This week, let's talk about Sona! She's the very first Irish Dexter cow that became a part of our family. It felt like destiny when we stumbled upon this unique breed for sale in Doug's hometown, right across from the Forkland Community Center where we tied the knot.
Sona, which translates to "happy" in Irish, was meant to live a luxurious life as a show cow. Her initial year with us involved frequent baths, grooming sessions, and training on how to walk with a lead. However, her show cow aspirations were abruptly halted when my daughter injured her hand. Consequently, Sona redirected her focus towards becoming the queen of the herd. Similar to other ruminants and herd creatures, the hierarchy is led by females. The dominant female dictates the herd's movements and food choices. A true queen in her own right!
Sona proudly displays her number 1 cattle ear tag while guiding the herd through grazing rotations and settling disputes among her extensive family. She, along with Tom Bombadil the rescue donkey, remains vigilant for any potential threats. Due to her past as a show cow, Sona underwent dehorning according to 4-H regulations when she was just a few months old. Out of the three dehorned cows in our possession, all have developed one or more partial horns or scurs. As we no longer participate in cattle shows, we have come to appreciate the horned animals within our herd and no longer practice dehorning. I prefer animals with intact horns over those with deformed regrowth, a sentiment exemplified by Sona and her single re-grown horn on the right side. I affectionately refer to her as my bovine unicorn!
Sona is also an amazing mom and produces a ton of milk. We've only milked our goats so far, but we decided to try milking Sona towards the end of her lactation after her last birth. We wanted to see if she remembered being pampered in the past and would willingly come to the barn for milking. And guess what? She was a pro! She stood there calmly while I cleaned her feet and milked her from all four quarters. At eight years old, she's at the top of her game. She just had a calf in August. Could this be the year that Sona becomes our family milk cow? We'll have to wait and see! Her little black heifer calf seems like a fun project for halter training and maybe a future milk cow too. Looks like we've got a winter project on our hands. Time to give Farmer Doug a heads-up! 😉
Sona is truly the backbone of our herd. We can't imagine a day where we won't hear her bellowing for her bovine family to come running when we give the call "come on, girls!" Until then, we'll continue smothering our unicorn girlie with love until the cows come home!
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