Guess what we found in the pasture today? What a shock!!!

[Illia]

Congratulations!! I can't wait until we get our first heifer born! . . . I think we're due for one in a little less than a month.

I REALLY hope she's also a Royal. . . . And I hope it will be a girl. . . Who knows. But I want a girl.

 

[YakLady]

Awesome!!!!! So you got more yaks? All I know about is your little guy. Please share... who else did you end up with and what are they like? Did you get them from the same person?

 

[Illia]

Quote:
None more yet.

I am indeed getting them from the same person, but he's estimating another due in a month or less. . . In the mean time our little bull is getting, as you warned, really stubborn and pushy. His horns are big enough now to grasp, and when he wants food (which is 24/7 it seems) he's really shovey about it. So, we're teaching him some manners and we also cut his feeding down by half. Hopefully he'll learn to eat real food in the mean time.

 

[YakLady]

LOL! You could always do what the Tibetans do... throw rocks at them. When I heard about that, I was partially horrified and partially amused. Someone who had been there told me that the Tibetan women will wake up in the morning, go gather some rocks, and start throwing them at the yaks to get them to move. If a yak shakes its horns at her, she chucks a rock at its forehead!

I carry a stick with me everywhere. If a yak gets too pushy, I lightly tap one of its horns with the stick. It seems as if that's all it takes to make them back off a bit.

We had another baby today! Another one of the cows from Idaho took off away from the herd this morning. We watched her from a distance, and saw a dark little baby at around 1:00. She was at the back of the property, on a ridge against the fence. We walked back to the woods, and sat down to watch her from that side of the fence. There was a jet black little wet baby with a tiny gray nose. We couldn't tell what the gender is, but it sure is a cutie. I'm glad there are two so that they can be playmates. This mom is named Sweets, and she's much more laid back than Zelda. She didnt seem to mind our presence at all.

 

[Illia]

Now you're making me jealous.

Yeah, I heard somewhere else too about the horn thing. I'll see if that works. I always have been thinking lately that I need a crop to hit his legs with, as he loves to step on my feet when demanding for something. . . Which hurts, because his hooves need to be trimmed. I think it is the fact that he doesn't have much rock to climb around on and trim those hooves with. He does, really, but he never goes to that part of the pasture. . .

The nice thing is that it is true about the "yaks act like dogs" thing though. . . He does! He wags his tail, follows you around everywhere, and when you stop, if he's a good boy, he just stands by your side and lets you do whatever with him. He also pants a lot.

 

[Gonzo]

How lucky!

 

[Kristian]

Really blessed families!

 

[YakLady]

Thanks, Kristian! Believe me, we are so grateful for our blessings. Almost every day, we look at our animals and say to each other, "Can you believe how lucky we are?". They really are amazing.

When we approached Sweets yesterday from the back of the property we weren't sure what to expect. Since there was a fence between us, we weren't too worried. It was amazing how docile she was in comparison to Zelda. Sweets noticed us, but really didn't pay much attention. We were sitting in the path maybe 10 feet away from her. After the baby had been cleaned up a bit and was moving around, it jumped right through the fence as if it was going to come see us. It was definitely looking at us. I got nervous, thinking Sweets would get mad and try to break down the fence. When I stood up, the baby turned around and hopped through the fence back to mom. I"m hoping I can get out there to take some pictures today.

Illia, you're right about them acting like dogs sometimes. And, oh!!!! Those hooves!!!! I've had my toes stepped on many times by my eager little steer. He hasn't done it in a while, though, thank goodness.