Food Plots and Cows

[WeedyJ]

So with my new property acquired this spring, the previous guy who was grazing cattle left me 2 cows he couldn't round up. Not a problem this year because I have no plots in the area that they access. The are free range and drink from the wetland, and have plenty of forage. Since I don't mow the fields, they easily hide from me. I will want to plant in the section of pasture that they need in order to have good access to water. I am NOT spending more money on fencing for them :-) Are there foods or plot sizes I should consider, given that they will access the plots as well as all of the rest of the residual clover and grasses that are still in the pastures? AND...when I was down there this weekend, I found out I now have 2 cows and a calf!!!

Oh, if I sound congested as you read this, it's because a bee flew into my nostril to sting me yesterday

 

[Native Hunter]

I once bit into a steak that mooed,
but I kept on chewing - yes I chewed and chewed.
The taste was so great, that I couldn't wait,
so I woofed it all down before it laid on a plate.

 

[DJN]

Sounds like your hunting trips just got more exciting! I would recommend a cut on contact broadhead instead of a mechanical. And wait for that broadside to quartering away shot. At least they shouldn’t be able to jump the string. And that sting doesn’t sound to fun!

 

[WeedyJ]

Since they are successful slaughterhouse escapees AND now co-mothers, my wife will not let me do anything other than keep them as farm pets :-)

 

[Catscratch]

Stung inside the nostril? Holy crap that had to make your eyes water! My youngest got stung on the lip my a scorpion a few weeks ago. The swelling was hilarious!

Plots with cattle? Lots of acreage and something that can regrow when grazed such as wheat, rye, and clovers. Might check to make sure whatever you do plant doesn't cause bloat. I would personally consider a chunk of plot fenced in with 4 strands of barbed wire. Maybe an acre or so? Cost would be minimal.

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[Bill]

So you’re telling me you’ve never not told your wife something?

No way I share a food plot with 3 cows.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Id never consider planting a plot of any kind where cows have free choice.


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[TreeDaddy]

I once bit into a steak that mooed,
but I kept on chewing - yes I chewed and chewed.
The taste was so great, that I couldn't wait,
so I woofed it all down before it laid on a plate.

.......so sayeth the Kentucky poet sage

bill

 

[Bill Loser]

No one else has asked the question so I will, are you absolutely sure that you have 2 cows and not a cow and a bull? Would hate to see you end up with a whole herd!
On the food plot question. I would beef up the meat pole (pun intended) ! Unless you're putting in acre or more plots 3 cows will destroy whatever you plant. Look at cow pastures at farms, especially somewhat small ones, it's all dirt with area's of grasses growing. Its not that they eat so much , the issue is the feet, when its wet they tear up everyrhing with those big hooves. And when the do eat they pull it out they dont bite it off so wet ground or shallow rooted plants are pulled out by the roots.
I got stung on the tip of the nose earlier this year, that was bad enough. Getting stung insude the nose sounds horrible!

 

[WeedyJ]

So you’re telling me you’ve never not told your wife something?

No way I share a food plot with 3 cows.

Not THIS wife ! But I've finally gotten too old to be doing stuff I shouldn't ! Either that or I have become amazingly less self critical...

 

[WeedyJ]

No one else has asked the question so I will, are you absolutely sure that you have 2 cows and not a cow and a bull? Would hate to see you end up with a whole herd!
On the food plot question. I would beef up the meat pole (pun intended) ! Unless you're putting in acre or more plots 3 cows will destroy whatever you plant. Look at cow pastures at farms, especially somewhat small ones, it's all dirt with area's of grasses growing. Its not that they eat so much , the issue is the feet, when its wet they tear up everyrhing with those big hooves. And when the do eat they pull it out they dont bite it off so wet ground or shallow rooted plants are pulled out by the roots.
I got stung on the tip of the nose earlier this year, that was bad enough. Getting stung insude the nose sounds horrible!

Of course that IS the obvious question! I closed on the property May 20 this year. The cows were moved shortly thereafter. I'm assuming she was bred a few months before that

 

[BenAllgood]

You're not going to have plots if you have cows and they're not fenced in. There's nothing you can plant that a deer will eat that a cow won't graze on until gone.

 

[TreeDaddy]

^^^^^^^^^^^^this

Cows will turn your plot into a corral

bill

 

[H20fwler]

Sounds like you have a couple thousand dollars walking around free range...gather them up and cash them in.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I would just trade them in for something useful, like a couple thousand pounds of beef :)

 

[SD51555]

Sounds like you've got a couple organic fertilizer generators. Now you've got learn about bale grazing and use them to dump 200 lbs/day onto the spots you need soil building.

 

[WeedyJ]

Sounds like you've got a couple organic fertilizer generators. Now you've got learn about bale grazing and use them to dump 200 lbs/day onto the spots you need soil building.

Definitely have some homework!

 

[Bill Loser]

See if you can get them to breed with the deer. Think of the possibilities!

 

[westonwhitetail]

I had a lease that was also horse pasture. We fenced in about 2 acres for plots. The horses left it alone all summer then usually broke in in October as the plot was the best available food. The plot was wiped out in a few days with only a few horses

 

[No-Tox]

Rent a trailer, load cows, when wife asks about cows the answer is they ran away.