We have around 100 heifer calves in our pens right now. They'll feed them for awhile and whittle that number down once they decide how many they want to keep for replacements. We've had rain and snow but above-freezing temps so the pens have been pretty mucky. We have a grassy area adjacent to the pens where we can let them out. M and R have done a lot of work on that area so that it's all wood corral or windbreak except for three gates that are wire reinforced with stays. M was feeling bad for the calves being in the muck so he decided to let them out the other day. He was a bit concerned because they are still a bit spooky but gave it a try. R's girlfriend came home from work Friday night and as she was closing the metal swinging gate something spooked them and they ran headlong into one of the wire fences. They hit it so hard that the post broke and the gate fell down and they headed south. R was there quickly and locked in the few that remained and tried to find where the others had gone. They went up the hill and through a fence, but it was too dark to do anything but hope they didn't blow through too many fences before they settled down.
M wasn't home at the time, and I was the bearer of the good news when he did get home. Man, was he mad! Neither of us slept very well that night, worried about where they might have gone, and were up early and out of the house as soon as the sun was up to try to find them. We thought they would head to the cows, but there were no gates down or holes in fences and no sign of them there. We finally spotted 11 (of 60 to 70). We started pushing them toward home with the pickup and got them just about there when they circled and spread out and headed the wrong direction. At that point I went to get a 4-wheeler and M grabbed a bale to try to entice them without too much luck. Then we went to get a few cows to move with them. That wasn't so easy either since the cows didn't want to leave the herd. Finally, we got a few cows to move and R rounded up the calves for the second time and the two groups met and moved easily home. So far, so good....except we were still missing 50 to 60 head.
M was wondering where to look first and R said "just follow the holes in the fences", but there was really just one hole. From there they headed south and east and found an open gate that led to a small pasture and then to a water corral. I had gone south into the neighbor's pasture but just got up the hill, looked east and saw them so went to join R to push them home. I always say that M wants to do things the hard way before trying the easy way to see if it will work. He didn't think we'd be able to push them home without some cows along, but that would have been a few miles for the cows and more work for us. R and I were able to push them home without much trouble. We were trying to push them slowly so M would have time to get gates and panels ready before we got there. That wasn't so easy, and he barely had enough time. They are going to have to have some time to settle down so probably won't be granted release again until after Christmas.
We were hoping to haul cull cows to market last week, but the roads were too wet and we couldn't get trucks and trailers in and out so they finally were hauled out today. We had some rain overnight with some ice, but it wasn't too slick. We didn't want to have to feed them all for another week.
I'm still hoping for bad weather (well, almost) so I can pin M down to do some paperwork. I made him a to-do list today so we'll see how that goes. We have a vacation planned in December so a lot of that stuff has to get done before that. Wish us luck!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Shipping Day!
Wow, it's been a busy weekend, and we are exhausted. The week(s) leading up to shipping day are a little stressful....especially when it coincides with hunting season. We had all our cows moved close to home and really didn't want a hunter to leave a gate open somewhere. M was doing gate checks a couple of times a day for the past week.
The work started on Tuesday when the guys moved our younger cows and calves home. It was a windy, cold, wet day, but I was willing to go help if they thought they needed me. I never did get the call (thank goodness) and M was SO cold when he got home. Then Thursday afternoon we moved the big bunch home. Actually, they kind of moved themselves when they heard M start the tractor to put some bales out. We only had to chase in a few stragglers.
After we were done there we headed cross-country to the neighbor's to grab their stock trailer and take a tractor over to move some dirt and put some bales out there. He has a nice corral setup and a portable scale so we're able to ship right out of there. It's so nice to be able to do that.
The cattle market has gone south since we contracted so we were a little concerned that the buyer would back out (we've heard stories of that happening) or trucks wouldn't show up or something. We were relieved when he called our neighbor on Thursday night to confirm, but he did say that he'd only have two trucks on Friday and the other two wouldn't be there until Saturday. As long as we were "weighed and paid" we could work with that.
We had to get everything in Friday morning, sort off the cows and then sort the calves by sex. Complicate that by having some of our neighbors calves, some share calves, and cull cows to cut off. Complicate it more by having a gate come open and a bunch of steer calves get mixed up with the heifer calves that we wanted to keep for replacements. Then we had to haul by trailer-loads cross-country to the neighbor's. Thankfully, I got out of most of the sorting because I had to go with the first load to keep a count of the neighbor's calves, the share calve and our calves.
By the time we got all of ours sorted and over to the scale, the trucks were loaded (3 actually showed up instead of 2) and the checks were written it was 4:00. I think we are starting to have too many calves to do it the way we are now.
Then I ran home, took a quick shower and headed to town to babysit Sawyer. I was a little afraid that I'd be ready for bed before her. We had tons of fun and I got home about 2:00 am.
M let me sleep in a bit on Saturday while he went to Richland to meet the last trucker and show him where to go. I called him when I got up and he said to come over in 45 minutes because we were preg testing the neighbor's cows. How about an hour and a half? I had stuff to do, was moving slow, and it was cold and windy so I didn't want to go out. They didn't really need my help anyway, but I did show up. We were done with that job by 1:00. Then we had lunch and we helped the neighbors pack up to head back to Harlem, relieved that the weekend was over.
Today M made me go help him do cow chores since R was gone hauling calves for C's step-kids. I didn't want to go, but it was a nicer day than I thought. And, I got back at him by making him help me do some things outside when we got back.
We can't let up now, though. Tomorrow they have to move our replacement heifers and bulls closer to home (and I have to get the calf check to the bank!). Wednesday they have cull cows to haul to the sale in Glasgow and Thursday they have calves to haul for another neighbor. Then, maybe we can rest a little.
The work started on Tuesday when the guys moved our younger cows and calves home. It was a windy, cold, wet day, but I was willing to go help if they thought they needed me. I never did get the call (thank goodness) and M was SO cold when he got home. Then Thursday afternoon we moved the big bunch home. Actually, they kind of moved themselves when they heard M start the tractor to put some bales out. We only had to chase in a few stragglers.
After we were done there we headed cross-country to the neighbor's to grab their stock trailer and take a tractor over to move some dirt and put some bales out there. He has a nice corral setup and a portable scale so we're able to ship right out of there. It's so nice to be able to do that.
The cattle market has gone south since we contracted so we were a little concerned that the buyer would back out (we've heard stories of that happening) or trucks wouldn't show up or something. We were relieved when he called our neighbor on Thursday night to confirm, but he did say that he'd only have two trucks on Friday and the other two wouldn't be there until Saturday. As long as we were "weighed and paid" we could work with that.
We had to get everything in Friday morning, sort off the cows and then sort the calves by sex. Complicate that by having some of our neighbors calves, some share calves, and cull cows to cut off. Complicate it more by having a gate come open and a bunch of steer calves get mixed up with the heifer calves that we wanted to keep for replacements. Then we had to haul by trailer-loads cross-country to the neighbor's. Thankfully, I got out of most of the sorting because I had to go with the first load to keep a count of the neighbor's calves, the share calve and our calves.
By the time we got all of ours sorted and over to the scale, the trucks were loaded (3 actually showed up instead of 2) and the checks were written it was 4:00. I think we are starting to have too many calves to do it the way we are now.
Then I ran home, took a quick shower and headed to town to babysit Sawyer. I was a little afraid that I'd be ready for bed before her. We had tons of fun and I got home about 2:00 am.
M let me sleep in a bit on Saturday while he went to Richland to meet the last trucker and show him where to go. I called him when I got up and he said to come over in 45 minutes because we were preg testing the neighbor's cows. How about an hour and a half? I had stuff to do, was moving slow, and it was cold and windy so I didn't want to go out. They didn't really need my help anyway, but I did show up. We were done with that job by 1:00. Then we had lunch and we helped the neighbors pack up to head back to Harlem, relieved that the weekend was over.
Today M made me go help him do cow chores since R was gone hauling calves for C's step-kids. I didn't want to go, but it was a nicer day than I thought. And, I got back at him by making him help me do some things outside when we got back.
We can't let up now, though. Tomorrow they have to move our replacement heifers and bulls closer to home (and I have to get the calf check to the bank!). Wednesday they have cull cows to haul to the sale in Glasgow and Thursday they have calves to haul for another neighbor. Then, maybe we can rest a little.
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