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Free Spirit Cow Treks 35 Miles To Get Home
When Sidney Kraftsow sold Julieann, a pregnant. 700-lb. Brahaman heifer, to a farmer 35 miles away in central Florida. he never thought he'd see her again. But he hadn't counted on the homing instinct in the young free-spirited animal and 20 hours later, after jumping fences, crossing rivers and trekking through a driv
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Free Spirit Cow Treks 35 Miles To Get Home AG WORLD Ag World 7-3-18 When Sidney Kraftsow sold Julieann, a pregnant. 700-lb. Brahaman heifer, to a farmer 35 miles away in central Florida. he never thought he'd see her again. But he hadn't counted on the homing instinct in the young free-spirited animal and 20 hours later, after jumping fences, crossing rivers and trekking through a driving rain, Julieann arrived ù 100 lbs. lighter and with a few scratches ù back at the home of her former owner.
Kraftsow, who farms near Geneva, had sold the heifer to Read Hays in Christmas, Fla., because Julieann was a chronic roamer who frequently jumped 5-ft. cattle guards to wander up and down the road passing his place, browsing through citrus groves eating oranges and grapefruit.
"We were amazed when the cow showed up. I've heard of dogs and cats doing that but never a cow," says Kraftsow.
Hays bought the heifer from Kraftsow and took her to his farm the same day. He put her in a pen and last saw her shortly after dark. That night, Julieann jumped out of the pen, leaped over two 4-ft. barbed wire fences that surround the pasture, and then made her way north.
The next day, Hayes tracked the cow through a heavy rain but lost the trail when Julieann swam the Econlockhatcliee River and several smaller creeks. She showed up at Kraftsow's that afternoon.
Kraftsow says he sold the cow because of her love for fruit. "She's a tame, loving gentle cow whose love for citrus got her in trouble. She'd go through most any fence or barrier to get a taste of an orange or grapefruit. After a couple close calls with passing autos and a schoolbus, I decided that for her sake, as well as mine, she'd have to go to a barnyard where her craving for citrus would be less apt to get her in trouble with traffic. I still go visit her and bring her a citrus treat."
Hayes, who bought the purebred Julieann to breed to his Brahman bull, says he's building higher fences to keep the wandering cow at home.
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