While we were bringing home the last bunch of pairs to wean the other day, I observed the mothering styles of the cows at the back of the herd. In many ways, cows are not so different from humans.....
There was one brockle faced cow who was obviously a great mom. Every few minutes, she would lovingly look over, sniff the calf next to her and make sure it was hers. She really seemed "motherly" about it. And she did not let that calf out of her sight....."Super Mom."
An older cow, who had probably made this same trip at least ten times in her life, would stop every so often and just beller as loud as her lungs would allow. Then just walk on as if nothing had happened. Apparently, her calf was buried in the herd somewhere and wasn't too worried about her either....."Experienced, Mom."
Another cow that was obviously lame, was just doing her best to keep moving with the herd. I'm sure she was a good mom by the looks of her calf. Junior waited for her. It was sweet to watch the calf jog on ahead for a minute or two and then stop until Mom caught up......"Mom Has a Disability, But We Make It Work."
Quite a few cows walk along with their calf in sight or very close by, always knowing where Junior is and checking on him every little bit, but giving him a little freedom too......"Stay At Home, Mom."
And some will plod along and all of a sudden "remember" they have a calf. Frantic, they beller and make a fuss, maybe hurrying back through the herd sniffing every calf until they finally find the right one....."Drama Queens."
But the most irritating of cows are the ones that take off as fast as they can walk, heading for who-knows-where-but-they're-dang-sure-goin'-somewhere.....and their calves are back at the back lookin' for Mom the entire time. Mom doesn't think about her calf until she's gotten where she's goin' and got her belly full...... "I-Can't-Believe-God-Let-You-Reproduce, Mom."
Maybe I spend too much time around cows and not enough around humans....
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