Anna the milk cow
I want to introduce you to Anna the milk cow. She was the first Dexter cow we bought. She came to the farm when she was 4 years old. We still have her and we hope to have her for many years to come! She had already been milked when we got her, but had had a year off from having a calf and being milked. The family that owned her, had a medical crises due to a car accident and had barely been holding it together. We had to travel 4 hours to get her. We borrowed a small cattle trailer to get her, and wondered the whole way home what have we gotten ourselves into. Mostly because we didn't know if we should even be getting cows! Yikes!
We had no idea how to handle cattle. Luckily we had a farmer friend that was happy to show us the ropes. If you are just getting your first cow or two and have no idea what to do, find someone that has been around cows and knows how to handle them. When you figure out who that someone is, beg them to help you. They can teach you a lot!
These two pictures are from the first night that Anna was on our property. Now a day's I wouldn't recommend having flip flops in the pasture, but we were new to the cow scene. I wasn't too worried because Anna seemed to be quite gentle and didn't seem scared to be in a new place. This picture is a reminder of how blessed I am to have had little children to hold and love. What a cutie!
This gentle bovine comes up just above my waist. My kids are able to lead her around the pasture. And she really seems to think that farm guy is the boss! Have I told you how amazing Irish Dexters are? I just love how easy it is to handle them and how my kids have been able to take care ot them. Seriously, they are the perfect family farmstead cow! I am so happy to have milk and beef from them.