and look her over - a blood test, I suppose - so that we can plan for when a calf arrives. Or plan to employ the "bull with the rubber gloves."