Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[SageHill]

Well... Thursday and what an unexpected but productive day.....

Yesterday they got the tires on the car and called and said it was done and "good".... I was doing something... and got the message. So, I went down in the early afternoon, and traded the red forester for the green outback and drove it... Yes, it is much better... no shimmy... So I have 4 brand new tires... a little "better" quality... cost about $10 tire more that they absorbed... and JR said that they didn't have to put very much weight on them to balance... compared to the other ones... so we are good to go.

I went up to the pasture later and fed the calves in the barn bunk like normal... most were in the barn just lounging around... and when I went out... there are 3 nursing on one cow... these are all 1st calf heifers... and she had 3 on her... God bless her.... I hope that the other 2 momma's are co-parenting and letting other calves on them... and I may just NOT "manage" to catch this cow and her own calf up and keep it there with the longhorn and her calf... so that this calf gets enough to eat... I don't mind the co-parenting... and it makes it good should a cow die (happened once and the calf kept going on the other cow it was "stealing off" and that cow did a good job of raising 2 when she only had one... BUT.... not so good for young first calf heifers like this as you never know if if their own calf is getting enough... it is the youngest calf born up there.. but we will see.
DS and the older guy who works for him some... went around and did the whole fence at the other farm DS has down near the GF house.... so it is ready for cattle... We may start moving them out this weekend... Bulls can go in at all these pastures.... so might get some of them moved out away from the barn... and the heifers with calves at snyder's.... minus the one pair I think... got to work the bull calves and give them all a blackleg shot... DS is royally ticked because the neighbor guy was pushing out autumn olives and pushed them against a whole bunch of fence between him and DS.... he does not maintain any fence... if it gets done we do it... and we have come up missing a couple calves in the past... but then we wound up with a couple others that were not ours... so we are about even... he always says he doesn't think any of ours are over there... and said that the 2 we had one year couldn't be his because he wasn't missing any... and they were not our eartags... no other cattle anywhere remotely near... so we just brought them home... Kept them for nearly 2 months in case someone else called saying they were missing some... and then they got sold with the rest of ours... so we are even as far as numbers... but with what they are worth this year... we are going to double tag all the cows and the calves... we never double tag the calves but it will be worth the couple dollars per tag to have 2 tags in them...
This guy also has some pigs that are constantly out loose and now they are getting in the pasture and tearing up the grass... the renter at the house sent pictures of the most recent "trip" into the pasture and their actual yard... DS said he is going to have a talk with them... They might just not make it back home into their pen one day if something isn't done. It is ridiculous.... neighbors are complaining a little now...said they don't do anything to fix where the pigs are getting out....

So... today I went to GF house to pick up DS to go to the dr appt.... he has been driving her car back and forth to the farm since it is alot better on gas than the 3/4 ton diesel trucks.... since the 2 wd drive gas p.u. had that leak... and it is finally fixed... so this way he could leave her car there and will have his truck to start driving back and forth...... and we went south. Planned enough time to go to Rural King before his dr appt at 11...... I needed a few bags feed... once the calves are mostly all moved there will only be a few there to feed... and when we walked in... they know DS pretty well.... one of the girls said,,, you gotta go buy some chicks... they were on special...
Well, it seems their store manager had ordered another 900... different breeds... and they still had quite a few from the last order of 2400 they got a week or 2 ago... No one had chicks forever...TSC and Rural King and our local feed co-op were all out, and limiting what they had been getting in...... now the hatcheries are catching up... so they had all these brand new ones and not enough places to put them... so they were trying to "move" the little bit older ones.... Chicks were $1.00 each... Turkeys were $5.00 each.... Now, realize the chicks are $3.50-5.00 for the different ones... and the turkeys are normally 17.99 EACH.....
On top of that... for every one you bought... for $1.00.... you got one free... so 2/$1.00 ..... and same for the turkeys... $5.00 each and for everyone you got one free 2/$5.00 basically... I had decided on a total of 10 turkeys... and told DS... we go in different directions usually when we go in.... and when he came by... so I got him to come over to the chicks... he wound up picking out a total of 6 bantams.... and I got 6 of the "sapphire gems" ???? a "blue" colored laying hen... supposed to be very good forager... and lay 275-300 eggs a year...
I then was looking over the turkeys and said, know what. I will take the rest... so wound up with a total 25... paid for 12 @5.00 , got 12 free and they threw in the last odd one.... There are 5 that are either narragansett or bronze... the rest are white but some have a cinnamon colored head... might be some bourbon reds in there... we'll see....
Should've gotten 100 chicks of the laying breeds... don't know where I would put them as they still need heat... I have to go back to Roanoke tomorrow for my chiropractor appt... tempting to go further south, and see what they might have left... and get any of the laying type ones... and just raise them and sell the extra pullets in the fall....roosters for butcher.....
It was a matter of the right place at the right time.... that is why I decided to go on and get all the turkeys....Been saying I wanted some turkeys... and been looking at some poults at $15-20 a piece from these hatcheries...

I may wind up having to sell some stuff at the Poultry swap in Sept... and I am seriously thinking that they will be 16 weeks by then... so close to ready to lay.... I have this greenhouse that is not put together... might have to get it up and together for a place to raise some pullets....
I must be nuts... but they sure are alot cheaper than buying them at the full price and raising them up.... Pullets are bringing $15-20..... roosters are worth $10-15... @Mini Horses and @canesisters and @fuzzi all saw what people were selling chicks for and started pullets are bringing $15-20 or more, ready to lay...

Oh well.... So, I have the poults in a good sized box in the laundry room with a heat light... the good thing is since they are already 1-2 weeks old... the worst of the "sick and die" ones are culled out... and these are eating and all that... DS took the 6 chicks of mine and the 6 bantams he got, to his house to put in the brooder.... he just brought home some that his father had hatched out... he has a 3 section stackable brooder... so will get the 2nd one going for the chicks... to not mix them right now... then can put them together in a week or so...

I have been saving some eggs from the leghorns and the black langshan bantams... and DS said he had 2 incubators that were his fathers' that I could use one.... hopefully will get one this weekend set up... I would like to hatch a dozen or so of the leghorns and maybe 20+ of the langshan bantams...
UH-OH.... got chicken fever again... The good thing is that the culls can go to someplace like the swap at Gilman's.... and get sold.... and with the fence hopefully going to get put up here sometime this summer once the posts are in... then I will have plenty of space to let the turkeys out ot roam...

So... that is my day... EXCITING... unexpected... like @Mini Horses getting those buff orpingtons... for a good price...

Got to head up to feed the calves in the barn...

wHOOP wHOOP

 

[farmerjan]

Sample bottles in the trays and everything pretty much ready for tomorrow... Turkeys seem to be doing fine.. box is a little small for them...not as much room as I would like them to have.... but it will work for a bit... they are eating and drinking and seem to be comfortable...I will get things a little better "put together" over the weekend so they have a bigger box and more room... they can all spread out to sleep and have room for the water and feed and everything... but they will outgrow it pretty fast.
Debating on whether to go down there in the morning... or just go to the chiropractor appt. Will have to come straight home and go to work... Maybe I will call... might be most of them sold today at those prices.

Need a shower and bed.

 

[Baymule]

What a DEAL on the turkeys! You can sure make money on selling those at the swap! Be sure to keep a few for the freezer.

BJ and I walked in on deals like that at the Mineola TSC. The manager offered us meat chicks for $1.00, buy one get one. We took those deals, every time!

 

[farmerjan]

Chilly 50 here overnight. Very breezy so feels colder. May hit low 70's today... chance of stray pop up shower here... then more possible "weather" Sun-Tues or Wed..

Turkeys did okay overnight... all look good.

Most chicks were sold... so not going down there... I plan to have somewhere to put a BUNCH for next time I run into something like that and get 100+ and raise up for sale as pullets ready to lay. I would've brought home all the layer types at that price.
Got to get going and head to Chiropractor...

 

[farmerjan]

Sat night. Been a cool day... and I had to replace the batteries in the "sending unit" out in the outdoor thermometer... it has registered the same temp all day... so did that a little bit ago. Turns out only 1 was "dead" but replaced both. Kept the one that showed very good on the little tester... will use it somewhere else eventually. Down to about 3-4 "new" batteries so need to get some next time out. It registered 58 and is down to 55 so I think it is working...

Went to chiropractor yesterday... he really worked on my neck and my shoulder... I ached after even though it felt a little better... came home, changed clothes and went to test. 190 cows all went well... as usual there it is a good deal even though I have to set up 16 meters and tear them all down after I get the computer work done... they have a "fast" wash system compared to some farms... so the meters are done about the time I get the milk weights into their computer and all done...

I had picked up some more of the grape vines the other day that were sprouting a little... looking very "peak-ed" but ones that I was fairly sure were still alive... concord and some green "nimrod" or something... like the green seedless ones we eat. Also one or two raspberries and blueberries that looked like they might make it. Looks like I lost a couple of the blueberries I got last year... we had that real bitter cold spell this winter and they just don't seem to be coming back...may need some extra mulching with a cage around them to keep the mulch/leaves up higher on the stems.... I won't do anything with them until late summer in case they come back from the roots by chance. I cut a slit in the bottom of the plastic, and opened up the tops, and got them soaking in some water to try to "rehydrate" them and hopefully get some life back into them. I will get them planted in the next few days in pots with some "good soil" to give them a start. This real chilly weather is not helping them much...

Today was breezy, partly sun and clouds... but it was chilly with the wind. Not over 70 if that... it was actually about 46-48 last night according to all the weather station recordings I have seen. Chilly enough. Tonight might get down in the low 40's.... Going to bring the norfolk Island pine in because it doesn't like below 55-60...

Went to a 50th surprise party for good friend of ours... the dad is the one that passed away this past winter...
It was nice... a bunch of people there... they are the ones that DS and I helped go do the vet check a month or 2 ago... J turned 50... he and DS are like brothers in some ways... he has had leg pain and has some severe blood clots in his legs... they are doing some testing because it may be hereditary.... that is part of what happened to his dad, blood clot that caused a stroke, thought they had it and then he got worse... and lost him... other things too but that was the main thing...

Came home, put 2 gal in the chickens waterer, filled the hanging feeder and put another bag of leaves and grass in there... managed to drop 1 egg and break it... been getting 2-3 a day... bantam hen is laying most every day..... then 1 or 2 leghorn eggs too.

Set the trap again... had another of the freeloading "wild cats" in the house last night and upset my cat... it ran out when I got up from desk after she came in all spitting upset and puffed out like she stuck her paw in the electric socket... this one I have seen before also... sure it is a male too... the other one got released on the other side of the interstate 2 miles away... they feed some strays there at one of the gas stations..... decided not to shoot it... but if it comes back I will.... this one will get released also probably...

Got to get with the farm, set up testing and get the kittens.... Need to get back into the groove of testing and such...

Time to quit... DS had a couple of cows down in the "fenced off " riparian area at Grants pasture next door/behind me... one calf in with the neighbors... they are looking for grass and DS has been skimpy with the hay the last few days... so they are getting out.... DUH..... tomorrow they will get moved up into the catch lot and hopefully they will all come and none will be through the fence... and they will get moved to the barn... Have to work around GF and her schedule with the kids ... like REALLY..... because he has to go do something with them for an hour or 2 in the middle of the day... I plan to try to get them in myself... when they are up near the field behind the house, I will go call them and get them to come up and go in the lot there... there is enough grass to keep them busy for a day maybe... as soon as they are all in I will shut the gate... but at least they will stay in there for a little bit if I have to go find and bring any stragglers up...

Also need to see if I can get any of the heifers with calves in the catch pen at snyder's nurse cow pasture... He wants to move some/ a load, down when he goes to her house in the evening... Have about 5-6 at the barn that can go... and the 5 at snyder's... I am going to see if I can cut out the one of mine that is feeding all the other calves too.... and keep her there with Jess the longhorn and her calf.

Time for a shower and bed... Temp is down to 52... dropping more...

 

[farmerjan]

Sunday afternoon. 48 overnight and up to 85 when the sun was on the recorder, but as soon as it moved it was in the mid 70s the rest of the day. Started out real sunny, now more clouds. Still looking like a small "front" will go through tonight and we will get some showers out of it.

Went out and mowed quite a bit... Got 4 batteries back on charge and put the 2 slightly smaller ones in. It was down to 22%.... Have to move the vehicles around so I can get to the rest that needs doing. Need to go out with the weed eater in a little while... The 24 hr allergy pill only lasted about 6-10 hours... and after taking it this morning... my eyes are starting to itch and nose running so came in to take another of a different brand/kind... sometimes that will work.
Want to see about getting those grape vines into some pots... we are looking at some real rain on Tues/Wed so would like to have the rest done, to get "rain water" settled in the pots. Maybe later since I just found out we are NOT moving the cows today... He went and fed a roll of hay and rolled it out... so the cows are eating and lounging around... and I texted him and asked what the deal was.... he said yesterday he was going to move them this afternoon.... now he texts me and says he had to see how his afternoon goes... SO, obviously he is more "tied up" with whatever GF and the kids have going on... AGAIN...
Needless to say I am Pi$$ed off ... really... they have the whole summer to "do stuff"... all we need to do is get through the next 2 days of moving cows and vet check... then one more vet check... next week... and those cows are up in the back field at the farm so just a matter of opening some gates and moving them down through... Oh well, it is starting again...but then, I knew it would sooner or later.

So after the allergy pill gets in my system with in an hour or so, I will go back out and finish what little mowing I have after moving the cars...want to get it put back in the carport before it rains too; then see about taking the weed eater out and doing some of that...
Have to go up to the snyders to put grain in for the calves and see who will come in again... Not going to worry about trying to catch any of the calves or the cows since he is not going to be available again to move them if I get them caught and I am not going to lock them in overnight and have to feed hay or upset them from their normal routines.

DS has laid out all the posts along the roads...2 sides of the property; only have to get the ones for the line from the paved road straight back to the dirt road direction... along the property line between me and the christmas tree farm... This property is basically a triangle shape, with the line along the christmas tree farm the shortest line, and the 2 stretches along the roads the longer sides. I will not have it run all the way across the front of the house... but want to take some of the split rail down at one end where we are going to take it out, to straighten the woven wire posts/run... and put it in front of the house along the ditch so I can put in the flowers along it... I need to weed eat a bit of rougher stuff/weeds, that runs along the tall pines where I cannot mow with the mower due to real rough ground there... just to make sure they have a clear line of site and so they don't make a mess of the electric netting that ran along that side of the garden... and will not have to use it there anymore once the wire is up. I can then come off the fence and have more of the netting to "use" for setting up some grazing for a couple calves here at the house. That was the plan, plus to allow the chickens areas to "free range", with the electric netting to contain them out of the front yard and flowers and the garden also.
Of course all this is going to get done inbetween all the haying we are going to have to get to as soon as they are done driving the posts... so the wire getting up will not be a priority here I am afraid...

Eyes are not itching and nose is not running. Going out to see what I can get done.

 

[farmerjan]

Can I just scream???? I go out and move the trucks/cars so I can mow some more... Get it done and put the mower in the carport and am moving a couple back into the "parking area" .
Several of the cows are up in the hay eating and I figure since I hadn't heard anything back that he was going to let them clean up more of the hay and then in the morning, go down and see who had gotten into the riparian area between the 2 farms, that the witch says she does not have to build her half of the fence since she has fence on her side keeping any animals out of that riparian area... even though the boundary fence is not the riparian fence line... Anyway... some of the cows are down in there eating the grass and she is raising a fit about them... . Next thing I see is DS out there opening up the gate into the catch lot... and the cows have eaten about half the hay he put out.... THIS MORNING..... I'm thinking WTH are you doing... This is after 5 pm.... So he calls me and says there are only 18 and 16 in there... (cows/calves) so he is going to get the trailer and the 4 wheeler and see if he can go get the rest of them... I'm like why are you doing this now????

So he gets the truck and trailer and 4 wheeler... parks across the road in my field, goes down there, and finds a bunch down there... and says for me to come down the road with the feed bucket in case he needs it and he will meet me at the other gate. In the meantime... SHE comes with her daughter and some other friend... parks RIGHT ALONG the road by the GATE... and they get out and all these people are standing there right where the cows would come through the gate.... The cows come up the hill and they go up near there and then won't go through the gate... FLIGHT ZONE of the cows... and they are not used to several people being there.... STARING AT THEM.... he's on the phone with them I guess telling them to get back in the car.... so he goes up the hill behind them... and there is one cow that is skittish... and of course she goes in the other direction... with her calf... Finally he comes back down the hill, tells me 15 took off with her calf... and he is missing the bull.... he was going to look for the bull again... could I go up the hill... so I went up there and 15 had come partway back but would not have anything to do with getting close and DS told them to just leave her alone. He comes back, says he is just going to put the 4 wheeler in the trailer... leave it there and leave with her in the car... and maybe I could go there and see if I can get her to go in, since it would only be me and they are more used to me...

They leave, and I go to the house for a few minutes... Not 10 minutes later... I go back with the truck... which they are more used to...park along the road but not right at the gate area.... take a bucket of feed and walk into the catch lot to put some piles of feed on the ground to keep the rest in there... go back and open the gate to the big field; go out the other gate to the road... and the cow goes right in there... calf runs up and down the fence.. so I walk way out in the field and he finally figures it out... and goes in...I go shut the gate to the catch lot... and text DS that they are in... He comes back and says wow, I never expected you to get them in...especially not that fast..... then he said, I know, it was because they don't like all the people who they are not familiar with, so they were not comfortable with going in... then he says, well, it is going to be dark and it will take at least 3 loads, so probably NOT a good idea to move them now.... so they are going to have to stay in the catch lot all night...
I said to him, I don't understand why you didn't just go down in the riparian area in the morning, see if there were any there, get them to come up the hill and have the whole group together... and the cows could have eaten more of the hay overnight and not wasted it... He said " that is what I was going to do but then she decided that we had to come up and get them in this evening... " and I just looked at him...
HOW STUPID are you to listen to her like that... but when she decides something has to be done a certain way, he just kow-tows to her...he made the comment that the hay would get wasted and I just looked at him and didn't say a thing....
I hope they stay in the catch lot overnight... and the calves don't push through the crappy high tensile fence and get out in the road....
Bull is still no where to be found... HOPE that DS just missed seeing him and he comes up in the morning to the lot where the cows are... He already called 2 neighbors that the bull might have gone over fences to their cows, but not likely....

I did manage to get up to snyder's with feed and put it in the bunk in the barn... some of the calves went in but not all of them... got one that looks like he does not feel good.. just looks a little "mopey", so will have to get him in and caught and see what it might be... and 2 calves were on my heifer... her's and another that was on her the last time... She is not going to go with the rest to the pasture... she needs to feed only her own calf...

Needless to say, I am pretty P.O.ed..... He even said that he knew that the cows were not going to go up there and he told them to STAY in the car... but they don't listen.... WHY make it such a problem deal all the time...
I hope to he// that her daughter does not come to the farm on vet day... GF is okay help, but the daughter won't know what to do and is inherently lazy... and I do not have the patience to deal with her...... even DS has said she is lazy and since the father's family has all kind of money... she does not have to work... so she is not learning any discipline about working or earning a living... another one of the "privilege" group ... let the "peons" do the work... she's above it... and she is getting worse. She has no incentive to do anything.. not challenged in school... ( gets good grades with no effort)... bored but won't apply herself to anything... and she is not going to college...no goals for her future...... because she is going to help her father on the farm... but most of the time she is in the house on the computer or her phone all the time.. one of the typical "spoiled little rich girls"....

Time to get a shower and go to bed.... DS said he was going to come and move the cows early... so I expect 7-8 a.m..... she won't come that early at least... but she has decided "she" will get the cows off the hill at the farm into the alley tomorrow..... some of them need to be re-preg checked since they haven't calved...couple of calves worked/vacc so they can go to grass..... I think a couple slipped calves... should've bought a few of the confirmed preg ones at the sale the other night... Some have calves and will go out to pasture... Thought for sure that is what he was going to do this evening... take a load when he went down there to not make a bunch of special trips...
There is no common sense used ......he's getting stupid again.....

 

[Mini Horses]

I have had people try to help when goats get out! Strangers who mean well -- at least strangers who listen! Get in your car, out of the way & watch.....

Animals have "ways" & if they know you, it works.

Yesterday I had 2 youngins out, field next door. Drove truck back and they ran back to herd, showing me their little shimmy under spot. Thank you!!! Fixed that before it became a big spot one of my diversions yesterday.

The DS & GF thing is not something you can change Yeah, I've just gone highly verbal on this one. It has consequences. But I'll just deal with them for now. But mine are only person to person, not farm related. Big difference. You have both.

 

[farmerjan]

Monday... awoke to wet... not pouring down, just misty sprinkly showers... don't know what we had overnight... I forgot to look.
DS texted and said he would be up to get feed to come up to move cows. I was getting dressed so put on my short boots. He brought the r&w truck... with some feed. I went and opened the gate so he could get in without cows sneaking out... drove over to the catch pen at the other side/end of the catch "lot" and got the cows in the pen... they went right in. Then he drove the truck back out to the end I was and left it and got the truck/trailer from across the road in my field... and came over, backed up and we loaded one load. He did not get as many in as he normally does... but he just took them and went on.. having a fit because of the gate we had there that was too long to swing around behind the cows to "crowd them" into the trailer... I get so tired of listening to complaints.
He left and I took another gate there that we use to funnel the cows into the catch pen, and brought it over to the pen and put it there so it would be more useable for the "crowding" them into the trailer. He came back, and we loaded the 2nd load... then he came back for the third load, but decided that rather than crowd them in the trailer and maybe hurt a calf, he left 1 cow and 5 more calves and then came back for a 4th load of just them. Then he got my 2 holstein heifers that were in the barn there, and brought them back to snyder's.... I am going to let them get bred by the bull this summer. Moved them out last year so they didn't get bred too young, but they are 16+ months now, so will calve at 28-30 months so ought to have plenty of growth by them. There is soo much grass there at the nurse cow pasture, and he is wanting to take the 5 out with calves to go to the other pasture for the summer.... so the holsteins will be good there.

I am going to put a protein/tm tub in there with an insect growth regulator to help cut down the flys, and give them a little extra nutrition. Beef heifers really don't need it but the holsteins can benefit... My "dime" not DS's but his heifers will benefit from it.

Still have not found the bull... this is not good... and he managed to lose his eartag that DS picked up next to the feeder the other day... so he is checking with all possible neighbors.

I then asked what else was on the agenda and did he want me to do anything... he said no.... so I am not going to beg. He was going to put up some panels in the 1st barn lot where he had taken down some wire... and let them down in there for the day... there is hay in there so they can eat it and will be easy to call into the barn tomorrow.
Still have to get the rest across the driveway from the barn and sort them out... keep the ones in that we want to check... but guess I am not needed???? She wasn't there this morning of course... but it was no problem doing what we did, since we have done it many times in the past, and these cows all loaded without any big deal.

DS said he has got to get the bulls out with the cows... that was something "they " were so bound and determined to do a week ago, and all of a sudden, something else took precedence.... The ones we just moved today, that bull was going to go across the road to snyder's so that is not good that he is MIA..... There is another one we can use... but wanted to get at least 2 groups calving to the #9 bull that is missing... and maybe he will just turn up in a day or 2... hopefully. But the other bulls he was so insistent about getting out already...aren't moved yet......just frosts my balls as the saying goes...

I sent him a text to see if he wants me to help get the ones across the driveway, and the cows with calves worked so he can take them with him when he goes down there later today...

I'm going in to do some dishes and cleaning in the kitchen. Waaaaay overdue...

 

[SageHill]

Woah - the bull is still MIA and missing his ear tag. Not good. Fingers crossed he shows up soon. Is it common to lose ear tags?