There are many sounds of country living that are unique to a farm. Machinery and animals add to the cadence of everyday life.
The barn cleaner makes a certain shuffling sound as the paddles move the manure up and out to the waiting spreader. The milkers chug rhythmically with their own special tempo, the pulsators keeping a steady beat as the milk is harvested. The electric feed cart whines and hums as my husband takes it up one side and down the other, feeding. The productive fans stir the inside air all year long, keeping up a steady whir.
Cows, in different stages of their lives, emit distinctive noises that a farmer can pinpoint to a certain age or circumstance. For example, a newborn calf moos in a weaker, higher pitch sound than, say, a more mature heifer.
Mother cows that just gave birth moo low and soft when looking at their newborn. We have cows that think they had given birth whenever they see a little calf struggling to stand or lying sleeping. To these cows, every calf is theirs to mother. They approach it and sniff, then momma-moo with their ears forward, as if listening.
If the radio isn’t on, I like the way the cows sound as they settle in for the day, after we’re done feeding and cleaning. They lie down heavily, exhale in a satisfied way and begin chewing their cud. If it’s really quiet in the barn and I take the time to listen, I can hear the cud come up from their bellies and a wad pop into place in the side of their jaw. Their eyes get sleepy and they look for all the world like they don’t have a care in the world. They shouldn’t! We wait on them hand and … hoof.
One day, there was a bigger calf stuck between her pen’s wooden boards. She had been reaching for hay that’s stored just outside of their pen. We feed them dry hay in their manger to eat. The stored hay was out of their reach but this one tried to reach for it anyway, turning her head just right to get at it but when she wanted to back out, could not remember at what angle she needed to accomplish that fact.
Approaching their pens, I heard a low moan, sort of a calf whimper, and knew instinctively something was wrong. Grabbing her whole head in my two hands, I slowly turned it to one side and pushed her backward, eventually freeing her. She stepped back and shook her head as if to clear out some cobwebs.
If I’m a little late feeding the bigger outside heifers, they set off a chorus. If they even see the skidsteer coming, they snort and their heads go up and down in anticipation, ears perk forward and they even begin drooling. They make a person know what they want. Once when one of their waterers had been full of something other than water, they would not drink, of course, and then let us know in no uncertain terms that they were thirsty.
Our pigs had made their own grunting, squealing, snorting noises and our chickens, too, had produced their own unique work of art with their clucking, scratching, fluttering and head-bobbing. And of course, our “herd” of cats living in their own little world amongst the cows chime in with their meows and occasional cat fights.
Molly, our yellow lab, makes her own noise. If she senses something amiss, she will let us know. A low growl with hair raised is a definite warning sign. Once in a while, she sees deer out the back room window. She comes into the living room and whines, pacing back and forth which means, “I need to check out the intruders in our field!” It’s like she’s talking to us. If a stranger comes to the door, she sets up a noise to wake the dead, straining at the door. She is our companion, our watchdog and our protector.
Many sounds in and around the barn are pleasant and to be expected, most are productive and soothing. Some are not, but all of it adds to the everyday sounds of the farm.
(“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice and sing praise!” Psalm 98:4)
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