Grants mini herd

[farmerjan]

She's a cutie !!!!! Great on getting the water trough and all in. Those tire ones are popular here too. Too bad about having to feed hay.... maybe work will slow down a bit and you can get that 3 acres fenced for fall and winter pasture to save on hay later on....
Glad you managed a few minutes to check in. I was kinda wondering what was going on, but it has been such an insane summer and all was almost afraid to ask too many questions.

Drop us a 5 word post..... I'm still alive and kicking..... or something. Hope things at work will slow down a bit.... but make hay when the sun shines.... and money when you have the chance.

 

[Grant]

As an hourly employee this may be my highest paying year ever.

 

[Bruce]

The "good" part about 70 hour work weeks! I don't think I could have handled many of those even when I was younger.

 

[farmerjan]

Between milking cows and waitressing, I worked many 70 hour weeks. Add to that doing stuff at home, animals and all. And then when I started milk testing, I was still doing banquet waitressing and milking on one of my farms as a fill in milker 2-3 mornings a week. I have never worked a simple 40 hour week. My knees will attest to that fact!!!!!!

 

[Grant]

Took some PV last week. Took a fight to Maine, then went through NewHampshire and Vermont. Trees in the White mtns of NewHampshire were beautiful. I was surprised at how closed down businesses are there still. I’m not sure how they are surviving. I had a college student come take care of the dogs and cows. They stayed for the week at our house. Today I finally got around to putting in a corral. I’ve had livestock for a year without one and it was really time. Put in a little tractor time mowing the dead tops and weeds out of the fields. I need to do fence next.

 

[farmerjan]

The mountains in NH and Vermont are very pretty especially in the fall. One of the reasons I wound up down here in the Shen Valley next to the Blue Ridge Mtns.... very similar. Just not near as much winter here....
Yeah, they are still really constricted up there. Talked to my family in CT and NH and so much is just shut way down.... will hurt them even worse as the fall foliage is one of the draws for tourists up there....

Glad you got a catch pen and head gate for the cows. Yeah, they are always very handy... but now that you have it hopefully you won't need it....much. One of our head catches if very similar to that one. I like it better than the ones that open towards the cow, then their head goes in and their shoulders catch it and it gets forced shut that way..... doesn't always work right. This one you can catch them as tight as you need to... works for all sizes too except out big bulls can't get through it to go out. So we try to not have to do much with them... except that there is a side gate that we can open and let them out so they don't have to continue walking forward. Their necks are too big to catch anyway... but we can get them in it to put on spray or something. If the vet needs to do any work then we shoot them with a tranq, and do it outside the chute, so they don't get down and get stuck.

 

[farmerjan]

Your ground looks real dry. Have you had a killing frost? We are still so green with the rain and only a light frost so far. Maybe this coming few days, nights are supposed to get down in the upper 30's.

 

[Grant]

That’s the good thing about the mini in everyone. They are smaller to work and will go through easily. Really hoping I dont have to catch too much with the horns it’s tricky. Plan is to put them in, shut the gate, shots, pour on etc and release. Nice to have for castration, and anything you do need to immobilize for though.

 

[Grant]

No frost but we are incredibly dry. My pond is dry. We’ve only had 2.5 inches of rain since July 4th, and over an inch of that was 2 days ago. Hoping for some rain and grass growth or it’s going to be a long winter. If we get some rain we can get cool season grasses to grow into December.

 

[Bruce]

Wow, that is a serious drought.