Llama Watch

Ahh, sunset on the farm, a breeze blowing through the grass, heifers grazing on clover, llamas drinking at the pond – wait!  Llamas?!?!  Yep llamas!

Predators can be a serious issue for our dry cows and yearling heifers who stay in some of the remote pastures and don’t get as much attention as our milking cows.  Neighborhood dogs like to see the cows run, coyotes want a meal and panthers stalk about for snacks, what’s a bovine to do?  Join up with a llama of course!

Roger and Lisa brought home our first llamas (Bandito and Cantessa) after we had issues with neighbor’s dogs chasing our dairy cows.  The dogs had fun, the cows did not, and some of them even ended up injured.  We had considered guard dogs but they required more training and input than we had time for.  At the recommendation of one of our friends we decided to try a pair of llamas. 

 

While they don’t want to be right with the cows at all times they are tolerant of their pasture mates and fiercely protective of their territory.  They despise predators and will chase, kick, bite and spit any intruders out of the pasture as soon as their alert ears and eyes spot them.  Needles to say, since Bandito and Cantessa came home, the neighborhood dogs avoid our pastures.

The heifers are forever curious about the llamas and impromptu games of follow the leader often ensue.

 

Bandito doesn’t mind so much, but Cantessa prefers to have her personal space!

  

While striking a strange profile in contrast to the petite heifers, our llamas have become an important part of the Brickhouse farm.  Their watchful eyes and alert ears protect our girls from harm, even when we can’t be near.

Wordless Wednesday

Maintaining Pasture

It sounds odd to many that pasture requires management.  Its just grass, right?  Well, yes and no.  Pasture doen't need constant cultivation, management of insects or harvesting like corn, but since it composes such a staple of our cows' diets we strive to keep it the best quality possible.  There are more varieties of grass, legumes and herbs than I care to count and they all have different nutritional quality, preferred growing seasons and life-spans.  Some that you want to grow side-by-side often compete with one another for nutrients, cows have preferred species and many become tough and undesireable to the cow after setting seed.  Often the best varieties don't occur naturally in a pasture without encouagement and weeds can quickly overcome a field without management. 

So that's where we come in!  We are continually seeking to improve the condition of our pastures through soil testing, fertilization, planting custom blends of forage, intensive rotation (breaking each pasture up into smaller paddocks and only allowing the cows to graze each paddock for a day or two at a time), and mowing.  This Spring we were returning a couple of corn fields to pasture.  Mom and Dad spent several weeks deciding what forages would be best for that field's terrain, handle cow traffic and give us the most longevity and nutrition for the cows.  Blends of grass and legumes are most often preferred because they complement each other with one having high carbs and the other higher protein.  Additionally, the legumes work to fix atmospheric nitrogen, feeding themselves, the grass around them and enriching the soil at the same time.  Once chosen and planted the routine management kicks in - grazing rotation and mowing!

While its not something we need to do on a weekly basis, we do keep an eye on the pastures and try to mow them when the grasses begin to head (make flowers and seeds).  We choose to mow at this time because the grass becomes much tougher and less desireable for the cows.  Also, when the grass begins getting this big it is competeing with the surrounding plants for more than its share of light and nutrients.



Before.............After!

As you can see here the grass is getting unruly (on the left) and gets a severe hair cut (on the right) to reign it back in.  After a week it will recover nicely and be producing new tender leaf blades that the cows will gobble up!

At the same time we are checking the growth of the grass we are giving the legumes a chance to take off.  You can see here how nicely the red and white clover have been uncovered after the grass is cut back.  Leaving the clippings on the field helps increase organic matter content and continue improvement of the soil.

As with most things in life, clean pastures involve a lot of work - but it is totally worth it to see the cows hurrying to the field, udders swinging to find her favorite spot!