Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Been a cold wet miserable morning. Hovering between 28 and 32... NO SNOW.... just wet, rainy sleet crap.... Although the weather forecast says it might warm up to near 40 I think they have been smoking something funny... It has dropped down to 30 again, and the rain is now a glaze of ice on everything out there. Much more than earlier.

Calf seemed a little more interested this morning. Drank the bottle good. He is on straight milk replacer...and it is the one I started them out on. I got a different kind the other day to try to stretch this a bit... all milk so not a problem there, just a different company... and a little cheaper. It has Lasalocid which is a preventative for coccidiosis, which is a drug... so medicated milk replacer... not what I really like. So maybe that affected him when I started mixing it???? I will use up the bag mixed for the rest and just stop using it. Stick with what I have had good luck with even though it is $10 more per 50 lb bag. I will keep him on the "old formula" milk replacer for a couple days and see....

I broke down and got another calf coat... regular size, for the bull twin... he was shivering this morning with the chilly damp air and the breeze blowing through the barn/shed. They can't get out into the rain/sleet, outside, but that shed is not great for keeping out drafts.... It is counter productive for them to drink bottles then "shiver" off any gains they might make trying to keep warm. They can't grow if they are expending all their energy just to keep up their body heat.
The twin heifers drink down their bottles then go to the grain pan.... they are smart. The older 2 go directly to the feed in the bunk after their bottles too.

Came home, washed bottles and then warmed up the split pea soup... ate another small bowl... was going to freeze some but looks like only 1 more portion so probably will just eat it.
Put another ham in the oven to cook... so will be able to make more split pea soup. Wanted to warm up the house a bit.

Going to sit and work on bill paying and stuff... then maybe get out a jigsaw puzzle..... put a movie in and "do nothing" until time to go back to the calves. I will put the calf coat on the calf, when I go back up to feed again.

Really would have preferred this to be snow as this cold miserable rain/sleet/crap is hard on the animals.

 

[Baymule]

You need a do nothing day. You go like a freight train all the time, time to take a day off.

 

[Ridgetop]

I broke down and got another calf coat...

Since it looks like you are going into the bottle calf business again, those calf coats are a good investment. Won't be necessary in the summer, but this way you can bring n calves year round without fear of losing one to pneumonia or winter chill. Since it looks like you will mostly be getting twins, or calves that are higher risk, anything you do to increase survival and health will be $$ in your pocket on the road.

 

[farmerjan]

Cold day. We wound up with some nasty ice as the temps dropped to 26 last night... contrary to the forecast of "staying above freezing".... and the ice that formed on the bushes and all just stayed. Wet roads also refroze some, VDOT was out here, the better part of the last couple of days with it... our elevation here makes us a prime area for freezing where there isn't as much even 10 miles south. DS said that going to the next exit down on the interstate and there was nothing... but the cold back "dirt roads" were all freezing and they had to put down abrasives several times... then the main roads got alot of icy patches from the rain that was refreezing.
Then there were several calls for trees down that DS had to go deal with also. Then he calls me.... he ran the bale truck out of fuel... forgot to look at it and I had to go get him, take him to the barn and get a can, go to the gas station, get fuel, and back to the truck with it... luckily he had cut it off when it "missed a bit", and he realized it was on E; so did not have to try to bleed the lines and all... had a little air but it wasn't much and after a "hiccup" it ran smoothly. The fuel tanks at the barn are dry because he moved them, and didn't pay attention to the fuel gauge.... told him he was fortunate that I was home and it was close... he got into the driveway to the nurse cow pasture when it sputtered and quit, so not out on the road...
He also said he hit a deer with the dually the other night... grill, headlight, bumper and the fender...so was in a bi@#y mood about that....then when I called him about the trees at the nurse cow pasture he was really in a crap mood...

The sun came out early, ice was falling off the trees everywhere... but then the wind got up and it was COLD..... The roads cleared off so that is done... but we are looking at another system that is coming in Mon night/Tues morning that is supposed to put down 1-3 inches of rain... going to be a real muddy mess.
We got .9 inch out of yesterday's precip... I had 2 rain gauges out to see, and was surprised that we got so much.
It was drying out on the surface today with the wind. Had 2 dead trees come down on fence, along the road, at nurse cow pasture,,,, DS had to cut them off and pull fence back up some... will be for the owner to deal with but they are in PA at family for a few days.... I will have to go along the fences tomorrow and check for any other spots. All these ash trees that died and alot of locusts have died off the last few years.

Calves all looked good today. The biggest holstein seems to be feeling better, drank the bottle right down... I just wonder if he got into something in the hay and it just upset his digestion? No more snotty nose either... the 4 smaller calves have coats on and I think it is to their benefit for them to not be trying to keep up body heat and actually gain a little... the twin heifers both stuck their heads into the bunk feeder with the 2 older ones... now to get the youngest twins to start eating some grain.
I really do not want to do alot of these bottle calves..... unless they are right here at the house.... it's a pain to have to go up there across the road and up the hill to do them... although they have been pretty good about getting with the "program" and not having to fight them to get them to drink and all... still would be so much nicer if they were just here...

Going to eat some supper... might have some of the ham from the one I just cooked... I ought to go in and make some potatoes to go along with it and get some other veg to eat too. I plan to make another pot of split pea soup from this ham bone too... will cut the meat off it tomorrow I think.

Need to do some checking and see about getting the "kittens" fixed... getting near for them to come in heat... pretty sure the stubby tail one is female and the long tailed one is a male... do NOT want kittens and especially not from a brother/sister mating.

Watched part 1 and part 2 of a movie... Hatfields and McCoys... with Kevin Costner....last night; going to watch part 3 tonight. One of the Goodwill DVD's I picked up... sealed.... for $2 or 2.50.

Need to look at the calendar and start thinking testing again.... got to call the one for probably Thursday...

 

[Mike CHS]

That was a good set of movies. Some of my McCoy family in West Virginia said that the series was a pretty good representation of how it all went down according to what was passed down to them.

 

[Finnie]

I sent a couple pictures to @Baymule and @Mini Horses .... and sent a picture of the little twin heifers in the feed dish to the farmer I got them from too.... It finally makes sense to me....
Now to figure out how to send some to BYH.....

Easy. Send them to @Baymule and @Mini Horses and have them post them!

Please send kitty cat pictures!

 

[Baymule]

Hopefully this year you can get fence built at home so you can keep calves and maybe a new nurse cow.

 

[Mini Horses]

Let's try... FJs longhorn cow and calf. Beauties! I love the black ears & nose on that white body.

 

[Mini Horses]

FJ are you getting rain yet?? I'm getting tomorrow

 

[murphysranch]

WOW!!! So pretty!!