Releasing the Bulls

"hey, you're cute."

Tomorrow being Thanksgiving, we thought we would release the bulls and give the cows something to be thankful for. We have 3 distinct herds on the ranch, so we try to place 1 bull to each herd, which means loading and hauling the bulls.The bulls have been in an exclusive men's club for over a month and they resisted the move. Max managed to jump over a 6 foot section of the corral and crush a smaller 5 foot gate to avoid the trailer to the girls. He got hauled last. It only took 1 man to load Clay, our old veteran. He allowed himself to be escorted to the trailer and then calmly looked behind himself to make sure the trailer door was properly fastened. He knew that today was his special day! He's done this before. Jerry was the next to be loaded and he was coaxed inside with some alfalfa, after he sent someone over the fence. Naughty boy! It took 2 men to load him and when he was released he ignored the cows and headed straight for the hay. Rookie mistake. Max, turns out to be the most timid and athletic of all the bulls. It took 3 men to load him and it took minutes for him to give up on his efforts to push his head through the wall of the trailer after he was locked inside. When he was released into his chosen herd he ignored both the hay and the feminine attractions and raced over the hill with a single line of available females bellowing after him. Soon the cows tired of the chase and returned to the hay and so did he. They swarmed around him like bees to honey. We are happy to report that all 3 sires were enjoying the romance of this evening's sunset. One of the bulls may have even had a wild rose in his teeth. Fortunately our athletic and perhaps wild young males are paired with our geriatric females so the old gals will get one more salsa and tango experience and their calves should have a little more zip. We hope.