As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I am perplexed in a way over animals for survival settings. I had thought milking goats a perfect fit for people, in providing milk, not eating a great deal, not kicking you and not taking up space.
Then I came upon these Jerseys and I am having a paradigm shift.
I have been around livestock all of my life. Fell off a sow I was put on to ride at age three in mud hole, so I have experience in things, but upon running into all kinds of cattle, which pretty much act the same in being dull until they try to kill you, I never presumed Jersey's would be any different.
I did see the evidence though in a retired to the farm rich gal though on the coast, leading her Jersey's to milking, but I just assumed they were cows being led to be milked.
Certainly I believed the people who said that a Jersey was more intelligent than a Holstein, but I have known smart horses too and that intelligence did not make them better than the stupid ones......most cases it made them worse.
Then enter Baby Belle and Baby Daisy. Daisy has now decided that she owns me and I not her. I give this example of what a Baby Daisy is, for she is like a big dog now.
Example 1: The girls decide it is fun to find their way to the edge of the property which is a meandering 400 yard walk, but will not cross the one wire fence to become lost in the jungle of the neighbor's corn.
I have them convinced to follow me back to the pen some days, others not so much.
The other day, I started to lead Belle back, as I am trying to teach Daisy to come and follow more.....she is smart so she knows things in what I am up to.
She also is jealous, as she did not like me not leading her, and proceded to run circles around me like a horse or a dog, just having fun, and trying to get me to chase her.
Example 2: Yesterday TL was out with the kitties and I was getting something done I think in the house with feed for the chickens or whatever. Any way, I came out and Daisy was visiting with TL, until she saw me, and then on lope she came, mooing at me.
She really likes me and as I said, she owns me and is quite possessive of me.
I watch Daisy and she is usually watching me. She keeps track of me, and comes to find me or goes off so I will come and chase her to show that I love her.
Belle has been standoffish since being in the house, but the other day she started licking TL again like she always did. Odd part is, Belle has been more tolerant of me. She has the softest hair now, a sort of fur.
She is terrified of bags though, and kicks at them without moving too far off in her terror, while Daisy picks them up and throws them in the air.
Example 3: The girls were where I have the north gardens, now a jungle of weed hedges. Daisy was busting through things with me watching as they like company, and she reached up to sample some corn......I told her NO, and she let it go..........and pranced off. She just wanted to see if I was paying attention to her.
She busted through that corn twice just to get my attention, and neither of them has since gone near that corn. They know perfectly well what I want and they police themselves.
My regret is we do not have our own place yet, away from the county road. Our junkyard dope pedlar neighbor kids are always rodding it by here, and I worry about the calves and things, and watch over them closely. If that was not a problem, I would probably let them wander about more, as they would get thirsty or want treats and come and find me.
Daisy and Belle love to run. Belle was learning to buck like a bronco pretty good these past weeks. She still runs like a reindeer, but for amusement she bucks and kicks.
Both of them will kick, but it is never to be mean or at us. They just sort of kick for fun in a "so there" attitude at a bucker or a panel.
I have concluded that with the special needs a goat has, in needing more attention, that maybe a Jersey is a better choice, as yes cattle need delousing and things yearly, they do stay healthy most of the time, while goats seem to have something up with them too often.
Jerseys still puzzle me as I was not prepared for them being this different from other cattle breeds to this extent. Daisy reminds me of Ruby my Irish Setter in that type of loving life attitude. She has a bit of Libby my quaterhorse mare in her too of being quite possessive of me.
I want to say this about animals in I make it a point to not strike them if I can help it. Yes Daisy got swatted on the neck when she tried bunting me for affection, because several hundred pounds is too much to deal with in fun...........she lifts Belle off the ground with her head just for fun in pushing her sometimes.
The point is, I practice a methodology of allowing an animal to develop their personality, within limits. If an animal is not be out of control, I let them be who they are and they learn to set their boundaries and become happy creatures who enjoy being with you, and in most cases they become highly possessive and protective of you. It amazes me how I can give animals hell and they understand due to brain waves, and they learn to be adults in the process in there is communication there.
It is more enjoyable for me, as each animal's personality develops and you learn who they really are.....and they are a more content being.
I get sad every time I think of these two, in if we had not been here to rescue them and keep them alive. They would have been neglected and miserable, never developing into the "persons" they are.
Literally, we put on their rope halters before letting them out of the pen, well Daisy most times in the pen as she pokes her head through the panels and Belle afterwards, but we rarely do anything with them in their needing minding. They just wander around eating and I keep an eye on where they are. Often I just walk over or they come over to us, and I pet Daisy as she eats, and swat flies off of her which she likes. As I said, these two are like big dogs, or Belle is a big dog size and Daisy is cow sized dog, and they behave better than cats and do better than most dogs do.
I really have a great deal of affection for them, and prefer them to horses, as horses are more attitude problems in their personalities. I have come to the conclusion that in small acreages, a trained Jersey would be the best solution for milk for food, and being able to keep them safe in a small space.
Jersey's really are unique in being different. Granted you have to invest time with them like a child, because if you do not teach a child they turn out to be Obama and no one wants that. Not saying that there might be black sheep in the mix, but the two we have are different in personality, but are good girls. Daisy is just the more affectionate in physical contact and Belle is more "I don't want to appear that I need you but I love you" personality.
Belle comes from being traumatized by those lezbo cow flippers and Daisy just overcame it easier as she was not so sick.
That should wrap up the Daisy Chronicles. One day we will have to find little bull sperm to inseminate them, but that is a few years away.
Tis the update on the Jersey critters.
agtG
