April 20, 2008

Git along little doggy

Today it was time to move the little calf up with the rest.
It was also time to give the cows new balage. Even though the grass is coming on strong, they need to have lots to eat. Three of them will calf in July. They follow Gary on the tractor as he brings the bale in.
Once unwrapped and untied, the bale is ready to go inside its feeder. Meanwhile the cows have been eating it the whole time!
This is how a cow says "Thank you" to Gary!
Hank loves the cows.
He likes cow pies too. Mmmmm. Yeah, we think that's digusting too. :)
Down off the hill, away from the cows, Liddy runs around with Annie's kids.
The kids are playful and it's hard to get them to stay still for a picture.
But Murphy is always ready for the camera.

Posted by roosterh at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2008

Welcome to the barns

It's cold. So cold eggs freeze before I can pluck them from the coops.
The cows are in the barn and wait for some grain.
Liddy the pygmy goat is very very pregnant (due in about 2 weeks) and has been moved into the barn until it gets warmer outside.
She is very big. Huge. Here's another view.
The pond is frozen over so the muscovies stay in the barn by choice. In fact it is hard to move them outside.
There are 8 Old English bantams running around the barn too. Here some of them sneak a drink out of a goat waterer. They do not like the cold one bit.
In fact here is a hen all covered in hay in a manger. Can you see her? Pretty cozy!
The cold doesn't bother Hank too much. He's ready to wrestle anytime anyplace.

Posted by roosterh at 5:25 PM | Comments (1)

December 5, 2007

Moo-ving day #2

So remember yesterday, Gary brought the cows down from the field?

With better weather and no snow in the air, the cows decided this morning - of their own volition - that it was time to go back to the fields.

Have you ever argued with a cow - and won?

Posted by roosterh at 9:47 AM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2007

Yet more pictures - do they all look the same?

I haven't taken a picture of GooseGoose in a while. It's not like they look different from the last time I took their picture, yet here they are. They constantly stroll around and graze on the grass and what they can find under the leaves. They do this all night too.
One of the young toms. Gary asks me why I take so many pictures of the turkeys, they all look the same. I can't help it!
Just like taking pix of the cows! They all look the same too. Well maybe bigger.
Most likely all the chicken pictures look the same too. But I still take em. You can tell how spoiled this group is - I near their coop and they all meet me halfway looking for treats.
Leghorn rooster. It's pronounced leggern but you can say Leg-Horn if you want. :) Leghorns are a flighty breed and the roosters are hard to tame down (imo). But rarely do other breeds have the sheen and shine to their feathers that leghorns do. They really are gorgeous.
Barred rocks, on the other hand, are quite personable and friendly.
Obligatory Murphy shot.

Posted by roosterh at 8:17 PM | Comments (1)

November 8, 2007

No turkeys mentioned in this post, I swear

The cows are quiet in the morning.
Chance and Chicken, JW's spring calf. They are almost the same size.
JW enjoys a back rub.
Chicken is not too sure he wants one.
Betty's calf allows Gary to scritch his head.
Betty seems cranky this morning and refuses a back scratch.
Bubba the steer just lays in the grass, chewing his cud.
Curly-haired Beulah enjoys a morning drink.
It is getting progressively colder at night and in the morning, all of our waterers are covered with a thin sheet of ice.

Posted by roosterh at 6:36 AM | Comments (0)

November 3, 2007

Last Call

The little calf has his last drink of milk today. For about a week, he has been down to just a drink a day in the morning. He loudly reminds us each evening that maybe we are forgetting something (more milk please?) so I can only imagine what he will sound like all day long during the next week or so.

Posted by roosterh at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2007

Images from another's eyes

When Gary comes to me and asks for the camera, who am I to refuse? Yesterday was a beautiful fall morning, and he took the camera with him up the hill to the cows.
All 3 of our cows are bred. AI is a wonderful thing!
The calves we had this spring eat some grain. They are big boys!
We still have a little calf who lives in the pastures closer to our house. Gary bottle feeds him every morning, but it will soon be time to wean him completely.
Let's look at that view one more time!

Posted by roosterh at 5:58 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2007

Auction Bound

There are just too many birds around here. Ducks are underfoot constantly and roosters crow dawn til dusk. Time to go to an auction.

The birds actually sold pretty well and we were ready to head back home.

Until we saw this guy. A tiny pygmy buck kid! Now we have a boyfriend for Liddy, our other pygmy. He moves too fast to get a good picture.
And then we saw this guy.
Two piglets also came home with us too. It's all a blur. I didn't get their pictures, so here's another pic of that calf. He's a real looker!

I also brought some more birds home. Fortunately they do not eat much.

Posted by roosterh at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

July 7, 2007

Bird pix

This hen hatched her chicks while sitting on a pile of baling twine stored in a washtub in the barn. 11 tiny balls of fluff.
This is a hefty number of babies to look after, so after an afternoon in the grass, I placed the hen and her precocious chicks in a coop. Now I will feel better knowing she is protected by crows, hawks and other birds who may threaten her babies.
The English Bantams have 2 chicks too. They are so tiny! Can you see them?
Many baby ducks!
The turkeys have moved outside and enjoy hunting for bugs.
The turkeys and their chicken buddies are good at getting into things, like these planters I just filled.
Here's an action shot of Hank approaching as I was taking turkey pictures.
The calves are growing fast!
Luther takes a nap by the hostas.

Posted by roosterh at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2007

Bullwinkle

I have hardened myself for days like these but today it was really really difficult. We loaded Bullwinkle into the trailer and took him to the butcher.

Posted by roosterh at 4:37 PM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2007

Potatoes, poults, and calves

This year we are planting mostly white potatoes and are trying some reds and blues too. The reds and blues have to be cut and cured before they are planted.
Here are some red and blues already cut.
Gary sorts seed potatoes.
The tractor pulls our new potato plow to create a row. We used to do this by hand with a hiller on a rototiller. With our sloping and rocky soil, the tractor makes this job much much easier.
A row.
A row filled with potatoes. Gary is at the end of the row covering the potatoes.
While we were planting, there were a lot of events happening in the fields next door. Betty was going into labor.
It was a pretty easy delivery. Once she was done, everyone gathered around to meet the new calf.
Betty cleans her calf. It is a bull calf.
JW looks on.
Good job, Betty.
Chicken is not the youngest anymore!
The calf nurses for the first time.
He's pretty big - not quite as big as Chicken when he was born - but a good 80 pounds.
Earlier that day, some turkey poults began to hatch. And a chick. They are inside right now. The turkey hen (the one under the Cub tractor) is good at sitting on eggs but not on chicks. I found these 2 on the floor next to her, almost dead from cold.

Posted by roosterh at 7:22 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2007

Of cows and trust

The calf is growing quickly but taking his time getting used to people.
Just not trusting yet.
Bubba is not either. But then he is not trusting the other cows either and prefers to stand off by himself.
The others do not have these problems.
Bubba could learn a few things from Bullwinkle, who is not afrad of anyone.
And I am sure the calf will learn as he grows.

Posted by roosterh at 3:34 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2007

The Great Escape Part II

Bubba must have been jealous of the pigs' adventure yesterday and escaped his pasture during the night. The fun never stops around here!
Gary feeds the pigs in the early morning before sunrise. Bubba was waiting for him. At first Gary thought a bear was waiting for him but it was only Bubba. (We have a lot of bear in this area.)
Turns out one of the heifers up top is in heat (which makes me wonder why a steer would care about that, but there you go) so it was easy to push him up top with the other cows. Finally.

Posted by roosterh at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2007

The View From Here

Foggy morning on the hill.
And up above with the cows.
The calf, named Chicken on a chain, is growing quickly.
So is Betty (she's due next week).
Bubba the steer is by himself down below. He looks mad about it. Wait, no, he always looks mad.

Posted by roosterh at 7:14 AM | Comments (0)

May 3, 2007

JW has her calf

JW had her calf in the late afternoon today.
A bull calf, which is what Gary was hoping for..
We are all really excited. Even Bullwinkle.

Posted by roosterh at 8:39 PM | Comments (2)

April 28, 2007

Cows are due soon

We have 2 cows bred who are due soon. Here is Betty. She is due in about 3 weeks.
Here is JW. She is due. Soon. Today. Tomorrow. She needs to have this calf - she is huge!
Here she is, standing up.
This is Beulah. She is just over a year old.
And here is Chance. He is the calf who was born here last year and bottle-raised.
Chance is feeling frisky and gives Gary a ride.
So Gary returns the favor.
When you have an itch - you better scratch it anyway you can!

Posted by roosterh at 9:23 AM | Comments (1)

December 8, 2006

Brr

Overnight it went down to 6 degrees. And it's windy. Brr!

Gary decided today to bring the cows down from the hill. We have part of the new barn set up for them, and fencing around the back of it and the pond so they can be close by and warmer for the winter. Moving cows half a mile on a cold windy day is ... well it's not fun exactly. We got them in eventually. Chance the calf is very good at finding holes just his size in the fence, he's a regular Houdini.

The bantam chicks I had to bring into the basement. They were very cold this morning and didn't look like they would make it if left in the barn. I stuffed them in between layers in my coat as I finished chores, and set them up in the basement when I came inside. They are looking much much better as I write this.

The group of chickens pictured 4 days ago disappeared that very day. I have been looking for them as I can, but they finally appeared this morning in the new barn. Gary says they have been roosting in the rafters. I had no idea!

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. Because of the morning's excitement I am staying home from work today. We need to run to Gary's mom's to pick up the sawmill since we have a job tomorrow. Here's hoping it is warmer tomorrow!

Posted by roosterh at 10:20 AM | Comments (1)

November 3, 2006

Working on the fence

Today we worked on barbedwire fence around the cow pasture. The cows were excited to see us.
This guy is the reason we had to put an extra strand on the fence line. He learned he could step between the 2 wires and wander around, and was teaching the other cows they could too.
JW doesn't get too excited about anything.
If Gary gets his balance right, BW can lift him right up in the air.
BW and Rocky tag team Gary.
Rocky used to be shy. Now I can't get him to leave me alone.
Hank loves to run in the fields with the cows. If he gets too close, the cows let him know!
Looks like the predicted snow is coming. Time to head down the hill and serve dinner to everyone.

Posted by roosterh at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2006

A Day Spent at the Auction

We meant to go there just to sell some goats. We ended up coming home with more than we brought.

Gary bought some cows, a bull calf and a red hereford heifer.



I ended up buying some chickens.

And more chickens.
And more chickens.
And more chickens.
And more chickens (not pictured, her tiny babies).

Posted by roosterh at 9:36 PM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2006

Doing Chores: step by step

Gary is in Canada this weekend with brother-in-law Wiz. While he is gone I do all of the rounds (when he is here he does pretty much all of it but the chickens). I thought it would be interesting on this rainy morning to document the path we take when we do chores.

First stop, feed Chance the calf. In the morning he gets water and hay. And some pets.



The goats and sheep outside get fed, hay and water. And pets.



There are 3 coops for the chickens. The doors are opened and they get their feed and water. And pets. Hank makes sure they're all accounted for.



Next a bucket is filled with pig mash and more buckets are filled with water and loaded onto the fourwheeler trailer for the pigs and cows. I hop on the fourwheeler and start up the hill to the pigs. You might see the shed up there on the left; the shed on the right is their portable shed (currently not in use).



This rainy morning the pigs didn't come out to greet me and their breakfast, so no pictures. So it's back to the fourwheeler and the path through the woods.



Going though the woods.



I emerge from the woods into the neighbor's hay field.



Then I cross back onto our land and decide which route to take through the grass.



I arrive at the cow pasture. My stomach sinks - I don't see the cows. They have been known to wander off once a couple quite a few times before so I've had this feeling before ;)



I ride down the fence line looking for them. They might be hunkered down in the grass somewhere. Please admire this fine fence: Gary did it all by himself, from cutting the locust posts, drilling the holes in the ground and putting the corner posts in cement, to running the barbed wire.

I think I see them.
Yup, there they are. *phew.
The cows get their water and I start back down the field. At this point Hank is getting impatient with all my stops.
It's a fine view into the valley below, even on this rainy morning.
Yup, a veritable vista.
Down the hill through the hayfield before turning into the woods. The heavy rains have weighed down the grass.
I enter the woods again.
Go back down the path to the pigs.
Go back to the barn to unload buckets and ditch the fourwheeler.
After the fourwheeler is put away, I fill a bucket with turkey food and feed the little turkey family. Melody is a wonderful mama and has accepted babies of all ages - even a baby duck who was abandoned by its mama (he's the one in yellow).
A tiny turkey baby is slow to get out of bed.
Hank is soaked but deliriously happy after chores. I feed him and go in the house to get ready for work.

Posted by roosterh at 7:30 AM | Comments (1)

April 24, 2006

April Pix

Piling on for breakfast
Our first set of triplets, 2 does and a buck. They are Nala's kids and are 96%.
These are the last 2 does to kid
Murphy and Chance, the first calf born here
Chickens
Chickens chickens everywhere
Crow faces off hawk above the flock of chickens
Chance, the Itchy Cow
Hank
Galanthus
The geese allowed the crocus to grow this year

Posted by roosterh at 7:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2006

In the Barn

We moved the calf out to the barn this evening and moved Nala and her triplets out of their private suite to make room for the little guy. Gary took over feeding too which didn't bother me too much. Maybe it's just my technique, but when I bottle feed a calf I get most of it in the cow and part of it on me. Plus lots of cow slime. Notice the little goat looking on?
Lots goes on in the barn at night. Xena is telling this female muscovy to move on - he doesn't like anyone crowding his roost.
Murphy turkey and Xena chose to sleep on the pig pen fence. This is always a bad choice. The pigs love to rub their backends on the scratchin-post of a fence and any bird who chooses to roost there gets quite a ride, like poor Murphy here.

Posted by roosterh at 7:23 PM | Comments (6)

A Cow Goes "Moo"

And "maw" and "mow" and "meh." He's a vocal guy. He has also learned to warm himself by the fire.
He has also learned how to stand. And how to walk. Which means he will be going out to the barn to become a goat trampoline tomorrow.

Posted by roosterh at 5:48 AM | Comments (2)

March 19, 2006

She Walks in Beauty, Like the Night

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
-George Gordon Byron

I know all you old-timers out there will groan and laugh at waxing poetic over a cow, but there you go. We had to put mama down. Little calf (a boy) just learned to take a bottle at the very same time.
There are just some days when we wonder why we do this, go through the stress and drama, the sleepness nights and work-filled days. I don't have any answers right now.
Gary slept on the basement floor with the calf last night while I got 3 hours in bed. It's snowing hard outside, about an inch an hour, so now that the excitement is over we can manybe take a nap before afternoon chores.

Posted by roosterh at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)

Up all night

Or, why there is a cow in the basement.

The cow started her labor about 6pm. First time all around - her first calf and our first time calving. Ya know a couple years ago, I sat in on a seminar about holistic medicine, and the vet's primary focus was cows. We covered birthing in detail and it was at that time I decided maybe cows weren't for us.
Well.
The snow started to fly about 8pm. Gary went out about every 30 minutes, I would go with him every other trip at first. (I admit when it comes to cold air, I am a wimp and need about 7 layers. That takes a long time to put on and take off.) The calf's hoof was outside the mama for a couple hours and was cold. What we first thought was an ear turned out to be the calf's tongue. So here is this 800 pound cow, laying down, with a foot and a tongue hanging out, both ends I must add.
At about 10 it was obvious that this girl was in trouble and we either had to get someone out here, or move to drastic measures. The vet we called didn't want to come out, saying there wasn't a lot to be done and if we didn't want a c-section, we had to resign ourselves to a freezer full of steaks and burgers.
So we went in. We pulled we pushed we pleaded and prodded. Despite what she must have been feeling, the cow barely let out a groan, just small snuffling sounds that sounded like our donkey warming up his pipes in the morning.
This calf was big. For reference, the hoof outside of her was bigger than a coffee mug by far and more the size of a dessert plate ( you know what I was thinking about at 11pm).
We decided the calf was dead and resorted to pulling him out. We used ratcheting straps. We wrapped one end around the hoof sticking out, and then again on the hoof still inside, and I placed a leather glove underneath so the calf would not be wounded - you know, just in case.
Gary began applying force and I held the cow open as we pulled the calf out, little by little. It soon became obvious that this calf was alive, although by this point his poor little tongue was quite swollen, either from pressure or frost bite.

Finally he slid out. As with goat kids, once we get past the shoulder, the rest is cake. I pulled my coat off and threw it on the calf, Gary ran to get towels and warm water for mama. But let me fill you in on something- running through a cow field at midnight in the winter after a few days of spring is hard work. Your feet break through snow and ice and sink into mud. It's worse for the cows.



Gary struggled to carry this huge calf to the house, a field away, while I got the area by the woodstove ready for him. I set up some old rugs and bathmats in front of the woodstove and stuck my head out the door, wondering where Gary was. Turns out he was calling me. We both carried the calf the last third of the way. We had already milked out mama for that all important colustrum but baby had to get warm first. Gary went outside to work on mama. She wasn't getting up.

Posted by roosterh at 2:01 AM | Comments (2)

March 5, 2006

A Sunny Day (lots of pictures)

After snowing for the past 3 days, Sunday dawned clear and sunny. About time! It was a perfect day. I cooked and cleaned in the morning while Gary worked outside. I came outside and goofed off by taking tons of pictures. Then I went to pick up a load of feed and by the time I got back it was time for chores. We took a quick fourwheeler ride before going in for dinner.
Lots more pictures to follow:
Even though the temps are cold, the turkeys are still in full-spring mode. Here is Luther strutting his stuff.
And here's my handsome Murphy. He and Luther had a little disagreement a couple days ago, and both have a few nicks and scars. Murphy's pride is a little beaten too.
My youngest turkey hen follows me everywhere.
The ducks enjoy the sunshine in the doorway of the new barn.
My chickens do not like the snow. Luckily Gary has plowed the drive and the snow has melted enough that they can walk on it.
The kids in the barn are growing! We have some warmer temperatures predicted finally, so we can move them outside and prepare for kidding, round 2. The roosters jump into their pen to search for grain and scratch through the hay. And provide some entertainment for the kids.
Here is Nala and her 3 kids plus another kid on the left. We ended up moving Nala to her own pen this afternoon. The other goats beat up on her too much for her to get a good meal. And with 3 kids, she needs all she can get!
One of Nala's kids enjoys some hay after being moved to the new pen.
Here is one of our young bucklings.
Annie is due the first week of April. She only started to look huge this week.
Many people at my workplace often ask me about the kid who came to work. Here she is with buddy Cinnamon. I couldn't get them away from the hay for a better picture.
Erin was also born last spring a little after our frozen girl (no, she doesn't have a name yet!)
Hank samples the hay.
Here is Liddie the pygmy. That must be some hay, everyone's too busy eating to pay attention to the camera.
Matty and Mae nibble at a white pine. We throw them into the pens with the goats, sheep and cows. They like to eat something green once in a while.
One of our cows is bred and is really starting to look huge. Here she shows us her best side.
Stand too long at the fence and other cows are sure to get curious! This is another red hereford, coming in for some pets.
Hank pets her too.
The big pigs slept in the sunshine most of the day.
We tried moving big mama pig again today, but were not successful.

Posted by roosterh at 5:19 PM | Comments (1)

January 24, 2006

More Snow

Now that all the snow has melted, it's time for another storm. We got about 4 inches today. I have one rooster who lives out with the cows. I have tried putting him in the barn, but one way or another, he makes his way back to the cows. He sleeps with them, shares their grain, and eats the corn they don't digest. This past weekend when we had no snow, he wandered from pasture to pasture, visiting the goats, the sheep, and walking around outside the fences. But now that the snow is back, he has returned to his cows.

Posted by roosterh at 5:54 PM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2005

Cold mornings, warm afternoons

First order of business Saturday morning after chores: fix that shed! It was a very cold morning and we thought the ground was frozen enough that the tractor could get traction without digging up the fields. Wrong! Still we used the tractor behind the shed and pulled it up and over with a chain. Then we tried using the tractor in the front to square the building and try to get the posts back in the same holes, but had no luck. The tractor could not move well in the mud so we left it like this.
The cows are undisturbed by our work.
Hank has discovered ice and it keeps him amused for a while. I hope the poor guy doesn't bury these treats like he does to others, I doubt he will find the ice as easily as a bone.
Although the morning was very cold, it quickly warmed up to short-sleeve weather. In a rare shot where he is not strutting, here is Murphy dust bathing in the sun.
Chicks are getting bigger. Soon they can be integrated with the bigger birds.
About noon, and everyone has had their fill of breakfast. It is now naptime for about everyone for the next hour or so.
Napping goats. They alternate between snoozing and chewing their cuds.
Seeing everyone sleeping makes me sleepy too! But we have potatoes to dig and chores to do.

Posted by roosterh at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2005

Watta wind!

Yesterday we had quite a wind up here on the hill. Even though our light unsecured porta-huts stayed put, the cow shed, which Gary had just finished siding with rough cut, did not.
[Picture of shed in upright position is in this entry]
Posts had been dug into the ground and the shed is quite heavy, but somehow the wind lifted it right up and over. It flipped right onto the fence and created a gaping hole.
Luckily the cows were busy eating at their feeder (like they are this morning) and didn't get hurt. And lucky for us, they didn't discover the hole in the fence before Gary did.
I don't think the goats and sheep would stay in their fence too long if they discovered a hole. Well, maybe it it was breakfast time.

Posted by roosterh at 8:28 AM | Comments (0)

October 3, 2005

How they grow

Here is our third heifer, a black angus cross. She is a little younger than the other heifers.
Just to compare, here is a red heifer. I can't tell the 2 red girls apart unless they are standing next to each other; one is larger than the other.
My youngest turkey loves to fly up to the deck and do the tightrope walk around the rails. Actually all the turkeys will do this, but she is the most vocal about it, and the most photogenic.
Action shot of Hank. He is eager to help out in anything but not always right on the money about his decisions. Neither am I for that matter. ;-)
One weekend project involved rendering the lard we received as part of the butchered pigs. I followed the instructions laid out by Cyndi Muller of Muller's Lane Farm. Thanks Cyndi!

Posted by roosterh at 7:19 AM | Comments (1)

September 10, 2005

Holy Cow, our biggest yet

Last time I wrote of a new fence we were building but I didn't say why. So here's why :-) Gary purchased 3 hereford heifers, 2 reds and one black. The black one is not yet weaned so she is still with her mama, but the reds are here.
These are our biggest animals. It was an effort to get them loaded up on the trailer but once we got them home they were easy to unload. They are about a year old now and will be ready to be bred in early spring.
Bullwinkle the Jersey steer, 2 months.
Rocky the holstein steer, 1.5 months.

Posted by roosterh at 6:09 AM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2005

Cow: Take Two?

We got a call last night that our farmer friend had another bull calf, and did we want him? Gary said yes. A big holstein calf.
Gary named the Jersey Bullwinkle; I call him BW. I suggested to Gary we call the new calf Rocky, but I don't think he liked that too much.

Posted by roosterh at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)

July 8, 2005

Have a Cow

Gary picked up a Jersey bull calf July 6.
Hank hasn't quite figured him out yet, and stands and barks at him. This does not go over well with the cow.

The geese aren't too impressed with him either. We keep telling the cow that soon he will be much bigger than everyone and won't have to worry, but right now he is not listening.

Posted by roosterh at 8:35 AM | Comments (3)