Post 12. Former Barn-Stable

The cows wintered in the stables. Just above the stable in the barn, hay and second growth hay were stored and used as feed in winter. Formerly, cows raised in Mission, as in the rest of the valley, belonged exclusively to the Hérens race.

The morphology of this breed makes it easier to adapt to the mountain environment. The Hérens cow is an excellent walker. Formerly, during the seasonal remuages, the cows had to move from the mountains to the valley of the Rhone, and vice versa.

Cows of this breed have a very lively and combative temperament that is rendered obvious in the ritual fights organized in the region. When cows of different stables meet in the pasture, for example, they naturally clash in battles that determine the leader of the herd, called the Reine ( queen ).

This cow is the descendant of the cattle that were present in the Alps since ancient times.

Formerly, when a cow was slaughtered, everything was retrieved except the horns and hooves. If the cow was an old alpine reine, the horns were then fixed above the front door of the stable, as trophies and souvenirs.

The hay was cut with a scythe, and then transported on a cart pulled by a mule or on the backs of men and women. Today, the meadows around Mission exclusively produce hay for the consortage of Mission.

The barn, owned by a consortage is exploited by a private individual. It houses about forty Hérens cows.

Observe the old stable located in the meadow below the road. The small building at the corner of the road, left, housed the local firefighters. A little higher, on the right, was the slaughterhouse, which operated until the 1950s, as well as the storage area for farm machines used during the years 1945-1950.

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