Life has been a bit hectic and busy after our short vacation to Denver (which was a ton of fun by the way). We had some catch up to do and now are getting ready for breeding season (the cows, not us). Our friend, Roger, is going to artificially inseminate our heifers. It's our first time doing things that way so we're learning as we go.
First thing this morning we had to move the heifers from the pasture to the barn. We've been having the debate for a few weeks now as to whether we will be chasing them home or leading them home. They've become a bit like pets (okay, A LOT) and come running to us when we come into the pasture. We pretty much led them to the gate and out of the pasture. Then we had to cross some seeded fields and had to chase them. They pretty much knew where they were going, though, so we mostly just had to keep up with the 4-wheelers.
Since that went so smoothly we had time to go to Richland and get a water truck for J and C who were spraying crop before Roger arrived. We started running the heifers through to give them a shot to bring them into heat, apply a heat sensor patch to their backs and pour them for flies. M was called away to give C a ride so Roger and I finished up.
Then we rounded up some pairs to move to Opheim and corralled them until after lunch. After lunch, M had to go get more water for the spraying crew so Roger and I sorted the pairs and loaded them and took them to pasture near my brother's house. That went smoothly, too. Roger thinks M has me trained pretty well.
We had two more pairs to take to a different pasture so we got them loaded and M and Roger dropped me off at home and took them. They then had to go load bulls and bring them home since the vet will be out in the morning to test them.
They had originally planned to do that yesterday which would have been great for me because I was supposed to work so wouldn't have to help. Sadly, we had to go to the funeral of a friend yesterday so the bull testing was rescheduled. Now I have no excuse to be absent from that fun event.
Roger lives about 80 miles away so is staying with us while the AI-ing is going on. He told M to keep him busy while he was here. M is pretty sure that won't be a problem. I say, oh Roger, be careful what you ask for!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
I've Been Everywhere......
That's been the theme song for my life the past week or so. With J working at one end of our land and M at the other I feel like all I've been doing is running around from north of Glentana to south of Opheim to west of Opheim and back again, to Glasgow for parts and then to the east end. One day, J told me he would need me the next day because he was going to have a couple of short moves to make. Then M came home and told me I would have to go with him the next day to move him back home. I wasn't sure how I was going to be everywhere at once. M had to delay getting to his tractor for while we got J set up for the day. That's when I decided that everybody needed a "buddy" (or two) to follow them around and make sure they had what they needed because I just can't be everywhere and do it all. Then my mother-in-law deserted me after the last rain and went to her house in town--not fair! J finished seeding Sunday night so we have all breathed a big sigh of relief.
That gave me time to go to the graduation of my niece and a neighbor girl and hit one graduation party. Today we had rain so M and I spent the day working on reporting for the Farm Service Agency, our crop insurance agent and the Department of State Lands. I wonder every year why anyone would think it is a good idea to have the government involved in farming (or just about anything else for that matter).
R is home temporarily while waiting for his summer job to begin so has been put to work. I get the feeling he hasn't really missed the farming scene that much.......
That gave me time to go to the graduation of my niece and a neighbor girl and hit one graduation party. Today we had rain so M and I spent the day working on reporting for the Farm Service Agency, our crop insurance agent and the Department of State Lands. I wonder every year why anyone would think it is a good idea to have the government involved in farming (or just about anything else for that matter).
R is home temporarily while waiting for his summer job to begin so has been put to work. I get the feeling he hasn't really missed the farming scene that much.......
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I Want to Check You For Ticks
Yes, it's tick season. One night we found two attached to Pete's head and the next night we found one in his ear. The first one I pulled out took a little scalp with it. Another day I saw something on the floor that looked like a bean--about the size of a kidney bean and kind of gray-green. I picked it up wondering what in the world it was and saw little legs moving. A big, fat, blood-filled tick. GROSS! Now we don't just pet Pete, we're feeling for ticks. Poor Pete has gotten a little gun shy. He's also full of cockleburs after day out with M doing some fencing. I'd love to take him to a groomer and see what think of him at the moment.
I have bad news to report about poor little Tina. One morning I went into the barn like every day to let her know I was there so she could get herself up (it took awhile sometimes) while I went to get her bottle ready. She was in the back of the barn and the way she was laying gave me a bad feeling. I made M go and look and yes, she had died during the night. She was fine the day before and had eaten really well. I suppose it was for the best, but I kind of miss her. Now when we go to feed I feel like I'm forgetting something.
We had an inch and a half of rain over the weekend so the seeding operation was shut down for a few days. They were going to try to get back to it this afternoon. In the meantime, we sent some cow-calf pairs out to pasture and loaded up some other cows to haul to another pasture. That went really smoothly, thank goodness!
Yesterday M decided it was a good day to pound some posts since the ground was soft after the rain and left the clipping for me. So I wandered through prime tick habitat this afternoon to clip the fence wires to the new posts. I've felt a bit crawly ever since so I might need to be checked for ticks!
I have bad news to report about poor little Tina. One morning I went into the barn like every day to let her know I was there so she could get herself up (it took awhile sometimes) while I went to get her bottle ready. She was in the back of the barn and the way she was laying gave me a bad feeling. I made M go and look and yes, she had died during the night. She was fine the day before and had eaten really well. I suppose it was for the best, but I kind of miss her. Now when we go to feed I feel like I'm forgetting something.
We had an inch and a half of rain over the weekend so the seeding operation was shut down for a few days. They were going to try to get back to it this afternoon. In the meantime, we sent some cow-calf pairs out to pasture and loaded up some other cows to haul to another pasture. That went really smoothly, thank goodness!
Yesterday M decided it was a good day to pound some posts since the ground was soft after the rain and left the clipping for me. So I wandered through prime tick habitat this afternoon to clip the fence wires to the new posts. I've felt a bit crawly ever since so I might need to be checked for ticks!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Adventures in Ranching
I guess I can't say we are "cowboying" anymore. The other night we heard a young man say he's not a cowboy, he's a rancher. Of course, he has a full-time job in town and doesn't really take care of his own cows much so I'm not sure he qualifies as a "cowboy" OR a "rancher". Anyway, there is a distinction between the two.
My Tink (erbelle) has turned into Tina and is still alive and relatively well. She has not, however, learned to suck from her mother. We had a rain delay over the weekend so M had some time to get the cow in the maternity pen daily for a few days and try to get Tina to nurse. She really can't figure it out or it's too hard for her, but we've pretty much given up hope that it will ever happen. So, I get to bottle feed her twice a day. We've been so proud of ourselves for saving her, but now we're wondering why since she'll never be worth anything and we're not sure what we'll do with her. Her mother and M are not friends so she may not be here next year. She's not mean, just obstinate.
Now we have Norman. We had a cow that lost a calf and a friend who was bottle-feeding three calves so we took one off his hands. He had named him Norman, and he's a nice big boy. We started him out on one cow, and she was okay to work with but not too excited about Norman. The next day we found a 3-day old calf dead in the pasture and the mother was still being protective so we decided to try to put Norman on her. We skinned the dead calf (yes, that was a bit disturbing) and duct-taped the hide to Norman. The mother latched onto him pretty quickly; we just had to get Norman comfortable with her. He was a bit "flinchy" so we have a hunch he'd been knocked around before. We put them in the maternity pen a couple of times and he nursed well. Then yesterday morning I walked into the barn, and he was nursing her all on his own. Hallelujah! We will still keep a close eye on them, though.
Yesterday was a full day of moving cows around. We brought our heifer calves home so we can start synchronizing them and getting them ready to artificially inseminate and hauled feed troughs and buckets. Then we sorted cow-calf pairs to go to two different pastures and hauled some to pasture.
This morning we sorted off six open cows to put with the heifers to be AI'd. That was a bit of an adventure. Four of them were happy to amble along and be herded to the pasture while the other two were off like a shot, usually in the wrong direction. Yes, there was cursing but no, not from me.
It is a cold, gray, windy day so I was happy to get sandwiches ready for the guys and send M on his way to the field so I could come home and warm up! J got back into the field yesterday afternoon after a few days off due to rain and finished up the lentils. Now he is back to seeding wheat on his march back east. We're about half done with the seeding and hoping the rest goes quickly and painlessly!
My Tink (erbelle) has turned into Tina and is still alive and relatively well. She has not, however, learned to suck from her mother. We had a rain delay over the weekend so M had some time to get the cow in the maternity pen daily for a few days and try to get Tina to nurse. She really can't figure it out or it's too hard for her, but we've pretty much given up hope that it will ever happen. So, I get to bottle feed her twice a day. We've been so proud of ourselves for saving her, but now we're wondering why since she'll never be worth anything and we're not sure what we'll do with her. Her mother and M are not friends so she may not be here next year. She's not mean, just obstinate.
Now we have Norman. We had a cow that lost a calf and a friend who was bottle-feeding three calves so we took one off his hands. He had named him Norman, and he's a nice big boy. We started him out on one cow, and she was okay to work with but not too excited about Norman. The next day we found a 3-day old calf dead in the pasture and the mother was still being protective so we decided to try to put Norman on her. We skinned the dead calf (yes, that was a bit disturbing) and duct-taped the hide to Norman. The mother latched onto him pretty quickly; we just had to get Norman comfortable with her. He was a bit "flinchy" so we have a hunch he'd been knocked around before. We put them in the maternity pen a couple of times and he nursed well. Then yesterday morning I walked into the barn, and he was nursing her all on his own. Hallelujah! We will still keep a close eye on them, though.
Yesterday was a full day of moving cows around. We brought our heifer calves home so we can start synchronizing them and getting them ready to artificially inseminate and hauled feed troughs and buckets. Then we sorted cow-calf pairs to go to two different pastures and hauled some to pasture.
This morning we sorted off six open cows to put with the heifers to be AI'd. That was a bit of an adventure. Four of them were happy to amble along and be herded to the pasture while the other two were off like a shot, usually in the wrong direction. Yes, there was cursing but no, not from me.
It is a cold, gray, windy day so I was happy to get sandwiches ready for the guys and send M on his way to the field so I could come home and warm up! J got back into the field yesterday afternoon after a few days off due to rain and finished up the lentils. Now he is back to seeding wheat on his march back east. We're about half done with the seeding and hoping the rest goes quickly and painlessly!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Adventures in Cowboying
It seems that every day is eventful with calving in full swing and field work beginning. One day we found two live calves, one dead and partially eaten by coyotes, and two cows that had calved. The cows were confused, the calves were confused, and we were confused. Did one cow lose her calf and claim a twin of the others? Did one cow have twins and one lived and one didn't? Since they can't tell us, I guess we will never know. We got the four of them into the corral to try to sort it out and get them tagged. One cow and calf seemed to be more bonded so we separated them from the more confused calf and left the confused one and it's "mother" in a pen alone. All seems to be well now but we'll keep them separated for awhile to avoid more confusion.
We had a cow whose calf was born with the sac over it's nose, and we didn't find it in time to save it; however, even though it was about normal size there were some deformities that made us think it may have been a bit premature. She was desperate for a calf so we had a friend who works at the sales barn in Glasgow purchase one for us--a big boy! They seemed to bond fairly well, but we noticed that she was kicking at it when he tried to nurse so into the maternity pen she went so he could nurse her. It only took one time of that and they seem to be getting along well now. When he wasn't having luck with a teat he started sucking on her ear as she was eating. He wasn't giving up!
We have four pairs out roaming. They are older cows that we don't want to move too far to pasture. Yesterday morning as we went to do chores we noticed there were more than four cows out and about. Oops, someone inadvertently left a gate open the night before. Not naming names, but I believe M was the last one through it. So, we had to round them all up and get them back in and then sort the old ones back out. The sorting back out wasn't a problem--those old cows are pretty smart.
When we finished with that we checked the heifers and found a tiny calf, estimated at about 37 pounds. She's fully formed and alive so we're doing our best to save her. We gave her a bottle of colostrum right away. Then in the evening we got the cow in to try to milk her. She didn't like that very well. There was a lot of kicking and cursing (kicking from the cow, cursing from M) until M tied up her hind leg. She didn't like that too well either. I fed the baby with it, but we're not sure we want to go through that every day. For starters, M doesn't have the time. She is standing and walking a little bit, but we don't think she's tried to nurse the cow. M says I should name her because I may be spending a lot of time with her, bottle feeding her two to three times a day. I'm thinking Tink--short for Tinkerbell. I'll have to ask R since it belongs to him.
I had to run some sandwiches to J and Jared who were seeding and stopped on my way back to see how the baby was and check on the heifers. As I walked through the pen I didn't find 011 who we thought was close to calving so I looked in the back shed and there she was, obviously laboring, with feet out. I locked her in and called M who was cleaning grain to take to J. He was almost done with that so came up and we got her in and pulled the calf which was probably 85 pounds. It's probably a good thing that it didn't take any longer for him to get there. I told R he is lucky he has such good help to take care of his cows!
This morning was pretty uneventful on the cow front. Only two calves to tag and turn out, but we had a lot of running around to do to make sure J had seed and fuel and C had fuel and water to spray. Poor M is getting run ragged, and it's only just begun. Last year that was R. He's a lot younger and even he was exhausted!
We had a cow whose calf was born with the sac over it's nose, and we didn't find it in time to save it; however, even though it was about normal size there were some deformities that made us think it may have been a bit premature. She was desperate for a calf so we had a friend who works at the sales barn in Glasgow purchase one for us--a big boy! They seemed to bond fairly well, but we noticed that she was kicking at it when he tried to nurse so into the maternity pen she went so he could nurse her. It only took one time of that and they seem to be getting along well now. When he wasn't having luck with a teat he started sucking on her ear as she was eating. He wasn't giving up!
We have four pairs out roaming. They are older cows that we don't want to move too far to pasture. Yesterday morning as we went to do chores we noticed there were more than four cows out and about. Oops, someone inadvertently left a gate open the night before. Not naming names, but I believe M was the last one through it. So, we had to round them all up and get them back in and then sort the old ones back out. The sorting back out wasn't a problem--those old cows are pretty smart.
When we finished with that we checked the heifers and found a tiny calf, estimated at about 37 pounds. She's fully formed and alive so we're doing our best to save her. We gave her a bottle of colostrum right away. Then in the evening we got the cow in to try to milk her. She didn't like that very well. There was a lot of kicking and cursing (kicking from the cow, cursing from M) until M tied up her hind leg. She didn't like that too well either. I fed the baby with it, but we're not sure we want to go through that every day. For starters, M doesn't have the time. She is standing and walking a little bit, but we don't think she's tried to nurse the cow. M says I should name her because I may be spending a lot of time with her, bottle feeding her two to three times a day. I'm thinking Tink--short for Tinkerbell. I'll have to ask R since it belongs to him.
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| M and Tink--she looks more like a puppy! |
I had to run some sandwiches to J and Jared who were seeding and stopped on my way back to see how the baby was and check on the heifers. As I walked through the pen I didn't find 011 who we thought was close to calving so I looked in the back shed and there she was, obviously laboring, with feet out. I locked her in and called M who was cleaning grain to take to J. He was almost done with that so came up and we got her in and pulled the calf which was probably 85 pounds. It's probably a good thing that it didn't take any longer for him to get there. I told R he is lucky he has such good help to take care of his cows!
This morning was pretty uneventful on the cow front. Only two calves to tag and turn out, but we had a lot of running around to do to make sure J had seed and fuel and C had fuel and water to spray. Poor M is getting run ragged, and it's only just begun. Last year that was R. He's a lot younger and even he was exhausted!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
He Calls Me "The Cow Whisperer"
The other day about dark M was trying to put a bale in the feeder for our heifer calves. Before he could get out the tractor to close the gate about seven of them ran out into the pasture. We haven't had time to check the fence for winter damage so didn't really want them in there yet. He wasn't having any success trying to get them back in by himself so he left them until I could help him in the morning. So, after our other chores were done we headed down to get them back in the pen. I circled around them to open the gate while M went to get some buckets of feed. They really like their feed so we thought we could lure them in. They were stuck in a corner, however, and while M was trying to push them toward the gate they started to head off in the wrong direction. He was getting fired up, out of patience, prepared to chase them all over the pasture to get them in while I just calmly rattled the buckets at them and said "come on, girls". Pretty soon one noticed me and headed my way and I led them all back through the gate into the pen. So now M calls me "the cow whisperer". I'm constantly trying to explain to M the value of being calm and patient. Anyone who knew me 25 years ago wouldn't think I would be the calm and patient one.
Another good example of a day that could have been a real wreck and wasn't happened a few years ago. We were hauling cow-calf pairs to pasture near my brother's house south of Opheim. Before we took our last load, M mentioned that the transmission on the pickup was acting kind of funny. First clue that it wasn't going to be a good day. I suggested we hook the trailer to a different pickup. No, that would take time, and if he ignores a problem it will go away. Okay, so off we go. We get to the road to my brother's and the transmission is acting more funny. We limp the pickup through the yard and it quits just when the back of the trailer was barely through the gate. We had the calves penned in the front of the trailer and the cows in the back. We let the cows out and they were happy to head into the pasture. As we start to let the calves out my brother's dog comes out and spooks them and they take off out the gate and head north. So, we have no vehicle to drive to try to head them off, M is hollering that you can't herd calves, and oh yeah, did I mention it is starting to rain? What are you going to do, let them run all the way to Opheim or God knows where and never find them?
By then neither of us are happy campers. No one is home at my brother's house and the only vehicle in his yard is an old Chevy Citation so I jump in it and take off zig-zagging through the muddy fields and herd those calves right back to the pasture while M is still hollering "you can't herd calves". That's BS, I just did it! And then, we had to call his mom to come get us.
I have to bring that story up once in awhile when he says something isn't going to work. It's funny now.
Another good example of a day that could have been a real wreck and wasn't happened a few years ago. We were hauling cow-calf pairs to pasture near my brother's house south of Opheim. Before we took our last load, M mentioned that the transmission on the pickup was acting kind of funny. First clue that it wasn't going to be a good day. I suggested we hook the trailer to a different pickup. No, that would take time, and if he ignores a problem it will go away. Okay, so off we go. We get to the road to my brother's and the transmission is acting more funny. We limp the pickup through the yard and it quits just when the back of the trailer was barely through the gate. We had the calves penned in the front of the trailer and the cows in the back. We let the cows out and they were happy to head into the pasture. As we start to let the calves out my brother's dog comes out and spooks them and they take off out the gate and head north. So, we have no vehicle to drive to try to head them off, M is hollering that you can't herd calves, and oh yeah, did I mention it is starting to rain? What are you going to do, let them run all the way to Opheim or God knows where and never find them?
By then neither of us are happy campers. No one is home at my brother's house and the only vehicle in his yard is an old Chevy Citation so I jump in it and take off zig-zagging through the muddy fields and herd those calves right back to the pasture while M is still hollering "you can't herd calves". That's BS, I just did it! And then, we had to call his mom to come get us.
I have to bring that story up once in awhile when he says something isn't going to work. It's funny now.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Calves, calves, calves.....
It's been a busy couple of weeks with calving and getting into the field. Then I threw a wrench in things and went for back surgery so was gone for 3 days and now am a little limited in what I can do. I feel so much better, though!
In the days before I had to go for surgery, we had lots of calves and pairs to move and another calf we had to pull the night before I left. I think M was feeling his age after tagging 9 calves on his birthday. He has a tendency to get a little stressed and cranky. I was seriously more worried about leaving him alone than I was about surgery. I kept telling him to keep a cool head, that it didn't do anyone any good to get fired up, and to call someone if he needed help. I was pretty sure he wouldn't call for help but had hope that he could remain calm. He survived with no problems and did say that he heard my voice in his head a few times.
The day after I got home I was on the 4-wheeler checking cows--pretty sure my doctor would not have thought that was a good idea. My sister didn't either, but I assured her that I was slow and careful. The hardest part is that I'm not supposed to bend over. I've gotten good at flipping things up with my foot and grabbing them. It really pays to have long arms!
We had a little blast of winter over the weekend. On Good Friday we had rain, sleet, snow, wind...and thunder! We were busy trying to make sure everything had some sort of shelter and that the cows with calves in the pasture didn't take off away from the wind.....and into the neighbor's pasture. I was finally so tired and cold that I made M take me home. R was on his way home so I told him he needed to get here and help his dad. That night he checked the cows at 11 and M was up at 3 am for another check. He had had to put one in the warmer just before dark so was a little concerned about how the night would go. Thankfully, there was nothing born during the night, just one early in the morning that we put in the barn to warm up and dry off. The storm didn't amount to as much as predicted so we were lucky there. We were thankful to have some moisture even though now we will have to wade through slop for a couple of days.
Sadly, R goes back to South Dakota tomorrow. We never have enough time with him. I don't think he's crazy about getting put to work every time he comes home, but M doesn't want him to be bored! I was thankful he was here as backup at least for a few days.
In the days before I had to go for surgery, we had lots of calves and pairs to move and another calf we had to pull the night before I left. I think M was feeling his age after tagging 9 calves on his birthday. He has a tendency to get a little stressed and cranky. I was seriously more worried about leaving him alone than I was about surgery. I kept telling him to keep a cool head, that it didn't do anyone any good to get fired up, and to call someone if he needed help. I was pretty sure he wouldn't call for help but had hope that he could remain calm. He survived with no problems and did say that he heard my voice in his head a few times.
The day after I got home I was on the 4-wheeler checking cows--pretty sure my doctor would not have thought that was a good idea. My sister didn't either, but I assured her that I was slow and careful. The hardest part is that I'm not supposed to bend over. I've gotten good at flipping things up with my foot and grabbing them. It really pays to have long arms!
We had a little blast of winter over the weekend. On Good Friday we had rain, sleet, snow, wind...and thunder! We were busy trying to make sure everything had some sort of shelter and that the cows with calves in the pasture didn't take off away from the wind.....and into the neighbor's pasture. I was finally so tired and cold that I made M take me home. R was on his way home so I told him he needed to get here and help his dad. That night he checked the cows at 11 and M was up at 3 am for another check. He had had to put one in the warmer just before dark so was a little concerned about how the night would go. Thankfully, there was nothing born during the night, just one early in the morning that we put in the barn to warm up and dry off. The storm didn't amount to as much as predicted so we were lucky there. We were thankful to have some moisture even though now we will have to wade through slop for a couple of days.
Sadly, R goes back to South Dakota tomorrow. We never have enough time with him. I don't think he's crazy about getting put to work every time he comes home, but M doesn't want him to be bored! I was thankful he was here as backup at least for a few days.
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