Earlier this year we purchased a Jersey milk cow for the family. She gives about 3 gallons of milk a day and that is with her calf on her all the time. So she has a really good milk supply.
Recently when my son went out to milk her in the morning around 6:30 a.m., she was not waiting by the gate. She was not in her paddock. She was no where to be seen. And the calf was not around either.
Our property sits on a hill. The farm buildings are at the bottom of the hill. The pastures go up the hill. And it is about 200 foot rise. Currently the other cows are at the top of the hill, grazing in that pasture. The other side of the big block is Sentinel Heights Rd. Those properties are long deep properties, like ours, and back down to ours.
So my sons went up the hill to the edge of our property two different ways – no sign of her or the calf or any manure. (As cows walk, they tend to go potty and leave their manure behind as they walk. So it is a way to track them, tracking their manure.) One son did see a hoof print in the “orchard” area, but no other evidence of anything.
During the day we kept our eyes out for the cow/calf pair. We started contacting and connecting with neighbors beside us – no one had seen anything. And several of us took walks up the hill during the day – no sound or sight of cows out of the pasture.
In the early evening one son checked across the road between us and 81. Then he drove around the big block and connected with some neighbors on the upper side of us. He also walked some other people’s property and checked some of the local ravines to make sure she hadn’t fallen and injured herself. He saw some really pretty areas in those woods. But still no cow. Did she wander off? Was she stolen? Did she go up the hill? That walk is work – why would she go up the hill? Did she fall somewhere? Was she resting and we weren’t seeing or hearing her?
Of course it is now 36 hours since she was last milked. The calf would have been taking her normal amounts, but mom still had 3 gallons too much and that could be a heavy load. She is a creature of habit and is usually there waiting to be milked. And as milking cows get uncomfortable, they go to where they can be milked and they can be comfortable again. So where was she?
Around dusk a neighbor from up the hill showed up in a car. “Hey, do you have a milk cow? I think she is up at my place.” Sure enough he had seen her. He knew about the farm, though we had never met. He has a deep property near ours. He had been driving around his trails and had seen her and the calf, but they weren’t coming to him. So he thought of who might have cows and came to see if she was ours.
Two of my sons went with him. It took a bit to find her and the calf again. As it was, it seems she was headed back toward our property and she and a son happened on each other near our upper field. Once she found the fence line, she headed down the hill for the barn and straight for the stock tank to get a good long drink. She was a thirsty girl, which makes sense as lactating animals need plenty of water to drink to make milk.
My sons got her in and secured the gates. Then she was milked out and felt much better. And now she is staying at home where she belongs.
If she could talk, it would be fun to hear her side of the adventure, where she went and how and why.