Cows may seem like benign farm animals and 95% of the time, they are. It doesn't take much to make a contented cow-a nice fresh grassy patch to graze, a cool drink of water now and then, and a cozy little spot to plunk down on for a quick snooze.
The thing is cows have quirks too. They can be extremely curious. You know that thing that kills the cat? A cow can be just that bad. Go stand out in a pasture of cows and within five minutes, they'll all be gathered round like you are the town crier and have a juicy bit of bovine gossip to share. I've seen them chase any number of birds (including eagles), the dogs, and any other animal that ventures into their paddock simply because they want a closer look. They also like the game Follow The Leader. I'm serious. Get one cow moving in any direction and before long the herd is at her heels. She stops, they stop. She turns, they turn. (This can lead to trouble if the lead cow turns out a gate that accidentally got left open...)
And then you get the extra quirky cows. We have one who thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. It doesn't matter if that other side is the paddock she just vacated or if it's a weed filled ditch. It must be better because it's on the other side. So she goes down on her knees and with her backside hoisted high in the air inches under the wire just far enough to snag that juicy morsel of grass without getting a hefty zap from the electric fence. Smart cow or dumb cow I can't decide.
L has a picture of another bovine who decided to 'dress up' a little. She was inspecting a tire left out in the field, decided it was as good a spot as any to scratch that itch way back on her heck and bloop! the tire slid over her head and she was fashionably at-tired (pardon the pun) for milking with a rubber necklace. (And I have it on good authority that it was easier said than done to remove said adornment. The cow was a little attached to her accessory and didn't want to give it up but she was finally convinced that she didn't need to be prettied up for milking.)
We have another cow who hurdled fences with the ease of an Olympic track star simply because she decided it was more fun to see the humans chasing after her than it was to go into the parlor for milking. Twenty minutes, three fences, two gates, and several laps (both on foot and on an ATV) around the pasture, she decided to take pity on the huffing and puffing chore help and meekly walked into the parlor. Every other year or so, she has to test her jumping ability and see if she can still clear that cattle gate or electric fence though she's stopped leading us on a merry chase.
And then you get the absolutely nutso cows. I mean out-right loony. And not just during full moons...
Last summer, the Craziest Cow in the Herd award was shared by two. The first was a young heifer who decided that even though she was a mom herself, she was going back to her baby days. We kept catching her suckling on another cow and no amount of persuasion (or dissuasion) would make her stop. The second was the cow she was nursing from. That one was due to calve in a few months and somehow decided this overgrown baby was hers. We ended up shipping the younger one because she couldn't quit and we sorta wanted the milk she was guzzling in our bulk tank, not hers. So off she went.
This year, another 'Momma' cow is a shoo-in for the 'Crazy Cow' award. We have a full-grown cow who suddenly decided the also full grown breeding bull was her baby. One day, she ignored him and went about her daily business. The next, she turned into a jealous mother. She spends her day mooing gently in his ear, keeping him safely corralled at her side so he can't hurt himself, and tends to his every need. She doesn't think he's old enough to leave her side for even five minutes which interferes quite a bit with his whole purpose for being in the herd. She's jumped fences, tried to sneak through a wood barricade, and attempted to wiggle under some metal pipes all in an effort to get back to her 'little' boy. We'll see if she settles down once bully boy is hauled away for a few months as we're at the end of our Fall breeding season.
And it's all just another day on the farm...
