# Wildrosebeef - Armchair Cattlewoman's BYH Journal



## WildRoseBeef (Jan 31, 2012)

*1.    What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?*
I live in the "Texas state" of Canada, which is Alberta, also known as the Sunshine Province, or Wild Rose Country as is put on the license plates.  The province well-known for being home to cowboys, cowgirls and oil. I prefer to be known as the province from the former than the latter.

Our climate is definitely not mild, nor is it extreme like that in Nevada or the Mojave desert.  Summers are warm, sometimes hot and quite often with some nasty thunderstorms rolling through, but not so much that grass cannot grow enough to raise cattle on or barley, canola, oats, wheat and triticale cannot be planted and grown.  Winters, on the other hand, are often frigid with it not being uncommon to seeing cold snaps going lower than -20 C. Lately though, thanks to global warming, we've been seeing warmer winters than normal.  Oh, and can't forget the snow, because we get that too.  Last winter we got over 4 feet of snow.  This year it's only been a foot or two.  And it's only the end of January...

*2.    How many people are in your family? Marital status?*
I'm single, no boyfriend or anything, and quite happy that way.  No, I'm not queer or lesbian or any of those terms, still like boys, I just choose to be a spinster just because I can.

My family comprises of my mom, my brother, his wife and three daughters.  My brother lives around 400 miles south of where me and mom live, but always a phone-call away.

*3.    How would you define your farm?*
That's a hard question.  At the moment it's rented to a neighbor who plants silage corn, wheat or canola, and runs a few dairy cattle of variable types (cows and bull calves, heifers) from spring to autumn to keep the grass down.  Not something that I like to see, but something I have to live with until I can take over and put some beef cattle on and convert the cropland back to pasture/hayland.  We've had no choice to rent it out because my dad passed away so suddenly like he did, and Mom wasn't exactly farming-inclined enough to keep it going, and since I was still in school it made it impossible for me to suddenly up and quit and take over.  So difficult choices had to be made, and so far it's been for the better.  Not for me though, but that's another story.

Before the land was rented out though, we had what was called a mixed farm: we raise our own hay and silage, plant barley and canola for cash crops, and buy, feed/raise and sell commercial stocker steers (some of you call them "feeders.")  Loved the farm life around then, but wanted more, and was trying to convince Dad little by little to try to go low-cost cow-calf before he passed on.  I haven't given up on the goal though even after he died and much has changed.  I've been told by many that there's not very many people like me left around. And I take that as a compliment, especially at my age (I'm around 25 years old). 

*4.    What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?*
Spare time? What's that?   Kidding.  I'd be on the computer, either in BYH forums or CattleToday forums or WikiAnswers or on a blog that I've been leaving lately talking about my latest improvements around the farm (someone called it a ranch one time LOL) and rants and all that. I'm already on the computer too much already, been like that since I haven't had a job for a while, but hopefully that will change soon once I get a driver's license.

*5.    Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?*
Nope, nope and nope. Do I want to? Well it depends if I need it or not.  

*6.    Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet?*
God, oh how I wish!!  I would love to learn how to, I've known and seen Dad do it, read about it and learned about it, but never tried it.  I'd be doing steel welding probably stick-welding, as that's the only welding technique that I'm familiar with that I've seen Dad use.  He also has an Oxy-Acet type torch for cutting steel, and I've helped him plenty with that when working on getting the grain bins on the hopper bottoms.  As a matter of fact we still have the old welder in the quonset, and the Oxy-Acet torch it's a piece of machinery that I'd probably love to practice on.  Not sure about the Oxy-Acet tanks though, I'd have to ask about that.

*7.    Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?*
That's a hard question. There were a lot of things that inspired me to want to become a farmer/rancher (not that I'm one right now, but I'm getting there).  I think I inspired myself, and my dad just helped fuel that fire by encouraging me to help him with the various chores and jobs that needed to be done on the family farm.  He wouldn't hesitate to ask me to help him with some mechanical stuff and teach me a few tips and tricks, and he certainly didn't prevent me from hanging out with the steers we had.  Nor did he stop me from learning about everything to do with livestock and agriculture, and seemed to encourage me to help him with the feeding and processing (vaccinating and the like) the steers either.  

But I think one of the biggest inspirations for me was my introduction into animal agriculture through the Animal Science program at university that I attended.  One course I had to attend to as a part of my program had various field trips we went on to various farms and ranches.  I think the one trip that inspired me to realize that dream of getting back into farming was when we went to a farm were a woman was the   I realized that I can actually BE a farmer, that it wasn't something just for the menfolks to get into.  Maybe the biggest thing was meeting a woman who had graduated with an Animal Science major and went into raising bison.  BISON I tell you!  I admired her and commended her for being one to go back to her roots and become an actual producer, not a veterinarian or scientist or any of those types of careers that don't involve raising your own livestock.  From then on, on the bus home, I realized that I CAN become a producer, that there's nothing wrong with a woman being responsible for all farm practices including actively raising livestock instead of just being responsible for the paperwork.  I had also read some forum posts from other producers who were women and responsible for all the operations of the farm, some with their hubbies doing only a little, others just doing the work themselves no hubbies involved.   I thought jeeze, if they can do that so can I!!

*8     Is it a hobby or an occupation?*
This question doesn't really apply since I don't actively farm, but when I do get into it, it will be a bit of both.  A hobby because it's something I enjoy doing, and an occupation because I'm raising animals in order to get them to work for me and make money for me, not something to put a lot of money into and get little out of it except emotional satisfaction. 

*9.    In what areas are you knowledgeable and in what areas would you like to learn more?*
In all honesty, I am knowledgeable in nothing and am learning everything.  I'm still learning as I read more experiences and such from other producers and talk with other people. But I am quite knowledgeable in pasture and range production, reproduction, genetics, nutrition and behaviour, and am still learning lots more in animal health, weaning, calving, breeding, pasture and range management, nutrition, genetics, behaviour and everything else that has everything to do with raising cattle.  

(I'd love to learn about raising goats too.  )

*10.  In what types of farming will you never choose to do?*
Cropping.  There's just too much money being spent on repairing and maintaining machinery, fertilizers, fuel and time spent to prep the fields every year for the next crop.  I've seen it, been through it and just don't want to get in it at all.  I mean it's fine if I have a few pieces of machinery for putting up my own hay, but I'm not going to get back in to what my Dad left behind. 

I also refuse to raise cattle in a feedlot-type environment.  It's just not healthy for them, for the environment, or anything else for that matter. I certainly cannot raise cattle in a corral that is 50% swamp.  It should be in natural wetland riparian habitat, not a bloody mud-hole.

*11.   Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?*
If I can, absolutely. Actually that's part of my plans, to try to direct-sale a few home-grown and -raised steers for profit and just to see what people think of them.  If I can and am willing to raise cattle in such a way that is natural, good for the environment but also makes great-quality beef, then I'll definitely find some way to get it done!

*12.   Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?*
In the days of the open range and where wild mustangs and other wildlife were free to roam with no fences to stop them. In that world, I'm a cowgirl who loves raising and training horses and who's not afraid of anything except losing those family and friends she loves and has grown to love the most.

*13.   Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?*
I know can drive a tractor, no doubt, but would love to learn to drive a semi.  Actually the first vehicle that I ever started learning to drive on was the old grain truck which had a manual-shift on it.  Right now as I write this I just have my Learner's Permit, and have to get my GDL Class 5 license before I get my Class 5 and/or a Class 1 trucker's license like my dad had.

*14.   Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?*
I do, I cross-stitch, but I don't make "useful" items like wood working and such.  I don't know if I'd want to teach them, that's something that would have to be decided if someone wants to learn how to do what I do.

*15.   Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?*
Yes I can. No I don't have any....yet lol.

*16.   Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood?*
Nope, heck I don't even know what a lathe is!

*17.   Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?*
I do, yes.  I (or rather Mom and me) like to grow tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, beans, beets, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, onions, etc.  Last year we had a VERY successful tomato crop due to some pruning practices that I read about and tried on our tomato plants. We got twice as much tomatoes that year than we've gotten any other year!! 

*18.   Do you fish? Bait or explosives?*
No I don't fish.  Love canoe trips though!

*19.   How much space/land do you have or rent? City farm? Country?*
Oh we're country all right. We, or rather my Mom, owns 360 acres (two quarter sections) of farm land. 

*20.   Are you a Novice, Technician, degreed?*
None of the above lol.  I have four years of Bachelor of Agriculture in Animal Science under my belt, but no official degree.  I'm no novice either, but I wouldn't consider myself a veteran.  Technician? Mmm, nope.

*21.   What is your farm specialty? Or what one would you like to learn?*
I am planning on the "farm specialty" being a low-cost cow-calf or cow-yearling producer with no inputs of grain and implementing rotational grazing and winter grazing into the operation. 

*22.   If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take?*
I really don't know, I've been in a degree program that I've been happy to take where I've been free to pick whatever courses I like as long as they stay in the curriculum. I haven't been able to finish my degree and still have a handful of courses I really want to take but haven't been able to due to gallstone surgery and a dip in finances from paying off student loans and the like.

*23.   Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet?*
No.

*24.   Are you interested in herbal animal medicine?*
I've heard of it, but not enough to be interested in it.

*25.   If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?*
Near or in the Rocky Mountains.  If I could I'd probably buy a ranch somewhere in the foothills where I can look out the window every morning and see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. And that would still be here in Alberta. 

*26.    Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?*
Nope, we rely on natural gas and conventional electricity for heating and cooking.

*27.    What would your ideal super hero/villain be?*
Someone who can gentle and tame a wild or abused horse and loves to make others laugh, but not one to take crap from anyone and be capable of kick someone's arse in a fight, be it a gun-fight, sword-fight, martial-arts fight or outright brawl.  She'd also be a darn good hunter (and a great shot), cowgirl, and horsewoman, capable of doing the same jobs (on a ranch of course) that any man or good cowboy can do. 

*28.    Are your family or friends also interested in animals?*
Yes.  But I guess you can say that I'm the one that's more interested in it than they are.

*29.    Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?*
I do like to cook, but let Mom do most of the cooking.   I am interested in wholesome and natural foods.  I've never tasted raw milk, but love home-grown beef and farm-fresh eggs, AND home-grown fruits and vegetables!  There's no doubt in my mind that food that comes off the farm is soooooo much better than the stuff that we get from the grocery store.  

*30.   What was your best animal experience? Worst?*
I have a few best animal experiences.   One was when I had gone to an auction with mom and dad a few years ago and there were a few horses in the back pens that I noticed some people were watching.  I went up to the gate of the corral just to relax, get away from the stress of the auction and watch the horses.  There were a couple black horses that I think were Morgans and one or two Quarter horses, one which came up to the fence to get a little bite of grass and the other (a mare or 2-year old filly) that was a bit head-shy who also ate some grass out of my hand but wouldn't let me pet her head.  She let me stroke her neck though, and didn't object to it.  But there was an old Arab mare that I really liked and actually made friends with.  She had come up to me and sniffed my hand, then let me stroke her cheek, forehead, ears, muzzle and neck up to the withers.  She must've really liked my touch because she moved a little closer when I stopped petting her and had that look that she wanted me to continue.  I don't know how long I stood there with her (must've been over 10 minutes or so), but she certainly loved me being there giving her a bit of attention.  Even when I didn't pet her and walked away a little ways to see where mom and dad were, she stood still at the gate watching me, and, though she didn't make a sound, seemed to look forward to me coming back to her company. God I could just stand there for hours I was so relaxed (so was she!!) and completely sent to a different world.  I impressed Dad by pointing out that that "wart" on the inside of her leg was simply a type of gland (called a chestnut) that all horses have naturally. 

The two next best ones was when I had gone on a field trip to the Lakeland College farm in Vermillion, Alberta with a bunch of students from my An Sci 200 class. And this was before the auction trip above.  First time I ever helped calve out a cow (let alone witness a cow giving birth!!) was probably the highlight of the trip for me.  I was actually in there helping pull the calf out, cleaning out its ears (to get it shaking its head and moving) and getting it started breathing for the first time.  Cow was a Simmental (probably a first-calver), and the calf likely a Simmi-RA cross.  Second time I helped with calving was my first-day-on-the-job working for the vet, took me out with another employee to do a C-section on a heifer.  It was really neat to watch, and like the time at Lakeland, I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty and clean off the calf (taking off the birth membranes, getting it breathing, etc.)  I surprised myself both times: heck I'd probably make a good mid-wife LOL!!

The next highlight of the trip was when we were practicing bandaging up horse's hooves and legs.  We were split up into groups of two and I was the odd one out, but I didn't care. I got to wrap the legs of a black horse (probably mare, not sure though as it was over 5 years ago when I went on the trip) who probably stood around 13 hh at the shoulder (well, enough that a short woman like me [I'm a little over 5 feet tall] could see over).  Horse was calm as ever, and I was really quick to learn how to position the front and back legs of the horse just by watching one of the instructors once.  Once we were done I had enough time to stand with her and just simply BE there with her: stroking her sides, patting her neck, not saying a word, just enjoying her presence.  After listening to her cecum with the stethoscope the college tech that was one of the instructors there asked me if I was done and that.  I found myself asking if I could lead the horse out to the paddock where she had come from, and the tech said of course, handed me the lead and I lead out that little mare as easy as you please.  She ( the tech) asked me if I have any horses at  all and I said no. Of course she had to ask if I was from the farm or city and I said farm, but no horses, just cattle.  She was pretty surprised at that (me having no horses), since she seen that I was a natural and completely relaxed handling that black horse like that.  You could probably agree that most people who've never been around such animals wouldn't be so calm and relaxed as I was at that time.     

I really don't know what it is about me being like that around animals that are twice or ten times as big and strong as you and yet still can maintain such peace and calm that you are not nervous around them at all.  Maybe it's all to do with how I was raised, me being raised around animals that weighed more and were much stronger than me, but I never was around horses during that time either.  It's a complete mystery to me, now that I think of it, how I'm able to just be like that around large animals that behave and act a bit different than the bovids I've been so used to.

I've had bad experiences with horses too, but not that I'd call being the worst.  I call them learning experiences, ones which I will keep in my memory bank and learn from the next time I encounter a similar problem.

Well my worst experiences were two fold: Once, when I was around 2 or 3 years old I got charged at by a Charolais bull that broke out of his little corral and scared the living daylights out of me.  He turned me into a blood-curdling screaming banshee that dashed to the house when he literally broke out of his enclosure.  I've never liked bulls since.

Second worst experience was when my uncle's dog bit me in the face.  I was just going to be starting Grade 1 (was around 4 or 5 or 6 at the time) in a couple months and had to get 30 stitches put in my mouth, corner of my mouth, along the side of my face and in my hair.  Dog was a bit of a mean SOB to begin with, he bit my youngest cousin in the back and broke the skin, but not enough to cause bleeding.  I suppose the dog didn't like kids, and was aggressive around them, but enough that he struck without warning, damn thing.   

It hasn't stopped me from loving dogs though.  I love the medium to large-type dogs, like German Shepherds, labradors, st. bernards, cattle dogs, and the like.  (Uncle's dog that bit me was actually a GSD cross). Heck I made best friends with my brother and his then-girlfriend (not wife)'s yellow lab Maggie, so much so that she let me do things with her that my brother had warned me she'd growl about, like cleaning her feet.  She'd growl at him when he'd try cleaning her feet, but not me.  First time I met her  she was real shy about my presence, but I spent a lot of time with her and gained her trust and respect.  Enough so that the next time she seen or caught wind of me she came RUNNING for me!   Loved that dog, but she's gone now. I also made friends with the two dogs at the vet clinic I worked at, and other dogs of some other families that mom and dad and I went to visit.  I even pretty well made pals with a Rottweiler (female) that was in a homeopathic clinic for some therapy after an accident of some sort.  She was calm as ever, and when I first came in contact with her (via touch of course) she stayed beside me throughout the rest of the clinic's tour.  Ah, I love dogs. Someday I'll get me a dog of my own. 

*31.    Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?*
No.  I can't say that I can't shoot though, and am knowledgeable enough to understand about hunting and shooting animals for food.  

*32.    What skills do you have that help you be more a self sufficient farm?*
Learning skills, an ability to keep an open mind and embrace different possibilities, and not being afraid to experiment. 

*33.    Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?*
No, because we don't have any animals that we can process into meat.  We do preserve though, I love home-made pickles, jam and jelly.

*34.   Do you use alternative energy sources on your farm? Would you like to?*
No. Yes.  Solar energy is something that would be neat to try, though I've heard the start-up costs are a bit expensive.  Probably the same with wind-energy.  But besides the expenses, it's probably worth it over the long-haul.

*35    What is on your to do list?*
Are you talking short-term or long-term?  Long term is to get a driver's license, a good job, and enough money in the bank to be able to start running cattle.

Short-term: right now is to finish this questionnaire then go to bed.  It's 11:47 pm MST as I write this. 

*36.   Have you ever lived completely off what you produce? Would you like to?*
Not entirely, no.  I would be neat to try, to go completely self-sufficient.

*37.   In what do you trust?*
My common sense and logic, and ability to figure things out myself.  Yes, I am independent, and would rather be my own boss than someone else's employee.  Sometimes there's not much choice in that, especially when it comes to trying to make some money without having to worry about all the extra responsibilities that comes with being an employer.  But then again...

*38.  Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?*
Oh yeah, I try and make an effort of it if I know I can fix it myself or if I'm confident enough to learn how to fix it.  Sometimes though, you have to hand it to the professionals to get it done right.

*39.  Has the experience with animals changed your attitude or habits?*
That's kind of a hard question to answer, since I've been around animals all my life and have learned and am constantly learning about them and about me. I don't know how this question applies to me because I've never not been away from animals, I've always had to do certain things a certain time of day or something and have always had this attitude that life's nothing without animals.  I don't know of a "better" life without them, to be honest.  I mean I have been away from them for extended periods of time before, but during those times I always miss them when I'm not busy with other things and have time to think.


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## Squirrelgirl88 (Jan 31, 2012)

:bun


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## WildRoseBeef (Jan 31, 2012)

Squirrelgirl88 said:
			
		

> :bun


LOL thanks, been around here for quite a while just never thought I'd be "qualified" to start a journal on here.


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## SmallFarmGirl (Jan 31, 2012)

Nice! I'll be reading!!!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Jan 31, 2012)

Well, I know that one shouldn't be counting their chickens before they hatch, but I've got a job lined up at the local feed mill, and have been asked to go in for an interview tomorrow.  I sent my resume in like two or three days ago and suddenly got called in for an interview sooner than I expected.  

Basically it's a job that entails working with livestock feed of various types, and for all types of livestock, having to do inventory, work with feed formulation software, working with people and consulting and answer questions about different feeds, and stuff like that.  They don't want just anybody from "off the street," but someone who has a BSc in Agriculture or a livestock production equivalent diploma, and also preferably someone who lives or can relocate to that area.  Well it just so happens (coincidence??) that I have the qualifications that they're looking for and have the interest in taking the job, not to mention the fact that I live in the area already (have since before I was born) AND have the personal experience, not just book-work, for livestock production and that.  So, I was thrilled to bits when I got the call today to come in for an interview.

I've been looking for a job quite a long time that goes with the grain that I'm interested in: Agriculture and livestock production.  I've been browsing the advertisements in the Western Producer (a Western Canadian agricultural newspaper) and most of the adverts call for farm workers, truckers, generally people that already hold experience with machinery and has a valid driver's license. I'm working on getting a driver's license (have already booked for a road test in a few weeks), so I don't yet qualify for such a job.  But, that doesn't stop me from looking for a job that still goes into my field of interest.  I've been wanting one that's local that I don't have to travel far to or, since I still have to rely on Mom on being my chauffeur, have her to travel for such a long ways. And I really do not care for the more "glamourous" jobs like working at a bank, a lawyer's office, accounting office, etc. I love a job where I can wear blue jeans and get my hands dirty whenever needed, and a job that involves working with livestock directly or indirectly. And FINALLY I found one.   

And for the feed mill itself, they've had this job advertised from January 13 and had it extended until the end of March, and had it going out to anyone, likely in Western Canada, that was interested AND had the qualifications to work at such a job.  Little did they expect or know that they already had someone literally under their noses with these qualifications, and obviously, since they contacted me so soon, that they are pretty desperate for someone to fill in the position. 

Well I am just tickled and thrilled to bits.  Cross my fingers and toes that the interview is successful and I get hired soon.


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## elevan (Jan 31, 2012)

Good luck on your job interview.




> (I'd love to learn about raising goats too.   )


Haha!  She wants to have GAS too!


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## WildRoseBeef (Jan 31, 2012)

GAS?? Is that short for "Goat Addiction Syndrome"?  I might just get it, but I think I'm more into BAD (Bovine Addiction Disease)  than GAS.


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## elevan (Jan 31, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> GAS?? Is that short for "Goat Addiction Syndrome"?  I might just get it, but I think I'm more into BAD (Bovine Addiction Disease)  than GAS.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

Boy if I get goats and cows I'll be having BAD GAS.


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## 77Herford (Feb 1, 2012)

Never would of pegged you as mid twenties...


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## Royd Wood (Feb 1, 2012)

Good luck with your interview - how did it go - Never mind the package and benefits - are you on for future free feed


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## RamblingCowgirl (Feb 1, 2012)

Gosh I can't even think of having cattle right now. Maybe my FIL to be would let me run a 2-3 cows with his small bunch. I just don't have the land for it yet.

You put me in mind of two of my close friends, both in their early-mid 20s, with big plans for ranching. I must say the three of us faver horses over cattle, and had solo plans until these past few years when we met each other, and the loves of our lives {my besties are dating/merring my bros  } But none of us have ever fell into place with other women our age. SaVannah is the cattle wrangler & Sr horse trainer even though she is the youngist, Latrisha is the master welder and maybe the most mull headed of the bunch, and I'm the old lady at heart who can't learn enough about genetics. We are all purdy much just in the planing stages like your self.

Hope you get that job... but my motto is if it didn't work out there must be something better headed you way


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

Well the interview went pretty well, though I was pretty close to being a nervous wreck when I went in.  I had the three top managers ask me various questions on experiences, strengths and weaknesses, what skills I have that could be appropriate for the job, what I'd do if faced with a uncomfortable situation or a situation where a client was mad about something, and those sort of things.  All I could do was answer as best as I could and as truthful as possible without BS'ing anything.  They were interested in what I studied at university, things I was involved with at the vet clinic, and what I did on the family farm. One question that stood out for me was when they asked why I was so interested in agriculture or what motivated me to be in agriculture, and I said that it was kind of hard to put into words: basically I guess it was more because it was in my blood more than anything.  My great-grandparents farmed (and great-great and great-great-great grandparents), my grandparents farmed and so did my parents, not to mention that Dad had always encouraged me to be involved in agriculture because he got me to help him with the various chores and duties that went on the farm.  I've always loved agriculture, I said, it's just something that I love doing.   As an answer to another question I had said I needed a job to get some finances for not only potentially going back to school, but because I want to get back into raising cattle and need a job to help with the expenses involved. 

I couldn't go in with stuff written out because I had to think on my feet and answer according to what came at the top of my head.  I came out thinking that maybe they might find someone better than me but after talking with Mom about it soon after she says it sounded like I had a good interview.  

I also learned from the interview that it was a job that primarily entails going over feed formulations, entering feed formation data into least-cost feed formulation software and talking with people about various new feeds that would be better for livestock. 

So now it's a wait-and-see thing to see if I get a call or not.  They said they're doing interviews this week and next, so it's possible I may (or may not) get a call next week or the week after.

Whew, what a busy last few days!  Now I can sit and relax a bit tonight.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

RamblingCowgirl said:
			
		

> Gosh I can't even think of having cattle right now. Maybe my FIL to be would let me run a 2-3 cows with his small bunch. I just don't have the land for it yet.
> 
> You put me in mind of two of my close friends, both in their early-mid 20s, with big plans for ranching. I must say the three of us faver horses over cattle, and had solo plans until these past few years when we met each other, and the loves of our lives {my besties are dating/merring my bros  } But none of us have ever fell into place with other women our age. SaVannah is the cattle wrangler & Sr horse trainer even though she is the youngist, Latrisha is the master welder and maybe the most mull headed of the bunch, and I'm the old lady at heart who can't learn enough about genetics. We are all purdy much just in the planing stages like your self.


Well I guess that's a first for you.   I've been told a plenty that there's not very many people like me with my background and interests left where I live anymore.  Most've either gone south or to the cities instead of toughing it out up here where there doesn't seem to be very many people raising cattle (except dairy cattle) up where I am: most've gone into crops.  Me I can't see how getting into crops would justify the costs involved with farming, especially since there's the options of getting more into low-cost type operations into the high-cost conventional way of doing things.



> Hope you get that job... but my motto is if it didn't work out there must be something better headed you way


Thanks, if it doesn't go through and they do find someone better than me, I may have to start looking outside of the county of my home town and look somewhere's else for possibly a ranching or equivalent job.  I wouldn't mind applying for a job at an equine facility, since I've found out from past experiences that I ain't skeerd of horses.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

77Herford said:
			
		

> Never would of pegged you as mid twenties...


  Why do you say that? Lemme guess...my posts on the cattle part of the forum makes me seem like I'm twice the age I am now. Right?


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## elevan (Feb 1, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> 77Herford said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well...I thought you were in your 50s...


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> WildRoseBeef said:
> 
> 
> 
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   Well I got you folks good!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 1, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> WildRoseBeef said:
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I did too.... Boy I'm BAAAAAAD at guessing ages. (get the goat pun)Wonder what people think of everyone's ages.


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 1, 2012)

Em, your 30-40????


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> Em, your 30-40????


  Nope, too .  I didn't jest when I said I was 25, 'cause that's what I am.  Here's a pic of me to get a gist of my actual age:







Don't I look toasty warm?


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 1, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> SmallFarmGirl said:
> 
> 
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No, not you. Your cute though!!!! Emily Levan or Elevan 
Boy you fooled me. Thought you were 50-60


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## RamblingCowgirl (Feb 2, 2012)

Thats funny about the whole age thing. I'm never quick to guess on stuff like that as people are always getting my age wrong...

If you ever should take on a horse job really do your home work. I think horse people are the best & worst bosses ever. But is sounds like you are just the sort of person they would be looking for at the feed mill.


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## elevan (Feb 2, 2012)

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> Em, your 30-40????


34


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 2, 2012)

I'll keep that in mind, RC, thanks. 

Well, this morning I open up the quonset door and my two cats shot out like a couple of bullets LOL, they wanted to be outside pretty bad today.  And I don't blame them, it's like only -3 outside and calm.  Spider's always the first one out, then Muffy (also called Button).  So I figger I'll keep them outside for most of the day and put them back in in an hour or two.

Fed the birdies today too.  We got quite a number of bird species that come around to the feeders, they love the sunflower seed chopped corn and millet mix we get from Peavey Mart.  I've taken pictures of them, but I'll just give a general list of the birds we get at the feeders:

Boreal Black-capped Chickadees 
Red Polls
Pine Grosbeaks
Hairy Woodpecker
Nuthatch

It gets to be pretty fun watching them.  We get I think around two dozen Red Polls coming to the feeder at one time (I've seen the tray hold around 9 to 10), and about a dozen chickadees, and at least half a dozen of those lovely pine grosbeaks: three males and I think around four or five females. The woodpecker comes around on occasion, and the same with the nuthatches.  Last year we had a couple pair of nuthatches hang around, and I see them more often than the woodpeckers.  We have four bird feeders and a suit cage set out for them to eat from, and it seems like there's never enough room for them all because some birds get a little greedy.  The chickadees are smart enough to fly in, grab a seed (preferably a sunflower seed), fly to the pine tree branches, then hold the seed in their claws and peck away at it to get at the tasty middle part.  The red polls, on the other hand, they like to sit at or in the feeder, toss out some seed on the ground and eat the rest.  I was out with my DSLR camera one day and had one (a little female) land right on top of my lens while I was holding the camera up.    She stood there for just a second or two and then flew off.  

But those grosbeaks, man they're gorgeous!  I could get within a couple feet of one of the males no problem and snap pictures of him, and even got some good ones that I'll have to post on here soon.  I have a telephoto lens that can take quite the close-ups of the birds from over a few feet away, and can get quite the shots.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 2, 2012)

This is what the male Pine Grosbeak looks like:







I'll have to get some pics of the females, 'cause they're just as pretty as the males.


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## 77Herford (Feb 2, 2012)

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> WildRoseBeef said:
> 
> 
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12


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## elevan (Feb 2, 2012)

77 - are you suggesting that Wildrosebeef is 12 or me???


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## 77Herford (Feb 2, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> 77 - are you suggesting that Wildrosebeef is 12 or me???


SmallFarmGirls picture....don't worry your waaaay older.


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## elevan (Feb 2, 2012)




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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 2, 2012)

Nice pic of the bird!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 2, 2012)

Nice pic of the bird!!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 2, 2012)

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> Nice pic of the bird!!!


Thanks.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 3, 2012)

Well today's certainly a nice day, same as yesterday.  But now I can't think of what to do today.  Must be the weather....

I was basically thinking of doing a little brainstorming and "beginning" planning for if/when I decide to raise cattle.  But sometimes it's a bit hard to know where to start.

I really don't know if I should start with commercial (mixed bred) cows or purebred and make them into commercial stock by simply not registering the calves.  However, I DO know I need to start small, with only a few good, solid cows and not a bunch of average or inferior animals. But see, the problem is this: I'm not working with only 8 or 10 acres.  I've got 360 bloody acres to work with here!!  Even if I take over the first half (the 160 acre home-quarter section) of the land we own, for the first few years or so, I'm still going to be left with a lot of land to be made into pasture and/or hay.  So that leaves me with two options: 

1. Raise stocker steers from spring to fall and graze them on pasture, or
2. Make and sell hay.



I know one thing: I'd have to be hiring someone or some people to be doing my hay for me, and I certainly can't be selling all the hay because then there'd be nothing left to feed my really huge herd of only 3 or 5 cows during the winter.  And would the cost of hiring someone to cut, rake and bale my hay be justified by the sale I make from it?  I know it depends on the price of hay during the time I sell it, but I've a feeling I'd probably barely break-even on it.  I might get some profit from selling stockers AND hay, but then I'd have to have a smaller stocker herd than what we'd normally have, or no stockers at all. Then again, if I utilize rotational grazing I may not.

Maybe I'm not thinking this through right, and I probably don't make any sense either.  Anyway, I remember some things I've been taught by other ranchers and cattle producers I've talked to:

- You can never have too much hay
- Buy low sell high (some others say the opposite lol)
- A cow often can look after herself better than we think we can look after her
- Work to be a cattle breeder, not a cow-multiplier.

And other things that I can't think of right now.  

The thing is is that I don't want to go back to what we had done with our stocker steers: purchasing in the fall, keeping overwinter in a sacrifice area and then pasturing them in the spring, summer and into fall, which is when we sold them.  The sacrifice area that they were in shouldn't have been a sacrifice area in the first place.  So what I'm thinking is to buy stockers and graze them on grass for a few months (four to five months) before selling them in the fall, and leaving the area until next spring.  Or, let the grass grow, make hay on it, and sell some and keep the rest for my cows.  Or both...since I won't be doing the continuous-grazing thing that we did with the past stocker steers we had (which resulted in one pasture being seriously overgrazed... ), and instead utilize rotational grazing.   I can see problems with haying since I'll be taking off a lot of nutrients and not putting any back in, but then again if I make a system so that I'm haying one time and grazing another or vice versa, I probably won't have that sort of problem.  I'll have to brain-storm on that later.

In the mean time in juggling summer stockers versus haying I'd be raising and building a cow-calf herd--a commercial one at that--that is one that takes very low to no inputs to raise.  I don't want cows that need to be supplemented all the time if they're on just grass in the summer and hay in the winter.  I'd try to keep most heifers as replacements, but of course can't be skimping out on any culling decisions if I get heifers that don't meet the requirements I'm looking for in the kind of cows I need.

The cows I need have to be the following:

- *Preferably not black* (can be exceptions though, especially with Galloways or Black Baldies)
- *Docile* (not complete pets, but enough that they're not going to freak out every time I come in the same enclosure as them)
- *Good mothering ability* (protective nature over calf [but not so protective that she'll act the same way towards me as with a neighbor's dog or coyote], accepts calf right away)
- *Average to good milking ability* (calf needs to be learning to eat and gain on grass to, not just milk)
- *Good fertility* (comes back into heat soon after calving, settles right away upon breeding)
- *Good to great forage convertibility* (have to be good converters on just grass and hay, because I ain't going to go out to buy grain for them)
- *Calving ease* (important: I can't have cows that are going to be going to be having trouble calving out 80 to 100 lb calves)
- *Good conformation* (also important, need to have good legs and feet, wide pelvic region, deep in the barrel, good udder, overall femininity)
- *Medium to small frame size* (I'm NOT going to raise cows that are over 1400 or 1500 lbs.  I'd rather have cows that are between 900 and 1200 lbs, at least a size that I can reach when preg-checking and AI'ing and not have to have a stool to access!!)

I know that a lot of what I've listed have to do with handling, nutrition, feed, environment, and good responsible management choices, but there's quite a number that are also genetic that I need to watch out and select for (or against).

This is where I get to have fun choosing breeds.  I'm not into Continental-type cattle (Limousin, Simmental, Maine Anjou, Charolais or Salers) because a) they're too darn big, b) they're often not the most docile of the bunch, c) they're quite often hard keepers (as far as feeding and calving is concerned), and d) I just don't really care for them.  Yeah they're nice to look at, but that's as far as I'll go. 

I could go to commercial mixed bred stock, but then there lies the problem: if I get commercial cows I don't know what's hidden in the wood pile, so to speak. I could end up being a hypocrite and raise cows that do have some Continental breeding in them which I may end up culling out if they're proving to be hard-keepers in my operation.  So I believe the best option is to purchase straight-bred or purebred cattle of either of the following breeds:

- Hereford
- Speckle Park
- Shorthorn
- Red Poll
- Galloway
- Red Angus

I won't go with Black Angus because then I'm being a hypocrite all over again, me with my CAB-bashing and general fact that Angus cattle aren't all that docile to begin with.  Which has merit, I'll say that, especially with talking with and reading various posts from various Angus producers from another forum I frequent. 

So that leaves me with...oh, I dunno, six breeds to choose from?   

Funny thing is all of these breeds have the potential to match the kind of cow I'm looking for. What matters the most in what influences my choices of what is best for me is:

a) Cost
b) Frequency and locality of breeders and breeds to my farm
c) How close these breeder's stock match to the kind of operation I'm wanting to run
d) What breed are most frequent and what are not to the area I'm in
c) Whether I want to be the odd-ball of the farming community or follow the norm

Well I know one thing: I'm certainly going to be a bit of an odd-ball in my neck of the woods with the kind of grazing and wintering practices I have in mind.   So now I'm thinking: Hey, why not take a risk and be the further odd ball by raising cattle that are not exactly "the norm" around here: Like oh, raising Speckle Parks for instance.   It'd be kinda fun to be the "farmer" that gets people rubber-neckin' at my farm and my animals. 

I'm not sure whether to go natural service or AI.  It wouldn't really cost much to take a course in AI training and certification, but the problem with that is that I'd have to be practicing quite a bit on other cows if I want to achieve at least 80% conception rate in my animals, preferably 100%.  I'd also have to get pretty familiar with equipment and practices involved in AIing.   There probably is an AI tech around here, but I'm not aware of any and would have to do quite a bit of digging to find any.  As for natural service, I don't have to do any extra practicing or training to get my cows bred, I just let the bull do his business.  But the down side is that I would only have a few cows to breed, not 20 or 50, at start-up, he takes extra feed and pasture, and has the potential to be wrecking pastures and fences, especially since there ARE other cow herds around less than half a mile away from my farm.  

Decisions, decisions, decisions.  I've been told by quite a few to just go AI, it's much easier, and since I don't care for bulls and the costs keeping such animals, it's probably better if I go AI instead of natural.

More thoughts on grazing and grazing practices later on.


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 3, 2012)

Personally I do breeding the natural way and like it that way the best. Everyone's different though and I hope you find the best way for you.


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## 77Herford (Feb 3, 2012)

There certainly is benefits in AI'ing, you can breed exactly who you want.  You could always rent a bull for breeding time and then don't have to deal with him the rest of the year.
For so few cows to start I would have to agree with you on not having a bull fulltime.

Those 6 Cattle options are good ones.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 3, 2012)

SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> Personally I do breeding the natural way and like it that way the best. Everyone's different though and I hope you find the best way for you.


Yes, I can understand that, but I'm breeding/raising cattle, not goats, and I don't think bucks are as hard on barbed wire or electric fences (breaking wires and that) or the pasture itself (in making bull pits) than a bull is.  And bucks aren't nearly as dangerous as a bull either!  Sure you'll get a few bruises if a buck gets a bit nasty with you, but you won't get trampled or crushed to death like with a bull.  It's those sort of things that I don't like when handling bulls, in addition to the extra feed and mineral that goes into keeping one.

Not to mention, like I said before, there are a quite a number of other neighbors (three or four that I can think of) that are no more than a mile or half a mile away that raise cows and heifers, which will easily grab a bull's attention should there be a female in heat!  Of course that won't be a problem if I have good facilities to keep one in during the off-season.  And I do have good, solid, high steel fencing, not the puny barbed wire and temporary electric.

Soooo much to think about. 



			
				77Herford said:
			
		

> There certainly is benefits in AI'ing, you can breed exactly who you want.  You could always rent a bull for breeding time and then don't have to deal with him the rest of the year.
> For so few cows to start I would have to agree with you on not having a bull fulltime.
> *
> Those 6 Cattle options are good ones.*


Yep, but the problem is choosing *which one*! That's where I have to do my research, and see what breeder are within the 100 mile radius of where I'm starting up.

I'm really skeptical about the rent-a-bull prospect.  It may be ideal if I have Hereford or Shorthorn (since I have neighbors that raise Shorthorn and Hereford), or I have animals that match the type of cows that my neighbors raise, which are those that often get supplementation during the winter with not just hay, but silage and grain as well. And a large part of the neighboring cattle farms do just that. Rent-a-bull would also be possibly ideal if I want to have a cross-breeding operation and sell all the cattle that come from this.  It's not ideal if I am raising commercial straight-bred cattle that are not what the neighbors have in their herds (Red Angus, Galloway and Speckle Park, for instance) that I need to develop not with a crossbreeding program, but with cattle of the same breed.  I want to retain heifers so that I can adapt my cattle to the type of operation I have (or will have, rather), and breed my heifers and cows to a bull (or bulls) that have the kind of, well, genetics I need for going "grass-fed," or at least have the conformation that enable animals to be efficient on just grass and hay.  Leachman of Colorado and Kit Pharo have some pretty good quality cattle, so if I end up getting some RA cows I might look into getting semen from bulls of either of these guys.

So, we'll see.  There's certainly a lot of advertisements in the Western Producer selling RA bulls and cows, along with BA-cross bulls and cows.  Not much on Galloway, but there's always a few on SP's.


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## 77Herford (Feb 3, 2012)

http://www.caseih.com/en_us/Products/Tractors/Pages/farmall-a-tractors.aspx

This tractor would probably work for your place.  I have the C series.

As for cows and finding good semen I understand the hassle.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 3, 2012)

77Herford said:
			
		

> http://www.caseih.com/en_us/Products/Tractors/Pages/farmall-a-tractors.aspx
> 
> This tractor would probably work for your place.  I have the C series.


Thanks for the link. I was just looking at the balers they have, and boy are they pretty efficient, something I like.  I'd need a hard-core baler to save on fuel, so those RB models are pretty darn good.   Looking at the specs of some of them they'd be great for a Utility type CaseIH tractor you posted in the link above.  May need something a little bit heavier (with a cab of course, LOL) than that, but still in the Utility division.

Perfect Hereford, I'm saving that link for future reference, thanks so much!


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 4, 2012)

Yet another beautiful day outside today!  We recently got a new television (LED LG 42"  ) and I'm just trying out the "monitor" type function of it and it's pretty neat!  I have it hooked up to my laptop so I can view the screen from my laptop to the TV and so far I'm impressed!  

You know after looking at the CaseIH website that 77Herefords sent me (Thanks again, btw!), I think it won't be that bad to be making hay.  I've had so much experience with watching Dad do it from sitting in the tractor with him that I could most likely learn to do it on my own, rather than getting someone to get it done for me.  That way I am the one in control because I know how I like my bales, when I can cut and bale it and that sort of thing without having to rely on someone or get after someone to do my hay on my land for me.  But start-up costs for purchasing a good little tractor, a baler, mower/haybine and rake may be a bit much, but then again I don't have to go all brand-new either.  Maybe on the tractor and baler, but not the rake or the haybine.  I just have to figure out my costs and go from there.

Now, for my grazing plans.  I'd like to talk a little about my plans for wintering/winter grazing cattle.

My biggest issue is winter time.  What in the heck am I going to do to feed cattle come winter??  I want to try the method of getting them out of the corrals and into the pasture in the winter time, but the problem I have is the amount of snow that I get in the winter.  The snow can get so deep that it is impossible for my cows to do any stockpile-grazing.  I may be able to do some in early spring or into early winter if there's not much snow on the ground, but when I do get plenty of snow that is too deep for the cows to be plowing through to the at the grass underneath, then I have to look for alternatives.  

It's really not possible to "kick the hay habit" where I am because of the winter months.  I can see it done easily in places where you typically get little snow fall, but not up here.  However, that doesn't mean that I have to be the one to be starting up the tractor every day or so and bring fresh bales to my cows, there is a thing called "bale-grazing" that is gaining ground from quite a number of people here in Alberta. All it involves is the process of making hay, then setting out the bales in such a way that temporary electric fence is put around certain bales for the cows to have access to until they clean it up.  Then they move onto the next one and so on and so forth.  I'd have to have the winter grazing area somewhere that is not too far away from home.  There's a lot more to it than just setting up bales and setting electric fence of course, since how this grazing system works is based on how often to switch paddocks.  I'd have to have it so that they're in the paddocks for no more than three days because of this old adage:

Day one kitchen, day two bedroom, day three bathroom.

And, the other thing that influences proper management of this sort of winter grazing system is how willing you are to force the cows to clean up and not leave any, or much waste behind.  Give them enough time and they'll clean up the hay real nicely.  We've done that with the steer calves before: there's days when we can't get in to feed them and they are forced to clean up the hay and/or silage beyond the three-day mark, and by the time we go in to feed them they'll have everything cleaned up, with minimal waste.

For starting up though, with only a few cows (gosh, even if I only start with like two or three, not five) I may have to do some sort of "bale-grazing" corral type wintering period, depending on their size and how much they're going to eat up in 24 hours.  Once I get a larger herd, then I can really start doing some _real_ bale-grazing.   Ideally, bale-grazing really begins to work with at least 10 or 20 cows.  It's best for the time when they're in their second trimester, so I believe that may give me enough time (like three months) to do some sort of winter-grazing management then.  

I'll go over more on summer-grazing practices soon, and also cover my predetermined reproductive period that I would like to have for my cows, and the pros and cons of each.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 5, 2012)

Spider finally killed that darned squirrel that's been around these last few months! I think that's his 12th or 15th squirrel he got (and has eaten) since he started figuring out squirrels really do taste good.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 5, 2012)

My summer grazing practices are basically rotational grazing: switching pastures/paddocks every day or two days, depending on the size of the paddocks, and letting said paddocks rest for at least 30 days prior to being grazed again. I know for certain the stocking density in my area will be much higher than my stocking rate, but of course I have to be careful not to stock too much so that I don't have areas that are needed for a) stockpile grazing and/or b) making hay.  It's so tempting to stock in such away that may double the amount of cows or stockers that are normally allotted for my area, but I have to plan for hay and winter pasture, if/when needed.  

The concerns I've learned so far with rotational grazing is that it actually increases parasitic activity in the pasture.  So I need to think of some way of working around this so I don't have a big problem with internal/external parasites for my cattle.  I have several options that may be viable:

1) Graze a certain area only once a year and at the second round, cut for hay
Pros: Frees up previous grazing area for making hay; breaks up parasite cycle because the cattle are not in the pasture three to four weeks afterwards, ingesting the larvae from when they were last in the paddocks; may possibly allow more forage for making hay
Cons: More management planning to decide which pastures/paddocks get rest, which get grazed, when certain paddocks get grazed or hayed, etc. Will be incorporating labour and fuel costs due to having to hay pastures. Concerns about cattle not eager to eat hay from pastures that have previously been grazed due to less palatability from manure.  May have to harrow right after cattle went through anyway, adding to additional fuel costs.

2) Come in with the harrow to break up cow patties after cattle have been moved to another paddock
Pros: This would take little time and effort to do: just start up the tractor (or ATV) and do a few passes and done.  
Cons: Fuel expense/labour expense, not recommended because it makes manure more volatile and increases rate of nutrient runoff. 

3) Rotate sheep or goats behind/in front cattle 
Pros: It would be a way to help break up cattle parasitic cycle, more fun to work with, with extra stuff to work with in addition to the cattle I get to raise.  Can also sell goat meat or lamb as "pasture raised." It would also add in extra fertilizer from them.  Goats and sheep also will eat grasses/weeds that cattle won't touch.
Cons: I won't be able to raise as many cattle as I like. My stocking rate/density will be lower if I have cattle AND sheep/goats to raise.  Fencing may also be an issue, especially with goats.  Goats probably take a bit more work and attention to raise than cattle do, which means I probably can't be away from the farm all day and expect them to behave themselves or nothing go awry. I assume it's the same with sheep, though from a recent sheep vs. goat thread on here I've heard tell that sheep are easier and less work to raise than goats are.  I would also have a LOT to learn about raising sheep and goats too. 

4) Raise chickens and rotate them behind the cattle herd
Pros: Like with #3 above, it helps break up the parasitic cycle, and is probably least cost-method of disrupting the parasitic cycle, same with .  Can raise chickens to butcher as "free-range" or "pasture-raised."  Chickens also benefit from this because they can peck through the patties and add their manure to the pasture, as the manure from chickens is high in phosphorus; cattle manure is high in nitrogen.
Cons: Like with #3, I need to learn a lot about raising chickens, need extra facilities (like a mobile coop), etc. 

For the time being, either doing one or two are the most likeable options for me, until I can get more information on the options of raising chickens, or goats or sheep. Ideally it would be nice to work out some way where I can minimize fuel costs, but that's going to be hard to do if I have to make hay.

Fencing and water is a different story.  I need to work out some way of doing rotational grazing in addition to the low spots or potential riparian areas that need to be developed after being just mere low spots for such a long time.  It's really hard to describe it all in words on here, so I'll have to digress until I can post on one of the cattle boards to get some comments/feedback.  What I can tell you is that I need certain areas with permanent fencing, and other areas with temporary electric.  The perimeter of the quarter sections NEED permanent fencing, the areas being fenced off inside don't really need it, but may be an idea, especially with the riparian areas that need to be made in such a way that there is minimal animal impact in these areas.  These riparian areas are likely only used during times of severe drought when I can't be grazing pastures if I don't want to overgraze them. 

Fencing also involves planning out the lanes I need or would want to have.  The lay of the land is relatively hilly, with the low spots that typically fill up with water in the spring and after heavy rain, so I would like to have lanes on high-points of the land that enable cattle to access water and mineral.  

As far as water is concerned, I am going to have fun working that out.  The second quarter section does not have any watering facilities at all, and I would like to put in an automatic waterer a bit further away from where the other two are on the home-quarter.  The one I would like further away would probably replace the one that's at the barn, and be the main waterer for the whole grazing scheme going on.  In the second quarter, I would probably need a central one as well.

Problem with permanent automatic waterers are the initial costs of installing them, and the potential for the area to become degraded and quite muddy over time.  Not to mention it has to be in an area where there won't be water runoff, or at least it will be minimized.  So I've been tossing around the idea of temporary watering facilities for summer grazing, but not sure about watering in winter grazing, because there's so many options available for me to choose from.

I'm just bouncing ideas off here, so if you have any two cents or suggestions or even links to share as I go along here, it would be much appreciated.  I feel like I've only scratched the surface here, and I know there's a lot more to come as I go along here.


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## 77Herford (Feb 6, 2012)

4) Raise chickens and rotate them behind the cattle herd
Pros: Like with #3 above, it helps break up the parasitic cycle, and is probably least cost-method of disrupting the parasitic cycle, same with .  Can raise chickens to butcher as "free-range" or "pasture-raised."  Chickens also benefit from this because they can peck through the patties and add their manure to the pasture, as the manure from chickens is high in phosphorus; cattle manure is high in nitrogen.
Cons: Like with #3, I need to learn a lot about raising chickens, need extra facilities (like a mobile coop), etc. 


I would do this.  Chickens are awesome at breaking up my manure during the warm months of the year and they eat up all the larvae and ticks.  Since adding free range Chickens I've had a year over year drop in insects and sickness issues with livestock from parasites, ticks and flies.  Another plus is they are natural rakers not just with manure but breaking up your soil just enough so the nutrients from your Cows and Chickens improve your pasture.  

A rotating Chicken tractor would be ideal for this.  There are many mobile chicken coop ideas on the web that are self made.


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## RamblingCowgirl (Feb 6, 2012)

I don't think you could go wrong with Hereford or Shorthorn. I find around here a pasture full of Shorthorns will catch my eye over Hereford...they seem to have a better frame. But this is NE Oklahoma USA. And everone seems to be obsessed with black cattle  so blah IMO...but thats just me thinking out loud really.

Chickens will have no nagitive impack on your grazing land. Sheep, and even goats will eat some of the same grasses your cattle would. Would you only have them in the warmer months? I don't think it would be worth it to raise them when there is snow on the ground.
I'm sure if you wanted to raise all 4 typs of animals you could, it will just take some time and testing on your part.

I like to go and look at the places I plan to build/use as often as I can....


> Fencing also involves planning out the lanes I need or would want to have.  The lay of the land is relatively hilly, with the low spots that typically fill up with water in the spring and after heavy rain, so I would like to have lanes on high-points of the land that enable cattle to access water and mineral.


You mite take you camera out and photograph it all. It helps a lot to have these photos on hand while making plans.

I have no idea if this would work for you, but what some people do is have someone mow&bale their pasture in trade. The owner keeps what hay they need, the baler gets the rest.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 6, 2012)

That's the thing with chickens: I'd have to buy them as poults in the spring and sell to butcher in the fall.  Not only that, but I have to find a market or people that are willing to buy pasture-raised chickens from me.  I'm sure there's a niche market around somewhere around here, but it would certainly take a bit of digging and a few marketing tactics like word-of-mouth or an ad in the local newspaper to get some business. Certainly is good for making a few extra bucks though. 

RC, I hear you on the Angus deal of things, and completely concur.  Up here in the "Northern" part of Alberta it's not nearly as bad as it is down where you are, or down near Calgary, which is 500 miles south of us.  There are the Angus breeders around, but the breed itself isn't so popular that all the cattle you see when you drive down the highway or up a country road are all solid black. There's plenty of Red Angus, Gelbvieh, Simmental, Hereford, Charolais and Limousin breeders kicking around that haven't bought into the black fad, and a large number of commercial herds that have quite a bit of red, white and yellow in them too.  I ain't interested in the whites and yellows, more the reds than anything.  

I forgot to mention in my other post (I'll have to put that in as soon as I submit this post) is my concerns with horns.  It would be nice to try to have cows that are naturally dominant polled and don't carry the horn gene.  It's more about the "fun" with dehorning calves than anything.  However, if I decide to raise stockers for the summer I will have to go through the pains of dehorning any horned calves that come through.  And of course I know salebarns do dock calves that come in with horns if I don't do anything about the horn issue.  Shorthorns are, as far as I'm aware, getting more and more predominantly polled than Herefords are, and of course with RA's there's literally no worries about horns. This applies too if I decide not to go the stocker route.  But, if I'm more choosy and picky about what stockers I get, I would have less of this problem than what Dad had before where he let the fella who bought the steers for him decide which are good for us to raise.

I'm going to think about the chicken thing, as it is a viable option to do and is certainly less work for me because a) I don't have to spread chicken litter on the pastures to help with better fertilization, and b) lower fuel costs because I don't have to turn on the tractor or quad (ATV's to some of you) to harrow what the cows and cattle left behind. I'm not interested in raising all four animal groups though, two types would be enough for me to worry over. 

As far as pictures are concerned, they're just about not needed since I tend to have a photographic memory LOL. Seriously, I can remember parts of the land in this quarter and analyze it in my mind's eye and draw out what needs to be done.  Of course it's more fun actually going out in the middle of the field in early spring or late fall when the fields are pretty dry where I can walk around and map out certain areas that I'm planning on putting a fence in, fencing off, etc. But areal-view pictures really help because they help pick out the various soil types in that quarter section, particularly when the fields lay bare prior to seeding, or after they've been tilled.

The fun part of planning out fences and lanes is that the corrals and the house are pretty well in one corner and side of the quarter section.  That means both waterers are within a hundred yards of each other, not spread out to actually allow some form of rotational grazing without having to use lanes to get cattle to travel from the water source back out to pasture.  I'm not saying getting cattle to travel is a bad thing, especially with the cows, but let's say for instance I decide to do some direct marketing beef; I'd want those waterers a bit closer than a half-mile away from the grazing area so that the beefers I slaughter are not totally lean from all that exercise they've been getting!  But that aside, the other reason I want to put a waterer in a different location is so that it allows access without getting the cattle to cross a slough or creek/slough area to get to water.  It's not healthy to have them allow access to such watering holes which can easily get muddy and full of manure and urine.   Seen enough of that to get the urge to fence them off completely and force the cattle to drink out of CLEAN water tanks or watering areas, not crappy, gross ponds or sloughs. (Hence my other reason for fencing off riparian areas and sloughs!!)

The barn waterer probably has a broken water line because it leaks like a sieve every time we have it on for the cattle.  We'd have to high someone to come in with the backhoe to dig up the water line, see what's wrong and either cap off the water line and remove the entire waterer, or fix it and have it still accessible to the animals. The issue of whether to fix or remove the waterer also surrounds where I'm going to put in my handling facilities: by the barn where the current, much poorer facilities are, or move them north to behind/beside the cattle sheds.  Both places are on high ground, but the former has current access to light, electricity and water for keeping any sick or new quarantined animals.  (Which obviously leads me to believe to renovate the facilities where they are now.)

Fencing, feeding, grazing and watering is SUCH a huge part of a livestock operation!!


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## 77Herford (Feb 6, 2012)

Didn't realize you were in Northern Alberta.  I don't know what the pastures are like up there but I imagine they are ok.  I bet they would be great for Wheat and Oats.  Anyway maybe just a small flock for your own needs such as eggs and a few butchered chickens a month would be better.  If you let them free range during the day you will still see a drop in flies, which is nice.

If you want Goats milks you could run a few Goats behind the Cows in your rotation but if you don't want milk I would just do some hair sheep and make a little extra in market lambs twice a year.


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 6, 2012)

So when are you getting your cattle rose ????


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 6, 2012)

77Herford said:
			
		

> Didn't realize you were in Northern Alberta.  I don't know what the pastures are like up there but I imagine they are ok.  I bet they would be great for Wheat and Oats.  Anyway maybe just a small flock for your own needs such as eggs and a few butchered chickens a month would be better.  If you let them free range during the day you will still see a drop in flies, which is nice.
> 
> If you want Goats milks you could run a few Goats behind the Cows in your rotation but if you don't want milk I would just do some hair sheep and make a little extra in market lambs twice a year.


Pastures are pretty good up here, stocking rate is probably around 1 AUM/acre in fair conditions (stocking rates less in good to excellent condition), good enough to raise continental-type cattle like simmi and char. They are great for wheat, as the renter had planted a real thick crop of wheat here a year ago, and last year put in a nice crop of canola.  He also puts in corn every year since he first started renting the land and taking it off for silage.  We've had real nice crops of barley and canola when Dad was still around, and would take a field of barley off for silage, which was really good for the stocker/feeders we held over winter. I'd imagine with the kind of crops we can put on there, if I go rotational the grass growing here would be phenomenal! It would probably be in as good as or better condition than what we had before.  I've got pictures of steers being in belly-deep GREEN grass and grass so thick that it can get hard to walk through, and they do very well on that stuff. Cows with calves would gain really well coming out of calving season on grass from our land, that's for sure. 

I have to do a bit more research on the chicken thing before I decide to fully go right into it.  



			
				SmallFarmGirl said:
			
		

> So when are you getting your cattle rose ????


That I really couldn't tell you.  In the near future, like this year, I don't plan on getting any.  I still have to get enough money in the bank and a driver's license before I can start getting the ball rolling here.  It may not be until a couple years or so until I finally decide to invest in a few good cows to start this "ranch" of mine.  Still in the planning process,  so once i get that sorted out, then I can go from there.  One step at a time.


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## 77Herford (Feb 7, 2012)

The other grain prices are going up because SO many farmers are growing Corn for the Ethanol industry.  I got some of the best prices in years for my pitiful leftovers of Oats last year.  This far south I don't get alot of bushels per acre for Oats but I prefer Oats to Corn for feeding.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 8, 2012)

Well I did say a few days ago that I would post a bit about the reproductive schedule part of the cow herd, so here it goes.

Basically I would like to match the reproductive cycle to the grass cycle.  Usually we let the steers out to graze around the beginning to middle of May, which is when the grass is around 10 to 12 inches high, and which is the best time to start grazing because the grass is at its highest nutritional value.  It is obvious to think that cows at their highest lactation period should be set to graze at this time, which means the calves are around 2 to 3 months of age and it is usually when breeding season would start.  This set-up would work just fine for producers who don't have to deal with snow and very wet and muddy springs, but not for me.  I cannot nor do not want to calve in February to April because that's when the snow storms are and when, especially come near the beginning of to the middle of April, the sloughs and low parts of the pastures that aren't necessarily sloughs start filling with water and the mud gets accumulating and when pastures are too wet to be deemed safe for calving, or at least for the calves' health.  So that means that I have to aim to calve around May into June (or end of April to start of or middle of June) so that calves are dropping on grass, not in water. 

The other reason I don't want to be calving in February to April is that I don't have the facilities for winter calving. In most ranches you would need a lot bigger barns that can hold around 10 pairs, not just one or two.  I would have to find the money to build such a barn, and it's not really in my plans.  So winter calving (from January or February to April) is out of the question.

Ideally my calving season would be between 45 to 60 days long.  Shorter the better, of course.  I've heard some producers like to have the heifers calve before the cows, but I've also heard for some it makes no difference, since cows and heifers get checked regularly during the season anyway.  Any thoughts on this?

Naturally how long the calving season is depends on how long the breeding season is. Of course I'd have the breeding season the same length as the calving season.  If I go AI, that means that the breeding season would be probably much shorter than with natural breeding, but of course this usually isn't the case.   I mentioned before that I want to go AI, and I think that may be the best way to go especially since I'm going to be starting with only two or three cows and not a whole herd of over 20. The actual breeding season would have to be in July to August, though I have to accommodate for a ~45 day rest period for the cows before they get bred again. So for example, a cow calves in May, gets a rest period in June to July and is bred in August. 

Weaning would likely be around November to December.  It certainly doesn't pose the same amount of issues if calves are weaned in the fall.  Of course if I have the cows do the weaning, I won't be weaning until February or March.  And of course that would probably make it a little difficult to plan out any bale-grazing schemes, though since I'm raising cattle on grass and hay only I should really expect the calves to gain on the hay (of course only if it's good quality hay, not marginal to poor which is best for getting cows to maintain or lose excess weight in the winter). 

When to sell the calves and cull cows is a different story.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 9, 2012)

Evenin'.  Too busy to post much on here, I'm busy working on my accounting course today, doing a case study that takes a few hours to work on.  Half-way through today, still got a little more to do tomorrow.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 13, 2012)

Went for a free lesson today with one of the instructors after talking with them over email about my driving experience in '09. Turns out I have quite a few good habits already, but need to work on my lane-changing: Mirror-Shoulder-Signal-Shoulder-Move.  Easier said than done, especially if done in a hurry, so I have to try not to get in such a hurry in getting all the steps down right. And of course I can't get in the bad habit of moving into the other lane before/as I signal.  So I've got a bit of practicing to do before I go for my road-test on Friday.  THIS Friday!!

At least I got to drive in a Chevy Camaro.   



Anyway, I've been bugging a friend from another forum about bale-grazing practices, and am learning quite a bit.  I learned so far that in order to minimize or eliminate N fertilizer costs it's much better to incorporate legumes like trefoil into the forages than just growing grass.  Alfalfa wouldn't work because it's sometimes hard to get the timings right for cuttings (of course that varies with different areas/regions), clover would choke out other legume stands, and alfalfa and clover are a bit dangerous because they tend to cause problems with bloat.  Legumes like bird's-foot trefoil (the stuff the guy I'm talking to has in his hayfields), sanfoin, cicer milkvetch or laspedenza are bloat-resistant and great for bale-grazing.

All sorts of good things about bale-grazing: more efficient, less use of the tractor in winter time, gets the cattle out of the sacrifice area and eliminates sacrifice area, eliminates manure spreading in the spring, increases forage biomass in the spring and summer because of the manure present in there, etc.  It's best for areas that see more frost on the ground than those that don't get the frost.

Always learning.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 15, 2012)

I finally got that blasted "Basic Drug List" done for cattle.  It can be seen here: http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=236-basic-drug-list

Not much today, other than some wonderful northern lights I woke up to see really early this morning.  I had to stay up to 2 am to be outside and watch them and take pictures.  Pictures could've turned out better, as my ISO settings in my camera (I have a Canon Rebel XS) could've been much higher.  But stand outside, the northern lights were just a dancing away, right above and climbing up and up in great columns.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 16, 2012)

Road test tomorrow....feels like I'm going in for a final exam...sooo nervous...


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 17, 2012)

_*I DID IT!!!!*_      






I passed the road test and FINALLY got my actual GDL Class 5 license!!!  Ahh, freedom at last!!!


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## SheepGirl (Feb 17, 2012)

Awesome!  I got my license about a month and a half ago. It feels awesome knowing I can go somewhere when I want to and not have to wait on anyone to get home to have a ride. (Though of course my mom makes me text her before I leave, when I reach my destination, and before I leave to come back home.)


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## Queen Mum (Feb 17, 2012)

congratulations!   Wear YOUR SEATBELT!


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 18, 2012)

SheepGirl said:
			
		

> Awesome!  I got my license about a month and a half ago. It feels awesome knowing I can go somewhere when I want to and not have to wait on anyone to get home to have a ride. (Though of course my mom makes me text her before I leave, when I reach my destination, and before I leave to come back home.)


That is a great mom who loves you.  She just wants to know you are safe.  And you have it way easier, when I was a kid, I had to build a fire and send up smoke signals to let mom know I had arrived and was leaving.    Not really, but my mom and dad did want to know when and where.  But we did not have cell phones.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Feb 18, 2012)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> congratulations!   Wear YOUR SEATBELT!


X2 - Our church family just lost a 18 year old boy.  He was not wearing his seatbelt.  The other person in the car survived accident with only a few scrapes (he was wearing his seatbelt).


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 18, 2012)

Don't worry, I always wear my seat-belt.  It's a good habit I have gotten into, and not something I would like to get out of. 

The other number one killer around here is drinking and driving.  I don't drink, thankfully, but it's something to remember:

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!


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## Queen Mum (Feb 18, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Don't worry, I always wear my seat-belt.  It's a good habit I have gotten into, and not something I would like to get out of.
> 
> The other number one killer around here is drinking and driving.  I don't drink, thankfully, but it's something to remember:
> 
> DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!


Awesome.   I feel naked without my seatbelt.  I can't even start my car without it.  Seriously.


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## SmallFarmGirl (Feb 18, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Don't worry, I always wear my seat-belt.  It's a good habit I have gotten into, and not something I would like to get out of.
> 
> The other number one killer around here is drinking and driving.  I don't drink, thankfully, but it's something to remember:
> 
> DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!


YES !!!! BE SAFE! Very important! Many people  die from drinking and driving.


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## elevan (Feb 18, 2012)

Congratulations on your license.

On the safety note...wear your seat belt, don't text and drive (or any other distraction while driving).  Thankfully drunk driving is going down here in my area but other forms of distraction and impairment are on the rise.  They all have the potential to kill or cause serious harm.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 20, 2012)

Had a weird dream last night (or was it this morning?) about me planning out a good and proper handling facilities for the farm here.  Kinda weird as Dad, who has since passed in Dec. 2007 was there in my dream listening to me about what I wanted to do with the current facilities and me drawing out diagrams and stuff about what system would work best for the farm and for easier handling of the steers.  What made it even odder was that we were sitting in a new version of the local vet clinic we always go to for medicines for the steers and he had bought a ScourVac medicine along with the usual Vitamin AD500 and the other meds for the new steers we get or are expected to get that night/morning.  I think we were sitting there waiting for the vet to come out to talk to us and for Dad to pay for the medicines he had, and while we were there I was talking about improving the facilities and some possible improvements that could/should be made.

Guess it means I both miss Dad still and would really really like to improve the crappy handling facilities we have right now, LOL...and of course to take over the farm to put it as a low-cost, cow-calf or cow-yearling/stocker operation. 

Anyway, in a nutshell the current facilities (minus the squeeze chute, which got sold at an auction we had a couple years ago) have quite a few bad spots that need to be taken out and improved on.  The "crowding pen" is angled completely wrong and ends too narrow at the start of the working chute or alley.  The squeeze chute is positioned at an angle to the loading chute making it impossible to catch any animals that may escape. Three major balking areas: right at the entrance, in the middle of the chute (probably due to shadows cast by the sun in the alleyway itself), and right to the entrance of the squeeze chute.  

Three things I want to do to improve this: 1) move the squeeze chute so that it is around 8 to 10' behind the loading chute, which will move the 20' long alley 16 to 20' back from its current position, 2) making the crowding pen so that 10' of fence extends behind and parallel to the alleyway, and angle another 8 or 10' of fence at a 30 degree angle to the alleyway, adding a gate that will literally ratchet the animals into the alleyway, and 3) build/renovate the working alley so that it can angle into the other side, making an angled alleyway that can be easily adjusted according to the size of the cattle that are going through it.  Currently it is 30" wide, and not angled, making it very easy for 6-month old 5 to 6 wt. steers to turn around in.  If I can cut one side of the alley, weld hinges at the top bar and extend the bottom pipes so that a ratchet system can be made to make the working facility both adjustable and stable enough that cattle cannot move it, then I think that would be much better than investing $4000 on a new working chute.  I'd have to reinforce the sides with bars that angle into the soil to keep it from moving.  May be a dumb idea, but then it may be a good one that will need a lot of planning, drawing and arithmetic to perfect. 

I've also played around with using grain-bin bottoms as a crowding tub, welding or bolting angle-iron bars as ratchets to the walls.  Other ideas are to replace the chains on the gates with pull-type locking mechanisms that are much faster, more efficient and far safer to use than screwing around with a bloody chain at the risk of a cow or bull nailing the gate as you're standing there trying to get the chain in the hook. 

Boy if I can apprentice or take a course in welding I'd be having NO trouble at all building my own facilities, not to mention other things that may come in handy...

Any opinions?  I'll post something like this in the cattle forum here on BYC sometime soon this week (if I remember...) with a picture of the plans I've been goofing around with for any thoughts and ideas. 

But man oh man those darn facilities bug the heck outta me....guess that's why I had that dream like I did!!


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## redtailgal (Feb 20, 2012)

Sorry, lol, I am REALLY bad at envisioning things from written word.  I am a dense draw me a pic kinda girl.

That being said.....I'll tell you what I hate about the setup on my friends ranch in Kansas , so that you can think on that too. (big help, arent I).

The opening to the "run" is two narrow, and is in the middle of the corral area.  I wish it were wider, and closer to the corner, so that it would be easier to get the cattle to make the turn.  As it is right now, it the lead cow blows past the opening, the whole herd follows her.  It takes two extra people to block them into making that turn, and with these simple changes, I could work the corral alone.

Also, the corral is "z" shaped, allowing us to have some ease in sorting.  They go in at the bottom section of the Z.......and at each bend of the z is a gate which can open into a small holding pen.  At the end of the Z is the separating area......it widens slightly, with several gates that lead to six additional chutes with presses at the end of each one.  At the end of these chutes is  loading "dock".....it ends with two panel gates that swing freely, allowing us to back in a trailer and load them right up.  Throughout the chute are smaller gates, allowing us to stop traffic if needed, or allowing for the cattle to be sorted into various holding pens.  It's a great setup, but there are too many corners........it needs to be rounded out some so that the smartest one in the group doesnt get in that corner and balk up.

I wish I could get you some pics of that corral system.  Despite the problems mentioned above, with 10 people we were able to move 600 head thru there (including 8 bulls), doing preg checks, vaccination, banding, branding etc. all while sorting to various holding pens, and did so quickly and without stressing or exhausting the cattle.


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## SheepGirl (Feb 20, 2012)

I love reading your journal.  It's always so informative.

My neighbor's barns were built by the original owner of the house who was a cattle dealer, so all the handling facilities and pens and such inside the barns are built for cattle. (Though I'm not sure about the chute inside one of the barns with the head gate...looks to small to be for cattle and the turn looks to be too sharp.)

(Sorry for the dirtiness...we never use this part of the barn so it collects cobwebs )

This shows the top of the gate into the chute...on the right is the area where the handlers stand.






This shows the head gate (the string used to move the bars still works!) and the gate that leads to the handlers area.





This is an up-close view of the head gate...like I said, it doesn't really look like it's the right size for cattle. The place where the bar is in the ground even looks too narrow for sheep, but we've never tried it.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 20, 2012)

I need to get some pics up here of the current system we have.  I got a few of the old squeeze chute we had (must be at least 40 or even 50 years old), and probably some others on my photobucket account that I'll post here....

This is a diagram of the current system (not to scale...)





See where the problems lie that I was talking about?  I know for sure Temple Grandin would tear her hair out if she seen this sort of system LOL!  

This is one of the diagrams I've been playing around with that could be an improved system:





Probably too many catch/holding pens in this system, but enough to separate cattle out into groups.  Of course this diagram is also not to scale, as when I drew this out I didn't take into account the length of the barn, the pigshed, nor the distance from the barn to the pigshed, or to the waterer. I've been working on a plan that DOES take these dimensions into account and may post it here sometime in the near future.


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## redtailgal (Feb 20, 2012)

That would work well, I think.  I'd make sure that my gates were all free swinging though, so they could be used to keep cattle from backing up in the chutes.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 20, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> That would work well, I think.  I'd make sure that my gates were all free swinging though, so they could be used to keep cattle from backing up in the chutes.


Dad put in a gate for that purpose, since if/when he'd put in too many calves in the chute the last bunch would back up or pile on top of each other--literally! The free-swinging gate in that chute (which I drew in on that diagram there) was put in to prevent this, and boy has it helped.  Might have to invent something different though if the adjustable working chute idea works out...then again maybe not....

I know in the new system I'll have to make for some more man-gates to make possible escape routes, as there's nothing worse than getting cornered by a peed bull or cow with no way out but up or between the bars of the fence.


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## redtailgal (Feb 21, 2012)

Man gates are a must.  

Hubby does not know this so SHHHHHHH!!!!!

Last time I was working cattle in Kansas, we had several hundred we were moving thru the chutes.  I went in the chute to shut a gate to prevent backflow when the person behind me (who wasnt paying attention) opened another gate, sending a VERY angry bull before I was ready.  I was to shut the backflow gate, and then open the gate to a separate holding area for him, but had some trouble with a rusty latch.

Well, the bull was fast, but this short little fat chick was faster.  There was no man gate so I did this really cool Super Mario move.....bounced off the panel, onto the bull's nose and over the top of the panel before the bull realized that I was there.  Of course, after that, I went all Mario upside dumb-butt's head for not paying enough attention while I was in the chute.

A man gate would have saved several years off my life!


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 21, 2012)

And of course a good man gate can't be one where you have to screw around with a bloody chain.  Ever since I've helped the vet with working with cattle in a handling facility I've loved the latches where they simply lock when you push them shut.  That's what a good man-gate should have, not some stupid chains.


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## redtailgal (Feb 21, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> And of course a good man gate can't be one where you have to screw around with a bloody chain.  Ever since I've helped the vet with working with cattle in a handling facility I've loved the latches where they simply lock when you push them shut.  That's what a good man-gate should have, not some stupid chains.


yes YES yes YES yes!  my sentiments exactly!

They have since reworked the gates, they can now be closed without even entering the chutes.  They swing back to the panels and latch, so we can undo the latch and give them a push and WALA!

My friend has also added a rotating press, so I am excited about working with that this summer.  She does have to battle hoof rot frequently, so this should make caring for those hooves so much easier.  Easier access to feet is a big deal for me, cattle hooves are not my favorite area.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 21, 2012)

Another plan I've considered.

Some old pictures of the current facilities:





Down the working alley towards the loading chute in the background and squeeze chute on the left





Entrance to the working alley





Crowding alley.  Notice how much of a dead-end it seems to be from a bovine's point of view





Part one of the holding corral.  Also notice the one side of the working alley that I'd like to work on to make it an adjustable chute. Be a lot of torch and welding work, as well as a bit of use with a lift or tractor loader to make it actually work.  Might just have to hire a welder to get it done for me, lol.  The ropes were used for the same purpose that SheepGirl mentioned in her pictures above: to make it easier to shut gates without going into the corral or pen to shut them, making them more safer for the handler.





Part two of the holding corral. The location of the barn (not to mention the pig-barn which is immediately behind where I took this picture by a measure of around 5o feet away) influences a lot of decisions on how to best go about making/planning these handling facilities. We've also used the barn as another "holding corral" since it can hold up to 20 animals at a time...and I'm talking 900 lb steers...it's not a very big barn either!





This is the really old squeeze chute we had.  Simple, easy to use, easy to fix, and pretty effective for as long as it's being (and still in) use!

I took more extensive pictures of the facilities a few days ago, so I will have to upload them on the computer and look through them before posting here.

The thing that I really have to get in mind is that I don't have to have the facilities as the fanciest, snazziest facilities on Earth that cost much more money than the money I could've spent to make or renovate them into functional, easy-to-use, strong and safe for both me and for the cattle I need to run through.  It's the money part that I really need to pay attention to.  I don't want to spend too much money on a new crowding tub, new squeeze chute, new loading chute nor working chute.  But, I know that I really need a new and improved loading chute as the one we have now is just about ready to fall apart.  I also need a good squeeze chute, but I know very well that I don't need to buy one brand new, a squeeze chute as old or a little younger than the one we had pictured above for around $550 or $1000 would be just fine.  I forget how much our old squeeze went for at the auction we had, but I think it went for something like $100 or more.  I could be under or over estimating though. 

But using the fences I have, being creative and innovative on building some good facilities, or just cruising a bunch of different farm auctions until I find what I like is as good as I can get to get the facilities I need for my operation.

But, of course before I do that I need: 1) a DARN good plan, and 2) enough money to make the facilities I want to have, and then some.

Love this stuff!


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## redtailgal (Feb 22, 2012)

How many head will you be working in this set up?

It looks good, but I think it could get crowded easy if you are working very many at once.  Crowded=dangerous!

Is there anyway you could weld a riser bar near your gates, to put your gate rope thru?  I've seen several cattle panic and get there heads tangled in rope that was too low even if it was "out of the way".


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## Remuda1 (Feb 22, 2012)

Wild, along with the auctions you might check out Craigslist.  I didn't notice what area you are in but here, there are always lots of chutes, ramps, cattle panels for sale there. I don't have cattle but I don't buy ANYTHING for the farm without looking for it on Craigslist. Also, if you're wanting to sell any of your older equipment, craigsList is a good place to start.


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 22, 2012)

Red, the pics are of the facilities that need renovation.  The crowding area is very dangerous even without the rope there, since whenever we've ran the steers through, they are always balking and turning around right before they actually see the entrance to the working chute. It would help to weld a pipe there to raise the rope up a bit, for sure. It helps maybe slightly if we tie a tarp over the outside fence to that area, but it still is going to cause balking because they see it as a dead-end and not an actual way to go through. We ran 80 to 90 head through this facility, with only doing around 5 to 10 at a time.  The new facility would hold around the same, though with some rotational grazing I might be looking at higher numbers, maybe a little over 100...though that's just being optimistic.

What is needed, even if it's just a temporary fix until I can purchase some proper facilities, is to extend that little gate ten more feet to the left as a ten-foot gate that could be used as a temporary part of the crowding area.  I'd also like to take out the grey panels that you see in the pics (which are meant to be temporary fencing, not sturdy, bull/cow-resistant fencing) and put in a 25' panel fence similar to the ones you see in the pictures (those big brown panels) with a gate at the inside corner to the working chute entrance to act as a crowding gate.  I'd put a cutting-torch to that little gate at the angled entrance of the chute because it doesn't add to anything, really. I'd take off the gate attached to the barn that doesn't do anything except make cattle think they're going into the barn, at the way it's angled when closed.

The whole system, where it is now as I mentioned before would have to be moved back 20 feet to allow for space for the squeeze chute and for panels or gates for cattle to exit to the right (not left like with the old system) and get sorted into pens, like I had put in one of the diagrams on here.

The loading chute itself MUST go.  The problem is (LOL! Not) is that one of the posts of the loading chute is mere inches away from a natural gas line.  Mom told me that Dad didn't realize that until he had pounded in the post.  So if/when I have to or want to take out those posts, I gotta call the natural gas company to stake out the area before I start a-diggin'!! And it's those posts that are getting really loose, since I was climbing up on the chute and seeing how loose the posts are by reefing on them a bit. The next loading chute will NOT be one that has posts sunk in, preferably a sturdy yet portable chute would be ideal, since it could be moved in if/when a cattle-liner is needed to haul out the backgrounder calves and moved for a livestock trailer to back up to to haul out any culls or anything that doesn't need a big 50' long cattle liner.  

Now here's the clincher that makes it even more of a challenge to work around: according to some articles I've been reading and the Humane Livestock Handling book I have, it's a bit of a no-no to have working alleys and loading chutes in an east-west direction: they should be in a north-south direction.   The system we have right now is in that no-no position.   Which means that I *could* have the system stay where it is for now, but I really need to work on a plan that has these facilities in a north-south direction in such a location that I still have access to electricity and power, and trucks and trailers are still able to get at without having too much driving around and backing-up to do.  With the location of the barn, the waterer, the low spots and high spots, the quanset, the pump-house, trees, etc. etc. etc. I've got a bit of a challenge on my hands!!

Temporary would work, but won't be the greatest.  I'll have to be doing a lot of little improvements to the system as I see fit until I can actually get something worthwhile that doesn't take all those little improvements to do.


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## redtailgal (Feb 22, 2012)

ok, so why exactly does it matter if the alleys run north-south or east-west?


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 22, 2012)

Something to do with how the sunlight would impede the movement of the animals, like if they were run into the system in the rising or setting sun where the light is in the animal's eyes, and that studies show that cattle don't like going into areas where there is bright light in their eyes.  Can't blame them: I sure wouldn't like to go into an area where a bright light is shining in my eyes lol.  The other reason could be that shadows could cause some confusion or something. Gotta look that one up...


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 22, 2012)

All it says in the Humane Livestock Handling book is this:

"Consider bright sunlight. Do not face the squeeze chute [...] or loading ramp into the rising or setting sun. Animals balk and refuse to move into blinding light."

I guess that also goes for working chutes too, since it can also impede movement if cattle go into bright sunlight.  Guess that would also go for point it south too, especially on a bright, sunlit-day working cattle during the winter.


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## redtailgal (Feb 22, 2012)

never heard of that, lol.

Of course, I've never noticed it being an issue either.  But, if it works, it works!


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm thinking I may reconsider the north-south positioning of the squeeze and loading chutes because, in the past, the location of these where they are now hasn't affected movement of the cattle we had.  Just the spots that were prone to bung-ups that are the ones that need to be fixed.

Here's the latest and I think the best possible rendition of the kind of facility I should have on the farm:






I have, as I mention on there, enough room for expansion as I will be (or try) to use the "temporary" panels (the more heavier type), and may be able to rig up something that has a curved crowding tub instead of a straight-one that I have there.  AND, this one is actually to scale, unlike the other drawings I showed.



*Other Updates NOT Related to Handling Facility:*

I emailed the employer of the feedmill and turns out I did NOT get the position.  I had a hunch that I wouldn't get it, and turns out I was right.  So now I gots to do some more job searching, probably going out further a-field.  There's a dairy farm out around an hour's drive away from us near another town we frequent that is looking for someone, so I may decide to take up the offer and let them know I'd be interested in an interview again, since I backed down the last time I was going to go in for an interview with them.  It does say "willing to train" and does involve working with cattle, which I would like to have a job that involves doing, so we'll see.  Not much for career opportunities in and around my hometown anyway, so it may be time to range further from home for a job, at least a job that I know I will enjoy.

Second update is that we got SNOW!!!     We got about 12 inches of the white stuff fall over the weekend, making it fun shoveling.  At least we have a good little snow blower, and the neighbor was kind enough to come up with his big loader to dig out our drive way for us: we had a 3' high drift near the end there.

But today it's cold, but sunny.  And I gotsta git me arse in gear and work on my Accounting course a bit more today.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 1, 2012)

My opinion on the Bud Box :  Meh, nothing special.  :/  Neat idea though.

My comment about the winter right now: UGH!  I wish it were sunny and melting, not cloudy and snowing!  

Gotta be patient though....man I hate it when I have to force myself to think like that!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 2, 2012)

Gotta have a thick skin working on a wiki-type website...some kid decided to come on and give me a hard time about something I don't even remember doing or saying.  He's got one strike left before he gets sent packing.  Originally "he" was a she, and she was a heckuva lot nicer to me than the crap I got today.  Weirdo...

Still waiting for spring here, a little warmer today than yesterday, but I just wish it would actually WARM up so the snow could go faster....


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 5, 2012)

That's how I feel this morning lol.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 8, 2012)

Stuff I did today, sort of in order:

1. Check BYH forum and other stuff
2. Breakfast
3. Get mail
4. Let cats out of quonset
5. Fill bird feeders
6. Make bed
7. Clean room
8. Dust everywhere using that awesome little Swiffer duster
9. Check BYH, BYC again and other sites
10. Sweep floors
11. Vaccuum floors, both upstairs and downstairs
12. Wipe floors down
13. Watch M*A*S*H (LOVE that show!)
14. Take out garbage and recyclables
15. Put cats back in quonset
16. Empty water dish and put fresh water in for the cats
17. Feed cats canned food (they love it lol)
18. Do dishes
19. Write out my BYH journal entry
20. Sit and think what to do next!!

Yep, nice full day today.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 8, 2012)

I think I found another job opportunity, it's with a agricultural research team a part of ARECA (Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta) where I get to perform and do different activities dealing with forages, silage, various grains and woot) cattle.  They say, unlike my last job I went in an interview for, that students with an agricultural degree is prefered, but will consider those with less industry experience or something like that.

So, I'm going to do up a resume and test my luck with this one.  Who knows? May get lucky this time.


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## elevan (Mar 9, 2012)

Good luck!  That sounds like a fascinating position.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 9, 2012)

Thanks, it certainly does.  I also get to work with the small-plot farm machinery, which should be fun.  

This warm weather sure makes the cats kooky.  Yesterday I was walking to the house and Spider ran past me with his usual "purrrow!" whenever he goes by.  Well I played a little trick on him and started running after him, he took a look behind his shoulder and started running even faster! Such a silly guy. He even gets to the point where he just jumps into the edge of a random snow bank with both paws and even head in the snow chasing after an invisible mouse, then when he catches my eye he dashes away.  

Spider's the doofus.  Muffy (or Button), she's a ruddy princess. All prim and proper, sitting there with her big fluffy paws together all lady-like and her lion-like muff fluffed up around her neck. Spider, he's just a down-right goof ball, seems like he's always looking for trouble.    But muffy, she's the little trouble-maker too!  I caught her twice chasing after her brother, once up the telephone pole (he didn't go very far), and the other down the lane.  Usually Spider's the one chasing her, but not that time! 

And they love it when I have a long piece of string for them to chase, be it a piece of grass stem, a vine (virgina creeper), or even a baler twine string.  Spider'll even go chase after the snow balls I throw for him.  Speaking of string, whenever we'd be feeding the calves sometimes a bale would have a long piece of twine trailing after it, and Mr. Numb Nuts Spider would be chasing it down trying to catch it! Of course he'd stop as soon as a steer caught sight of him and headed right for him lol.

Cats, always the entertainers.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 10, 2012)

Spring is here... :bun

I swear it is since we've been getting some NICE temps this week: all above freezing!!  Hope this continues, I'm so sick of winter I could  

Now I just gotta light a fire under my butt and get off the computer for a while today.  Got a few things to do today, including sweeping out the quonset and helping mom start our Spring Cleaning.

I just can't wait til the snow goes so I can use my bike again.... <sigh>...........


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 11, 2012)

We had a couple of visitors come by this morning, so lucky I had my camera handy to take pictures.

Can you guess what they are?


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## Remuda1 (Mar 11, 2012)

??


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 11, 2012)

Here's a hint: they're not human, and not birds.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 11, 2012)

Alright, I can't keep it in any longer.  Here's the two visitors that came around this morning:








































Just a cow with her bull calf just passing through.  We thought maybe they'd stop and eat the bird seed on the ground but either she doesn't know what bird seed tastes like or she wasn't interested in it.  Good thing since she's teaching her son (probably a yearling from the looks of him) some good habits.


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## redtailgal (Mar 11, 2012)

Well, lol, your having better luck at photography than I am today!

They are just such pretty critters arent they?

Thanks for sharing


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 11, 2012)

They certainly are, they're quite something up close and personal like that.  I had used the manual setting on my camera to get those pics, seems to take better pictures that way instead of leaving it on the automatic mode.  Especially since the automatic mode tends to include the flash function in darker lighting periods.  So the manual mode is best if I don't want or need flash.


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## 77Herford (Mar 11, 2012)

Yes, I usually use the manual mode as the auto frequently used the flash option.

I like the Moose visitors.  Wish we got those this far south but they are a VERY rare site in the northern parts of the state.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 11, 2012)

Well it's not often that we see them come up that close like that lol.  Usually they're off in the distance, much too far to get just a head-shot like I got with the telephoto lens.  

I have photo #7 as my wall paper, that, as well as the one with the calf nuzzling his mom, is my favorite.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 13, 2012)

Dang moose came back again this morning!


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## Royd Wood (Mar 13, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Dang moose came back again this morning!


Great pics - 5 years in Canada and still not seen one - even on my trips North


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 13, 2012)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> WildRoseBeef said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Aw you'll get your chance.  Usually you see one when it's least expected.

Those moose left us a "present" on the front lawn as the went lol.  I had to track them for a ways and it seems like they went to the neighbors just kitty-corner to us first before passing through our place again. 

A few evenings ago (probably Saturday) I heard an owl a-hootin' away in the bush to the south-east of us while I was out chipping ice on the walk. Darn thing near drove me nuts lol.  Waled to the other field to try to see him with the binoculars and camera but to no avail.  Probably a Great Horned owl, but I'm not entirely sure.  It sure was hooting away about something, and the sound sure does travel far here even with the trees we have, but man I hate it when I hear something but can't see what's making those sounds!


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## Queen Mum (Mar 13, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Dang moose came back again this morning!


What a Moosance.  I hope they didn't do any damage.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 13, 2012)

Queen Mum said:
			
		

> WildRoseBeef said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope, not at all.  They were just passing through, it's really neat how they can step through the bush like that and leave only hoof prints and a few hairs (and maybe a few droppings) as a sign that they were there.  We've had worse damage with deer, especially in the summer with our garden, but never with moose.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 17, 2012)

That Spider, he's nothing but trouble. Found him in the garage when I was putting the cats in the quonset for the night with paw tracks all over the hood, windsheild and top of the van.      No idea how he managed to lock himself in, but I think it was the time when I was letting the van warm up a little with the garage door wide open.  Silly thing.

He sure was happy to see me, though, but when I closed the door (it was raining a little at the time) he made a move to go back in again!  Little snot, for lack of coarser terms lol.  Numb nuts, dork, whatever word I had for him.  He don't care, he's a cat, cats rule the roost!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 18, 2012)

Spring is here, my butt!  It's snowing here today....ironically though it's supposed to go up to 7 C....what gives??


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 20, 2012)

Well I had an amusing day.  Went on a walk down the road past the neighbors, and of course the cats wanted to follow.  I only went a ways before I decided to turn around since my legs were getting near numb with cold (it's only -5 C today, plus a little windy).  The cats were a little on the alert when they went past the neighbor's, as they must've heard someone out in the garage or the back somewhere.  Spider nearly went into the yard before I had to call him back, and instead he walked along the trees near the road.  All of a sudden there was something mixed between a yell and a really loud sneeze, and the next thing I knew those two cats were GONE!  Spider was nothing short of a black streak tearing off down the road and across the field to the safety of the spruce trees in the yard, and Muffy was racing like a miniature over-moppy race horse down the road!  

What a couple of chickens! Gosh I nearly died!    There is nothing funnier than seeing a cat run like the devil was after it!


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## 77Herford (Mar 20, 2012)




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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 21, 2012)

LOL yeah 77, still can't stop laughing at that.  Never gets old! 


Anyway, kind of an up and down day today.  Went with mom to go look at a car or two to get for me, turned out the one we were looking at (2007 Chevy Malibu) wasn't what we're looking for: a bit of rust on it, interior smelled smoky, etc., not to mention the car looked a bit too classy or family-ish for my tasted   I like the car beside it ('07 Pontiac G5), but it was a two-door, small thing.  I liked it because it looked a bit more sporty (or cooler, lol) than the one we were interested in.  

We're looking for something that's got the safety features, is economical in price and fuel consumption, preferably below $10000 and has relatively low mileage (below 100,000 km).  I told mom if you're looking for something that's got safety features we'd better off looking for a truck. 

I LOVE trucks, btw, prefer them over cars than anything because a) they're higher off the ground, b) they seem and look tougher and c) I just've been so used to riding in a truck that I prefer nothing else.  

Problem is, most nice trucks on a dealer's lot won't sell for under $10 G (at least that's what mom says   ) Private treaty, maybe, but then you gotta do all the mechanical checks yourself, and since I'm not exactly mechanically inclined, it's not a really great idea for a new driver like moi to buy something via private treaty.  So dam, eh? :/

Anyway, we'll find something.  May have no choice but to go something that looks kinda classy, but as a first car, I gotta be flexible.



Okay, now for the up part of the day.  I got a call from the agricultural research organization (as provided by the provincial government) I applied for as a research agronomist that they'll be able to see me for an interview on Monday.  I'm sooo excited, the job itself seems near perfect for me since it's not just working indoors but also out on the field doing actual farm-work but in a more small-scale and in plots. Also get to work with cattle too, as they have a hundred heifers they borrow for the grazing season to do research on various grazing operations and such.

Now I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, and I hope posting this won't jinx me into not getting the position (I get superstitious, I know but  ), but I've got a really good feeling about this.  I'm still going to do up an application to another company (Viterra, if any of you have heard of it) just as something to fall back on just in case this job with GRO falls through.


I'm hoping please no!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 22, 2012)

I HATE SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     Why does it have to snow NOW when it was nice and melting?! 

Jeeze!!


You guys down south with your warm temperatures and spring time weather, you have NO idea how lucky you are!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 23, 2012)

Well I got good news and bad news.

Bad news is that it doesn't want to stop snowing.  Already have about four inches on the ground.

And the good news is....










Wait for it....



































_*I GOT MY FIRST CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*_  :bun :bun  

Still can't get over it....


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## Queen Mum (Mar 23, 2012)

YAY on the car,  what did you get?  Where are the pictures?   When do we get to see it!?


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## elevan (Mar 23, 2012)

Congratulations!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 24, 2012)

I got a little Chevy Cobalt, used, in great shape, low mileage and reasonably priced.  Nice little starter car, I'm happy with it.  We get to bring it home (hopefully I get to drive it, as I did when we did the test run) this morning. 


Quite the hoar frost on the trees this morning too, quite pretty with all the fresh snow on the ground.


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## redtailgal (Mar 24, 2012)

My first car was a 1972 Vega.  It was a year older than me and UGLY.

It did however have a keyless entry and crank system.  None of the locks worked, and the ignition turned and cranked without the key. 

It got excellent gas mileage for such an old car, so each moring I only had to add a quart of oil.

The passenger side door wouldnt open from the outside, so I never had to worry about being carjacked.

It was great!

The car cost me 200$ and the guy threw in a large pig for free (cuz he couldnt get it out of the car)

Yes, folks.  This is a true story.


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## Queen Mum (Mar 24, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> My first car was a 1972 Vega.  It was a year older than me and UGLY.
> 
> It did however have a keyless entry and crank system.  None of the locks worked, and the ignition turned and cranked without the key.
> 
> ...


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## elevan (Mar 24, 2012)




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## 77Herford (Mar 24, 2012)

Ah, the first car.  I learned so many new swears for that car.  My first if you can say that I had to share with my older brother was a 82 Nissan Stanza with over 250,000 miles on it and it was a stick....I didn't know how to drive a stick.  My loving father thought this would be a good way to learn how to drive.  He gave me two lessons.  He's not patient,  it took me a week to find third gear.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 24, 2012)

Well thankfully this one's not a '70's or '80's model, it looks new but it's actually only four years old.  Now I just gotta get a job to pay off the loan I owe to mommy for getting it for me!  God I'm so spoiled.  Anyway, it is something for me to drive to work in and other places, so now it gives me a heckuva lot more leeway than I was able to have in the past! Can you say Yeehaw!!


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## SmallFarmGirl (Mar 24, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Well thankfully this one's not a '70's or '80's model, it looks new but it's actually only four years old.  Now I just gotta get a job to pay off the loan I owe to mommy for getting it for me!  God I'm so spoiled.  Anyway, it is something for me to drive to work in and other places, so now it gives me a heckuva lot more leeway than I was able to have in the past! Can you say Yeehaw!!


Happy you got a new car!!!!


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## Queen Mum (Mar 24, 2012)

My first car was a 1964 Ford Falcon,  Navy Blue.  I got it when I was 19 and drove it until I was 30.  I loved it most of the time and hated it only twice.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 26, 2012)

What a foggy morning this morning was!  Driving into town for my interview and there were places where fog was so thick you couldn't see past the first telephone pole.  Made it into town though, got through with the interview (went through okay, though not certain about the results until I get a call next week sometime), and by the time we got home the fog was just starting to lift. 

I was really tired before and after the interview...big weekend this weekend with the purchase of the car and my DB over to help get rid of his crapped-out car (he sold it to a willing buyer who'll probably fix it up as a hobby) and the tandem truck that did Dad in and adds nothing more to the farm than a bunch of bad memories.  The truck's supposed to go out this Friday, so hopefully it DOES go out.  There's quite a drift near the truck that needs to be pushed out so the truck can be moved out and put on a trailer. Too bad we don't have a big tractor ourselves to push away snow so we have to rely on one of our friendly neighbors to do the job for us.

Anyway, that's not til Friday.

My interview went okay.  Seemed to have gone better than the feedmill one, due to the informality of it and one of the guys that interviewed me was quite familiar with me and my family.  Don't know if that helps any or not but yeah. They said they have a few more people to interview before any results come in, but I won't know anything until next week.  Too bad that I don't have a complete agricultural degree, otherwise it would've been more certain that I would get the job.  From what I got from the interview is that I have a better chance being employed as a summer or contract help for looking after the plots and the cattle herd than getting hired as a forage and livestock research agronomist.  I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, so I can't say anything for certain.  

I'm going to let it ride for this week, but still keep a look out for employment just the same.

Job hunting is such a pain!


One really good thing I got from the interview today is that the two fellas I was interviewed with told me, after mentioning about my interest in cattle and forage and pasture management, that I should really get some animals of my own.  Certainly words of encouragement! 


Oh, and I hate it when I get tired.  Over tired for me is when I get depressed, feel like crap and find it hard to find something to smile about.  Get a half-hours sleep and I feel alive again!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 26, 2012)

Why, why, WHY is it that cats love to climb into the highest places???   That dam Muffy, she got herself in the highest part of the old house and doesn't know how to come down.  Oh she'll know to come down if there's a bloody ladder there, but I want to keep my car in there, and can't keep having that ladder up all the time as a means for her to come down.  

SOOOoooo...we have to devise a means of preventing her from getting up there.


Chicken wire, anyone?


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## Queen Mum (Mar 26, 2012)

RTG has some.  In North Carolina... In her barn.


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## redtailgal (Mar 26, 2012)

Yeah, I have some.  Queen Mum, and Autumn Prarie are gonna swing by and pick some up.  You wanna come too?


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 27, 2012)

If I was closer I would.  We got plenty of chicken wire too.

On an update note, we had a look at the inside the house and decided to scrap the plans for putting up chicken wire.....for now.  That old house is old, not entirely fit for a garage and we do use it quite a bit as our garden shed, for putting the greenhouse in if it gets really nasty windy out, putting plants in for shelter, etc.  Might end up being a pain in the arse to have a car in there anyway as it'll leave less room for us to work around in anyway.  And besides, I think it's part of our fault that we kept the big ladder there anyway.  It's a good place for the cats to go when there's strangers and vehicles and coyotes and strange dogs and the like since it's their place of safety.  I think even Spider goes up way up in the top there too, only he's smart enough to know to how to come down!

So for the time being, Cats 1 Humans 0.


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 29, 2012)

Ever since we left the ladder up everything's been back to normal  



DB's back again for a couple days, see if we can get that cursed, blasted tandem truck outta here once and for all.  It was really interesting getting that beast up the slope from the cattle shed this afternoon, with the wet slippery snow and all, enough that it kept me and him busy with the shovels and the snow blower (we don't have a big tractor!  )  Darn thing kept quitting on him barnie Gaah is right, it was enough to test patience!!), but after multiple attempts we FINALLY got that P.O.S. up the slope and parked in front of the quonset.  

Neighbor was good enough to plow out that big drift behind the truck a few days ago, and came again this morning to pull it out, only thing he broke the shaft that was the hinge to the truck box.  Too bad he didn't know that he should've hooked the chain around the back axle of the truck, but at least he stopped at the house before he left and talked to me about it.  Me and DB were thinking of talking to him to get the loader out again, but we thought we'd best tough it out ourselves with what little (literally) equipment we had to get that truck out of that dip.  

So anyway, hopefully the buyer will be able to come out real early in the morning and take it out for us.  

I'll be glad to see that thing go, it's been nothing but extra work and a little extra bad luck for us since Dad first got it.  Also has a lot of bad memories hinged with it, so when it's gone, that's probably a good a signal as any that things will get better (hopefully).

Oh, and spring IS here!!!  I seen a few strings of Canada geese fly over yesterday afternoon and a lonely little starling sitting in the tree behind the cattle shed.  Soon we'll see more starlings and more geese and it is WARM today too!

Said +9 degrees Celcius on the thermometer this afternoon!    I was out in my T-shirt doing bird feeders it was that warm! :bun


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 30, 2012)

We got rid of it!!!     

The truck was put on a lowboy trailer in the driveway, then had to take the truck to the back to put the silage end-gate on.  Without a front-end loader that gate was a bit of a struggle to put on, as it was a heck of a lot heavier than we thought.  But we got it on and outta here!


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## WildRoseBeef (Mar 31, 2012)

Lovely day today, only thing that really sucks is that we're supposed to get around 10 to 20 mm (or is it cm??) of snow or snow-rain mix tonight into tomorrow.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 1, 2012)

Hate Mother Nature.  She gave is six freakin' centimeters of snow this morning, and it's NOT the light fluffy stuff either!!  

Thank God it ain't Monday, and it's actually MELTING out!  Plus three on the thermometer and there's literally water underneath the snow.

Woke up around 7:30 this morning and found all the windows just caked with snow, from top to bottom.  Course I went back to bed and slept in til 11 am.   Lazy day today.

It's supposed to be above 5 degrees (Celsius), going up to 6, 8 then 11 throughout the week, so the snow that came this morning would probably be gone by Tuesday.  hopefullly

Oh, and the juncos are back!!!     So spring is here, we just have to get through these blasted April snow storms we get up here.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 1, 2012)

Oh, and since we couldn't use the old house to put my car in (can't use the garage either because the old buick is in there (I think it's one of those 1930's or '40's model)), but good thing we have the quonset that is big enough to fit about four or five vehicles in there.  Right now there's two trucks--my grandpa's Dodge, and our old 1989 Chevy that's in many pieces still--and plenty of room to put my little chev in.  We used to be able to put about two or three tractors in there before, so it's a bit roomy.  And of course, plenty of room for the cats too.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 3, 2012)

Well, as I figgered the snow that we got in the weekend has pretty much gone back to the way it was before that snowstorm came.

Yesterday had a little trouble with the internet.  I'd get the notification that we'd get internet, but then I'd bring up the browser and nothing.  I had to leave everything and couldn't get on until late in the after noon.  At least I got to work a little on my cross-stitching and enjoy the sunshine.

Got a call from GRO this morning and unfortunately they had chosen someone better suited for the job.  They can't really hire me on this year since all the positions are filled, but are seriously considering hiring me next spring anyway and are keeping my resume for future consideration.  A little disappointed, yes, but I wasn't too surprised. 

Hope I get better luck with Viterra, but I wouldn't know until I get a call from them.  Still job hunting, though.  Too bad that the only jobs around here are nursing, waitresses/cashiers, trucking, oil rigs and sales person.  It's certainly not like further south where there's a bit more to choose from.

So maybe third time the charm? We'll see.  At least I had my DB help me do up my resume to make it much better than I had it.  



Oh, and I seen a robin this morning!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 5, 2012)

And we got ANOTHER dump of snow today, only we got thrice as much as we did last weekend. I open up the door and there's literally a pile of snow right in front of the door! Certainly made it fun to shovel out!  A total of around 15 inches fell today, or rather knee-high to me.  Mom couldn't go to work today because the van would've got stuck, and the snow's so heavy that it's nigh to impossible to go through it with the snow blower!  Winter, ugh, just doesn't want to let go yet.

Some good news though, I got recommended for a job at the local seed cleaning plant from one of the guys I had been interviewed by for that agricultural research group (GRO).  This sort of job hasn't even been advertised, so I'll have to give a call to the manager for more information and when I can send my resume in. I'm still pretty pleased about it!

Mom and me are planning on going south to see my nieces for a little Easter holiday get away, so we'll probably either leave Friday or Saturday, depending on when we can get out of this ruddy pile of snow. Too bad we don't have a tractor around here, if I get a good job and start saving up I'll have to talk mom into getting a nice tractor some day.  A farm's not a farm without a tractor!  (Haven't told mom though, but I know we still miss having one around.)

Anyway, as I write this the snow is slowly melting away again, the grassy ring around the blue spruce is getting bigger every minute.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 6, 2012)

We decided we're going south today, since a) the snow's gone down quite a bit since it snowed yesterday morning (thanks to above 0 temps) and b) the roads are GREAT for travelling.  

So, HAPPY EASTER everyone, hope you have a good one!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 10, 2012)

Back from Easter holidays, still pretty tired from this weekend.  I've got a sore throat and I think I may have gotten it from the girls...

Anyway, lots of stuff to do today: emails to catch up on, washing to do, floors to sweep/vacuum, etc. 

And I gotta loose that extra five pounds I put on this weekend! 

oh and finally going in for another interview, so hopefully that works out well enough....maybe third time the charm?


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 10, 2012)

Those cats are hilarious!

I go out at 11 this morning to open up the quonset door and....no cats.  Both are snuggled up in their little beds NOT interested in going outside. 

I thought, okay fine, I'll just check on you in a few hours.

Go back again at 4:30 to take out the peelings, rattled the doors a bit and opened them up, STILL no cats!  So I figured I'd leave the door open while I dump the peelings to see if they go out on their own.  Sure enough, throw the peeling bag in the trash barrels and they're out yawning and stretching and all squinty-eyed in the bright sunshine.   Little s%$ts. 

Usually Spider's up at the door chompin' at  the bit to go out, and Muffy's sure to follow behind, but not this time, oh no!  They had been out of the quonset away from the comfort of their beds for three solid nights while me and mom were away from home for several days spending Easter down south, pretty much roughin' it.  They reminded me of that cat Sassy from the movie Homeward Bound when she says after getting home "I'm so sick of nature I could puke!"    Yeah they were pretty much sick of being outside to the T!  Poor kitties, they get so spoiled!


Spider was acting so kooky for some reason, probably the wind.  He'd go "sneaking" up to the road, and when a vehicle would go by he'd go high-tailing it back to the safety of the yard.  And when a noisy bike went by (you know those bikes are so loud you can hear it when inside the house, ones that go "Rrrrugh!  RRRugh! RRRugh!!" Well, Mom just about collapsed in laughter when she seen Spider flat-out running for the safety of the old house when that bike went by!  OMG, nothing's funnier than a cat running for dear life!  I know it's crude and probably cruel, but holy crap!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 11, 2012)

Finally get to go on a solo drive tomorrow!  Should be fun...

AND....it's supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon.


AAANND...when the heck am I going to get those breed pages done on my My Pages??? :/ (My apologies to those who've been waiting for me to finish them up... )


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 12, 2012)

Well I went for my FIRST solo drive (EVER) today.  And I actually had fun!   That little car is fun to drive around in, go zipping here and zipping there...  Heck I didn't even want to come home, just wanted to keep going until the tank ran dry.  

Boy if I like driving and travelling on my own that much I should work to be a trucker.... 

Interview went quite well today.

And I've got a cold for sure today.  Stuffy nose, sore throat, a little coughing, etc.  Ugh, hate colds.   But those Halls cough drops are a saviour....


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## redtailgal (Apr 12, 2012)

Those cough drops do help but UGGGHHH! The taste!       

Hope you feel better soon!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 12, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Those cough drops do help but UGGGHHH! The taste!
> 
> Hope you feel better soon!


Thanks.  I've tasted worse cough drops, but Halls is the best for tackling coughs, even nasty ones that just don't wanna stop!  I'm not at the coughing stage yet, but I'm sure I'll get there soon!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 13, 2012)

What a dark, dank, wet, depressing day today.  It's raining out (hence the wet part), and yet, as I type here I have the window in the living room open a bit and the birds are just a-singing away, a lot of the songbirds that have gone south for the winter have come back and are really making a show of themselves!!  And I think I see a robin hopping around in the front lawn too....I've yet to hear a robin sing, such a beautiful song that bird has every time I hear it!

But the rain is good, it will really eat away at the snow really quickly, as a matter of fact a lot of the snow has already been eaten away since it started in the middle of the night. 

Cats aren't going to like it lol.  They hate getting their little paws wet. 

And this cold!  Worse today than yesterday, thank God I had my interview yesterday and not today!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 14, 2012)

Sniff sniff....sniiiiiigggffft *wheeze*.....that's what my cold sounds like today  

Anyway, despite that, I finally got TWO BREED PAGES done....you can see them here: Belgian Blue  and Gelbvieh 

And it's freaking snowing today!  Again, with the snow!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 16, 2012)

Didn't write yesterday, but we were a bit busy yesterday, switched the furniture around in both the addition and the living room.  Putting the couches at an angle in the room instead of against the walls all the time sure helps make the rooms a little more homey than anything.  

And on Friday I had originally aimed to get some pictures of some ducks that are usually on the slough in the corrals, but instead got some neat (at least from the preview on the camera) pictures of some snow buntings that came in.  Snow buntings come in these HUGE flocks numbering in the hundreds or thousands, and they act sort of like starlings except these birds are native, not invasive, and love coming in when there's a snow storm or snow on the ground.

Any one up for seeing any pictures?


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## Mamaboid (Apr 16, 2012)

We are always up for pictures.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 17, 2012)

Still haven't uploaded the pics yet, I'll get em up sometime...

Went for another drive today, on personal business.  Then I decided to take a fairly long drive north on the high way that runs north not far from our place. Only turned around when I came to a T in the road.  

Nice to get out of the house for a little while.   And I think I counted about four or five red-tail hawks on the drive there, they're sure out and about hunting those mice.

Speaking of mice, one of the cats killed another mouse in the quonset...this is #4 so far.  Only way I found out was I nearly stepped on it when I went in to get the car.  Red, you'd probably have a near fit if you walked in to a garage and seen a dead freshly killed mouse waiting for you at the door!    

At least Spider was kind enough to have the want to eat it up, as he was just about to eat it when I let the cats back in again.


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## redtailgal (Apr 18, 2012)

NO, I like them dead, lol. (mice that is)

You'll probably see a lot of hawks for the next few weeks.  They are doing their spring migration.  Hawks have a really weird migration.  You'll have a constant population of Redtails, but you'll have a different "set" in the summer than you have in the winter.  

Alot of time the northern birds are darker than our southern birds, esp with the juvenile birds.  If you get a chance to get a pic of one, I'd love to see it, esp if you could get the tail in there.

The migration here is yeilding alot of very large birds from last years hatch, meaning there are alot of females.  We've already had several of the juv birds end up down with worms.  I wish I still rehabbed, I miss my hawks.  But I just dont have the time to train a hawk for release anymore and I cant condone not releasing a releasable hawk.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 18, 2012)

I was taking pictures this evening and saw a couple hawks flying around.  Even better a flock of six geese came landing in the very pond I was trying to get pictures of a pair of ducks from.  Those birds are BIG, especially when they came flying in nearly right over my head!!  Thankfully I had my camera with me, so I'll definitely have to get some pics up here soon.

While I'm on the topic, Mom says she seen a big snowy owl this morning too.  I'd love to see one myself so's I can get a pic of it. 

So here's a list of all the birds I/we seen today:

- Gyrfalcon (that hawk I seen with white underneath and grey on top)
- Canada geese
- Mallard ducks
- Snow bunting (_thousands_ of them!)
- Juncos
- Red Polls
- Snowy owl
- Magpies
- Gull
- Nuthatch

It's so neat to get the kind of wildlife we get around here.  


But those darn cats didn't even touch that mouse I left for them to clean up this mornin!  So I had to put on a pair of gloves and toss the dead mouse out to the bush.  Blegh!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 19, 2012)

Here's one picture: 







More are on the way.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 20, 2012)

Here's those snow buntings we've been seeing lately:






















The pics were dark since it was snowing quite a bit. I was sitting really quiet and those buntings were getting pretty close to the camera, as shown in the last pic.

Mallard ducks:
















Flying off since I scared them.





Robin that was hanging around near the pond













Canada geese coming in for a landing





Stretching his wings





Reflections on the water





















Only one of the few tiffs I seen between these birds.





What I thought was a Gyrfalcon turned out to be a Northern Harrier. (This is not the greatest pic, I have a few better shots I took today to show, will show maybe tomorrow) 

This is just from a couple days ago, I still have to upload pictures from today and last evening. So, more pics on the way! 

Oh, and enjoy!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 20, 2012)

Some slightly better snow bunting pictures:

















Landing on the snow













The flock's so thick they're worse than flies!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 22, 2012)

Sorry I didn't get any more pictures up today.

Two types of wildlife came around today:  Finally got to see that snowy owl, and a half dozen muley does came around this evening.








Lately I feel like I've been talking to myself on here, hope I haven't scared everybody off for whatever reason, or at least bored everybody to death with not much to report except wildlife and general life...


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## 77Herford (Apr 22, 2012)

I read just don't comment much anymore.  Nice pictures though, I like to bird watch when I have time.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks 77. 

Here are some more pictures from the other day:









Ducks flying in





Mallard in mid-flight





Swans flying over









Northern pintail ducks in a spring-flood pond









Lesser Yellowlegs (species of sandpiper)













Pintails coming in for a landing





Cloud of snow buntings and ducks

















Harrier going after buntings


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 22, 2012)

Aside from the pictures we were pretty busy this weekend.

Last night we dug out nearly all the irises that were in the front flower bed, since Mom had been wanting to do that for years, so finally we got a chance to do that.  The irises came out in about five or six big clumps, not at all hand-dug since the root systems were so deep.  So throw out the big clumps to the compost pile, as they're nothing more than tangled roots that the irises don't tend to grow well in anyway.  Besides, they look ugly come summer anyway. Not to mention we get big problems with all that quack grass that like to wind their rhyzomes in with the iris tubers.

So out with the tubers, keep the fresh dirt, and smooth out that big ugly mound that's been building up over the years.  And boy does it look soooo much better now!

Unfortunately the cats like to $h@t in there, and a tom cat came in and sprayed in there rant ), so out with the cat piles (and the really disgusting musk that that ruddy tom left), and in with some chicken wire to keep the cats out until we get some landscape fabric in.  Once we get landscape fabric in, then we can put in a few shrubs in, maybe some ninebark, dogwood, any sort of shrub that grows low and kind of bushy.  Then we just fill in with cedar shavings, a few rocks, and it will look all nice and pretty again! 

But we didn't take out all the irises, plus there's a few spots were we have some lilies growing, tiger lilies and an unknown beautiful yellow lily, so we HAVE to keep those there.

Yesterday we had a lovely snowy owl stop for a visit this afternoon.  That owl sat in the same spot for, oh I dunno, 4, 5 hours?  Until I came out trying to get pictures of him, and pushed my luck a bit far when I got a little too close to him just to take a picture of him.  Darn me!  But I did get some shots, not the greatest since the owl was not in a contrasting background like I would've liked, but alright-pictures nonetheless.

Today I got busy putting the greenhouse together, one of those you can put together in the spring and take apart in the fall.  I think it only took me about an hour or so to get it done, and actually got it together in the right order with all the right pieces, unlike Mom who took over two hours to figure out how to put it together and, as a result, had some pieces left over and pieces in the wrong places.  I took the liberty of figuring out which goes where and in the right spot.  

Main reason we decided to put the greenhouse up was that the deer were up visiting last night, six or seven healthy, heavily pregnant does and one yearling fawn, and they decided the strawberries needed "help" growing so they nipped off some growth.  We decided it best to put the greenhouse back together and put the strawberries in so the deer DON'T eat them.   

Besides, I'm really looking forward to some fresh, home-grown strawberries this year!  We may just get a few more plants too, since we had great luck with the two pots we bought last year.

The snow is just about gone, but the garden is still way too muddy and mucky do even consider doing anything yet.  We usually don't start planting until the middle of May.  Half the garden we're planning on putting into lawn since we don't even use that half in the first place.

Spring cleaning is so much fun!


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## Roll farms (Apr 23, 2012)

Loved the pics, that's A LOT of birds!  Never heard of / seen some of them.  Amazing the difference a few hundred miles N. or S. can make.


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## redtailgal (Apr 23, 2012)

We have occasionally had a Harrier pass thru here, I love to watch them.  They have some MAD flight skills.  I love to see them "skimming" the top of the grass!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks!  Those buntings, gosh there's so many of them they sound like the wind (or even like water and wind) when they suddenly fly up from the ground or off the trees.  I thought the starlings were bad, but they've got nothing to those snow buntings!

Red, I know that Harrier is pretty cool to watch.  I think there's a pair or a couple pair of them hanging around here, and I think they're around because those buntings are around.  They can swoop in and scare the bejeezuz out of the buntings lol.  That harrier I was watching a couple days ago when I took those pintail pictures, he was swooping in literally over the heads of those ducks, but they didn't move, likely because they figgered he wasn't after them.

And that owl!  It's rare to see them around here!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 24, 2012)

Here's the snowy owl:







That owl sure blends in quite well with the snow in the background.


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## elevan (Apr 24, 2012)

Took me a second to find him.  Beautiful creature.


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## Roll farms (Apr 24, 2012)

Preeeettttyyyyyy~!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 25, 2012)

Went to the city to do some shopping today.  Got a couple books: Pocket Ref and The Hunger Games.  The Pocket Ref has got to be the handiest book ever created.  Little minor problem is that it's not the Canadian version.   And The Hunger Games book?  Picked up, started reading, and now I can't put it back down again.  

Had a look at some better telescopic lenses (ones that go up to 500 mm instead of the 300 mm that I have), and the ones we looked at, especially the 500 mm one, was priced at $1300.  Tempting, but too expensive! So I thought it better I'd leave that until I get a job to actually be able to buy one! 

And this morning a couple of Mallards (drake and hen) got a little misdirected (it was quite windy this morning) and landed right in the backyard just before we were about to leave.  It was so cute to watch them waddling around, a bit lost and confused as to where the pond went to!!


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 28, 2012)

Gorgeous day today!  Got the bike out today for a little bit, now the part where my pin bones are are sore.  

Decided to give the bike a good wash/rub down/wiping since it was pretty dirty, especially in the gears.  I didn't want to use gasoline to clean them, so all I had was water, a wire brush, a couple rags and a screw driver to clean the gears with.  No I didn't use the screw driver to take the bike a part, I just used it to get the rag into the small parts where my fingers are too big and fat to get in.  Took me an hour or so to clean it, but now it runs really nicely and doesn't sound so gritty.

Then me and mom tackled that second monster of a rose bush in the front flower bed this afternoon. We started at after three and finished at a quarter past three.  That thing was a BEAST.  It had suckers spread all over the flower bed and into the other shrubs, and roots right into the lawn.  Roots were soooo deep, and the big crown was HUGE, big enough that we couldn't just pull it out, we had to dig a ruddy hole to get the thing out. And we couldn't get all the roots out, just the stuff at the surface or a few inches deep.  

Now the front flower beds actually look NICE.  Now all that's needed is to choose a few shrubs to put in, put in some landscape fabric down and it should look really nice again.

But now my lower back is sore and my legs are sore.  :/  Oh and I forgot, my rear too.


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## Royd Wood (Apr 30, 2012)

Just love all your bird pics and would love to see a Snowy Owl here.  Glad to hear its warming up for you
We live up on the Escarpment from Lake Ontario and at this time of year get all the birds of prey flying above heading North from warmer climates. All sorts of hawks, kestrals and the Turkey vultures


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## 77Herford (Apr 30, 2012)

That Snowy Owl is pretty awesome.  Wish we had those but we do get some nice Owls.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 3, 2012)

77, what kind do you get?

Royd those harriers have since moved on with the buntings and now the sparrowhawks (or kestrals) and red-tailed hawks are taking over the skies now, along with those dang crows and magpies.  Vultures are something never seen hear, that would be pretty neat to see where you are...probably not though if you're someone just starting calving/lambing...




Not much to report these past few days.  just seen more wildlife, mule deer are starting to come around, the mallard hen is a-settin in a nest in one of our spruce trees, no idea if she's got eggs or what.

Speaking of the mulies, they've been making their come around since yesterday evening and stayed around all day and back again tonight.  Two bucks and a few does.  Bucks have little buds starting, does are pretty pregnant.  Love eating the fresh green grass on the lawn. 

Frogs are sure croaking in the ponds lately.  Beautiful to listen to when sitting outside.


Still no luck on any job stuff.   Gotta keep trying though.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 4, 2012)

Got our first spring thunderstorm today!  And what a downpour we got!

DB's out today and I got busy helping him putting some more parts together on the truck.  Found out through that I got a bit of a hidden talent with mechanical stuff. 


Anyway, not much else today that's exciting and worth sharing here. 

May not post much on here for the next few days, since it's not worth posting anything if I got nothing to share.


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## redtailgal (May 5, 2012)

well, if you have nothing to share, perhaps you need to be takin' some more bird pics!


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## Royd Wood (May 6, 2012)

Hey we had our first Spring thunderstorm on Friday
6 years in Canada and still cant believe how violent the storms can be, and the lightning show is pretty amazing to say the least


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## greybeard (May 6, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Got our first spring thunderstorm today!  And what a downpour we got!
> 
> DB's out today and I got busy helping him putting some more parts together on the truck.  Found out through that I got a bit of a hidden talent with mechanical stuff.


Careful there. Once your partner finds out you can do something, it becomes your job to do it always. I'd a been ok, if I had just never let anyone know I knew what that balck thing with the 4 burners was for...........boiled one dang egg one night long ago, and dinner has been my job ever since....


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## 77Herford (May 6, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> 77, what kind do you get?
> 
> Royd those harriers have since moved on with the buntings and now the sparrowhawks (or kestrals) and red-tailed hawks are taking over the skies now, along with those dang crows and magpies.  Vultures are something never seen hear, that would be pretty neat to see where you are...probably not though if you're someone just starting calving/lambing...
> 
> ...


We get Barred Owls, Barn Owls, and Screech Owls.  Farther north in the state theirs Great Horned and Gray Owls.  I like Sonbirds and Hawks more myself.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 9, 2012)

77, I think that one owl I heard a few weeks back was a Great Horned Owl, since they are not exactly rare up here. Didn't see him though, unfortunately. 

LOL greybeard and red!   May get some more bird pics up some time, I've got some new goose ones from last week that I still haven't uploaded yet.

Anyway, we're starting to finally start our lawn and garden shopping.  Mom and I've been thinking, talking, hmmming and hawwing over what to do with the big waste of space we call our front lawn. If there were trees up front near the road it would make a great goat/sheep pasture (this of course humoured mom  lol), but the one thing we agreed on was that front lawn IS a waste of space and nothing more than a space to cut with the ride-around mower. So we've been really seriously considering turning up a part of the lawn and putting in a bunch of trees and shrubs (well, more shrubs than trees) in to make it less open and less of a waste of space and take much less time to cut. 

We've started by getting a few shrubs today: two saskatoon bushes, two honeysuckle shrubs, a russian cherry (I think) and a mock orange. Two of these shrubs we're going to put in the front flower bed up by the house to take away that open space where we pulled out a mass of wild rose suckers, irises and a big monster of a rose bush, the russian shrub on I think the west side and the mock orange on the east side, with room for another shrub on the east side whenever we find one (probably a darker variety of a nine bark).  Anyway, just a few more shrubs to add more colour and more variety and clean it up a bit.  We have a bunch of tiger lilies (on both sides), a couple small clumps of irises and a little patch of yellow lilies (I PROMISE I will post pictures of those lilies when they bloom.... they are soooo pretty!), so a couple shrubs should on that side should spice things up a bit.

Now, for the front lawn.  It's still in the planning stages, still have to go out and stake out where/how we're going to make a space, but I was thinking of digging/building a sort of four-leaf clover island on the lawn that will have a smallish tree in the middle and shrubs surrounding it.  Or, we may have a couple shrubs in the middle (like a couple saskatoons or something), with a variety of evergreen and deciduous shrubs of varying heights and such.  I personally would like to have maybe some of the following shrubs for this island:

Mugo pine 
Tamarack 
Saskatoon
Juniper
Double flowering plum 
Dogwood
Mayday tree (flowering variety)
Ninebark

I doubt if we're going to use all of the shrubs I listed, but it would be really nice if we could.  Those double flowering plums are absolutely gorgeous in the spring time, and a real showy shrub for the front. The tamarack would also be nice since they have quite the fall colours, but they grow up to 50' tall!  Might be fine right in the middle, but it might look a little odd too being out in the middle, even with a few spruces behind. it.  The rest are nice low-growing shrubs, the mugo and juniper being my favorite evergreen shrubs.  

But whatever the choices we make, I know they'll be good and they'll be worth while once we get started and the ideas start flowing. 

We just HAVE to get rid of that waste of space in the front lawn!  It's not a play space for the girls (my nieces), not suitable for any kind of pasture, and really adds no value to the whole yard. So we've got to do something about it.  Best thing to do is to plant shrubs to break up the space and maybe take out a quarter, if not more, lawn that needs to be cut.  In total it takes two whole hours to cut the lawn, and that's with the ride-around.  Some like cutting lawn, for us it's a chore lol. So we like our trees and shrubs and rock gardens and such.


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## marlowmanor (May 9, 2012)

I vote you fence in half the front yard and get some goats to be lawnmowers for you!


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## WildRoseBeef (May 9, 2012)

marlowmanor said:
			
		

> I vote you fence in half the front yard and get some goats to be lawnmowers for you!


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## BarredRockMomma (May 10, 2012)

marlowmanor said:
			
		

> I vote you fence in half the front yard and get some goats to be lawnmowers for you!


x2


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## 77Herford (May 10, 2012)

BarredRockMomma said:
			
		

> marlowmanor said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, No, buck the trend and get some Sheep.  They are all woolly and soft and don't complain so much.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 11, 2012)

LOL @ you guys.  I like the idea of both (or either or) but it's still something that's in the "thinking about" processes  


It's been really windy these past couple days!  Cats don't like it lol, I didn't realize Mom had put them in the quonset until I went in to get the car.  I had the big doors wide open and though Spider was up and about he didn't want to step outside the building.  Muffy just stayed in her little nest lol.  She never even moved when I moved the car out, and was in the same spot when I put it back in.  Spider was cozied up in his nest too when I put the car back in again and didn't want to move.

Went to town today to get some flowers and a potted plant for Mom for Mother's Day.  I think she'll love them.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 15, 2012)

Best way to trim an apple tree:



Climb it!  Ladders are for wimps! 




Gawd my arms, legs and abs are sore this evening!! No I didn't fall out of the tree lol: if I did [*NOT!!*]), it's just those branches get so darn thick that it takes a bit of muscle-power to cut them down with the whatchyamacallit---clippers? branch trimmers?---anyway, whatever the name it is. Had to trim out a big tall ugly branch that was sticking up like a sore thumb and had a branch at least a couple inches thick.  Sure looks a lot nicer with it gone.  There's another branch going into the spruce tree beside the one I cut down, but I'll have to tackle that another time.  Got a number of other branches, dead and competitive ones out too while I was up in the tree.  (Those barefoot shoes are great to use for climbing trees!)


And, I finally took that cattle oiler brush thingy down that was bugging me for the last couple years, ugly thing it was.  Scratching brush had half the bristles gone, nothing left in the tank, and the hose was all brittle to heck, so brittle couldn't even bend it, and it had already cracked in a number of places = irreparable.  So, out with the open wrenches and down and apart it went. Bolt connecting the brush with the hose was a b$%$# to get apart, threads were real badly stripped (NOT striped!) I had a heck of a time trying to get it apart.  Stripped bolt = garbage!

So I had a good day today.  Finally found something to do today where I was physically active, which felt REAL good!


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## WildRoseBeef (May 23, 2012)

Rain!!!!  

It's been raining since yesterday and in total we've gotten about an inch and four tenths of much-needed rain, which couldn't've come at a perfect time.  RIGHT after seeding was done in the fields.


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## Symphony (May 23, 2012)




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## WildRoseBeef (May 26, 2012)

Went to an exotic animals auction today just to see the animals there.  Bunnies, turkeys, ducks, geese, pigs, goats, chickens, guinea fowl, quail, and llamas oh my!   We must've came when the auction was more than half-way through, but it was really neat to see all the exotic and "exotic" animals there of all sorts of breeds...including an emu!  

If we had some pens set up I'd probably be tempted to bring some animals home...including goats....   Seen a couple of 3.5 month old doelings for sale, forget what breed they were but they looked so precious!   Maybe I'm getting GAS too, seeing those things there!!


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## Symphony (May 26, 2012)

Those auctions can be fun to go to.  I once knew a guy who tried Emu's but I'm not sure it went so well.


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## Roll farms (May 27, 2012)

After the emu, prairie dog, patagonian cavy, and fallow deer I've brought home.....I'm banned from 'exotic' sales.

I think DH figured he'd better put a lid on it before I brought home a bear cub.


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## WildRoseBeef (May 29, 2012)

FINALLY landed a job!  

First day on the job too today, and I'm pooped!  Ended up getting a job as a "display clerk" at a farm/ranch store just a half hour drive from home, just for part time.  Certainly was fun, and the other colleagues I work with are also quite enjoyable to be around. So I'm pretty happy with it, even though I'm exhausted tonight lol.


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## elevan (May 29, 2012)

Congrats!


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## Royd Wood (May 30, 2012)

Glad you enjoyed your first day


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## Roll farms (May 30, 2012)




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## WildRoseBeef (May 30, 2012)

Yep.  Thanks.....


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## BarredRockMomma (May 30, 2012)




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## WildRoseBeef (May 31, 2012)

BarredRockMomma said:
			
		

>


Oh I know!!  

Now here's the funniest (not as in humorous) and totally unexpected thing that happened yesterday, on just my _second_ day of work: the guy that is second-in-command to the manager (the Boss) of the store was talking to me about my university, what I took and that, but then dropped a big freaking bomb shell (which didn't hit me till I got home and told Mom about it) and asked me if I was interested in maybe working as a crop pesticide specialist, or something along those lines, under the same company I'm working for now.  Holy crapola!!  Now I've gotta siddown and really think about that, maybe get some more info on that when I go back in tomorrow....


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## WildRoseBeef (May 31, 2012)

I didn't tell you the whole story, lol.

On Saturday me and mom thought we'd go in to town (the "other" town that's a half-hours drive from home) to do some more plant/garden shopping, since it was a lovely day and a nice day to get out of the house and shop around a bit.  Mom wanted to go to the farm supply store there (got two in town there: Peavey Mart and UFA...she went to the latter) to get some potatoes and she noticed there was a job ad up on the bulletin board there for a display clerk needed in that store.  So she asked for a job application for me and brought it out explaining what it was and asked what I thought of it.  I figured that was a job that was something I could handle quite easily and quite well, even if it was for part-time. So I had to go back in to look at the ad and write some stuff down, and of course think about it over Sunday before I decided to write up the application.

And of course I did.  

So I drive in to the UFA on Monday and go in to submit my application.  The fella there (the same one who approached me with the crop pesticide specialist job opportunity), accepted it, and looked it over with the manager there.  Then he came back and asked what would be a good pay and if I'd like to come in tomorrow to start work.    Needless to say I did not expect that!! I thought that maybe he'd say yeah you can come in for an interview in a few days and yaddi yaddi yadda, but noooo, he literally said _I could come to work and start working tomorrow!!!_

Heck I just about did the happy-dance right there.  So I accepted the offer and really liked the job (and the people I work with) since. 

But the other offer for a crop specialist with pesticides that came on my second day of work....now THAT I didn't expect either!


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## Symphony (May 31, 2012)

Thats great, you seem to know your stuff and I doubt wil disappoint.  Good luck on your new job.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jun 13, 2012)

Oi I've been BUSY these last couple weeks, too busy to post anything to my journal here.  Been a real learning curve with this new job, but it's more hard physical work than mental.  Although, I still get a bit of a mental work out reading numbers and showing customers where certain merchandise/products are. 

But now, the second day I started work I was offered an opportunity to work as a crop input inside sales rep, and decided to take it.  I'm working as my initial display clerk position until the couple guys I have to talk to get enough time to talk to me more about the job and get me started on some crop input stuff they would have me to do.  As a change, it's a full-time job, and I do more computer/paper work than physical work, but it's a job that allows me to work more where I'm putting my crop/forage/pasture management courses I took at university to work than my physical being. The colleagues literally told me I am more qualified for that job than anybody else there because of the amount of education I have.

So anyway, I'm exhausted tonight, been really busy putting away stock and working with nuts, bolts and washers today and yesterday.  Be kinda nice to sleep in and relax tomorrow.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jun 17, 2012)

I recently got an email from my brother asking if it would be good to start doing some MIG grazing with a few heifers in the corrals we have currently, since I had talked to him and Mom about it last weekend and they both understand that it's not only a dream for me to own cattle, but an actual intention.  I think you all know that dreams and intentions are two similar, but very different things.   Anyway he said he could sponsor me with a loan, rent a squeeze to do the needling, etc. 

Unfortunately I had to tell him that I'm not quite ready yet, though the offer is highly appreciated no doubt, and certainly took me by surprise!! 

The thing was and the reasons I wasn't ready yet was due to several things: a) I didn't have a real, down-set plan to know what to do, how to graze (as in stocking density, paddock size, rest period, etc.), how many animals are needed to graze from now to possibly October or November, where to buy from and who to sell to, whether to purchase weaned heifers or yearlings, what breeds, and the whole costs of how this would work out; b) I really do not like to start with another loan, no matter if it's another family member's or my own; c) the current fencing arrangements are not to my liking, and probably not the best to work around with MIG grazing, and d) I don't want to have my bro have to feel to come out all the time to help me with this; I'd rather do the majority, if not all, of the work and planning myself, and that includes doing vaccinations and deworming.  The other issue, being part e), was that I do not want to start having cattle and have to work them with the crap handling facilities that are currently there.  I need to, first and foremost, get rid of the handling facilities that are there and start on a fresh page and build something that is FAR better, safer and less of a headache to work with than what's there now.

And I KNOW I can do all this, I just need to generate enough income to get started and have enough income to make an excuse that I do not need to take out a $20,000 or $40,000 loan. I mean, that's the worse thing you can do when starting out in such a high-risk hobby or business opportunity; though sometimes it's unavoidable.  If I do have to take out a loan, I just hope that the job that I have or will have (I know I won't be at this display-clerk job forever, since I will be getting into this crop-input sales rep job within a few weeks or so) will be enough to help pay off the loan, and the cattle I sell will also help pay off the loan.  

Besides, I AM one step closer to this dream of raising cattle someday!


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## WildRoseBeef (Jun 17, 2012)

Now, for my REAL thoughts that started me on this whole mono-whatever-you-call-it-discussion, and what my DB started with his suggestions to me, not to mention the things I've been reading on here, on CattleToday, the Canadian Cattlemen Magazine and a few other places.  

And if I've mentioned it before, meh, it's worth mentioning again.

I think it would be more cost-effective to start with raising feeder steers or heifers to get my feet wet and start experimenting with some MIG rotational grazing stuff. Purchase them in April or May, or whenever the grass starts to come up enough to start grazing on, MIG graze them in the corrals for the first bit to train them to the electric fence, then really begin the MIG for the summer.  Then I'd sell them when they're big enough or when I feel it's the best time to take them off the pasture for the summer/fall.  

In the mean time I'd start building a cow herd.  I was asked by one of my colleagues why is it really necessary to start with 3-in-1's or bred cows?  He said you can literally start with whatever you want, there's nothing that says you have to.   I think the reason I thought to start with that was because of the more experience with calving out and weaning and that.  Then today I was reading a thread on CattleToday that put a question on whether it was feasible to retain heifers or not, especially with prices nowadays.  The one post that stood out for me was the one that said that the only problems you get with heifers and calving is when you're using the wrong bull on them. If you're not using the wrong bull then you won't have the calving troubles.  The other issue I've had to think about was mothering ability, but I think that is due to the fact that I have to be choosey about the kind of heifers I purchase, make sure I get some good maternal-type heifers and not culls that will not last very long.

So possibly start with heifers? Likely, yes, since they're cheaper than buying 3-in-1's and I'd probably have less risk associated with good, quality heifers over 3-in-1's bought at the auction, regardless if it's from a dispersal sale or not. The reason I say less risk is that I wouldn't know what the history for a 2nd or 3rd-calver is and whether she was bred to a questionable bull or not. 

And those Galloways are starting to look more and more appetizing the more I see pictures of them.   


And who knows what will aspire in the next five years? I really hope to keep my job at the UFA for that long and longer, and the farm will be kept being rented out for the next five years as well, that's already been agreed. But with me, hope to keep the job, certainly feel like I will (confident I will at this rate),  but the other thing is that it's possible that I may even find or buy a farm of my own.....though at this rate, that probably won't be any time soon, certainly not within five years from now!!  I hope to have ALL my student loans paid off within five years or less, and really start getting something concrete down with this cattle business. 

But, the idea of starting with grazing stockers in the summer for the first couple years or so before starting a cowherd sounds ideal.  From the one contract grazier I talked to and got to tour his ranch, doing that (the stocker route) is more profitable than going cow-calf.


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## Royd Wood (Jun 18, 2012)

spotted the one line


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## WildRoseBeef (Jun 23, 2012)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> spotted the one line


    I figured you'd notice!!  



Anybody know the secret to a good tomato crop, like with lots of tomatoes and that?  (I "kinda" know the answer already, just want others thoughts if possible)


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## WildRoseBeef (Jun 24, 2012)

Come on now folks, I know there's a number of you out there on here who love a good crop of tomatoes and have your ways of getting them.  

So I'll ask again: Anybody know the or a secret to a good tomato crop? Like, a way to get a lot of tomatoes other than just getting a lot of tomato plants or planting a lot of tomato seeds in the spring? 


I know one way is to do a little pruning.  Anybody else?


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## elevan (Jun 24, 2012)

Get a good cultivar for your area.  Start early inside (or in a greenhouse).  Plant with some of the stem in a "trench".  Prune.  Water appropriately.


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## greybeard (Jun 24, 2012)

Don't take this the wrong way, but.....No, I don't know and I don't want to know.
2011, I put out 18 plants of about 5 different varieties--all heirloom. One plant died, and I eneded up with 40 qts and 33 pints canned, plus all we could possibly eat and gave away as many as I could as well. Cut down to 13 plants this years--again one didn't make it and I still had way more than I could give away after canning both cut tomatoes and salsa.  Same with yellow squash and zucchini.  I am absolutely sick of them. 2 freezers full and I have gotten to where I have to go by the little store up the road and just drop them off by the bagfull and just let  them to give away for me.  I do nothing special to my garden except use plenty of 'seasoned' cow pooh, and keep the fruit picked off as quckly as they approach maturity. zero chemicals except to side dress my sweet corn.

I'm ready to hook the power tiller up and plow the whole mess under.


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## elevan (Jun 24, 2012)

Sorry to laugh greybeard but we've had those issues too!  

We haven't hit the "tomato season" here yet so no ripe tomatoes.  But at least I have a booth at the Farmer's Market every Saturday to help unload any extras this year.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jun 25, 2012)

We do alright with tomatoes but not that we have any great trick.  We put cages around them early, use nylons to tie them up if the seem like they need support.  I use wasted hay from the goats as a kind of mulch around them---it keeps the ground from getting really dried out and if I have to go away for a few days, I'll really soak it and the hay helps to keep them happy while I am gone.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jul 3, 2012)

Tomatoes seem to do well in the garden with me pruning them every two or three days.  I go away for longer than that and those suckers I should've pruned out before grow into big stems.  They have to get knocked out though, regardless, since I don't want my tomato plants branching off like a friggin' tree. 

Anyway, I was away to Canmore for the weekend, or at least from Friday til yesterday, since I had a cousin's wedding to go to.  Nice country wedding, simple, a bit different from what's usually held at the church and that, but nice anyhow.  The steak the folks of the ranch that the wedding was held at sure served some yummy steak, I'm absolutely positive it's steak from either one of the ranch's animals or from a different ranch, but locally raised.  

So now I've got to try to rest up before heading back to the grindstone again tomorrow.  At least I get Thursday off before going back again Friday.


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## elevan (Jul 3, 2012)

I think I'll have tomatillos before I'll have tomatoes this year.  :/


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## WildRoseBeef (Jul 4, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> I think I'll have tomatillos before I'll have tomatoes this year.  :/


You haven't it pretty dry there then? I'm already starting to get a couple small green tomatoes already, and we've been getting lots of rain, so we may get a big crop.


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## elevan (Jul 4, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, and when we do get a little bit of rain it evaporates as soon as it hits the ground in these almost 100* temps.  *sigh*  I really don't know how our grass is staying green other than it's natural prairie grass and is mostly drought tolerant.


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## greybeard (Jul 4, 2012)

If you are having problems getting water down to the plant roots, you can make a water probe thingie. Any valve, with a female water hose connection on one end and about 3' of 3/8 copper tubing on the other. Turn the water on slowly, allow the water from the end of the tubig to wash the probe tip down into the soil, and then decrease the flow at the valve. (you can feel the water flowing) Do each mature plant.  Let it run for about 20 seconds per plant.  This puts moisture where afternoon rain showers never reach, especially if you have a soil type that crusts over quickly or if your soil is so light and sandy, it seems the water just "floats" on top of the soil. . Just don't over do it.  Too much and too often can lead to root rot.


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## Roll farms (Jul 5, 2012)

I bought a really cheap, confusing, and poorly instructed drip irrigations system at Harbor Freight for a whopping 6.50$.

After I gave up on the instructions and just did it 'my way' it works beautifully.  There's a small  hose that runs to ea. plant and delivers a slow, gentle trickle of water to them.
I turn it on for 30 min. every other day and it has done well.


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## elevan (Jul 5, 2012)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I bought a really cheap, confusing, and poorly instructed drip irrigations system at Harbor Freight for a whopping 6.50$.
> 
> After I gave up on the instructions and just did it 'my way' it works beautifully.  There's a small  hose that runs to ea. plant and delivers a slow, gentle trickle of water to them.
> I turn it on for 30 min. every other day and it has done well.


$6.50?!?  Hmmm...There's a Harbor Freight store only 40 minutes from me...


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## Symphony (Jul 5, 2012)

elevan said:
			
		

> Roll farms said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbx57/h_d2/Navigation?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

These look good.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jul 13, 2012)

I was very sad to hear this today from what I seen on the CBC Calgary Stampede show last night where they said no reports had been released about three/four horses that were involved in a wreck last night: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/07/12/calgary-chuckwagon-crash.html

But I was also quite angry to hear about animal activists suddenly jumping out and making this whole accident an excuse to ban the chuckwagon races: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/07/13/calgary-chuck-wagon-horse-death-folo.html

It just doesn't make sense that these animal rights people won't accept the facts about these horses, how that nothing else can be done with them after they're finished racing in the horse-racing biz, not the chuckwagon races. If the chuckwagon races were no more, what would happen with these horses that are literally born to run??  They are not suitable for families, not pleasure horses nor horses that can be used for anything else other than racing, and most aren't even suitable for show-jumping or dressage because they're too "hot." And of course since horse slaughter isn't exactly agreed on by animal rights groups either, they couldn't be sent there after their done racing. So what would happen with them?  I'd hate to say it but what would happen to them is what happened to thousands of dogs and cats that PeTA took in because they were supposedly being treated cruelly: all get killed.  And that is just not right.

I know that both sides can argue the facts as much as they like and still neither side will agree, but to let them take control of the situation would simply cause a lot of unrest and even more disagreements on either sides. If they get the chuckwagon races shut down, they'll work even harder to get the whole thing shut down, and what may follow is animal agriculture and forcing everyone to turn vegan. That's what Dictatorship is all about, and really that's what they're trying to do: dictate everyone and tell everyone what to do because they always think they're right and we're wrong.  It's pathetic, and just not the solution to all this.  

And the Calgary Stampede wouldn't be the Calgary Stampede without the rodeo, much less the Chuckwagon Derby.


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## WildRoseBeef (Jul 24, 2012)

Pretty interesting night last night with being on a tornado watch and south of Edmonton getting into a tornado warning, with several reports of funnel clouds.  Even today, in Vermillion there was several reports of funnel clouds/small tornadoes. The storm that blew through here last night seemed to make several attempts at forming funnel clouds, but the system was just too weak to be able to do anything.  Got over an inch of rain though, and folks got 5 inches of rain in town.  Some farms just west of us had a some big trees knocked down from the winds generated by the storm.

Haven't posted much since I've been too busy with my job and other things.  As you may have noticed I won't be posting much here anyway, probably once a month or so, or if there's anything worth sharing here. 

BTW I wrote an article on Hubpages on my resentment about how people are viewing agriculture from a financial point of view.  You can read it here: http://wildrosebeef.hubpages.com/hub/agriculture-isnt-all-about-the-money


Anyway, that's all for now.


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## SheepGirl (Jul 24, 2012)

Good job on the article! I totally agree.


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## WildRoseBeef (Oct 11, 2012)

Happy Birthday to me....


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 11, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Happy Birthday to me....


:bun :bun Happy Birthday WRB!! :bun :bun


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## Southern by choice (Oct 16, 2012)

I just read your article 





> http://wildrosebeef.hubpages.com/hub/agriculture-isnt-all-about-the-money


Well done!


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## Royd Wood (Oct 17, 2012)

WildRoseBeef said:
			
		

> Happy Birthday to me....


So belated but Happy Birthday WRB

 :bun 

Simple spelling edit dur


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## WildRoseBeef (Nov 20, 2012)

I'm finally getting back on track to getting those breed pages done.  So far I've completed the Maine Anjou  and Murray Grey  pages, and aim on getting the Jersey page and maybe the Simmental one done today.  I know for sure the Simmental one is going to be fun to do. But the Shorthorn and Red Angus one will be even more fun, seeing as there's White-bred and Polled Shorthorn that I have to merge into one page.  Shouldn't be much trouble, seeing I was able to do something similar with Limousin and Lim-Flex cattle.



Boy oh boy, now from looking at some of the links on Breeds of Cattle  list it looks like there's a lot more I need to do....Elevan expect a PM from me sometime soon...


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Dec 24, 2012)

Merry Christmas WRB!!


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## elevan (Dec 24, 2012)




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## WildRoseBeef (Dec 25, 2012)

Merry Christmas StrawHat, Merry Christmas Em!


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