Our first year as ranchers, we started out with two steer named Premium and Malcolm, both of whom were delicious, in their time. Next to be acquired was Vienna, who was a little “mutt” calf Jeremy took pity on and brought home. She was 5 weeks old and had to be bottle fed 3 times a day. I was pregnant with Alison at the time, and both Vienna and Malcolm would nuzzle my belly while I held the bottle. Needless to say, we bonded. Vienna is a full fledged cow now, having had several calves of her own. Most recently, she had little Uniqua here:
And just because calves are so dang cute, let’s see her attempt to stand for the first time:
See Vienna’s neck wattle? That’s where she likes me to brush her.
Other than Vienna and her calves, who are half Angus, the rest of our cattle are Limousin. At present we have 11 in our herd: Jolene, Nirvana, Vienna, Rumples, Stella, Tess, Tina Mae, Tasha, Tyrone, Uniqua and Urijah. For breeding we use artificial insemination as well as the ol’ fashioned bull-in-a-pasture. Speaking of bulls, this one’s giving me the stink eye:
See how long he is? Limousin cattle are longer and leaner than most other breeds. Their meat leaves almost no grease in the pan, and rarely needs trimming. You’ve probably guessed by now that we do eat the beef grown here. I quickly came to terms with the fact that I could, in fact, eat something that had a face and a name. At least I know for sure that the meat I’m eating came from healthy, pastured cattle who were treated with respect and kindness. A steer who is getting ready for, um, consumption is always given extra attention and a special treat the day before. I know, any cattle types who are reading this probably think I’m nuts. But I’m a city girl at heart, and it’s just how I roll.
2 replies on “The Cows”
I love that you give them a treat- that is so cool!. I love me some beef- all kinds of steak but I love cows too. So you do it right- treat them special and then eat em!
Thanks for the laugh!
Hi Andrea, I totally agree on that Limousin beef, it’s awesome! No fat to drain, first timers are really shocked. It’s almost like it is some best kept secret! If only all those housewives knew about it!