Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

All those "worries, concerns, must do considerations" certainly do tire you mentally, then physically. Esp with the lack of calm, deep sleep! Of course we also forget to eat what/when we should 🥴🙄. Add some crappy weather -- bingo!

 

[farmerjan]

P's me off about her. And him, with his mopey love stricken attitude. That calf didn't have to die. This is on them...

agree totally...

 

[farmerjan]

Fed the 2 bottle calves... good warm milk in stomach, with the temps dropping this eve. Already down to 43... forecast is for LOW 30's . Rest of the cows are grazing... one is showing signs of coming in heat... fooling with another one... the one should be coming in heat... but the other is supposed to be bred and due here pretty soon... if she lost it then she needs to go.. but probably won't happen since he is down in cow #'s.... she will probably get another chance. Not my cow.

Well, they are back.... just called me, cows were out of the back field at Doug's farm...got into the hayfield... and he wanted to know if I knew how many were back there... they got 17 back in... told him clipboard was at doug's and I really didn't know off hand... 15-20 maybe... he moved some around and I did not make up a new sheet for that field I don't think... because they are supposed to come back in and the calves taken off since we have finally gotten the steers all sold... needed a place to put them... they are back there checking to see if any are still out loose in the hayfield... I am not going up there to help.

I am going in to take a shower and probably quit for the night. Shoulder is still aching, and still have that pain down my right thigh and leg to below the knee... still think something in my adjustment at the chiropractor went too far... thought for the first couple days it was just getting accustomed to the adjustment, then got so busy with work and all, all last week... new appt is this coming Thursday so I will just wait now...

I did my cow catching the other morning, by myself... he can deal with it this evening...

 

[Ridgetop]

I am not going up there to help.

Good!!!

I am going in to take a shower and probably quit for the night.

You need to relax, they can take care of things.

still have that pain down my right thigh and leg to below the knee

Sciatica?

 

[SageHill]

He was in TN with her... won't tell me that... but he was... so definitely nothing for me..

<cough> <gasp> they ...... weren't going to look/buy a house there ..... <cough> <gasp>
If it was Vegas I'd say something else.

 

[Mini Horses]

Sciatica -- my thoughts, too.

Agree -- do not go help!! They can do it. 😐 Relax!
Have some hot coco with amaretto. 👍😉

 

[farmerjan]

<cough> <gasp> they ...... weren't going to look/buy a house there ..... <cough> <gasp>
If it was Vegas I'd say something else.

He won't leave this area with all the property he owns... no he told me that he had "won a trip" back awhile ago and had to take it in April... probably one of those time share BS crap... or who knows... it was such a big secret... so whatever...
She does not want to get married... and he can't seem to accept that... so if he is going to do something that stupid.... they had better go off and do it, because I will not celebrate that sort of thing... and I told him that... that is when he told me to not make him make a choice between me and her...
I am the one that is looking at other property.....

 

[farmerjan]

Got a text that he thinks that was all of them... if not, they will be there tomorrow....

I'm done for the night...Have to feed the calves in the morning before that computer meeting... got to be here by 9:30 to get signed in...

 

[Baymule]

He’s back, big secret, big deal, big dummy.

Have a good computer meeting.

 

[farmerjan]

COLD temps this morning. 31 but it was sunny and no wind so warmed up to a comfortable 65.

Was a busy day and tomorrow will be busy too... Went to do bottle calves and there was another new calf... checked the clipboard this evening and 3 left to calve... but one I think calved and it must have been born dead as I never found it and she was due before these last 3... the other 2 are due in about a month... they were a little behind... So I am expecting 2 more calves up there...
Got home, did the meeting online... went to the barn about 12:30... DS had gotten the 2 bulls in. The cows that got out yesterday that they came home and found , were out because there was a gate open at the barn and they naturally walked out... went down the old RR bed road, out to the back and were in the hayfield... at least they didn't go down the driveway in the other direction and into the paved road... they are looking for grass like all the rest of the cows are wanting grass...
Anyway, he got them in the barn and since they were running a little behind with the bulls, he called them since we are only 10 min from the place they were going to do the semen testing... we did some sorting of these cows... the ones that had been checked open and their calves were put in one pen, the ones that were shorter bred and their calves in another pen... and there were 2 that needed their calves pulled off so they could go in the calving field as they were pushing 6 months bred...
Then he took the 2 bulls and got them checked. Seems that one of them has a loop of intestines that has descended into the scrotum sack... it has had a distorted shape... and therefore he is not fertile... the heat from the intestines against the testicles makes them too hot and kills the sperm... so semen quality is 0.... So that is why all those cows were open.... Anyway... the other bull is good... then he called and said that they could do more if we could get a couple more in the alley way there and he could back up and load them... so GF and I, had been sorting the cows around in the barn to make sure the right calves were with the right cows... so we went out and walked 3 more bulls out of the field into the alley, he got back with the other 2 bulls, and unloaded them at the barn, came down the end of the driveway and backed to the alley between the fields and we walked the 3 bulls up and he and one of the guys that came with him, loaded them and took them back to the farm where they were testing them... All 3 of them test good. So there are only 2 left to test which will get done Wed... GF is supposed to come and help me take them to the vet's office where he made the appt since he is supposed to go back to work on Wed... that means we can cancel the 2nd appt for the following Monday which suits me just fine....
She had to leave to go get her daughter at school so I went and moved the one "bad" bull into the small pen in the barn to get him out of the way, brought in 2 calves he had kicked out in the field earlier to go with their momma's... went into each pen and got them all written down so I know who was going where and to make sure everything matched...

So after he brought back the 3 bulls and put them back out in the bull field... then let the cows that are getting checked tomorrow, out of their field into the field across from the barn lot field, and they went to town eating the grass... came to the barn, we loaded the 8 cows and 7 calves (one we weaned the calf off as she needs a rest as she is getting a little older and she is a good cow) to the one pasture... went up and cleaned out the water trough good and let them out to eat the grass... Our cool season pasture grasses have grown quite a bit...
Came back to the barn... I had to go drop off my samples, and he got the cows out of the grass and into the other lot just below the barn with a couple of buckets of feed.... so they are right there in the lot below the barn, to easily get them in tomorrow morning... Then took the 2 cows that are 6 months and put them in the "calving field"... let their 2 calves out with the other weaned calves since they are accustomed to that field and are eating silage and all real good so will wean off with no problems... then loaded the "good bull" from the first semen test...in the front of the trailer since it is the smaller section, and the 5 cows that are short bred and their 5 calves to put them out to pasture for the time being... and the calves to come off in July for the cows to get 2 months off to calve in early Sept... and he was taking them down to the other farm near gf house... and the 8 there with their brand new calves were going from that farm back up with the 13 he moved out to the big pasture last week... Trying to keep all the cows with the same age calves together and not have all different sizes at the same place....plus all these cows are open because of just having calves, so should get pregnant pretty fast with being out on new, good spring grass... when we put bull in for breeding in mid-late May.... maybe he will do a better job this year of pulling the calves off the cows that are due to calve in the fall...there will probably be a few from the preg check tomorrow that can go down there with that group... take advantage of the grass for the calves to grow a bit, and the cows to have good grass... and then pull the calves around the 4th of July so the cows can rest and go dry and calve again in the fall... plus, if it starts to get dry, pulling the calves to feed at the barn would take some pressure off the pastures, and the dry cows won't need near as much to eat...
Also getting them off the fields at the barn will let them grow back up, so the calves will have grass to come back to...

It is playing "musical chairs" with moving them to different pastures... but might finally get them grouped better this year and easier to go get a whole group of the same age calves off the cows... so the cows do not calve with older calves still nursing them....

The biggest concern now is that this bull with the problem was with another group of cows at the farm.... they might all be open... which will be pretty bad... but unless they are real old or something... it won't be their fault... and they will get put back with a bull in 6 weeks to breed for calves in the following spring... lose 6 months with them... trying not to look for the worst case, but planning for it in case...
So we will have 2 more groups to preg check, after the group tomorrow...... the group that was with this damaged bull... and the group "behind" my house.... will try to get that done in the next 2 weeks... will talk to vet tomorrow to see when he is going to be back down this way for a herd check at one of the dairies like we normally do...

Time for me to go to bed so I can get up to go to the barn about 7.... I will feed bottle calves after the preg check as that should only take an hour or so... and he can see about what we want to move around where and get them sorted out.... get some more moved out to some grass... out of the barn area... make room for the next bunch...
It is harder in one way to do groups like this instead of a big marathon... but with moving them around and all, this works better because then I can make sure of who gets moved where and I know where each group was and who they were bred to...

That bull is going to get sold probably tomorrow at the local sale... and if there are any cows that are open and have any other strikes against them... they will go also. AND, the "pet bull, Roscoe" is also going to get sold... going to hang onto him for a little bit in case of an emergency.... he is down in the bull field and too much trouble to get in to take tomorrow... but there is no reason to keep the "bad bull" at this point...a ride 20 miles is worth it to get him gone before something happens, and he drops dead or something. He will go for slaughter anyway...

Already got a shower and ate a bit so going to bed...