by Jan Fielden
The Colonel opened the gate to the corral last week, not for the grass that has grown up in it but because the cows tore up the feeder and we need to fix it. He put the salt for them in the corral in the trough. There is so much grass growing in the pastures that the cows actually avoided the corral for hours. I was amazed and kept watching believing that any minute they would walk through the gate into the corral, but it didn’t happen.
Finally, one cow edged closer to the corral gate, stood there for a few minutes before turning and walking away. She was my hope of getting the others to join her but alas, when she turned all hope disappeared. It was kind of like a “watch pot never boils” and I finally stopped watching them. I didn’t care if they went in or not…well, not really. I knew eventually they would go in because whenever they discover a gate open, they just have to go through for some reason or other.
When you raise a cow from a calf because it has lost its Momma, they seem to always think of wherever you raised them is home. If they are raised with a lot of attention and love, they actually never forget you, not always but generally this is the case. Lucinda is my perfect example. She has had a calf and still comes up to us whenever we are out and about in the pastures. She usually wants her necked rubbed and will raise her head so you can get to it to do just that. If your back is to her when she discovers you in the pasture, she will nudge you to let you know she is there. Lucinda is the Red Oak Ranch cow who led the others into the corral.
