Come on, come all to hear about the biggest and most unique animal Day Cattle Farm has ever had. That’s right, the ‘Maine’ attraction is me, Tasha. Get it? I have some Maine blood in me just in case you all are not catching on! Let me tell you all about my life so far on a purebred Angus farm and just how I like it.
Picture it, spring and I’ve made a trip from Tennessee to Illinois. I’ll just say the land is a lot flatter around here! But what I wasn’t ready for came next; sure Angus are all black and so am I but I still have my little quirks compared to the purebreds. So 7 Angus cows greeted me at the new lot I was soon to call home plus 3 younger calves who really had no clue what was happening.
My trailer mate, Harmony, and I got to stay in individual pens the first night getting some feed, water, and hay just to see how we would adapt to the Land of Lincoln. The next morning I got to join the set of cows that were intrigued with me the night before. They became even more interested when they found out I wasn’t just a Maine but also was due to calve in May with my seventh calf who just so happened to be sired by a Simmental bull. Those purebreds sure weren’t ready to see what popped out of me!
I slowly began to adapt to the big hay feeder in the lot, the water tank up by the barn instead of creeks, and of course the 24/7 access to the barn. I was once a show heifer too so being able to come back into the barn and get attention brought back so many memories. What really excited me was being able to go out to pasture when the grass was tall enough. I love grazing even if my peers are just purebreds.
Now listen to this, when I got to the farm everyone was obsessed with me. They were all surprised at how big I am. The only other cow close to my height when I got there was Missie but I am still without a doubt taller than her. For months, all the other females just watched me as I came onto the farm like it was home. What can I say? I’m definitely an attraction wherever I go. Let me just explain to you some other times that everyone stopped what they were doing to take a look at me.
The month of May finally came around and my seventh bull calf came out perfectly healthy. I was trying to have my calf peacefully in the lot by myself;however, everyone else thought I needed to be watched and bawled at. Luckily, Sierra and her mom came flying out to get me away from the staring and into the barn to a clean pen so I could have my calf that we all call Mr. T. Don’t worry he gets a bunch of attention too; knowing that he could possibly be horned instead of being polled, born naturally without horns, the whole family has checked day in and day out that he does not have any horns. To this day, I am proud to announce my baby boy does not have any horns.
Now, let’s talk about how I am even a loved by the human race. During my time here, anyone who visits the farm whether it’s an Artificial Insemination technician, our feed man, or other beef producers have taken a few steps out of their path to the barn door to check out the only non-purebred animal on the place.
Life on a purebred Angus cattle farm isn’t much different than life on the farm I grew up on but this first year is taking time for the other cows to get used to a different breed on the place;however, we all get along just fine. Stay tuned for more stories from the barnyard and feel free to ask questions!
The Maine Attraction,
Tasha
toldstraightfromthehalter 