The cow spa is open for business
Clipping the steers (farmers call them bulls) gets them ready for the warm weather. Scottish Highlanders, with double-thick coats, have no problem with cold weather but, if left on, suffer in the summer heat. Here Red, a 9-year-old Scottish Highlander steer, lost about 10 pounds of hair at his spa-day. Courtesy of Carole Soule
Published: 4/3/2021 11:00:16 AM
Clipping cows means warm weather is near. Cow clipping is an annual ritual at Miles Smith Farm. Scottish Highlander cattle grow thick, rich coats of hair to protect them from frigid winter weather. The lanolin in their hair repels water and snow better than an L.L. Bean slicker. Unlike a parka, the cattle can’t remove their wooly coats when the weather warms up. That’s when electric clippers come into play.
A jet-setting adventure for a pup
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Hanging out with the bro-vines
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PECKING ORDER
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Feeding cattle extra tricky in winter
Because of last summer s drought, hay, if you can find it, is three times as expensive as last year. Courtesy of Carole Soule
March 20 is the first day of spring, but
my winter ends whenever the spring grass is ready for my cattle to eat. The trick is to keep them fed until then.
Cows eat fresh grass in the warmer months but rely on hay for six to eight colder months. If warm weather arrives early, less hay is needed. One year, grass was ready to eat in April, another it was June. I can’t predict what’ll happen this year.