Love Is In The Air

Ol' Blue Eyes

Strangers in the night, exchanging glances
Wondering in the night; what were the chances?
We'd be sharing love before the night was through
Something in your eyes was so inviting
Something in your smile was so exciting
Something in my heart told me I must have you
Strangers in the night, two lonely bovines
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we moo'd our first bellow, little did we know
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
And ever since that night, we've been together
Lovers at first sight, in love forever
It turned out so right for strangers in the night

Except that it didn't turn out so right...  We discussed in a previous post how we're cow-sitting for Bessie, a registered Jersey cow that a friend wanted bred by our Jersey bull.  As a swap, she's having her Nubian billy goat breed Nellie and Annie, our two Nubian dairy goats.  When we brought Bessie home and unloaded her, we noticed how tall she was.  She was six inches taller than Daisy & Rosie. Bully was able to successfully breed Rosie, but the disparity in size between Bully and Bessie made me unsure that this was going to work.

Bully & Bessie

We were unsure of when Bessie was going to go into heat, so we introduced the two and put them in the same paddock.  The time was just about right.  Bully put on some Barry White music and began wooing Bessie.  She wasn't in standing heat yet, though.  On the very next day she was.  Tricia had binoculars and was observing them from the french doors.

Frustration setting in

Although Bully gave it a good try for about 12 hours, he needs to grow some more before he'd physically be able to get the job done on a tall cow like Bessie.  At the risk of being off-color, Bully would jump up on Bessie, but due to her height, he couldn't reach the strategic location needed to consummate the deal.  It was as if he needed a step ladder.  It's not that he's defective.  Bully is a year and a half old, so he'll continue to grow.  He's successfully bred Rosie, so we know he's 'hot.'  You can see in the picture below the size differential between the two animals.

Ain't gonna happen

When Bessie's cycle ended, we contacted the friend and told her the bad news. Where there is a will, there's a way.  We're going to bring Bessie AND Bully back to her house before Bessie goes into heat again. The friend has a plan.  Her land, being on the River, is hilly.  She's going to put Bessie in position on the downhill side (in some sort of stall?) and place Bully on the uphill side.  That should position her lower and him a little higher, thus giving him some assistance to compensate for and overcome his deficiencies in stature.  She goes back into heat on December 27th, so we'll know then if this plan works or if it was an 'uphill battle.'