Get a cow they said, it will be so amazing!! All of the food you can make with fresh raw milk and the health benefits are worth all of the work!
I have heard that jersey cows can be pretty stubborn and have a little bit of an attitude, I highly under estimated just how much though.
Getting the cow
Aaron and I had talked to the farmer over this winter and we were planning on getting 2 jersey cows. The farmer was very nice and said that she would hold them for us until we were ready and set up for them. Well, turns out, something happened with those 2 cows and their attitude turned drastically bad. They would try to come after the farmer when she was feeding them. So she was very honest with us and said that she couldn’t sell them to us because she couldn’t stand the thought of us or one of our kids getting hurt.
Enter in Betsy
So, with the disappointing news of our future dairy supply being gone, the farmer had another offer for us. She said she would be willing to sell us her one year old heritage jersey heifer. This heifer was very special to her, she got this little lady because she looked just like a cow that her dad had while she was growing up. She even named her Betsy after the original cow.
We were shocked because she said that Betsy was the only cow she wanted to keep. so, we took her up on her offer! The only stipulation was that we had to come get her, like that day. Well, Aaron and I still didn’t have our field fenced off for her yet… so true to what our family usually does, we went and picked up Betsey being almost completely unprepared for her. But, when a good thing pops up that sounds too good, you usually don’t pass on it!
The first night
When we got home with Betsy, it was in the evening. We had some truck trouble along the way. So along with crying, hungry toddlers, and having to put a “quick” fence up, it was a long night for everyone. We kept Betsey in the trailer while we set up her temporary fence. We just did plastics T posts and 4 lines of electric wire to keep her in. It actually worked very well, it was just too small of an area for her to be there for more than a week.
My dad gave us some old barbwire and t posts that he wasn’t using and we got Betsy all hooked up! thanks Dad!! My nephew also helped put the fence up so it went quick with his help. We only did 2 strands of the wire. We thought she would be able to get out with those and we called it good!
The great escape
Aaron and I went out for the start of our training sessions with Betsey, we do this so she will get comfortable with us and make it easier for when we can milk her. Well, she didn’t like it…. at all. Those two strands of barb wire, they didn’t hold her. Betsy had made up her mind that she didn’t want to be trained that day. She bolted through the fence! We tried to get her … for 3 HOURS we tried to catch her!! Running through our front yard, into the woods, any where she could to get away from us. I am also 8 months pregnant, trying to catch a cow in the woods, in the heat of summer, it was a very long 3 hours. We finally were able to get Betsy back into her field with the last of the sweet feed and a lasso. We immediately got more barb wire and put a third line on.
Where we went wrong… again
So pigs are very smart, and if there is a was to escape their pen, they will. Let me tell ya, Jerseys are no different! We put the third line of barb wire on and we ran out. We only had about 20 foot section left to do so we left it and just closed it off with the electric fence we originally had up . This lasted over a week.
She got out, again. She found her way past the electric fence and to the 2 strand section, and squeezed out!! Not once, but three times in less than an hour! This cow is Houdini, I swear!! It was much easier to catch her this time though because Aaron and I have been working with her so much. She didn’t run away at all and she really likes the green bucket that we put her feed in, and doesn’t mind her lead.
Besty in all of her sassiness
She has calmed down
It has been about 2 months since we brought Betsy home and she has came a long way. Betsy has gotten comfortable with us and comes when we call her name! Betsy is sweet and will rub you with her head, and if you let her, she will lick you. She does get in a crabby mood sometimes, don’t we all, and wants nothing to do with us. She’s kinda like a pet dog! Our advice if you are considering getting a dairy cow, or any livestock for that matter, is to start training them right away. They are most motivated by food, so feed them everyday with the same bucket. This is so they animal knows what is in the bucket and you wont have to chase them all around for three hours or more!
In July of 2022 Betsy will be two years old. We plan to have her bred then, and will hopefully welcome her first calf in the spring of 2023. I can not wait for all of the fresh raw milk and to see what all we can create with it! Until then, I’m sure there will be more adventures with her and we will share those and what we learn along the way!
Here’s to hoping you have happy animal escapades!!
Sam
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