Cow Meets Sheep
July 12th, 2013 · No Comments · Posted in farming
Our new Jersey heifer Emily spent her first day on the farm alone in the permanent paddock. I just wanted her to settle in and get used to being here. She was a bit anxious after being moved from her previous residence, where she’d spent her entire life inside a barn and had never seen real grass before.
But eventually I want Emily to travel with our sheep, rotating from one area of pasture to another behind portable electric fencing. So yesterday, when it was time to move the sheep to new pasture, I instead herded them into the permanent paddock to meet Emily. The animals all need to get along, so they might as well start sooner rather than later.
Here you can see the sheep are extremely curious about this new beast in their midst. Their ears are perked. They stare intensely as they creep forward.
When the sheep are just a few feet away, Emily turns and takes a good look at them. Look how her ears are turned forward to take in any unfriendly sounds. The sheep stare at Emily. Emily stares at the sheep. She’s never seen anything like these creatures before. For a moment, everything is still. It’s a classic Mexican stand-off.
Then, something happens I had not expected at all. Emily the cow lunges at the herd of sheep. As you can see, the sheep scatter in unison. I just happened to snap the photo at that very moment.
I did not know we had an attack cow.
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