I was dutifully carrying the milking machine up the hill so I could milk the cow, while Nathan milked the goats.

I walked through the open gate in the “Causeway” – a narrow area about 15 feet wide, running the length of ground between the barn and the cow’s paddocks toward the bottom of the hill – say, 100 – 120 feet in length. We had this fenced off as a fail-safe – in case any of the goats or the cow got out when we were going into the paddock.

Anyway, I walked through the gate that was open and there, standing in the barn by her stanchion, was the cow – looking at us as if we missed the train or something.

Funny, how animals have a sense of time, routine and respond in an unusual (to us) fashion when their predictable world of routine is upset.
Fern, the cow, had knocked the gate to her paddock off of the hinges and had walked up into the barn to get milked – We were a bit stunned by this, but in retrospect, it makes perfect sense.
She needed to be milked and she knew where to go to get milked. The only think missing was a bit of grain in her dish by the stanchion and the humans to milk her…

–Pat

Anyway, they aren’t quite as big as the “standard” Jersey, which started out as the Old world Jersey until it arrived on the American shores. Being of the “bigger is better” and “high production” mindset, the Americans, in their wisdom, took a very efficient cow that gave just as much milk, but consumed less feed, and made it bigger – with the hopes, of course, that it would be a better meat breed and provide even more milk.
It didn’t turn out that way – but I digress…

The guy we bought her from breeds the standard Jerseys, and he had purchased this one from a livestock auction. He found out she was a mini and decided to sell her, since his interest lies in the standard breed.
The cow wasn’t handled much, and spent her time with other cows – even before he purchased her, I believe that she wasn’t handled much by the 2-legged strange critters that were now looking her over, and talking to her.

I backed up the trailer and the man guided her through a make-shift shoot made from a gate. Once in the trailer, Nathan hopped in and put the halter on her – he had to struggle with her to get it on, but it didn’t seem too much trouble.

Boy was I wrong…

When we arrived at our home some 2 hours later, we were all tired and ready to get the day behind us. We had risen early and now it was closing in on 5:30PM – and I still had to clean out the borrowed horse trailer and return it before dark.

Our plan was to put the lead rope on her, open the doors to the trailer and walk her up to the paddock we had for her. Wrong again!!!

I opened the door and before Nathan could get the lead rope on her, she bolted like lightning out of the door!
She started out heading out down the hill…towards the street! Nathan and I ran down the hill and got in front of her – we got her turned around and she was heading back up the hill when Marilyn turned her towards the garage – now we had her! (Yea, right!!)

She turned around and tried to get past us. But Nathan, acting as the center linebacker, got a headlock on her – no way she’s getting free now! But she had other plans – she twisted around and around until she finally shook him loose – but I have to admit, he was quite a cattle wrestler! He fell to the ground and skinned up his elbow, banged up his wrist and his behind.

She now took flight up the hill. She headed up to the neighbors barn and the cow pasture he had up there.

Quickly we chased her to one end of the barn – Marilyn and Sam dragged a cattle panel up behind Nathan & I as we tried to corner her. We now had her trapped!.

I got the lead rope wrapped around her neck 3 or 4 times and had Marilyn take one end while I had the other. We had Sam move the panel out of the way so we could try to take her on a “controlled” walk back down the hill and to her paddock.

She took off and I held on – she kept trying to break free but I held on, with my toes being stomped repeatedly – but I would not let go.
Then she ran me into the ditch. We both stumbled and she was back on her feet before I was..
Marilyn grabbed her rope and the cow took off down the hill, Marilyn running right along with her.

Just as they got to the sidewalk behind the house, Marilyn overran her feet and had to let go, to keep from falling. The cow stopped.
By now I had recovered and we were able rto slowly drive her up into the yard and towards the paddock.

Finally, we got her to go past the first fence, and into the area where we keep the bees. I got ahead of her and turned her around, as Marilyn opened the gate to the paddock. The cow ran straight into the paddock!

We shut the gate and latched it. Then we all gasped for air for the next 5 minutes, while Sam went to the barn and got some grain for her.

It reminded me of defensive drills when I was in football – and the feeling I had was the same dog-tired feeling I always had after a hard practice.

Anyway, we got her in her paddock safe and sound, and I got the trailer cleaned out and back to the owner before dark! We also discovered that we had some work ahead of us – considering how she responded to human company!

–Pat

Fern is our heiffer - soon to be cow (5 months along)