Steer towers over Kalispell ranch
Arlene Weyrauch feeds alfalfa cubes to Moose, a 3,000-pound Holstein steer, and other cows in West Valley on Thursday, May 14. (Casey Kreider photos/Daily Inter Lake)
Moose flicks his tongue at the camera on the Weyrauch property in West Valley.
Arlene Weyrauch feeds Moose, a 3,000 pound Holstein steer, and other cows alfalfa cubes on her and her husband Cary’s property in West Valley on Thursday, May 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Cary Weyrauch, right, stands with Moose, a 3,000 pound Holstein steer, as his wife, Arlene, hands alfalfa cubes to other cows on their property in West Valley on Thursday, May 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Cary Weyrauch stands with Moose, a 3,000 pound Holstein steer, on his property in West Valley on Thursday, May 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
On a small hobby ranch off Old Reserve Drive in Kalispell, a massive Holstein steer named Moose grazes.
People who know about Moose drop by to catch a glimpse of his 6-foot, 4-inch, 3,000-pound frame. Cary Weyrauch, along with his wife Arlene, would not want it any other way. The Weyrauchs are hobby ranchers and Moose is the family pet.
“That’s the best word, the family pet,” Cary Weyrauch said. “I walk up and pet him all the time. When a stranger comes around he’s a little more standoffish until they feed him a treat, then they’re buddies.”
Cary Weyrauch acquired the steer from Kalispell Kreamery when Moose was just a day old. At times the creamery will have too many bulls and will need to sell them.
The calf was bottle fed until he could eat hay on his own. Holstein steers are often kept about two years and then butchered, Weyrauch said that is why it’s rare to see one as big as Moose. This steer is 8 years old and thriving.
The hobby ranch, which the Weyrauchs built from the ground up 21 years ago, has 28 chickens, two calves, three smaller cows and the Holstein steer. Weyrauch said they raise all the cows as pets mostly, but occasionally sell them to be butchered if they have too many at one time.
Moose grazes with the other cows and he stays within the fencing. The large steer does, however, need his own sizable shed for shelter, as he does not fit in the regular-sized structure. In the summer he gets enough food through grazing, but during the colder months he eats up to three-quarters of a bale of hay every day.
“He’s out with (the other cows),” Weyrauch said. “They all roam together just like a big happy family, if one goes into the pasture they all go that way.”
Moose is the second Holstein steer the family has raised. The first one, Mick, was also massive, but friendly. Weyrauch said Mick loved being around people. Moose needs a treat or two before warming up to people who come by to get their picture taken with the extraordinary animal.
But why have a cow as a pet? Weyrauch said he likes that it’s different. It is not every day that someone has a pet steer.
“It’s unique, and I love showing him off,” Weyrauch said. “People will stop by and just say, ‘hey can I see your cow?’ And that’s what he’s for, we like to show him off. It’s something that’s unique, out of the ordinary.”
Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@dailyinterlake.com
