Friday, November 16, 2007

I think my Jersey calf is a blond

We bought a Jersey heifer calf last February because I've missed Jerseys ever since I sold my last one, years ago. Secret was born during the worst cold snap of the winter, and it wasn't until we'd had her for a couple of days that we realized she was going to lose the ends of her ears. Later on, we noticed that the freeze had also taken her "fly swatter", the switch part of her tail.

A few months ago I decided Secret needed some bovine companionship, so we bought a Dexter bull (Dexters are a miniature breed) and made him a steer. They bonded quite nicely. We plan to get Secret bred to a Jersey bull sometime next spring, and after she has a calf for companionship, we'll butcher the Dexter, whom we named Meatloaf.

I've noticed lately that in all situations that require intelligence or problem-solving of any kind, my prize heifer flunks the test, while Meatloaf aces it.

I've made a video that gives an example of this. Please forgive me for the terrible quality of the little movie; I was trying to take it while carrying a can of feed in one hand, often backing up, and limping pretty much constantly from a bum knee which I'm scheduled to have operated on in December. (Arthroscopy, not replacement.) So you'll be seeing the ground a lot. Not to mention the horrible wind noise most of the time; you might want to turn your sound off. Apologies done, here's the video:


5 comments:

  1. Sorry I am a little off topic here, I would just like to remind you to email us your shipping address as well as your size for your SnorgTee-shirt. ( you were one of the 100 blogs most voted for the month of october.)

    many thanks

    Sylvie
    www.fuelmyblog.com

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  2. Donna, if you want to read a good book on animal behavior and why they think the way they do and what frightens them, get a copy of Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin. Temple is autistic, and she relates to animals because they lack the same filters in their brains that some autistics lack. There are strange triggers like a yellow line on a black road, a small chain on a gate. Really cool reading.

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  3. that is just TOO funny!

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  4. Hi!
    I read your comment at In the Midst of This Season and I had the same questions I would have asked Max Lucado. I was raised in the C of C too. Neat that he wrote you back!
    Blessings,
    Becky

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  5. Yep she is a blond.

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