Pregnant Cow Mood Swings: A First-Time Owner’s Wake-Up Call

I don’t know what in the heckity-heck just happened, but it was totally weird—and it really freaked me out.

May Belle and I are still in the getting-to-know-you stage of our relationship.

Quick recap: May Belle is our new three-year-old dairy cow, very pregnant, and due to calve any time now. She’s only been here a few weeks, and so far, things have been going great. She’s friendly, gentle, lets me pet her all over—even her udder and legs—takes snacks from my hand, and sometimes comes over just to say hi. Basically, she’s been a total sweetheart.

Until a couple hours ago.

I was hanging out with her in the paddock—just me and May Belle, doing our usual bonding thing. I’d been there for about an hour, giving her some fresh grass I’d picked, chatting with her (as one does), and generally fooling myself into thinking I was some kind of serene cow whisperer. Then she wandered off to her hay trough, and I moseyed over toward the fence to visit with Uma, one of our yaks, who was on the other side. Everything was perfectly normal and peaceful.

Until it wasn’t.

May Belle suddenly stopped eating. She turned and looked right at me. You know that feeling when you can sense something’s about to happen but your brain hasn’t caught up yet?

Yeah. That.

She walked straight over to me and started licking my arm—nothing new, she does that a lot. But then, out of nowhere, she reared up. Both front feet off the ground, chest up like some kind of bovine ballerina.

I wish I knew what was going through her head when she jumped on me

It wasn’t a full-blown rodeo horse wheelie, but it was enough to make my heart drop right into my muck boots.

My brain instantly screamed: “OH MY GOSH. IS SHE TRYING TO MOUNT ME?!”

I have never moved so fast in my life. One second I was there, and the next I was on the other side of the gate, heart pounding, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

She didn’t chase me or seem angry. She just stood there, unconcerned, like nothing weird had occurred. Meanwhile, I’m standing outside the fence, feeling scared, confused, and… if I’m honest, a little violated.

Did my cow just try to violate me?

Good Lord, have mercy. This was absolutely not on my Bingo card of “things to be aware of as a new cow owner.”

Okay, here's what (Probably) happened

After my mini heart attack, I did what any self-respecting new cow owner would do: panic-google.

Apparently, this kind of behavior can happen for a few reasons:

• Hormones: Pregnant or cycling cows can have massive hormone swings that make them act strange—restless, pushy, or overly affectionate. (Relatable, honestly.)

• Dominance testing: Sometimes cows “test” their humans to figure out where they rank in the herd. It’s not personal—it’s cow politics.

• Playfulness or excitement: A bored or friendly cow might get a little too into interaction and forget you’re not a 1,000-pound playmate.

  
  

So, in short, May Belle wasn’t trying to attack or romance me… she was just being a hormonal, social, possibly bossy pregnant lady.

Still, I’ll be keeping a very respectful amount of fencing between us until she calms down—or until I stop reliving the moment in slow motion every time I close my eyes.