Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Just got home from testing a little bit ago. It has rained all day, and it rained harder late this afternoon while I was gone.... it rained steady/harder at the farm I was testing. They got over 2 inches from 1 pm until we were done around 6 or so when he rechecked the rain gauge. I had about 1 inch here, before I left for work around 1 pm... and it was raining hard when I came home so did not look... I will check it in the morning. Checked the radar and it looks like it will be all gone to the east by midnight or so... sure hope it did not wash the field across the road after his planting it... there is water laying on the road in "pools" .... hit a couple of water spots on the road here.

Glad I went and got it done although staying home would have been nice, to do things inside. It is supposed to be partly sunny tomorrow as the remnants move east, and then sunny and decent for the next several days. 50's and down to the 30's which is typical average temps.

My poor lt brahma pullet has picked this time of year to molt. (she is nearly a year old). Her crate was full of feathers this morning... I hadn't found any eggs from her the last week and thought she might have found another place... NOPE.... she has stopped for now. She is going to get chilly for a few days when she finishes dropping all her feathers... but she will come back in quicker with the chilly temps. The other 2 are still laying pretty good with the shorter days. They should not molt until spring.

I left everything except the computer in the car with the rain coming down. Will bring the samples in to pack in the morning..

Got a bowl of soup in the convection oven heating up... A nice glass of cold chocolate milk to go with it and I am done for the night.... not working in the LR or sorting papers or anything... I will go up and let the cow out after graining her in the morning, and come back and work inside since it will be pretty wet out there. Ought to have quite a bit of water in the troughs at the barn... and expecting this to really help the spring there at the pasture, to keep the water trough filled.

Yawning so much; so soup and bed here in a few minutes I think.

 

[Mini Horses]

RAIN!! ....hope you got a lot and it didn't wash the new seed DS planted. Guess he didn't drill seed it?

Light rains here most of day and winds/heavier rains blowing in now. System should be gone from my area by 10ish in morn, they say. Total between .5 & 1.75 predicted. Whatever is fine.

 

[Baymule]

You probably already know this but when your hen stops dropping feathers and they start to grow back, give her about a half cup of dry cat food and the high protein will help her feathers grow back faster, to keep her warm.

 

[Mini Horses]

If you got the rain I am -- you're in hog heaven!

 

[farmerjan]

Starting out.... we got about 2 1/2 inches of rain by the looks of the rain gauge. Only have the one out now , so I can remember to just dump it and they won't freeze, and crack. Usually have 2 or 3... one in garden, one in front, etc.
Water troughs at the barn are nearly full, and the concrete trough down the hill that the spring feeds is also full. So good there for a bit.

BUT it is turning out to be a real SH!T day. Went to the barn to feed cow and turn her out. She is dead... no idea or anything... just flat out dead in the barn. She never cleaned up her grain from yesterday morning, but she had gone right in gate when I let her in and let calves nurse her and came to bunk when I put grain in. So,. I left just like I always do...when I am going to leave her in. It was raining and I figured she was glad to be inside. She had that hay in bunk I put in there Monday in anticipation of Tuesday's rain and my going to work.
So I came home and made up 2 bottles for the calves... and went back... They naturally wanted no part of me... but got the holstein cornered, and got a 1/2 bottle in him and he just stopped drinking.. so okay 1/2 is better than nothing. Finally got her calf, black one, in the corner of the outside lot with his head between the fence boards and had to fight him a bit, but then he got the taste of the milk and started drinking it pretty good. So he got the other half. That's good enough for now since it is different tasting to them. I expect a little resistance this evening again, but it won't take much to get them to come to me for the bottles. I do not want bottle calves this time of year. Really don't. So, I am thinking they need to go to the sale... If I had the da@%# fence up here at the house, then having bottle calves would not be so terrible to just go out and feed them... but even just going up to the nurse cow pasture is a PITA.....
Called the close by farmer and told him if anyone came looking for a calf that I had these 2 to sell...

DA%# and double da#@.... well, don't have to worry about breeding her AI this year. Burying close to $1000 too...

Maybe tomorrow I will feel different about keeping and feeding them... just would really prefer to have them here at the house... If they get sold in the next few days then fine... Really wish the fence was up here now...

Time to get the samples packed, and dropped off to go out. Need to go to the co-op and get another nipple... only have one right now... the others got old and scrungy so I tossed them... I have about a 1/2 bag or so of milk replacer I keep here for "emegencies"... So I am set for a week or so. Guess I will see how they do this evening.,..

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh dang! So sorry about that. Definitely not a convenient time to have bottle calves. Hope you get resolution quickly!

 

[SageHill]

Ah geeze. You've been through the proverbial mill with the unplanned cattle losses. So sorry.

 

[Mini Horses]

So sorry for that kick in the a$$. She's been a good one for you, too. Y'all don't have a backhoe???

I know it's "farming" but this one hurts. .

 

[farmerjan]

@Mini Horses .... not enough room to get the backhoe in the lot to reach inside the barn area... too low roof so cannot extend the arm with the backhoe in the lot part. We'll get it, just not convenient. But better than the other side with a "small door" that only 1 cow fits in, going into the barn....
Yeah it hurts, she has been a good one. She was getting some age on her, but no signs of her "not feeling good".... Yep, it's "farming"... sucks big time.

Got the samples packed and dropped off at the vineyard. Went to co-op and got the new nipple... I don't like the size of the calf nipples, prefer to have the "lamb nipples" and they make them to go on the 2 qt bottles. This co-op didn't have them... I will try to see if I can get one on Friday at TSC or somewhere... or maybe the holstein will take to this bigger nipple...

One good thing today... I heard some noise in the kitchen the other night but cats were on the chair. Went in and didn't see anything... then yesterday I left a piece of bacon on the counter on the paper towel when I went to work, and last night it was moved... uh oh... not good. So I took and tossed the bacon and the towel and set the mouse trap with some peanut butter and a piece of the bacon... this morning there was a dead RAT on the counter and trap had been sprung. I think it must have tried to get the bacon, trap snapped and hit it just right on the head/snout... and it killed it. It was not in the trap.....The cats were in the house, but it must have gotten up on the counter and they didn't see/smell it.... and they do not go on the counters (not yet and I do NOT want them to go up there)...
Gross to see but soooo glad that it was dead... reset the trap...

I am wondering if this is the one that the kitten had brought in the house, and I thought had gotten it grabbed up by the other kitten and I saw it with it outside... maybe there was more than one and this one actually got loose in the house... and the other kitten had another one outside... they constantly patrol the cabinets and around all the boxes in the DR that are all piled everywhere...
Had to chase them out with another mole the other day and lock them out for the day.... they want to bring their catches in the house and play with them... UGH..... the long tailed kitten, Trouble, growls and does not want you near his catch... the stub tailed one, I call Silly or Silkie (his fur is so soft under his chin where he likes to get rubbed) will play with it then leave it, if I try to make it take it outside... he is the one that had the rat in the house that I thought got taken back out by the other one.....UCK.....

So, heading up to see if I can get the calves to drink some more this evening. Talked to DS to see if he wanted to go to the community fund raiser Thanksgiving dinner just up the road this evening. We have gone several times in the past. He is NOT going to her families T-day dinner tomorrow... things are not very good there again... I offered to cook a chicken and make a dinner for tomorrow... so I took one out of the freezer and will cook it anyway... stuff it and all that... I don't know if he is going to spend any time with his father... Maybe just make a meal for him and jim and me and if he wants his father to come that is okay too...

So, heading out the door... cow will be taken care of in the morning.

 

[Mike CHS]

Hate to see you lose a good animal.

I don't allow cats on the counter either. If I catch one up there they get a flying lesson.