It has been one crazy place lately since the farming has started. On Sunday, I gave everyone the heads up that they'd need to pack a lunch because I was going to my town job on Monday. I got "are you kidding" looks from everyone. Yes, I need to go to work once a week for my sanity!
I'm getting kind of tired of M starting every sentence with "if you get time". I was really worried the other day when he said "if you get time.....oh, never mind. You're not going to have time". I don't think he realizes that I have LOTS of other things I would rather do than be out in the field. I told the guys again that they all need a buddy to make sure they have help when they need it because I cannot be everywhere. So, I was so happy to hear the sweet words "I'm on my way home and will be there until Sunday" from R on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, I have backup!! His classes are winding down and he needs a trailer to haul his stuff home so came home for a few days, and everyone was so happy to see him.
Yesterday we had quite the bonding day. The day before, Bob, the fencer who is feeding our heifers, called to tell M that there was one dead. He was going to be gone so we were going to have to go up and feed, but M wanted to get them moved out to pasture anyway. Since R was home, M left us to the cow duties and headed to the field. R and I ran around and closed and opened the appropriate gates so we could trail them to the pasture. When we went to move the heifers we found another one dead. Bob has an old horse that's been in with the heifers, and we wondered what to do with it. I was able to walk up to it and lead it into the corral. Of course, all the heifers followed us so R was at the gate to keep them from going in. I was holding the horse and told R to come shut the gate behind us. He wouldn't because he didn't want the heifers to get into the other part of the corral. We argued for awhile and then I had to let go of the horse and try to close the gate. Yes, the horse took off as did the heifers. I was not happy! Why won't he listen to me?! Then we discovered another dead heifer. This was getting a bit concerning. This one looked like it had struggled before it died, poor thing.
We thought the heifers would follow the Gator since it brings them their feed every day, and they sort of did, but we couldn't get them to go out the gate. Eventually we got them out the first gate into a grassy area where there are grain bins. We had to get them out of one more gate which took forever. They were happy to see green grass and when we tried to push them, they would just circle around. Proof that they can be too tame! Finally, we got them out the gate and the couple of older cows knew where they were headed and took off, but it took awhile to get the heifers moving. They did eventually go and the move went pretty smoothly. They should be happy to be out in a big pasture after being cooped up all winter and spring. We didn't care if the horse came along or not. It did for awhile and then headed back to the yard but then came back to where we were. We were concerned about it scattering the heifers so were happy when it headed back to the yard again. By then we were over a little rise so it couldn't see us anymore. When we got back it was standing by the gate wanting to get back in to its home. Now it will be lonely again.
We had to fix a couple of broken wires in a coulee where there is still snow. They were still buried when M went around the fence. There was a spot we were concerned about where it looked like they could walk over the fence, but we had to just hope they wouldn't since there was nothing we could do there.
We then had to help J load a truck and a load his drill. We ran home for a quick lunch and to make a lunch for J. We were just on our way back over when C called to say there were two heifers out. Great, that didn't take long, and yes, they got out where we thought they might. Of course, they wouldn't go in the gate that they were close to, so I walked them back to the corner gate we put them in the first time. We told them not to get out again. Hope they listened!
M had called the vet about our dead heifers since he had heard about losses due to grass tetany. He said he'd be out to have a look. In the meantime, we went on a search. There is a huge pile of junk that they had access to and M thought old batteries may have been the culprit. We found three old batteries and near them was some dark, pink powdery stuff that they had obviously been nosing around in. Not sure if it was old paint or old seed treat. Either way, it would contain lead or mercury and the batteries contain lead. Lead poisoning can make them act really weird and J said he saw one that looked like it was having a seizure the day before when he was seeding nearby.
I needed to go to Opheim to give C a ride home, but I didn't want to miss the autopsies. The first one had a twisted intestine which is just bad luck. The second one was interesting in that it died on it's knees with it's head up instead of lying on its side. That one had obvious pink stuff in its stomach. The third one is probably the one that J saw acting weird. It didn't have any pink stuff in the stomach and the heart and lungs looked fine, but the liver was kind of grayish instead of the dark red it should have been. We suspect that it had lead poisoning. We rode through the herd later in the day and they all looked fine at that point. R was going to go check again this morning.
I've always been worried about what they could get into in that junk pile. The neighbor wanted to bury it all when he had a backhoe up doing some water line work, but Bob wanted to salvage the scrap metal. He hasn't gotten it done, though, so something needs to be done before there can be any livestock in there again.
After the autopsies (which were fascinating to me), I took off for Opheim and brought C back to Richland. Then I visited with K at their camper while waiting for R to come get me. He had loaded the truck for J again and helped him fill his drill.
So, we got home about 9:00 pm...and then had to make supper since I was out of leftovers. It wasn't a bad day, though, since I got to spend all of it with R. It's so good to have him home.
He gets the fun job of digging a hole and burying the dead animals so he might not be thinking it's so great to be home.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Demoted?
The guys are finally getting seed into the ground and I have been on call as a runner to do whatever they need me to do from running for parts, checking cows, helping move machinery and the dreaded.....making lunches.
My mother-in-law has spoiled these guys for years. She's a great cook and always has a plan and as R always tells me, "she cooks with love". I don't. I dislike everything to do with food. I don't like to buy it (my goal in a grocery store--get in and out as fast as possible), don't like to cook it, don't like to clean up after cooking it, get a bellyache when I eat, and then there's the whole excretion thing. It's hard to come up with good meals when you don't care if you eat. If I lived alone I'd probably live on popcorn, yogurt and toast.
M and I have had a few disagreements because of his need to eat on a regular basis, especially when traveling. I just want to get where we're going and don't care if I eat on the way. I've learned that he NEEDS to eat on a regular basis and try to be more understanding.
The past few years I've tried to help my mother-in-law out some and usually would do the delivery to the field. But, it appears that my in-laws are not coming to the farm for the summer and the job will fall entirely to me. M asked his mom if she could bring something out on Monday since I will be at my town job. Well, no, she can't because she has cards at the Senior Citizens. Never should have bought that house in town!! I may have to have her go shopping for me and make buns every week. I'm sure the guys are as nervous about it as I am, and are probably afraid they're going to starve. They might need to learn to pack a lunch or have their wives pack one for them (the other wives actually like to cook--what's wrong with this picture?). One of these days they are going to have to figure out that I cannot be everywhere and do everything.
I've got to go because I'm baking buns. See, I'm trying!
My mother-in-law has spoiled these guys for years. She's a great cook and always has a plan and as R always tells me, "she cooks with love". I don't. I dislike everything to do with food. I don't like to buy it (my goal in a grocery store--get in and out as fast as possible), don't like to cook it, don't like to clean up after cooking it, get a bellyache when I eat, and then there's the whole excretion thing. It's hard to come up with good meals when you don't care if you eat. If I lived alone I'd probably live on popcorn, yogurt and toast.
M and I have had a few disagreements because of his need to eat on a regular basis, especially when traveling. I just want to get where we're going and don't care if I eat on the way. I've learned that he NEEDS to eat on a regular basis and try to be more understanding.
The past few years I've tried to help my mother-in-law out some and usually would do the delivery to the field. But, it appears that my in-laws are not coming to the farm for the summer and the job will fall entirely to me. M asked his mom if she could bring something out on Monday since I will be at my town job. Well, no, she can't because she has cards at the Senior Citizens. Never should have bought that house in town!! I may have to have her go shopping for me and make buns every week. I'm sure the guys are as nervous about it as I am, and are probably afraid they're going to starve. They might need to learn to pack a lunch or have their wives pack one for them (the other wives actually like to cook--what's wrong with this picture?). One of these days they are going to have to figure out that I cannot be everywhere and do everything.
I've got to go because I'm baking buns. See, I'm trying!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Spring?!
Signs of spring are finally here. We can see green grass here and there, my irises are coming up, the gophers are out, and we've had quite a warm up the past couple of days. It was 60 degrees yesterday and almost 70 today. That means the waterways have taken off. Makes me wish I was a kid out floating toy boats. I always loved to go tromping around this time of year through the slush and the water and float things through culverts.
A couple of days ago M decided it was time to load up some cow-calf pairs and take them to a pasture near Richland. We had the three in the barn, one pair in the corral and four in a pen that we were keeping an eye on because a couple of the calves appeared a little under the weather. One of those pairs belongs to a friend so we didn't want to take them and kicked them out into the calving pasture. M was sure we could fit eight in the trailer so we went out and brought another pair in. We sorted the calves off and put them in a pen in the barn so we could load them first. While M was backing the trailer up to the barn one of the cows stuck its head through the gate of the pen and managed to pull it open so the calves got out. Then one of them spun around and hit the latch on the gate out of the barn and that gate came open and out they went. Thankfully, they couldn't get out of that pen. So, we got them all back in and started loading the calves. The alleyway was full of snow so we were going to load through the barn. We pretty much had to load each calf individually and then I had to try to hold them in the trailer while M pushed another one in. We finally got them in and secured and M said "the calves are hard, but the cows will be easy". Not so much. They had too much room to maneuver and as one got in the trailer another was coming back out. So, we went to plan B and decided to load them through the alleyway. The ground is still a bit soft with some water puddles and as M was trying to get the trailer backed up to the alley the pickup slid into a mud hole and we had to pull it with another pickup to get it out. Finally, he got backed up to the chute, and we started trying to load the cows again. I was holding the gate of the trailer and counting the cows as they went by. There were only five on and it didn't look like there was anymore room. It was a very tight fit to get those eight big girls on there, but we finally did it. It's kind of odd to not have any critters in the barn. Every morning the first thing I did was go see how the babies were doing.
I always think it would be so much easier if we could just explain the plan, let them know they are going to a better place and ask for cooperation. Yes, in a perfect world.
This morning we sorted out seven more pair and got them all loaded with no problems. Yes! We'll probably do the same tomorrow. It'll be good to get as many to drier ground as we can. The sickness seems to have run its course and all the babies are feeling spunky. I may soon be able to remove the syringe that has had a permanent spot in my coat pocket. In another pocket I've been carrying a tube of a probiotic paste. One day someone asked if I was carrying a Jell-O shot. Yeah, it's black and probably tastes like dirt. Yum!
Yesterday we went to a bull sale. It's been a lot of years since I had been to one. M got the bull he really wanted but paid more than I thought he would. It appears the price of bulls is up like everything else. Bulls are not my favorite things in the world, and I always think there should be a better way. We only need them for a few weeks but have to deal with them all year. They've got quite the life.
With the nice weather thoughts are rapidly turning to farming. J hasn't been able to get his drill out of storage yet but they have the sprayer out and a new (to us) drill on its way so they have lots of projects to work on to get ready to plant. We were concerned about the break in seeding for the new baby, but it could be here before we even get started.
I finally left the insulated coveralls at home and it wasn't long before I ditched my coat and really felt like I could be out in shorts. I'm ready to dig in the dirt and hope M gives me some time to do it. Love, love, love spring!
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| Water over the road. The culvert finally opened so it doesn't look like this today. |
A couple of days ago M decided it was time to load up some cow-calf pairs and take them to a pasture near Richland. We had the three in the barn, one pair in the corral and four in a pen that we were keeping an eye on because a couple of the calves appeared a little under the weather. One of those pairs belongs to a friend so we didn't want to take them and kicked them out into the calving pasture. M was sure we could fit eight in the trailer so we went out and brought another pair in. We sorted the calves off and put them in a pen in the barn so we could load them first. While M was backing the trailer up to the barn one of the cows stuck its head through the gate of the pen and managed to pull it open so the calves got out. Then one of them spun around and hit the latch on the gate out of the barn and that gate came open and out they went. Thankfully, they couldn't get out of that pen. So, we got them all back in and started loading the calves. The alleyway was full of snow so we were going to load through the barn. We pretty much had to load each calf individually and then I had to try to hold them in the trailer while M pushed another one in. We finally got them in and secured and M said "the calves are hard, but the cows will be easy". Not so much. They had too much room to maneuver and as one got in the trailer another was coming back out. So, we went to plan B and decided to load them through the alleyway. The ground is still a bit soft with some water puddles and as M was trying to get the trailer backed up to the alley the pickup slid into a mud hole and we had to pull it with another pickup to get it out. Finally, he got backed up to the chute, and we started trying to load the cows again. I was holding the gate of the trailer and counting the cows as they went by. There were only five on and it didn't look like there was anymore room. It was a very tight fit to get those eight big girls on there, but we finally did it. It's kind of odd to not have any critters in the barn. Every morning the first thing I did was go see how the babies were doing.
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| It feels good to save a life. This girls was near death when we brought her in. |
I always think it would be so much easier if we could just explain the plan, let them know they are going to a better place and ask for cooperation. Yes, in a perfect world.
This morning we sorted out seven more pair and got them all loaded with no problems. Yes! We'll probably do the same tomorrow. It'll be good to get as many to drier ground as we can. The sickness seems to have run its course and all the babies are feeling spunky. I may soon be able to remove the syringe that has had a permanent spot in my coat pocket. In another pocket I've been carrying a tube of a probiotic paste. One day someone asked if I was carrying a Jell-O shot. Yeah, it's black and probably tastes like dirt. Yum!
Yesterday we went to a bull sale. It's been a lot of years since I had been to one. M got the bull he really wanted but paid more than I thought he would. It appears the price of bulls is up like everything else. Bulls are not my favorite things in the world, and I always think there should be a better way. We only need them for a few weeks but have to deal with them all year. They've got quite the life.
With the nice weather thoughts are rapidly turning to farming. J hasn't been able to get his drill out of storage yet but they have the sprayer out and a new (to us) drill on its way so they have lots of projects to work on to get ready to plant. We were concerned about the break in seeding for the new baby, but it could be here before we even get started.
I finally left the insulated coveralls at home and it wasn't long before I ditched my coat and really felt like I could be out in shorts. I'm ready to dig in the dirt and hope M gives me some time to do it. Love, love, love spring!
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| I'll have flowers before long!! |
Saturday, April 20, 2013
I Feel Sick
While we haven't lost any more calves, we've been doctoring a few. We seem to have a lot with scours and we treated at least one that appeared to have pneumonia. Every morning and afternoon we make a trip through the herd to look for any that have droopy ears or appear lethargic. Most of the ones with scours are still too lively to catch easily, and M doesn't really feel like diving off the 4-wheeler to grab one, although he did that yesterday. We've never had scours before so it's a new and disturbing problem. After the bad winter/spring of 2011 we had lots of pneumonia but no scours. We just have to continue to be vigilant and hope nice weather arrives and maybe helps the situation.
We had more snow overnight with wind. I didn't sleep well with the wind howling, thinking of the poor babies getting wet and cold again. Thankfully, it didn't get too terribly cold.
Every day my trek through the yard is on a different surface. One day it was slush, the next ice, and today was snow that was squishy with mud underneath. It occurred to me that I should have been counting consecutive "mud days". M asked yesterday if I thought it would ever dry up. I said yes. He said, "soon?". I said no.
It was also interesting today to see the different animal tracks in the snow. Lots of deer tracks through the yard this morning as well as lots of bird tracks. I also smelled skunk so they must be coming out of hibernation. I have seen a few gophers (affectionately referred to as "those little bastards") so maybe spring is coming. I need to start poisoning them while we don't have a dog to worry about.
Last night we went to the Friends of the NRA banquet with J and K. It was nice to get out and see people and the prime rib dinner was great, but I was really tempted to stay home and have some quiet hours to myself!
We had more snow overnight with wind. I didn't sleep well with the wind howling, thinking of the poor babies getting wet and cold again. Thankfully, it didn't get too terribly cold.
Every day my trek through the yard is on a different surface. One day it was slush, the next ice, and today was snow that was squishy with mud underneath. It occurred to me that I should have been counting consecutive "mud days". M asked yesterday if I thought it would ever dry up. I said yes. He said, "soon?". I said no.
It was also interesting today to see the different animal tracks in the snow. Lots of deer tracks through the yard this morning as well as lots of bird tracks. I also smelled skunk so they must be coming out of hibernation. I have seen a few gophers (affectionately referred to as "those little bastards") so maybe spring is coming. I need to start poisoning them while we don't have a dog to worry about.
Last night we went to the Friends of the NRA banquet with J and K. It was nice to get out and see people and the prime rib dinner was great, but I was really tempted to stay home and have some quiet hours to myself!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Need Sun!!
I was so happy over the weekend that we missed most of the big storm and only got an inch or two of new snow. That was short-lived as the storm continued into Monday with snow most of the day and into the night. It was even snowing during the brief times that the sun was out! Our temps have only been in the 20s. So depressing. I have to keep telling myself that it could be worse, like the 16" of new snow in North Dakota over the weekend or the 22" in South Dakota the weekend before.
We were so proud of ourselves for doing such a good job of saving the March calves, but the April ones have been more of a challenge. We've had three die out in the pasture for no apparent reason and one in one of the pens. It was fine the night before and near death in the morning. We put it in the warmer and doctored it a bit, but by afternoon it was dead. The poor things are just perpetually cold and damp with this weather. Thank goodness things have slowed down to where we're only getting about one new calf a day.
Our barn is still full with the adopted cow-calf pair, the "twins" (that aren't really twins) and the one that was near-death that we saved and her mama. It's kind of lazy and we have never seen it nurse on the cow, but it doesn't appear hungry and runs and bucks and we haven't given it a bottle for a few days. I'm wondering if it robs off the other cows. It's mother is difficult to nurse because she has such short legs and such a big bag that her teats are only about 8 inches off the ground.
It is looking more and more like we had triplets although we still don't believe that's the case. That's a lot of calf for one cow. No wonder she took one and high-tailed it out to pasture! Of the remaining five cows in that pen, all have calved but one, and she's looking ready to give birth. Number 720 deserves a "Mother of the Year" award for taking care of her own calf and one that isn't hers.
M spent all afternoon yesterday with the skid-steer cleaning out the shed in the back of the barn so we can move those animals outdoors where they can get some sun and fresh air. We put new straw in so maybe they'll stay relatively dry for a day or two.
We are having partly sunny skies today so that is making us feel a little better. Spring has to arrive sometime!
We were so proud of ourselves for doing such a good job of saving the March calves, but the April ones have been more of a challenge. We've had three die out in the pasture for no apparent reason and one in one of the pens. It was fine the night before and near death in the morning. We put it in the warmer and doctored it a bit, but by afternoon it was dead. The poor things are just perpetually cold and damp with this weather. Thank goodness things have slowed down to where we're only getting about one new calf a day.
Our barn is still full with the adopted cow-calf pair, the "twins" (that aren't really twins) and the one that was near-death that we saved and her mama. It's kind of lazy and we have never seen it nurse on the cow, but it doesn't appear hungry and runs and bucks and we haven't given it a bottle for a few days. I'm wondering if it robs off the other cows. It's mother is difficult to nurse because she has such short legs and such a big bag that her teats are only about 8 inches off the ground.
It is looking more and more like we had triplets although we still don't believe that's the case. That's a lot of calf for one cow. No wonder she took one and high-tailed it out to pasture! Of the remaining five cows in that pen, all have calved but one, and she's looking ready to give birth. Number 720 deserves a "Mother of the Year" award for taking care of her own calf and one that isn't hers.
M spent all afternoon yesterday with the skid-steer cleaning out the shed in the back of the barn so we can move those animals outdoors where they can get some sun and fresh air. We put new straw in so maybe they'll stay relatively dry for a day or two.
We are having partly sunny skies today so that is making us feel a little better. Spring has to arrive sometime!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Who's Your Mama? (A Cow Conundrum)
We were having a new computer system installed at work this week so my boss needed me to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday while the setup and training people were there. So, we were up early on Monday morning to check the cows before I had to get ready to go to my day job. At that time, we had six cows left to calve in one pen along with three that had had calves the previous day. When we checked on them there were three new calves and only one cow that showed any evidence of having calved. Triplets? Doubtful. We put the one cow with the calf she was claiming in the barn as well as another cow that seemed interested in one of the other new calves. We did another look-through for any sign that another cow had calved and there was nothing. Always they have stuff hanging out their backside or at the very least some evidence on the tail, but there was nothing on any of the others.
I had to get home and get ready for work so after breakfast M did more investigating. The second cow that we had put in had no milk so that ruled her out. M brought the remaining cows in one by one to check for milk and any evidence of calving. He left a different one in with the two calves and she let one of them nurse and the other one got a bottle. The next day we brought in another cow but she just knocked the calves around as well as the other cow so she went back out. Then a couple of days later the cow that was nursing gave birth. Imagine her surprise, poor thing. (We had a feeling that would happen). So, she's taking one for the team and trying to feed her own calf and someone else's. The list of culprits is dwindling as three of them have now calved. That leaves two, and they both look like they're still pregnant. Funny thing is, no one is talking!
We found a week-old calf dead in the cow yard so we brought the cow in, and she seems to be doing well with adopting our bottle baby. I'm glad, because I think she was beginning to think I was her mama. I don't mind feeding one for a few days but not in the long term.
Yesterday morning we found a new calf in the calving pasture that looked almost dead. We brought it in and put it in the warmer and got some colostrum down it (with great difficulty). The cow is very concerned, and the calf has perked up considerably, but it's not a very good eater so we hope it survives. We also found a sick calf so brought it in and tried to feed it and gave it some antibiotics. It's mother is being difficult so that doesn't help the situation.
Our barn was getting full so we put new straw in the shed and kicked one pair out. Another storm is predicted so we wanted to make sure we had room if needed. We had been feeling like calving was going really well considering the weather, but lately it's gone south. Thank goodness we only have about 30 of our own left to calve. We also have some that belong to a friend, but they should be later, maybe when spring finally arrives. We are both tired and crabby and need a break.....in the weather.....and maybe from each other.......definitely from the cows!
I had to get home and get ready for work so after breakfast M did more investigating. The second cow that we had put in had no milk so that ruled her out. M brought the remaining cows in one by one to check for milk and any evidence of calving. He left a different one in with the two calves and she let one of them nurse and the other one got a bottle. The next day we brought in another cow but she just knocked the calves around as well as the other cow so she went back out. Then a couple of days later the cow that was nursing gave birth. Imagine her surprise, poor thing. (We had a feeling that would happen). So, she's taking one for the team and trying to feed her own calf and someone else's. The list of culprits is dwindling as three of them have now calved. That leaves two, and they both look like they're still pregnant. Funny thing is, no one is talking!
We found a week-old calf dead in the cow yard so we brought the cow in, and she seems to be doing well with adopting our bottle baby. I'm glad, because I think she was beginning to think I was her mama. I don't mind feeding one for a few days but not in the long term.
Yesterday morning we found a new calf in the calving pasture that looked almost dead. We brought it in and put it in the warmer and got some colostrum down it (with great difficulty). The cow is very concerned, and the calf has perked up considerably, but it's not a very good eater so we hope it survives. We also found a sick calf so brought it in and tried to feed it and gave it some antibiotics. It's mother is being difficult so that doesn't help the situation.
Our barn was getting full so we put new straw in the shed and kicked one pair out. Another storm is predicted so we wanted to make sure we had room if needed. We had been feeling like calving was going really well considering the weather, but lately it's gone south. Thank goodness we only have about 30 of our own left to calve. We also have some that belong to a friend, but they should be later, maybe when spring finally arrives. We are both tired and crabby and need a break.....in the weather.....and maybe from each other.......definitely from the cows!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Water Diversion
It has been a busy week. Thank goodness R was home to help us through a very busy calving time. He headed back to South Dakota today, and we miss him already.
One day we woke up to a couple of inches of new snow. The next day we woke up to ice from freezing rain during the night. Just when we see some improvement in the roads and pens we get just enough moisture to make it messy again. I used to try to watch where I was walking, but I've given up. I'm usually in poop up to my ankles (or deeper) or water nearly to my knees. After the snow, the sun came out and we warmed up into the 50s. That really started the water running. M and R spent an afternoon putting in a culvert and building a crossing over it. The calves sometimes don't like to cross the ditch with water running down it so this seems to be helping. M had dumped some snow over the windbreak while cleaning out the corral and that was damming up the runoff making it run into one of the pens. R worked on snow removal to eliminate that problem. They tried to dig out another culvert, but it is still frozen so water is running over the road. M also moved more snow in the calving pasture so those cows have more high and dry places to go. We have lost a lot of snow, but we have a long way to go with 3-foot drifts in the calving pasture.
We finally made the decision to open up the pasture adjacent to the cow yard so those cows with calves can have more space, and more dry areas. We thought about waiting until we saw what the weather was going to be since the forecasters kept predicting a storm, but it didn't materialize when they thought it might so we let them out. The calves were happy to have more space to run. They can still get into the windbreak if they need to.
We had close to 60 calves while R was here, and our pen of early calvers is down to six. There were apparently a couple of fence jumpers since we found two calves that weren't tagged in the pasture this morning. We did some investigation and found where we think the cows got out, but they had to jump another fence to get back in. Odd. We were perplexed for awhile. One of our heifers had a set of deformed twins that looked like they were probably dead before she had them. We decided to take one of our other twins and put it on her. I felt really bad for the calf at first because it was a bit of an adjustment, but they are bonding now and he's getting plenty to eat!
The weather is supposed to turn cold (er) for the next couple of days with wind. We are getting a new computer system at work so they want me to come in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for training. I'm feeling bad about leaving M alone especially if the weather is bad, so we'll see how things go tomorrow.
We're still having a hard time dealing with life without Pete. We expect to see him everywhere, and M is taking it really hard. I can hardly remember the last time we were dog-less. I hate it.....but life goes on.
I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind that it really is spring and send us some nice, warm, sunny days. We could use some brightening in our life right now.
One day we woke up to a couple of inches of new snow. The next day we woke up to ice from freezing rain during the night. Just when we see some improvement in the roads and pens we get just enough moisture to make it messy again. I used to try to watch where I was walking, but I've given up. I'm usually in poop up to my ankles (or deeper) or water nearly to my knees. After the snow, the sun came out and we warmed up into the 50s. That really started the water running. M and R spent an afternoon putting in a culvert and building a crossing over it. The calves sometimes don't like to cross the ditch with water running down it so this seems to be helping. M had dumped some snow over the windbreak while cleaning out the corral and that was damming up the runoff making it run into one of the pens. R worked on snow removal to eliminate that problem. They tried to dig out another culvert, but it is still frozen so water is running over the road. M also moved more snow in the calving pasture so those cows have more high and dry places to go. We have lost a lot of snow, but we have a long way to go with 3-foot drifts in the calving pasture.
We finally made the decision to open up the pasture adjacent to the cow yard so those cows with calves can have more space, and more dry areas. We thought about waiting until we saw what the weather was going to be since the forecasters kept predicting a storm, but it didn't materialize when they thought it might so we let them out. The calves were happy to have more space to run. They can still get into the windbreak if they need to.
We had close to 60 calves while R was here, and our pen of early calvers is down to six. There were apparently a couple of fence jumpers since we found two calves that weren't tagged in the pasture this morning. We did some investigation and found where we think the cows got out, but they had to jump another fence to get back in. Odd. We were perplexed for awhile. One of our heifers had a set of deformed twins that looked like they were probably dead before she had them. We decided to take one of our other twins and put it on her. I felt really bad for the calf at first because it was a bit of an adjustment, but they are bonding now and he's getting plenty to eat!
The weather is supposed to turn cold (er) for the next couple of days with wind. We are getting a new computer system at work so they want me to come in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for training. I'm feeling bad about leaving M alone especially if the weather is bad, so we'll see how things go tomorrow.
We're still having a hard time dealing with life without Pete. We expect to see him everywhere, and M is taking it really hard. I can hardly remember the last time we were dog-less. I hate it.....but life goes on.
I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind that it really is spring and send us some nice, warm, sunny days. We could use some brightening in our life right now.
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