Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Been a nice day... is now 70 in the sun....

Things were not great with the new cow this morning... could not get her to stand for the calf... not sure if he got much... and she does not seem to be grain motivated... but since it is such a nice day, I let her out of the barn lot and kept the calves in... I will go up in a little while and bring her back in... I am sure she is going to want to come in... and then go from there. I did not feed the calf any extra this morning... I want him hungry and determined this evening...

Mowed around the outside of the property as much as I could. There is a patch of junk trees.... right along the edge of the grass along the road, that have got to come down... 1 or 2 are dead ash trees and some scrub junk... so will get posts up to them and then see about getting them taken down... mowed all along the property line between me and the Christmas tree farm next door except right through the rough ground where we cleared out from the few big pine trees... several came down in the ice and wind storm last year and the owner pulled them to his side (they are on his property and came down across onto me) and got them out of there. So I got it mostly cleared out where they were, so a straight shot along that line.. I know where I want a gate near the road end, and another at the other end... then it goes down over the hill in a tree/brushy section and will leave that out of the fencing for now... thinking possible hog lot....??? Still thinking that maybe I can buy another 2 acres off them adjoining me where it is often too wet to park and they cannot grow trees on... so want to have a couple gates for "future possibilities... and if our cows get loose from the pasture "behind the house" across the dirt road as they have done in the past... like to have gate options to get them in if necessary.
There are 2 sections where there are a few big pines along the dirt road side I will have to forego for now too... But will get posts all along the split rail fence along the road on the side of the house where the garden is, and then along that split rail fence on the other side of the house that goes out to the "point" where the dirt road comes up to meet the paved road. Might wind up with a few spots where posts might not be spaced evenly once the trees get taken down... but that is okay.

Thinking of doing wood every 16 ft. and T-posts inbetween..... maybe......or just do wood corners/brace posts and for gate sections......T-posts for the stretch inbetween where it is fairly straight...... But, if I can get the fence done on the Christmas tree side, and along the road there, where the garden is, I can easily use some of the electric netting to "section it off" for some grazing... same along the split rail fence where the couple of peach trees are now... it will save me ALOT of distance of electric netting by not having to enclose all 4 sides with it...
The split rail fence would be okay but it is only 2 rails... decorative but not very practical. Wish it was a real "ranch style" split rail fence of 4 rails at least... The 2 rails won't hold in sheep, or even smaller calves if they wanted to get out... and I want something more substantial to keep out things like dogs etc. If I can come off even 1 side of good woven wire it will allow me to make bigger sections with the netting... Plus a couple of posts have rotted... and a few of the rails are rotten... might just relocate the good parts of it, to the short stretch in front of the house.... the lawn etc near the big maple tree....

So, I ran the mower batteries out, and just came in got the other 2, 4 amp ones to use for a little bit more...
I did run the mower and get the grass all around the house completely cut and then took the sweeper and got the bulk of the leaves from in front of the house on the lawn swept up and 4 stuffed full feed bags... like stuffed in hard.... has leaves and some dry grass from the other day and a little bit of green. I will let this stuff I just mowed dry some then run the sweeper behind the mower and sweep it up for the chickens this winter. Trying to make some "paths" so I can run the netting easier to section of some areas...

Ground is way too hard to dig potatoes... UGH....

Going out to mow a little more with the last 2 smaller batteries... then head up to get the cow in and see what we can do... at least she is not trying to "kill it".... and hopefully she will have enough pressure and her calf will want to nurse that I can get this other one over on her without a big battle... Hard enough to do with one that belongs here... this is all so new for her, I am sure she is a little bewildered... but it is definitely a better place than going to slaughter... If she will raise the 2 for me that would be good...

 

[Mini Horses]

Wet the potato rows....wait a day & dig

 

[farmerjan]

Wet the potato rows....wait a day & dig

As dry as it is, I would probably run the well dry trying to get them wet enough to soften the "concrete" out there..... Now a possibility of some "weather" on Thursday.... Maybe it will rain some...

I just looked at the 2 different area forecasts.. one has a 30% chance Wed eve, and Thurs . Then some possible tropical moisture for the weekend... The other forecast has only partly cloudy for Thurs..... Go figure...

DS cut the small field Saturday, there at Hamilton Equipment .2 mile from the farm driveway... couple of acres... said to go by tomorrow and look at it and see if I thought it needed to be tedded out to get dry, so it can be raked and he can get it baled by Wed.... said he was not going to cut anymore since there was a chance of rain.... Wish to **** he had gotten them both cut and we were done... There is one more 9 +/- acre field to do.

So, I went out and put the 2 smaller batteries in the mower... and with the thick stuff I was mowing, they didn't last very long of course... I had pulled 4 of the 6 out of it, and put on charge, so then when the other ones were down to 5% it shuts off the pto for the blades... so I just drove it back over to the deck. I pulled the other 2 and the 2 smaller ones out and brought them in.

Then I went up to the cow. She did want to come in... had to get her to figure out to come around to the gate where the calves were... and she did finally come in. The jersey went right on her, and I finally had to get her in the barn on the side with the head catch... to get her to stop trying to turn around... got the holstein on her a couple of times... but she does not have very much milk at all. The jersey calf goes from teat to teat ....so that is telling me she is not making much milk. Plus the milk is very white... so it is not colostrum. She doesn't really kick at them... tried to "brush them off" but not mean kick and the little jersey is a determined little thing. She obviously knows what being a nurse cow is though.... So, realizing the holstein was not going to get near enough milk...... I left her in with the 2 calves, so she could eat the grain since she would not just stand there to eat and let me put the calves on her... and I did not put grain in the head catch... just pulled the side gate around to she had to just stand there... which she did without an big deal.... I , came home and made a bottle... went back up and fed the holstein a bottle... Holsteins are DUMB... they just can't suck... they have to push and try and get off the nipple and then butt trying to get back on.... but I got all but about a cup in him and that was good. He got a couple mouthful's of her milk when I kept getting him on her.

She went back out in the little lot and so I put her back out the gate... figure she will be happier if she can get some grass... although it is getting short.... I will get her back in tomorrow morning and see how it goes. I did see some discharge so thinking she might have been in heat too... Really guessing her status.

So, I am thinking that she has been used as a nurse cow... and the jersey bull calf might very well NOT be hers... but she is accepting... and maybe has been in milk for awhile???? Really guessing here. I will work with her for a bit... as long as she doesn't go to kicking the bejeezus out of the calves... and give her ample grain to see if her milk will come along better.... When we get the vet in a month or so; for the heifers to be bangs vaccinated... and my twin hol heifers need dehorning... I will get DS to also take her, when he gets the holsteins, and take them down to doug's farm.... have the vet palpate her and see what her "inside story" is... If she doesn't come into/come back in better milk... I can sell her as a cull and bottle feed the 2 calves. And for all I know, she could be 7+ months bred... going dry...doubt that ..... and been used as a nurse cow.... that is not what the guy who brought her in said... and I am going to get his name from the stockyards and contact him; see what kind of "story" he gives me.
At least she is not a nut case, not mean, and although she is not big on going in for the grain... she seems to be decent dispositioned. No sense in guessing her situation... I will work with her and the 2 calves... and supplement with a bottle if I have to... maybe the holstein will get it figured out...gotta remember he is only 2 days old..... and will keep after her and can get a bottle too....I will not be turning them out though. They can stay in the barn and small lot like the bottle calves I had last year. Bring her in to them...
Needs some time... and since she seems decent, she deserves to get some time to get it all worked out. If she doesn't have much/any milk then it's time to do something different. If she goes, I will move the calves here to the house, along with the 3 holsteins... because the bull is going to be going in up there and I am concerned that the twins could come in heat... never know... and I DO NOT want them bred...We all know that there are OOPS pregnancies....
Might breed them next June/July for calves in the spring of 2026... they will be 2 1/2 then... plenty of time to have their first calf.

The single holstein bull calf up there is just too timid... and not too smart. He won't come to call, like the heifers.. but will come when he sees/hears the car/truck... but I have to go around him to get him to come in the creep gate... and he still will not push past anyone standing there. Not growing like he should because he is not getting enough grain/protein. He will do alot better here at the house. I would leave the holstein heifers at doug's farm, with some beef heifers, but don't want them to get shoved around at the feed bunks.... so they may as well come here... All the fencing won't be done... but ought to be good enough with the electric netting to get most of the grass eaten off... Bonus... they are trained to the electric 2 strand wire up at the nurse cow pasture...so I could put some of that up here to keep them contained... I will give them a certain area then just expand it as they get it eaten down... I've got 2 calf huts here... so looks like they will get used....

So that was my evening. I came home and did up the other half of the package of liver so it didn't go bad... ate that and am on the computer and will switch over and probably put a movie in the dvd player and work on folding clothes that never seem to get done... Got a pile of junk mail to go through and shred a bunch too. Gonna need bedding for the chickens... along with all the leaves....

So that's my story....

 

[Baymule]

I’m so happy for you that you got that Jersey cow! She sounds like a nice cow. I’m sure she has a story, I hope it all works out for you and her.

 

[Finnie]

She sounds like she has a good personality! (I don’t suppose you can get pictures of her? )

 

[farmerjan]

She sounds like she has a good personality! (I don’t suppose you can get pictures of her? )

Maybe......... calling @Mini Horses to the rescue... Pretty please.....


I sent her one pic of some pretty trees with fall color... but having trouble sending things lately. Going to try to take a few pic tomorrow...

She is a pretty cow...

 

[Mini Horses]

 

[Finnie]

She is a pretty cow...

I figured she must be. That’s why I want to see her!

 

[farmerjan]

She might be a pretty cow, and she is not mean... but this is not her calf. She has been used as a nurse cow and probably came in to the calves to feed them... she came to the barn when she saw my car come in. Finally got there and came around to the right gate... went in, right back out with calf following before I could get back around her...... OOPS.... but then got her turned around and back in she went with no problem..... THANK YOU..... she would not let the jersey calf suck out in the small lot... kept kicking at it...but then when she went in the barn and went to eating the feed in the bunk, it went right on her and she stood there fine.

I tried getting the holstein to go on her... several times on the teat but then he would go to butt and lose it... still trying to get him to figure out what a cow is for... sadly, he never had a chance to get on the cow on the dairy... they take good care of the calves but do not leave the cows with the calves for any time... just they calve out in the field, get brought in... and that's it. BUT... still not the end of the world. So, the jersey worked on all her quarters... and he is full but not a fat gut look.... I did take a bottle with me for the holstein and fed him... then he went back over to the cow and tried to figure it out... so leaving her in there with them is still the best case right now. She is fine in the bunk eating... doesn't pick up a foot and lets me fool with trying to get the calf on her this morning... did not have to put her over in the "chute" area with the head catch there...
I will leave her in there for the day, then go up this afternoon, feed a bottle and let her out for the night. It'll work for now... Then whenever we have a vet check, get her checked and see what's what. The angus bull is going in up there in a week or 2... so she will have a chance to get bred back... if she doesn't have much milk, might not be worth keeping her... but if she is willing to be a nurse cow, might give her a pass if she gets bred back...

Time will tell..

Sun is out but more high clouds. Ground was wet with the dew. The 2 weather reports are very different... one is saying mostly clouds today, possible stray showers tomorrow... the other one says some high clouds/sun today, clearing overnight... partly sun tomorrow and then Wed, sun through mid/late afternoon.

I went up and checked the hay... I think it will rake... it is "green color" but the grass is pretty dry. Texted DS and said I thought it will rake.... so will go up in another hour or so and try raking it. The ground has been so dry that there is no "moisture" in the grass....so I don't think the "green color" is really a sign of being "green" as in uncured....

It was 40 to start, up to about 60. Sun comes and goes, but more sun than clouds overall. Tonight is supposed to be warmer and it is supposed to be very warm by Wed...

I'm going in to make some lunch... stomach is growling... then go rake. Then I will come home and maybe run the mower along the last trip around the property that I ran out of "battery power" yesterday. Then I will see about running the sweeper to pick up some of what I had mowed...
Need to move the bags of leaves etc, in under cover so they will keep for awhile, and not get wet if we get the rain. If I move them in, it won't rain... if I leave them out, we might get a shower... Murphy's Law thing...

Didn't remember to take the phone this morning... so maybe later.

It's cool out there... Time to eat.

 

[Ridgetop]

if she doesn't have much milk, might not be worth keeping her... but if she is willing to be a nurse cow, might give her a pass if she gets bred back...

Is it possible that the cow was starting to dry up when someone put the calf on her? Maybe she will rebreed and when she comes fresh she will have more milk yield.