Quite a Scare for Rosie

Saturday afternoon we began preparing for the blast of very cold weather.  It is supposed to be 11 degrees on Tuesday.  I cannot remember it ever getting that cold here.  Russ came over and helped me by wrapping pipes.  Then we began picking produce from the garden that will be ruined if we don't harvest and bring it inside.

We picked about 3 baskets of items.  One of the things we picked was cauliflower.  When you pick broccoli, it is a little different.  On broccoli, you merely pick the main head off.  Dozens of florets will continue to grow and you can harvest them every day, if you wish.  For cauliflower, once you pick the main head off, that's it.  One and done.

The cauliflower, once picked leaves a lot of big leaves connected to a stem that's about as big in diameter as a silver dollar.  I'll generally snip the big stem off at ground level and toss the whole thing over for the cows to devour.

So that's what I did.  The cows and goats came running like sharks circling their prey they ate to their heart's content.  The photo below shows the goats and then Elsie, LuLu and Rosie eating sweet potato vines back earlier in the fall.  It was the same type of all you can eat buffet yesterday, but with cauliflower leaves and stems.

Tricia and I went inside as it was starting to get dark.  We were going to eat supper and then head back out to do chores at the barn.  It was then that Russ came in.  "Dad, I think one of the cows is in trouble.  She must be choking.  She's running around, thrashing her neck around and has lots of slobber coming out of her mouth!"  The first thing I thought of was, "How do you perform the Heimlich maneuver on a cow?" 

I ran outside.  Sure enough, Rosie was bucking like a bronco.  I tried to grab her but she was running around, clearly in distress.  I ran to the barn and grabbed a lead rope.  Running up to her, I clipped the rope to her halter and held her firmly with my right hand.  I took my left hand, made a fist and jammed it down her throat, opening my fingers when I was almost elbow deep.

I could feel something.  Something that didn't belong in a cow's throat.  I grabbed it and pulled and a big, hard cauliflower stem a little more than two inches in diameter and five inches long came out!  Rosie was relieved.  We all were relieved.  Had Russ not been outside, the day could have ended badly for Old Rosie girl.

I'll have to be more careful with the things I throw over the fence for them to eat!

The Fat Cows

It hasn't rained since September 11 and even on that day, it only rained 3/10ths of an inch.  It's dry.  I water the garden every single day.  The rain barrels that I sequester rainwater from are all dry and have been dry for several weeks.  The grass in the yard is dead or dying.  The pasture, up to this point has held up nicely, but when I walked in the pasture today, the bermuda and bahai grass is thirsting for some rain.

There is a chance on Thursday and Friday of this week for precipitation.  We are watching that very closely and praying for Showers of Blessing.  With the grass in the pasture on its way out and the onset of cooler temps of winter coming, we begin to think of the cows.  How will they fare through the winter?  We do give them a little sweet feed and alfalfa, but mostly they're on grass throughout the spring and summer.

For the fall and winter, we've put up 75 bales of premium bermuda hay in the hay loft.  We actually still have four bales of last year's hay that we're giving them each day.  We also purchase round bales of hay that we roll out and allow the cows (and goats) to eat free choice on.  We've found that one round bale will last about a week.  We have an inventory of nine round bales covered in tarps and ready to roll out when needed.  The cows have some grass to clean up in the pasture.  In the next few weeks they'll eat that all up.

It's important that the cows are in good condition going into the winter, and I have to say that this year, the cows are well fit, perhaps in the best condition they've ever been in at this point.  I really couldn't tell you what the difference is.  Here's Rosie.  Rosie is 15 years and 8 months old!  That's OLD for a Jersey cow.  She just went into heat last week.  We put her with the bull and witnessed her in standing heat.  We think he bred her, but we'll check in a few weeks to see if she goes back into heat.  We have the date on the calendar.  The bull is still young and he's short.  We don't know if he was able to reach.  Only time will tell, but it sure would be nice to get another calf out of Rosie.  She's been such a good girl.

And here's Elsie.  I don't have a way to show perspective, but this heifer is huge.  She's big and fat!  And she is rambunctious.  She runs around like her tail's on fire.  It's actually dangerous to be around her.  You have to keep your head on a swivel.  She did not get bred last year.  The vet found a cyst on her ovary and took care of it.  We are trying to have Nicky the bull breed her this year.

We put them together and hopefully it took.  We've been watching for her to come back in heat, but so far nothing.  Hopefully, that means she's carrying a calf.  That's good for a number of reasons.  First, we need calves and we need more milk as we're about to dry up LuLu.  Second, if she calves, we're hoping that will mellow her out and she'll stop being crazy.  Finally, if she isn't able to get pregnant, she's going to go into our freezer.  I hate to be so harsh, but we just can't have an animal unable to calve or give milk continue to just eat grass.  Elsie, you're on the clock!

LuLu, on the other hand is a little skinny (I don't have a current photo of her), but she's been in milk for over a year and a half.  It's about time to dry her up and allow her to build up again.  We put her together with Nicky when she came in heat and we'll see if she comes back in heat.  It sure would be nice to have 3 spring calves!

Billy Boy the Bull is a Movie Star!

If you remember, Billy Boy is a Devon bull that we borrowed from a friend to breed Elsie and Rosie.  It was time for the old boy to leave, though.  My friend sold him to someone in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  I set up the livestock panels in a makeshift corral and coaxed him inside with some sweet feed.  Then I closed the panels up, and he was captured.  He didn't like it much being penned up.  He used his horns to try to lift up the green panels to make his escape.  He was unsuccessful in that endeavor.  He did, however, get green paint on his horns.  Remember that factoid at the end of this blog post.

Billy Boy's owner showed up with his trailer and we pushed Billy Boy into it.  Then Billy Boy was off to his new home in St. Francisville.  On the way there, my friend was called and reminded that there was a Beekeeper's Meeting in Baton Rouge and he had to be there.  You see, he sits on the Louisiana Farm Bureau Beekeeper's Advisory Committee.  After a minor detour, he and Billy Boy arrived in Baton Rouge at an impromptu photo shoot.

If you click on the arrow below, you can watch a 3 minute video from TWILA.  TWILA stands for This Week In Louisiana Agriculture.  They talk about beekeeping in Louisiana and the friend we borrowed the bull from is interviewed.  At the 1:28 mark of the video you can spot a cameo appearance by Billy Boy.  You can even see the green paint on his horns from Our Maker's Acres Family Farm!  Great photo bomb, Billy Boy!

Billy Boy should be up for an Oscar in his supporting role from that clip.  Sadly, Billy Boy was not successful in breeding Elsie and Rosie.  He was in our pasture with our cows for 3 or 4 cycles.  We watched him breed both cows.  Here in the past week we've watched both Elsie and Rosie come back into heat.  Doggonit!  

If at First You Don't Succeed...

This is Billy Boy.  He's the Devon bull we've borrowed from a friend to breed two of our three cows.  Well, actually, to breed one cow and one heifer.  One of our Jersey heifers was bred (we think) by a registered Jersey bull that we borrowed from another friend.  She hasn't come back in cycle and if our calendar is right, she should be calving in August.

We watched Billy Boy romance both Rosie and Elsie.  We marked the calendar and began watching intently 18-21 days later.  Elsie did NOT come back in heat.  She's bred.  Rosie on the other hand did.  She was not bred.  She's 14 years old.  That's pretty old for Jersey cows we've owned.  I did read, however, that the record longevity for a Jersey cow was 37 years!!

Billy Boy, the Stud

So 21 days later, we're watching and see that Rosie came back in heat.  Billy Boy was on the scene and took care of business.  You can see by Rosie's crooked tail and the long string of mucous coming from her back side.  We've marked our calendar and will see what happens in 21 days.  Hopefully, she's bred this time.  If not, we'll have to send Billy Boy back home.  Our pasture doesn't have enough grass to support him and our cows, goats, and chickens.

Will the third time be a charm, Rosie?

Speaking of Jersey cows, they are a lot smaller than beef cattle and smaller than a Holstein.  We learned this during the livestock shows back when the kids showed.  In comparison to other animals, our Jerseys were small.  We also learned that after buying a head gate.  When trimming hooves, giving antibiotics, wormer or even for grooming and milking, it is important sometimes to have a head gate.

We purchased one and bolted it to a makeshift chute on the side of the barn.  We installed a gate on a hinge that we push to isolate the cows for treatment.  We learned quickly that the head gate was made for bigger cattle.  As soon as we closed the head gate, all three of the cows were able to wiggle and pull their heads back through!  This won't do.

I had a plan.  Time to invoke redneck engineering.  I ripped a 36" long 2 x 4 and made it a 2 x 2.  Then I purchased 6 carriage head bolts, nuts and washers.  I used my impact to drill holes in the galvanized vertical pipe that makes up the stationary side of the head gate and did the same to the 2 x 2.  Then I bolted it up.  When finished, it looked like this:

As you can see, I don't think they'll be able to wiggle out of the head gate now.  I was going to test it out on Elsie or LuLu (one of the two heifers) Sunday afternoon, but time got away from me. I think it will work.  The gap is much smaller now.

There's a walkway between the garage and the garden and pasture that we call the 'grove.'  A pecan tree and live oak trees create an area of perpetual shade.  The breeze blows in this area on even the stillest of days and I like to think it is a little cooler here than anywhere else on the homestead.

Tricia hung her hammock between the pecan tree and the Bradford pear.  That tree was a free tree I got from the Arbor day foundation.  I planted it temporarily in the yard, intending to move it to a better location one day.  By the time I tried to dig it up, its tap root was well established and I couldn't dig it up.  I let it stay where it was.  At least it serves a newfound purpose as an anchor for a hammock!  Tricia was relaxing...  On the ladder in the background, you can see a swarm trap I have set.  We are trying to catch swarm #3.  No success yet.

The next day when Tricia wasn't in the hammock, I figured I would see how relaxing it was.  I climbed in and was enjoying the comfort when...  Belle, our Great Pyrenees decided she wanted to jump in the hammock too.  The big galoot!

Perhaps tomorrow I can sneak back into the hammock without having 'company' join me.

The Heat is On

In This Post from November we posted about bringing Nick back home.  He was a registered Jersey bull that we borrowed from a friend to breed our two heifers and cow.  We haven't seen LuLu come back into heat and, although we haven't had her palpated, when we look at her back end, we think her bag is starting to grow.

Here's a more close up shot.  Hopefully we're right.  If we are, somewhere in August, she'll be calving.  That's always exciting.

I wish we could say the same for Elsie and Rosie.  We've seen both of them go back into heat.  Nick had stayed here for two cycles.  We thought things were done, but obviously not.  A friend of ours has a breed of cows called Devon.  Devons were brought to Plymouth in 1624 from England.  They are a rare breed that are dual purpose - milk and meat.

We both figured it would be good to have a Devon - Jersey cross and since he has a two year old Bull, it just seemed like we should play matchmaker.  We drove to our friend's home and picked up Billy Boy and brought him back to our place.  Here's Billy Boy:

He's a stout fellow with horns.  The other animals are all keeping their distance from him.  He's walking around the pasture, getting a feel for the new surroundings.

The next day, however, he's become fond of Elsie.  She's expected to come into heat in the next day or so.  Elsie and Billy Boy have been spending time together, but Elsie is not in standing heat yet.  Things won't work until she's in standing heat.  We'll be watching for that.

Until that time, Billy Boy shadows Elsie everywhere she goes...

We estimate she'll get bred in a day or two.  We'll be watching to record the date and plan to keep Billy Boy around for another month to ensure that once bred, Elsie and Rosie don't come back into heat again.  Rosie ought to be ready to be bred in about a week.

Gotta Come up With a Plan B for the Cows

Last week when we were driving back from the hay field, we passed in front of the pasture and I had to stop the truck and get a photo of the cows.  They were all lined up in a row and looking right at us.  It was as if they were posing for an Olan Mills Family Portrait.  (Makes us sad Clarabelle isn't in the photo.)  In the afternoons, the cows like to meander over to the west side of the pasture next to the neighbors and relax in the shade.  Tricia and I were hot and sweaty from loading hay.  The cows were refreshed and rejuvenated in the green grass, shaded by pine trees.

From left to right is: Elsie (Clarabelle's heifer), LuLu (Rosie's heifer), and Rosie.  If you remember, Clarabelle was injured when the cows were going in heat and jumping on one another.  Cows' cycles are 21 days.  It is almost that time again.

This afternoon I contacted the neighbor that lives about 5 miles down the road that we always bring our cows to him to get bred.  Well... bad news.  He informed me that he sold his Jersey bull on the 12th of this month.  It was so darned convenient.  We'd mark off the days and when the cows/heifers were going into heat, we'd drive them down the road for their "date" and then pick them up.

We are frantically calling around, trying to arrange breeding with another Jersey bull.  So far the first call resulted in Strike 1.  The gentleman I called sold both of his earlier this summer during the drought and hasn't replaced them.  He did give us a lead and we'll be following up tomorrow on that lead as well as another.

Dairy bulls are not found in every pasture.  When our cows have bulls, we keep them around for at most two years.  They get real mean.  In fact, they injure/kill more farmers than beef cattle bulls.  When our bulls show the slightest signs of this ornery or bossy behavior, it's off to the slaughterhouse for them.

We will be on the phone tonight and tomorrow, trying to come up with a Plan B for how to get them bred.  We'll take Rosie and Elsie for breeding first and then two months later, we'll bring LuLu.  Hopefully we can find a bull that's not too far away!

Update on Rosie (And Her Injured Teat)

Well it's been two months since Rosie's no good, horrible, very bad day.  In this post: Watch Where You Step! you can see what happened.  For two months now, we've been having to milk out her one quarter once a day since she kicks and won't let her calf, LuLu nurse from it.  It has healed so that there is only a small scab.  She's come a long way, baby.  So you would think that she would let LuLu nurse off it now.  But, no.  She kicks her off.  Perhaps it is habit as we can't understand that it would still be that painful after two months' healing time.  Or the calf is too traumatized to even try after being kicked for two months each time she tries to suck off of that injured teat and now she doesn't even try.

Whatever the reason, we have to put an end to this.  Here's the plan and how it unfolded.  We figured that we would separate LuLu from Rosie all night so she was good and hungry.  Prior to putting LuLu with her, we would cover Rosie's other three teats, leaving the (slightly) injured one exposed, forcing LuLu to go after it.  Sounds like a good plan, right?

We used Tricia's flannel shirt draped over Rosie's bag as the barrier.

We worked to cover up the three uninjured and very full teats so that LuLu could not get to those.

We got some baling twine to tie the shirt tightly to keep it in place.  Not a pretty or professional job, but hopefully a workable one.

Here's where we test things out.  We let LuLu out of the stall.  She runs to her momma, at first confused by the shirt covering up her breakfast.  There's only one teat instead of four.  And it's the one that Rosie doesn't let her nurse on.  What a dilemma!!  Tricia helped to direct her to it.  Rosie kicked.  LuLu kept trying.

It was at an odd angle, so LuLu switched around to the back.  At this angle she was able to get it.  She nursed for a while and it worked!

Unfortunately, the very next morning we found that LuLu DID NOT nurse on the injured quarter.  We'll have to continue working with her.  Hopefully, we'll see a breakthrough soon.

A Tool We Needed 10 Years Ago on the Homestead

The recent ordeal with Rosie's torn teat finally lit a fire under me to purchase a tool we've needed for a very long time - a head gate.  A head gate firmly secures the animal so that they can be worked on.  You pull their head through the gate, pull a lever on top, and a bar slide toward the animal and locks in place.  The cow is then unable to move backward or forward.  Shots can be given, hooves can be worked on, the animal can be milked, etc.  

When you are dealing with a 900 pound animal, just tying off their halter to a post doesn't isolate the animal.  They thrash about.  They fall down. They pull so hard they break the chain on their halter.  We NEEDED this thing.  We shopped around and found it and it was delivered to the house last week.  This weekend installing the head gate was on my to do list.  Here we are pulling Rosie through it for the first time.

Tricia decided that a roof over-hang needed to extend over the head gate area so that we could "doctor" on cows even if it was raining.  I fashioned together a roof extension with some scraps of lumber and tin we had lying about.  I also stapled a piece of a cattle panel beneath the head gate so that goats wouldn't be able to escape the corral.

Here is a view from the 'cow side.'  One critical problem we found immediately is that I will have to alter the head gate.  If you look at the photo below, you'll see that when the head gate is fully closed, it leaves an 8" opening.  We measured the cows' heads.  10 inches wide.  Well, somehow the cows are able to twist their heads and pull out.  

I think I can fix this by cutting a 2x2 or a 1" pvc pipe, drilling holes through them as well as the vertical pipe on the head gate, and bolting the 2x2 or 1"pvc pipe onto the vertical pipe.  The would reduce the opening from 8" to 7 or 6 inches.  That would render the head gate escape-proof.  

Obligatory goofy pic of my wife in the gate.

As well as one of me.  Wouldn't it be embarrassing to get stuck in there and not be able to reach the lever to release it?

Here is one more photo from the back.  We have actually milked outside 3 afternoons now.  It is working great!  We put a food bucket in front, Rose steps forward, we hobble her back leg to the 4x4 that is anchored in cement, and Tricia works on her injured teat and milks her safely secured.

One more project that we will do to improve this set up.  We'll make the head gate a full squeeze chute by putting a 10 foot swinging gate that pivots on the 4x4 above Rosie's left shoulder above.  If we need to isolate not only her head, but her entire body, we would swing the gate toward her body and tie it off tight to the 4x4 behind her right back leg.  She would be totally immovable to allow for safe veterinary work.  Ten years to late, but having this set up will definitely be beneficial in the future.

Three Weeks Later...

Tonight an update on Rosie.  We discussed her terribly tragic torn teat three weeks ago.  It is a painful story to tell.  Our cows loathe summer time.  The sit in the shade and lay in the mud in order to cool themselves.  They only eat in the early morning and late afternoon.  They lose some weight during the dog days of summer.  

Rosie is like a pig.  You can see her below in all her muddy glory.  Well, the best we can figure, after laying in the mud all day, it was time to get up.  She reached her back leg underneath her and lifted herself up.  Except her hoof was on top of her teat.  When she stood up it tore 1/4 of her teat off, exposing the 'meat.'  It didn't help matters that we had just trimmed her hooves so they were sharp.

Now, before you scroll down, I want to warn you: the photo below is graphic!  It shows the injured teat a full 3 weeks after the event.  She doesn't allow LuLu to nurse on that quarter - only the other three quarters.  Each afternoon for 3 weeks now, to prevent mastitis, Tricia and I are engaged in a bit of a rodeo.

We catch Rosie, who is VERY reluctant at this point to come into the barn, and we tie her up, pick off the scab that covers the opening in the teat, lubricate it, and milk out all of the milk, emptying it to prevent infection and save the quarter.  Rosie is not happy with any of this.  She expresses her displeasure vehemently and vociferously.  Once we are finished, we spray the teat with iodine and set her free.

HERE IS THE PHOTO:

I warned you, didn't I?  That makes me feel really bad for the old girl.  Our hope is that it will heal (SOON) and she will allow LuLu to nurse down the injured quarter.  This would eliminate the need for our afternoon routine with Rosie.  Up to this point, however, LuLu is promptly kicked away when she tries to nurse on the hurt teat.  We will keep doing what we're doing and try to learn more fully the virtue of 'patience!'

Not For The Squeamish or Faint of Heart

Rosie is the matriarch of our little herd of Jersey cows.  She's the oldest, the leader, the bell cow.  Her breed, Jersey, tells you she is from the Island of Jersey, which sits in the English Channel right off France.  The temperatures are much nicer there.  Rosie is not real keen on the tropical climate in south Louisiana.  She gets very hot.  She pants.  Her tongue hangs out.  Often, we'll spray her down with water. 

She has a spot that she likes to sit in.  It is on the east side of our barn under a roof.  It is shady and cool.  Here is a photo of Rosie's shady oasis, where she seeks respite from the heat.

Rosie is mom to LuLu.  LuLu is two months old, so Rosie is very much in milk.  She has a nice big udder.  Well, here is the uncomfortable story of Rosie's latest adventure.  Rosie sits in the mud to stay cool.  Her body is sprawled out to get cool.  When Rosie went to stand up, she stood with her sharp hooves ON HER TEAT!  Ouch!  When she lifted herself, there was a big problem.  She continued to rise while standing on her teat.  Something had to give.  Rosie's sharp hooves sheared off a portion of her teat.

When Tricia and I went to the barn for evening chores, Tricia noticed that one of Rosie's quarters had not been emptied out by LuLu.  We looked and thought that there was mud on the teat.  I told Tricia, "Well, that's why LuLu won't nurse on that quarter.  I'll go spray it off."  So I took her outside, turned on the water hose, set the nozzle to the "jet" setting and began to spray off the 'mud.'  Rosie began kicking violently.  The 'mud' would not come off.  I quickly discovered that it wasn't mud - it was a big scab.

We tried to milk the quarter out, but Rosie was some kind of mad.  No success.  If you can't get the milk out, mastitis will set in.  Tricia visited our vet and got some antibiotic.  We gave Rosie a subcutaneous injection last night.  

Today, however, we needed to give it another try.  We don't have a head gate or a squeeze chute.  Using redneck engineering, we did the best we could, tying Rosie to a post and used two swinging gates to sandwich her between.  Note the purple lead rope that pulls the two gates together.

Then, we used a dog leash to hobble Rosie's leg.  This is crucial to keep her from kicking.  If you don't do this, she will kick you into next week.

Here is where I brag on my wife.  I can butcher chickens with reckless abandon.  It doesn't bother me.  However, an injured animal, bleeding and hurting really bothers me.  Tricia is strong.  Once Rosie was in our homemade squeeze chute and hobbled, Tricia tried to milk out the quarter, but no dice.  The scab covered the opening to the teat.  She then began the uncomfortable task of peeling the scab off of the teat.  Let's just say Rosie was not pleased with this medical procedure.  It is interesting that Tricia and I are different.  The things she's good at, I am not.  And vice versa.  We complement each other.  I am proud of Dr. Tricia's excellent work on Rosie.

You can see the damage to the teat below.  Eye Yie Yie!  But Tricia successfully opened the teat.

She began milking out Rosie's injured quarter.  You can see the infection from the mastitis she was able to get out.  It is the yellow globs of stuff below that looks like cottage cheese.  It is important that we get this out.

Finally, we emptied the quarter.  Thank you, Lord!  Tomorrow, we will do it again.  Saturday and Sunday we will repeat it numerous times. It was a stressful, painful afternoon.  As if to counteract the ugly task, God gave us a beautiful sunset to insert a little peace and stillness to the afternoon.  

It is good to finally have a peaceful afternoon after a rough go at it.  Rosie seconds that motion.  

We Welcome Lulu to the Our Maker's Acres Family Farm!

On a very hot afternoon in the 90's, Rosie gave birth to A HEIFER!!  After having nothing but bulls, now both Clarabelle and Rosie have given us heifers.  Poor Rosie was so hot after calving.  Her tongue is hanging out and she's panting just trying to cool off.  After checking back in on her this evening, we sprayed her down with a water hose to help her cool off.

Calving is always an exciting time for the entire barnyard.  The chickens all gather around and peck at the placenta.  Then once that's gone the peck at the calf's hooves.  Poor thing can't get any peace!

When I got home from work, we considered several names for the new baby and finally settled on "Lulu."  After getting a little colostrum, Lulu settled down in the tall grass and took a cat nap.

Funny thing is that Elsie, Clarabelle's heifer, can't get enough of Lulu.  Elsie left her momma's side and hung out with Lulu all day.  When Lulu sat down in the grass, well, Elsie was sure to sit right near her.  Lulu is her half-sister, and I think they are going to enjoy each others' company.

We went back out at nightfall to check on the new baby and to ensure that Lulu had gotten enough colostrum and let her nurse until she didn't want any more.  Colostrum gives Lulu antibodies to fight infection and strength during her first days.  I milked the remaining colostrum out.  Tomorrow we will check in on Lulu throughout the day and evening to ensure she's acclimating to her new surroundings.

We tend to overdo things sometimes.  When I try to do to much, I think of the following Wendell Berry quote comes to mind:

When you are new at sheep-raising and your ewe has a lamb, your impulse is to stay there and help it nurse and see to it and all. After a while, you know that the best thing you can do is walk out of the barn. Wendell Berry

Rosie, You're on the Clock

Clarabelle, had her little heifer, Elsie, two months ago tomorrow.  She's a healthy little thing, for sure.  Elsie is our first heifer in several years.  For some reason we hit a spell where every baby was a boy!  So now, Rosie is on the clock.  To the best of our knowledge, her due date is June 18th.  Below you can see the daily procession in the evening as Clarabelle heads to the barn for feeding, followed by Elsie, and then Rosie bringing up the rear.

Speaking of rears, Rosie's rear is fat and her girth is wide.  She must have a big ol' baby in her.  Tricia and I were talking about the ol' girl.  Rosie is twelve years old and to the best of our recollection, she's given us seven calves. 

We gave her half a scoop of sweet feed in her stall in the barn.  We have a rule that you only get fed an appreciable amount when you're in milk.  Otherwise, you are on grass and hay.  After her feeding, we put her back outside the barn.  In this photo, you can see a couple things: #1 is that she is FAT! #2 is that she is beginning to bag up.  What you can't see in the photo is that on her back end, she is starting to have some mucous leak out.  All signs of calving coming soon.

Ol' Rosie has been a good momma cow for us.  Hopefully, she'll give us a heifer.  Regardless, it'll be fun to have two little calves frolicking out on the pasture, kicking up their heels and running with their tails high in the air!

SOON!

Talking With An Ol' Girl

Yesterday when the cows were eating in the yard, we noticed something.  Maybe you can too?  Rosie is in the background and Clarabelle is in the foreground.

It is early, yet, but we think we can see Clarabelle's bag just barely starting to "bloom."  Others say that cows "start bagging up."  It just means that their udder begins to swell, indicating that they'll be calving.  We aren't sure, but when a cow is dry, you can definitely tell.  Her bag is just beginning to get a little bit bigger.  

Now, we haven't had the veterinarian come out and palpate to tell us definitively, so this could be a false alarm.  But it excites us.  With both of the cows dried off, it has been a welcome break to not milk cows twice a day, every day, but we do miss the fresh milk.  A spring calf would be nice.  Getting to share some of the milk is nicer!  Clarabelle's bag is enlarging, but I see nothing from Rosie.  We're hoping that will be a little later.

So while both cows were together, I pulled them together for a little conference.  "Listen," I told them, "You've given us nothing but bull calves the past several pregnancies.  It is time for some heifers.  We want some girls!"  Rosie and Clarabelle looked at me with dull confusion.  They didn't understand a word I said.  I'm not really going to complain about bull calves, because our freezer is full of meat, but we are looking forward to a heifer!  Hopefully, we'll find out in a month or so.

And Then There Were Two...

Now that Aussie and Clarabull are gone, that leaves only two cows left on our homestead farm - Rosie and Clarabelle.  For the past couple of years we've have five Jersey cows on our little pasture.  To be honest, that was a strain - a strain on us and a strain on the land.  By employing rotational grazing you can increase the number of head of livestock on a pasture, but we have learned that five animals is too much, especially when that pasture is also shared by a flock of goats and chickens.

Feeding time now is less of a 'rodeo,' trying to separate animals all trying to eat at once.  It is just the two old faithful milk cows, still bossy, but overall gentle and easy-going.

Both Rosie and Clarabelle should be bred.  We haven't had them palpated yet, but we're pretty sure that they'll both be dropping calves next year.  With fewer animals on the pasture, the carrying capacity will greatly improve, leaving more green grass for all.  Additionally, the animals won't eat the grass down as far to the ground.  This will reduce the parasite load and eliminate or greatly reduce the need for worming.  The pasture will be healthier and, as a result, the cows will be overall better conditioned and healthier.

Since November when we started feeding hay, the five cows and four goats were consuming a round bale of hay anywhere between 4 - 6 days.  Now, the bales of hay will last longer!  We buy a minimal amount of feed (just sweet feed - we buy no dairy ration when the cows are dry), but our feed bill will go down.  Overall, things will be more manageable, and for that, we are happy.

Pasture management is key.  We may like to think that we are raising animals, but what we really are, when you think about it, is grass farmers.  For the health of the pasture is what the health of the cattle is dependent upon.  This upcoming year, with fewer cows on the pasture, I want to aim to improve the health of the soil of the pasture so that we can grow better grass and sustain our animals.  I have got to figure a way to lime the soil.  

That'll be on the list for 2021.  I wonder how many other people have "Lime the pasture soil" as a New Year's Resolution?  Crazy, I know.

And A Milk Cow In a Pear Tree

Tuesday afternoon it cooled off after a very hot day.  We milked the cows, moved the temporary electric fence into the yard and moved Rosie and Clarabelle into the yard to mow down the grass.  Belle ran around, and it was generally a happy day.  Until, Belle didn't listen to Tricia emphatically saying, "NO!" and grabbed the electric fence with her mouth.  The pulse of electricity popped her in the mouth and Belle ran away yelping faster than I've ever seen her run.  I'm guessing she won't do that again.  Poor girl.  Sometimes they don't listen and have to touch the stove for themselves to see if it's hot...

Rosie was meandering with her head down like a machine, reaching her tongue out to grab swaths of Bahia grass and tugging it loose with a mighty crunch.  All of a sudden she discovered the pear tree.  She used that same tongue to reach up with amazing dexterity to pluck a pear leaf from the branch.

Then, like any cow would do, she used the trunk of the little tree to get a good neck rub.  Scratch, Scratch, Scratch...

But she wasn't done, no sir.  She eyeballed a pear and before we could stop her, she pulled it off the branch.  Now these pears are 'baking pears.'  They are hard - not tender and soft.  For us to eat them, we cut them up with a paring knife (pardon the pun).  Once she had the pear in her mouth, she didn't quite know what to do with it.

Rosie is a persistent and determined old girl.  She was not going to let that pear defeat her.

We watched her roll it around in her mouth and gum it and chew it until we finally heard the load crunch, crunch, crunch of the pear.  Fortunately, the other pears in the tree were out of reach.  Well, if she could stand up on her hind legs, she could reach them.  But she's not like us.  You might say she is impaired.  Bad puns, today, I know.