Our adventures began with a Resort Sponsored activity called "Meet the Herd". Everyone gathered at the Outdoor Center which was just next to the resort at our end of the building - so a short walk for us - and a guide first told us about the herd of cattle that the Von Trapps raise. After some introductory information, we took a short walk (less than a mile) to the pasture where many of them were currently hanging out. It happened to be the closest pasture to the building, so that was less of a walk for us.
When the Von Trapps bought this farm in 1941, it was a struggling dairy farm. They worked the dairy farm business for awhile, but it interfered with them traveling to sing because dairy cows have to be milked twice a day. They sold that herd and decided to invest in beef cattle instead, and they got a breed they were familiar with from Europe - Scottish Highland Cattle.
I learned so many things about this cattle breed! It was fascinating! Here is a short list:
- Pictured above are the 1 bull in this herd of 68 (the darker one) and the dominant female (the blonde with the horns). [Internet note: I just read online that a group of Highland cattle are actually called a "fold" rather than a herd. Our guide called them a herd.]
- They are distinctive for their long hair. They actually have a double coat. They have a long oily outer coat which protects them from the rain/snow, and a downy undercoat which provides warmth because they are a lean breed. Because of this, they are best suited to cooler climates and are not really heat-tolerant in warm climates. This is perfect for Vermont winters because they do not need barns. They live outside all year!
- In this herd, the females keep their horns because they need to use them to defend their young from coyote attacks. The male's horns are removed because they can get a little overly aggressive. (Go Figure!)
- Every herd/fold has a pecking order. In this group, the dominant females are the blonde individuals. Our guide explained that because the blonde coloring is in the minority, they stand out as more unique and therefore more vulnerable to predators, so they have to be more aggressive to protect themselves. He also indicated that this might also be true with other animals - albino animals or any animal that varies in color greatly from its companions needs to be more aggressive for self-protection - he used Moby Dick, the great WHITE whale, as an example. (How many years have I been an English teacher, and I never heard anyone explain that before??!)
- Most of the females in this herd are a warm brown color:
- We got to see this year's babies and 2 year olds. Typically, the calves stay with their mothers for 2 years before the males are sold. They start showing their horns at around a year old. Our guide said the calves can be playful with each other, sort of like puppies. He also said that the adults will head-butt each other in a non-violent way, partly as a show of dominance, or to move someone off a tasty plot of land where someone wants to munch.
- We actually got to be "cattle herders" because one little guy had slipped under the electric fence. We (about 30 of us in the group) surrounded him and started moving closer, and he took the hint and went back into the pasture with Mom and his buddies:
In the course of telling us about the cattle, our guide Bob also told us about the chickens they have on the farm. LOTS of chickens - enough that they collect about 20 doz eggs a day for all their pastries and scrambled eggs on the breakfast buffet. As we were walking back toward the lodge from the cow pasture, we saw the chicken coup and decided to take a closer look. Here is some of what we observed:
First, here is the 1 boy in the group - Mr. Rooster:
Most of this "brood" are Rhode Island Reds. Our guide didn't know the names of the other ones. They were a little vocal as we watched them.
Our guide also told us an interesting story - Gross-out warning - skip this paragraph if you are easily grossed out. When they move the cattle from one pasture to the next (which they do every couple of days), they move the chicken coup into where the cows just were. The chickens pick the fly larvae out of the cow dung so when they use the dung for fertilizer, they don't have as many flies to deal with. Interesting, huh?!
Ok - moving on.... On the way back from the chicken coup we wandered through the gardens - veggies and flowers. O M G - sooooo very lovely! Peonies were at their peak while we were there. (Ours here in Central Ohio were done by the end of May.)
We also could see the top of Mt. Mansfield from the pasture:
This morning adventure was just the first of several for the day. Stay tuned for more coming in the next entry!
:)Amy
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