Coffee anyone ?

[Mini Horses]

@drstratton that's basically how I do mine, just not in my insta pot. I actually use it seldom. But might have a yogurt setting. I do have raw milk I'm not cooling, then straining. It's a yogurt set up with small jars. A larger batch would work better to drain. Come to think of it, this thing does allow for a taller jar Guess I'll give that a try once milking again. Thanks!!

 

[canesisters]

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[SageHill]

Well, I just did a search on ravens and livestock and the result is not good for young livestock.
Add in I just walked to the barn to do a quick check on the possible lambers -- all the sheep were under a far oak tree (not the one closest to the barn) feed bunks were full, two ravens one on a stall door looking in, the other on the ground --- the sheep will not go near them --- I shoed them away, topped off water buckets and the sheep were all at the bunks eating. THAT TELLS the story. All those who say "oh they are such cool birds" -- I'm lumping them in with the rattle snakes are good to have around, leave them alone and you are ok (yeah fat chance of that).
PS -- @Alaskan I now get how you feel about the bald eagles.

 

[drstratton]

Well, I just did a search on ravens and livestock and the result is not good for young livestock.
Add in I just walked to the barn to do a quick check on the possible lambers -- all the sheep were under a far oak tree (not the one closest to the barn) feed bunks were full, two ravens one on a stall door looking in, the other on the ground --- the sheep will not go near them --- I shoed them away, topped off water buckets and the sheep were all at the bunks eating. THAT TELLS the story. All those who say "oh they are such cool birds" -- I'm lumping them in with the rattle snakes are good to have around, leave them alone and you are ok (yeah fat chance of that).
PS -- @Alaskan I now get how you feel about the bald eagles.

Sounds like it's time for some target practice.

I have read that they will keep hawks away. But, who knows. I wouldn't let them hang around either.

 

[fuzzi]

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That's funny!

 

[RR Homestead]

I like my yogurt really mild, so I only incubate it for 7 hours. If you like it more tart, then you'll need to increase the time.

Sorry about your calf. You didn't let it die, some things are just out of our control.

Thank you. You are right.

I'm going to sound cold and heartless... but I am not one to mince words...
Granny cow needs to go to auction and get the $1000 or more that she will bring as a cull cow to off set travel expenses for the next trip to the new farm. IF, she is not going to take a calf, she is not of any use... AND.... this was going to be her last calf... She did not have a live calf... she has to go. The calf could have already been dead and that is why she was not "pushing" to try to have it... Feeling guilty does nothing to change the situation...
Sorry, but you have other priorities like getting moved, MUCH MORE IMPORTANT PRIORITIES, to keep fooling with a cow that neither wants or is willing to take a graft calf... and you were considering her worth as it was for the move... Sell her, and move on with getting yourself moved. That is the priority... not a cow that refuses to even want to salvage her place on the farm.
It's not cruel, it is a fact of life.
You have the soon to be fresh heifer that is much more important to get back for... with one more load already moved and waiting for you guys at the NEW farm/home....

I agree with you 100% and tried to come to that decision. DH is attached to the cow. Last night didn't go well but by early morning she was talking to the calf. Around mid day today she let him nurse. He wasn't hungry enough yesterday to really push the issue since he was out with the jersey when I brought him in. I 100% agree she needs to go. The $ could really help for sure. My plan is to let her raise this calf for a bit and get more weight on him which gets him off the jersey who already has 2 more. She'll go before we leave or the rest of the beef cows leave. If she's going to raise him for now I guess at least she's adding value to him. Gives DH time to come to terms. Makes absolutely no sense to ship her across the country. She's a butcher cow now either way. We do not have the freezer space for her and I can't see finding someone who wants an older butcher cow for the freezer. We have zero connections yet at the new place either. Plus we have a 1/2 jersey 1/2 aberdeen being raised for the freezer and a full angus beef being raised for the freezer.

Understand, this is from someone that cried when we had to ship an old bull that had been very faithful and a real good breeder.... and I cried when I had to put down my original first beef cross cow that I raised on a nurse cow and gave me something like 13 calves over her lifetime... and when she got down, I was the one to say goodbye to her... BUT.... you also have to be practical... and this cow is NOT worth you messing up your whole schedule to get moved when she is not going to be a contributing member of it going forward.

I do understand and thank you. Usually ones DH is attached to go into our own freezer so he knows her end fate is instant and humane. I do understand his feeling but we are also (allegedly these days) a business.

My Instant Pot has a yogurt setting. I wish I had access to raw milk, but sadly I do not. So I have to use Fairlife filtered milk, whatever % you want, I use whole or 2%. I use Fage yogurt as my starter, but you can use any yogurt with active cultures.

Once you've made a batch of yogurt you can save & freeze however much you want for future batches. I use a silicone ice cube container for that. I also freeze the extra Fage and use that up first. I've been told that your first batch makes the strongest starter.

1/2 gal Fairlife or any unpasteurized milk
2 Tbls. Fage yogurt
Combine in your IP.
Push the yogurt button.
Choose how many hours you want it to incubate. 7-10. I do 7 hours, because I like mild yogurt.
Cover
I have a glass lid for my IP. Yogurt does not use pressure.
Once the time is up, place it in the fridge covered, overnight.
If you want Greek yogurt you will need to strain it for 1.5-2 hours. I usually remove about 1.25 - 1.5 cups of whey. You can adjust that to your liking.
You can use cheese cloth or a yogurt strainer. I use a yogurt strainer.

This is the one I have and it does an amazing job. There are two choices of this brand. I have the stainless steel.

Stainless steel mesh

Amazon.com

Plastic mesh

Amazon.com

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm going to get the instant pot out and see if it has a yogurt setting

@RR Homestead sorry about the calf. I'd be sending the cow away, she's had good years with you, any thing more at this point is a feed bill that you don't need. $ from auction is a plus vs feed. Practical. If we all had unlimited $ we'd have way way more critters.
@Weldman -- yeah - fire break between you and the known firestarter - only makes sense. Especially if you don't and then there's - would'a should'a could'a won't take care of it.

Still suffering summer weather here in February - 90+ yesterday.

And ... ravens yeah ravens. There are two that have been hanging around for awhile. Yesterday I had a ewe (yeah another unplanned) lamb 2 ewe lambs - not that long before it was time to put the sheep away for the evening. Not a first timer ewe. Those rotten ravens were all over the afterbirth - pretty fresh - and all the ewes were as far away as they could get. Poor mama ewe and her twins were maybe 15-20 feet from the ravens. Mama ewe very unsettled.
Wasn't sure about the lambs - would check and get away go back and check. Rinse repeat.

I agree with you on the cow. Just trying to keep the peace right now at my house. I think stress is getting to both of us. Lack of sleep isn't helping either. I actually got up a bit ago with the intention of putting the calf back out with the jersey, having that battle and then saw progress so now i'm secretly thinking "Well great. So much for that idea." I moved him and she started yelling like "That's my baby!"

@drstratton that's basically how I do mine, just not in my insta pot. I actually use it seldom. But might have a yogurt setting. I do have raw milk I'm not cooling, then straining. It's a yogurt set up with small jars. A larger batch would work better to drain. Come to think of it, this thing does allow for a taller jar Guess I'll give that a try once milking again. Thanks!!

I have the little jar set up too. It's at home. Not sure why I took that so soon. I'm excited to try the instant pot.

Well, I just did a search on ravens and livestock and the result is not good for young livestock.
Add in I just walked to the barn to do a quick check on the possible lambers -- all the sheep were under a far oak tree (not the one closest to the barn) feed bunks were full, two ravens one on a stall door looking in, the other on the ground --- the sheep will not go near them --- I shoed them away, topped off water buckets and the sheep were all at the bunks eating. THAT TELLS the story. All those who say "oh they are such cool birds" -- I'm lumping them in with the rattle snakes are good to have around, leave them alone and you are ok (yeah fat chance of that).
PS -- @Alaskan I now get how you feel about the bald eagles.

I heard on my last trip home that there are issues with bald eagles and lambs. That caught me off guard. Didn't know that was a thing.

 

[Mini Horses]

I am fortunate to have enough crops nearby -- thus wild rabbits, mice, squirrels, etc,....there are huge numbers of deer, possum, etc for road kill. It keeps the "clean up crews" busy enough to leave my goats alone. My area has the turkey vulture, not those black thugs! I've been lucky. Do lose a chicken now & then to a possum.

 

[RR Homestead]

What a day. Took the big tractor over and made piles for the in laws so they can burn their brush without getting tickets. AIL doesn't seem to do piles. Just a 20 foot long stack. FIL burns it every year. A few years back he got a warning. Someone turned him in so the FD had to come out and put all but a 10 ft by 10 ft section out. We didn't even know there was a pile size requirement. So got that done for them then came home and worked on a few things. Trimmed the horses feet and moved his small pen around. He foundered so he's not allowed much grass and he's a master of getting a muzzle off. Turned the old cow back out to pasture. DH has decided she needs to go. Glad for that decision. We'll dry her up then ship her. Don't have an empty trailer at the moment anyways. Need to take a load to the dump then the small stock trailer will be available to take her. She has called to the holstein calf a few times but is now off grazing just fine. Put the holstein back on his jersey mama which was a good thing. The other two aren't keeping up with her yet. Tomorrow we'll get the other beef cow and heifer that are due week after next in so DH can watch them close if I head to the house with a load. Have a few more chores to do then we might be able to take a breather for a few hours. We're both exhausted. I'm very relieved DH came to the conclusion the old cow needs to go.
Y'all have a good night!

 

[drstratton]

What a day. Took the big tractor over and made piles for the in laws so they can burn their brush without getting tickets. AIL doesn't seem to do piles. Just a 20 foot long stack. FIL burns it every year. A few years back he got a warning. Someone turned him in so the FD had to come out and put all but a 10 ft by 10 ft section out. We didn't even know there was a pile size requirement. So got that done for them then came home and worked on a few things. Trimmed the horses feet and moved his small pen around. He foundered so he's not allowed much grass and he's a master of getting a muzzle off. Turned the old cow back out to pasture. DH has decided she needs to go. Glad for that decision. We'll dry her up then ship her. Don't have an empty trailer at the moment anyways. Need to take a load to the dump then the small stock trailer will be available to take her. She has called to the holstein calf a few times but is now off grazing just fine. Put the holstein back on his jersey mama which was a good thing. The other two aren't keeping up with her yet. Tomorrow we'll get the other beef cow and heifer that are due week after next in so DH can watch them close if I head to the house with a load. Have a few more chores to do then we might be able to take a breather for a few hours. We're both exhausted. I'm very relieved DH came to the conclusion the old cow needs to go.
Y'all have a good night!

I'm glad your husband came around on the cow, sad that she has to go.

My husband likes to burn big piles. One time, I told him if the fire department showed up, I was going in the house and he would be on his own.

When he started cutting down our 80' poplar trees, he realized we should probably get a permit. We also dug a huge pit to burn them in. We've burned twice, it's full again and we have more to add to it.

 

[GLENMAR]

Pretty morning.