It's Tuesday night...
We have had a roller coaster ride with the weather the last 2 days... Sunday was 38 and up to 63; some sun, then clouds then rain after 10 p.m. Cloudy and rainy and not to bad to start but then temps just continued to drop... Had some serious wet snow again late.... .3 inch precip from Sunday night... then it froze in the rain gauge but there was .5 in there so I am assuming that was about right... I am not sure if it cracked it or not... I totally forgot to dump and leave laying flat, Monday night since it was still raining...
22 to start this morning... mostly sun but we got 2 snow squalls... where it was putting it down for about 15 minutes... Ground was pretty frozen this morning so a little sticking... It got up to mid 40's during the day but there was a cold breeze... all day.
So, back to the cattle... they all sold good... Friday and Sat... the group of steers did 4.80 for 520 lbs ... not as good as the 30+ 2 weeks earlier... but that is what comes of his waiting... a bit on the down hill sliding... not terrible... but off the 5.25 they were 2 weeks earlier in that weight range... our 6 wts brought 4.90 with the slide off the target weight of 575... that we sold 2 weeks earlier privately....
Heifers were up some... and it looks like they are going to stay up for a bit... $4.35 and 4.60 for the smaller 4 wt heifers.. even my longhorn x angus steer; white like the longhorn, brought nearly 2,000 at 600 plus pounds... I don't have the stub in front of me...like 3.25 or something..... a couple of years ago, would have been lucky to get $750 for him...
So, I am very pleased with the prices... and there are 14 more heifers that will go and 6 big steers,,, his 4 red ones and 2 big black ones that were too big to go privately... he was wanting to sell them at the graded sale this coming Sat, but the one buyer, who is based close to us here... told DS to come see him and he would give us good prices... he asked DS about the group of 5-6 steers that we sold Sat... said we had the heifer matches to them at the barn... They are a little bigger than the ones we took up there...
Commission charges are up to nearly $70 per head... that's getting awfully high....
So, that is that... DS is going to move the red cow with her calf across the driveway in that small field... easier to feed her and not have to open and shut gates, like now. Plus the cow that didn't have much milk, has come into a little bit more... but she does not have a lot of milk... He tries to supplement a 1/2 bottle to the calf most days... I think when it comes time for grass he ought to just put them out and see if she breeds back... he has tossed around the idea that he ought to sell them... baby calves are in the $1500 PLUS (2,000) range for a black calf... cow is worth 1200 or so as a cull cow... maybe get a little bit more for the pair... I think he might want to keep them and then, keep the heifer as she is out of different genetics... being one of the 4 he bought in the spring since they all had steer calves... to match our steers... 3 of them did match the group of 30+ that he sold... and the other was smaller and went in this last group... His cow so what ever he decides is his deal.
Had 3 cows calve Sunday night... OF COURSE... in the cold rain and snow crap... One had twins ... and has decided she does not want one of them... which is not the end of the world... so took the new baby, DS gave it colostrum... kept it in the dog crate at his house last night since it was soo cold... and took it up to the nurse cows at snyder's this morning... he had given it another 3/4 bottle of colostrum and a little regular milk replacer, mixed to make 3/4 bottle... this morning... Put a calf coat on it and this evening when the 2 jerseys came in, I got it on the heifer for a bit. Her calf is very aggressive now... it's over 2 weeks old... but I made sure this calf got enough that it seemed content... Heifer was not totally thrilled and shoved it away one time... but not real bad... Since they are in for the night, I will take a bottle up in the morning to feed it as her calf will probably keep her milked out mostly during the night... and then kick the cows out for the day. Then tomorrow aft before I leave to go to work, I will bring them back in and feed grain and make sure this calf gets on her again... Give it a couple days to get more comfortable and aggressive with going on the cow... DS needs to decide if he is going to keep it on the nurse cow or sell it as a baby calf... being a twin it is smaller... so I think about 2 weeks before it will be good sized to go... although it would be worth 1500 now... I don't even know what the other calf was, bull or heifer...this one is a heifer... if it is a bull, then no reason to keep this heifer... but it they are both heifers, he might want to keep this one too...... the cow is a good cow, milks good... she just decided she only wants 1 calf... not going to fault her for that...
Then there were 2 new calves this afternoon... GF keeps tagging them, but does it often before she knows the momma, so they are not getting the corresponding tag to match ...... grrrrr.... then sends a message that xx calf got this tag, before she knew who the momma was.... then a few minutes later, says that xx is the momma..... give the cow a chance to come back to the calf... or cow # 192 had bull calf and got #193.... WTH.... it's too hard to write 192 on the bull calf tag???? Well, he lets her/ she wants to take the 4 wheeler out and ride around checking the cows... but she also will not let them "bond" ... always wants to interfere with making sure the babies are "doing okay"... just leave them the HE// alone once they are tagged...
But what do I know.....
Jess the longhorn, has quite an udder so won't be long for her to calve....
Have been having some issues with allergic reactions... don't know what is causing it... runny nose, tightness of chest and breathing, coughing alot... Not changed anything that I can see with eating... he//, I barely have an appetite anymore...
Might be partly due to hay in barn... DS rolled some out for cows at one place, and put the "core" of a roll in the barn...so I didn't have to go get sq bales... it was in the way for the panel, that I use to get the jersey heifer in the head catch... so peeled some hay off and put into the bunks and maybe got too much dust/pollen ???? Then I got it stood up in the corner so it is out of the way... and they won't want to walk all over it... waste it... But it started really bad this morning... before I was near the barn and the hay.....
My daffodils were just starting to bloom... boy do they look "SAD"...... with this cold and the rain/snow/ice from the cold temps freezing...
Tomorrow will go test 1 1/2 hrs north to the little jersey herd... have to go by the herd I did Friday night as the info did not upload like it said on the screen.... Lab could not pull the herd and I called the computer support and they don't have it... "upload error" ... I said I'd go by there tomorrow... I was not making a special trip today when I have to go right by the exit off the interstate tomorrow... especially since gas went up another $.20 yesterday....
Thursday I have a 200 cow herd....
Back to flannel lined jeans...it's cold and the wind.....
I presently have 4 NH pullets, 1 Langshan female, and 3 Buff Leghorn females....... I got 13 eggs between Monday and Tuesday... leghorns are the slackers... 10 from the NH and langshan, 3 from the leghorns...
I want to start to save some to set here pretty soon... I think I am going to raise a bunch of the leghorns and sell the older ones... hope that if I raise the chicks with the calmer quieter NH's and langshan chicks... that they might be calmer.... I love to look at the buff leghorns, but I have always had a special affection for the NH's.... and will raise more of them... Going to separate them out into 2 trios, save some and hatch some , then switch the roosters and raise some of them with the males switched... The males will make good enough eating and the females that don't make the "cut" for purebreds/show...., will make good layers...
Plus want to get some langshans out before the little hen slows down too much... the leghorns are already separate so can save those eggs anytime... waiting for it to get a little warmer...
DS said he is going to talk to the lady and see about getting the coop and the run moved home.................
We did stop on the way to the dr appts and he bought 5 trusses... wood ones.. he said he has to see about getting a barn/shed built and/or an extension on the hay barn also...plus the ones he bought at the auction that we looked at and he went back and got on Friday..... he is thinking that Deb won't be able to manage the farm and we will have to move things out of the arena if she sells... which is sad, but I think is inevitable also.... she says that this is where she wants to be though... selling her rental house, which she has been talking about doing anyway....... and then says she is going to sell her "permanent residence" and move out here... don't know what she is going to be able to manage though... going to need a wheelchair ramp accessible entrance because she has trouble now with using the walker....there are at least 3-5 steps up to any outside door..... she will not be able to go down in the basement, and access to upstairs is going to need a "chair lift"...at least the bedroom and the master bath is on the ground floor... not even sure of how wide the doors are for her to get around/through.
Supposedly she she is coming out next week for a few days... hope her "shoulder" is getting better from the dislocated collarbone.
Last weekend and this weekend is the Maple Festival in Highland county... don't guess we are going this year. This past Sunday would have been okay but I worked... Saturday we were at the stockyard... and the weather was the best day to go....this coming Saturday is the poultry show and maybe having to take the heifers... so that leaves Sunday...supposed to be a decent day... I am not up to alot of walking with the shortness of breath, allergic reactions CRAP this stupid tick bite has caused... but still would have liked to go... don't know, I might go by myself on Sunday... DS hasn't gone for several years... Deb and I went a couple years ago... I went alone last year for the buckwheat pancakes and some of the craft stuff...
DS is taking his father to a poultry show on Saturday... I went with them last year... Not sure I want to go this year... although it was mentioned... I would like to go but the stress with my ex is just not on my "tolerable" list at this time... If DS wants me to go I will... he was wanting me to take the heifers to the sale, for the state graded sale... but with the amount of the commission fees, is thinking about taking them to the buyer here close by, and selling direct. I really don't want to take them to the stock yard if I don't have to... but if he pushes I will... I think the heifer prices are going to hold for awhile... so actually they could wait for a couple weeks too...
Well, time to go to bed... have to get up and get up to the nurse cows fairly early since I have to put them back in by 3 to go to the other farm and go to work....
Sink full of dishes done, to put away tomorrow... supposed to get nicer the next couple days so can make some sun tea again Thurs or Fri..... not pressing for laundry... just need to get some things done out in the yard the next few days... see alot of branches and dead wood came out of the tree... Mix chicken feed for them tomorrow... I stopped and filled the 5 gallon bucket again from the feed bin....
Feel worn out, breathing not good this evening...
