Oops!
There was one calved in the corral. I brought her calf to a pen and let her follow. The cow was agreeable to this. The calf was warm, dry, with a full belly - also lazy and no help at all. Since there were so many cows in the straw in that corral - I thought I’d get the pair by themselves. Before some other knuckleheaded cow decided that she wanted that calf. It’s always fun dragging a calf by its leg over snow, ice and frozen cow pies with mama right there. My husband usually ends up lifting them over his back, and then they almost always urinate all over him. You wouldn’t want to do my laundry. I don’t have the muscles for hefting calves. Mama liked the big pen with all the straw. When I left them, the calf finally decided to stand up. Thanks!
Just as I parked and let Lucky out - I realized that I had forgotten to shut the gate to the calving pasture. I drove back so I could. I’m pretty sure that none of the cows in the pasture would have been rushing out - there weren’t any cows anywhere near the gate. But with my luck, I’m not taking any chances. I usually let the dog out while I go back and close it. That’s a first - hopefully a last!
There’s also a cow in one corral who is behaving like she’s calved - she hasn’t - and doesn’t look like she’s going to - but I’ll need to get back out there in a bit and see what she’s up to…
February 17th, 2005 at 5:49 am
Fancy place you run. Straw for your cows when they calve? I only do that when it’s supposed to be real cold for an extended period of time which hasn’t happened in a few years. I also let them calve on there own in a big open pasture so even if you put out some straw they will wander away from it to have their calf.
February 17th, 2005 at 6:13 am
I know what you mean about the laundry. Between the manure, afterbirth, blood and assorted other things I wash all of Sam’s clothes separate. I can’t stand the thought of that being washed with my clothes. YUCK!!!!!
Sam’s Darling Wife.
February 17th, 2005 at 7:59 am
The last three years, we had a rancher’s cows calving in our corral here at the home place and got to enjoy all the “fluids” that accompany birth. This year, it is just manure, straw, and feed in the laundry. Like Darling Wife, I separate mine from his but sometimes mine are almost as bad as his. I expect Moos are, too.
Grandkids had two more litters of pigs last night and the lambs are arriving daily (or nightly) too. Baby pigs are neat except for the smell. You can almost see them grow, they change so fast. bonnie
February 17th, 2005 at 9:26 am
Sam - Oh yeah, we’re a real fancy outfit! We raise enough feed barley and oats to have straw. The cows eat most of it - but it does help the bedding situation. We don’t have any where near the amount of ground that you have - and most of ours is devoted to crops. Our grass is several miles away - the girls will go out there in May. Which, unfortunately means that we don’t have as much room as we’d like to for cattle at home. Darn Farmers!
SDW - I’m sure that you have items that are hosed off before coming into the house, too!
Bonnie - the Baron used to raise (and feed) lots of pigs. That was back when Pierce was packing - and there was a market for them. Very quick turnover & return. Too bad that’s been gone for so long….
February 17th, 2005 at 11:41 am
Talking about pigs and Pierce Packing my dad ran hogs farrow to finish out here. I can remeber farrowing pigs as a little kid. Dad shipped 2-3 semiloads a week of fats out of here until Pierce closed down. Wasn’t worth ity after that.
February 18th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
This is really wierd. We raised pigs and sold them to Pierce, too. The “boys” were in high school and FFA when the PCB thing went down. They had hundreds on feed and no place to go with them. Was HARD on the college funds, believe me.
These piglets will mostly be club projects. Al has a breeding project in 4-H and Cassie has one gilt of her own so I suppose she will have to do a breeding record book, too. People come for hundreds of miles to buy pigs since they are rather scarce in this part of the country anymore. bonnie