Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

Another set of twins. Do you ever try to keep the heifers or do you sell them because they might be free martians?
It gives you 2 calves, do they ever catch up, size wise to the other calves?

 

[farmerjan]

@Baymule , as a rule we do not bother to keep the heifer if it is a mixed set of twins. Too much time and money put into them to get them big enough for them to check them out... Plus they are worth too much now to keep as a "slight chance" of them being a replacement. If it was a last ditch attempt to get a heifer out of a favorite old cow, maybeeee....
The set of mixed twins on my one cow from last spring, that was the only open cow in that group because she had a uterine infection... will probably weigh a total of 8-900 lbs... so more total weight than a single weaned calf of about 5-600 in that particular group of cows...... plus they were later calves than some of the others... so each calf is smaller, especially the heifer is about 350-400... but the total weight is greater... Once weaned they will catch up weight wise as yearlings... but we hardly ever keep them that long.
Some of the cows might not make enough milk to raise the twins... My cow from last year was 1/4 holstein, and the cow that just had the little twins is a bought cow, but she has some holstein in her,,, she's got the big white udder and other color that makes you think part holstein.
The cow that had the twins a couple days ago... is hereford, and we are a little concerned if she will have enough milk, but so far they seem to be doing okay and growing.
I actually mentioned to DS that maybe we ought to put the ones with twins at snyder's (nurse cow pasture) so the calves will learn to come in the creep gate and get started on grain so they will not "stall out" on growth if they are not getting enough milk.. They are a week old and would be hard to get one on a bottle, even as a supplement since she is mothering them so well. You basically have to do that from the beginning...

"Stupid cow 1305" went around the barn a couple times this evening, got a foot hung in a part of a wire cow panel that got bent up and I hadn't moved..(but it was not right near the barn, she didn't need to be going through those junk tree limbs and stuff). then got out of it, and then refused to come in the barn because the jersey had already gone right in... and she did not want to come near me... I told DS that the next time he comes up there with a trailer, she can get on it and get shipped... Tired of dealing with her. I went back to the house and got the calf a bottle.... STUPID jerk.... She will probably come right in tomorrow with my luck... but it is a waste of my time mostly... I kept trying to be a little forgiving... but she really is a jerk. And she is getting old... 12 yrs... so ship her while she is in decent condition and not laying out there dead.

2 more new baby calves this morning.

DS went to the sale on the way home from the dr appt yesterday, and bought 2 calves, 1 bull, 1 steer... so we took the truck and trailer today to go to the other dr appt... had to go right by there again... and picked them up on the way back... he is going to try to start going to more sales and picking up a few of these singles... especially bull calves, that we can bring back and work through the chute; band and shots/vaccinate... and start making up some other groups to sell. He is saying that with the higher price of heifers, we probably need to sell more, and he can maybe get some of these steers/bulls put together and graze some of them this year instead of keeping more heifers... which I am fine with... pick out what we really want to keep... and sell more than we were thinking... especially since we do not have the WV place this year. We sold those 12 heifers in Dec for 2.30/lb I think it was... they weighed around 600... so 1350-1400/hd. And that was good money at the time for them.... He talked to a guy this afternoon that is interested in some... and DS told him 3.00/lb for the 4 wts; 2.85/lb for the 5 wts; and 2.70 for the 6 wts... that's about 1550 +/hd for the 6 wts. ... $.40/lb in 3 months time difference... We may take some time this weekend and look them over real good and see exactly what we would be wanting to keep, and what to sell. We did that preliminary looking a couple weeks ago after the steers were gone... but we were thinking keeping more of them...for putting out to pastures...
If DS can buy some of these "singles"... especially bull calves sold single or in pairs... for $2.25-2.50... and make them steers, that will increase their value $.75-1.00 a lb.... and graze them this summer.. It would be buying them at less than the heifer price is right now... and they will only gain on grass for the grazing season.....which is cheaper to figure cost of gain... put 2-300 lbs on them for 4-6 months... So if they brought exactly the same money per pound to sell them... there would be a $450 gain in price just from added weight gain of 200 lbs each....... that's like $100+ a month....

 

[farmerjan]

Anyway, went up to try to feed the heifer twin this morning, and she wants no part of the bottle, and had a good big "blob" of manure and all... in fact some was stuck to her butt so I took some dead/dry grass and got it off so it did not get caked on her, and cause problems with the next time she did more... She then peed and did a little more manure... I think she is getting some/enough? from the cow... she was not "rounded out" but was not real gaunt either... I will check her again tomorrow... They are both a little wobbly... and her knees almost bend a little backwards...and her back legs are not the greatest... but I imagine they were pretty crowded inside the cow... and I think they will straighten... Cow is being attentive to both... so the best thing to do is just make sure neither gets weak or looks neglected... Actually might ought to sell the heifer calves off both them and let the cow raise just one... with baby calves being worth so much... maybe in a couple weeks when they get some weight on them to close to 80-100 lbs? But the good thing of keeping them, should we have a cow have a dead calf or something, we can pull one off and graft our own calf right on a cow and not try to buy one... which I prefer to do...

We had to stop and do some switching around of money at a couple of banks with the money from the steers, and payments coming due... and found another bank that will pay 5.1% interest on a checking if you use their debit card at least 15 times a month...up to $15,000.... that's $75 a month interest as opposed to .1 or .2% otherwise.....instead of like $1.50 a month interest..... and a couple of 4 month CD's at 4% interest... which ties up "farm money" for only 4 months instead of 6 months....
DS uses the debit card for EVERYTHING... to make sure he gets at least 15 times on the account he has, At "my credit union" that I told him about ...... plus the account he shares with his father... who was not using it near enough to get the good interest rate... Got to make this money work while it is sitting there...
That is the nice thing though if you do some checking around at different banks.... and now DS is seeing the benefit of what I have been telling him about for years... with my original bank that has been paying a decent interest on their checking... even when I was lucky to have a 3 or 500 balance average for the month... that was still $2.50 interest as opposed to .02 or .03 interest.... When you have more money, it adds up in a hurry... and much better than sitting in a savings account at less than .01 % interest nowadays...

Anyway... I got home from going back up and feeding the jersey calf the bottle... and DS calls... friends of his said someone had dumped some chickens out and they were just sitting along side the road... did we want them... of course, they are roosters... and I said I really didn't see the benefit of driving 1/2 hour plus, to get some roosters, IF they could be caught... so a little while later, his friends called and said that they would bring them to me if they caught them... because they were just standing there alongside the pile of shavings and all... so I said okay... I would meet them partway since they had to come further south to drop off some stuff at a machine shop...
They called me a little bit later... they had found and caught 3 of the 4 he had seen.... within 6 ft from where he had seen them... he had driven by them 2 times in a couple hours and they were still right there...until dark when they went up in a tree right there... and they did not see the other one anywhere... but they were nice and quiet and looked well fed... So, I took a ride and went and met them at the machine shop where they dropped off some stuff to be worked on... The are young cockerals... look like game chickens... but very quiet and in very good body condition... feathers in good condition...no spurs just nubs so pretty young... don't know what their story is... but I now have 3 more roosters... for now they will get put in the big new pen..... they might just get to be "free range" .... He said he would check tomorrow since he drives past the place he found them, to see if the other rooster shows up... might have been gotten by something (dog? ) or just might have gotten into a different tree and they didn't see him....
They felt sorry for them just getting dumped (on purpose or accidently like fell off a truckbed or something) and them just standing around there like lost dogs waiting for the owner to come back and get them...
OF COURSE they couldn't have been some pullets.....

So. I am going to put them in the pen tomorrow...they are in a couple boxes in the car for now.... but am going to get after DS now to at least help get the roof panels on it so they will have some protection from hawks... and can't fly out either... 3 roosters are not going to break me... see what they look like in the daylight tomorrow. My little NH rooster will at least have some "poultry" companions finally... from the outside... I won't put them together until I can be here to watch them... and maybe they are young enough to not fight back yet so can be put together... The NH runs free during the day... he's lonely though... always right there where you are or near the cats when they are out there...

So, that is my exciting day.... Also did get a load of clothes hung out and a load off the line in the house too... trying to take advantage of the real nice sunny days...

Got the bottles in the racks for tomorrow... the meters are in the car but I have to change the brackets... I have to leave here by 8:30 for the massage therapist appt... maybe can get some relief in this hand and shoulder..... then come home, get the stuff and go to work.

 

[Ridgetop]

The roosters were probably dumped by city people that discovered they were not hens and didn't want to "kill" them. For some reason city people think it is more "humane" to drop unwanted animals in the country than butcher them. They don't think about coyotes or stray dogs killing them, and it is cruel to animals that have been raised to expect food, etc.

 

[farmerjan]

@Ridgetop ... you could very well be right about the roosters. They are doing okay... I don't think they like being together confined in the pen... 6x12 or so... but they are managing... maybe they were kept separate but next to each other... who knows... Still, SAD.... makes me really PI$$ED off that someone would do that...

Today... 48 to start, up to 76... Mostly sun, some clouds... clouding up tonight so won't be able to see the FULL BLOOD MOON... FULL LUNAR ECLIPSE.... Tomorrow is supposed to be mostly sun, warm again, maybe 70... and then clouds coming in for Sat and showers coming with it late Sat; then some serious stuff on Sunday.... possible thunderstorms, downpours, and all sorts of things...
Got to get the "top/roof" on the pen... not just propped up there...had to prop them on top since the roosters flew out last night and I had to find them roosting and then put the 4th one in there so they would "get up together" this morning... I texted DS to please help me since the panels are awkward, not heavy....but he never answered me today... won't take but 1/2 hr for him to help.... I will have to get up on a ladder to try to screw them on and hold them and all that at the same time.... ... Got to get it done before Sat weather comes in.... So, I guess I will see what I can do by myself, tomorrow, since even Deb isn't going to be out this weekend to help.... I want to get the 1x4 "reinforcing" boards along the top sides too.... just to give it some strength.... if the wind gets bad with the roof panels on it.... Might see about taking the other "coop" part out tomorrow and to see what is what.... but maybe wait until after the weather coming since it is all covered over on the trailer.

I do have some big heavy clear plastic "panels" to at least put on a couple sides for protection for them from the rain....

Went to the chiropractor this morning...then went to Good Will found a couple pairs jeans... couple little things... couple of books... then home and got the samples packed since I went to bed last night, and didn't do them... and did not get up in time this morning... went down to check on the cow and twins... they seem okay.... got them up and they didn't run right to momma... walked around okay.....so I guess they are doing okay... saw a pile of manure that looked okay.... Took a bottle up to the nurse cow pasture. DS had been in there and rolled out a nice bale.... so I fed the calf down at the hay.... everyone was eating away.... so I went up and put grain in the bunk for them for whenever they go up in the creep gate... and left... Didn't call the cows to come to the barn since the jersey doesn't need it, and not dealing with the stupid 1305... dropped the samples off when I went to the cow and around feeding...

I ache from the massage therapist work yesterday... really sore... I needed it... but WOW....

Going to get a shower and go to bed early tonight.

 

[farmerjan]

Friday eve.... Got up to 37 this morning, chillier than I expected.. It was a mix of sun and clouds... more high clouds, almost hazy type... Had a breeze so I wore a sweatshirt some of the day. Thermometer hit 68 in one of the sunny periods...
Did another load of laundry and hung it out...

Picked up some trash stuff that had blown around in the yard. Might try to make a dumpster run tomorrow, got some plastic and stuff.
Going to see about getting some of the sticks/dead branches picked up and maybe burn the small pile I have when it rains this time around...

DS spread fertilizer on the field across from me and then was working on the manure spreader that the "feeder chain", that goes along the bottom to move the manure back towards the beaters that spreads it, it caught on something got bent and twisted up... trying to get it straightened out and working again.

Then he went and saw a guy about a bigger dump truck... he has been looking for one, and guess he had a buddy of his that does alot of mechanic work, go look at it also... then went by the stockyard in town to watch cattle sell... wound up buying one steer that he said was decent... but then it proceeded to jump several gates in the stockyard when they went to run it down the alley, and it jumped a gate at the barn when he unloaded it... it is in with a bunch of cattle that come in the barn regularly... so will see if it calms down...give it a couple weeks... if it stays nutty, it will get run in with a group and loaded on the truck and taken back to the sale...

I texted him about helping with the roof panels... and he said he was sorry, and would help me, but I said I got most of it done, but needed him to reach way up on top; that I wanted it done before we get the bad rain and possible wind... and he promised he would come by and do it tomorrow. It won't take him 15 minutes... I just can't reach and do not want to slip while reaching, and maybe go "through" one of the roof panels... they are corrugated type plastic panels for the water to run off... like the metal sheets of roofing, but they are plastic... not bad, but this is not put together with strong 2x4's... why risk it for a half dozen screws and the 'ridgeline' pieces; when his long arms and reach can do it...
I did get the rest on.... working from one end to the other.... so it is fairly sturdy now and the roof won't fall in on them. I will see about closing in the end with the roof panels over top, against blowing rain and such.
I let the 4 roosters out today and they were just as calm and easy going... scratched around and then came right back in this evening.. Hate that they are roosters since they are so easy going... one is a little bit of a bully, but out loose they were fine... My little NH wanted to pick a fight... but they sparred a little and then mostly ignored him... he is like 1/3 their size... so rather funny to see.

Got the clothes off the line and inside. We were going to go to the Highland Co. Maple Festival tomorrow... but he has so much he wants to get done... the manure spreader if possible... so we will probably go Sunday... It will be wet so alot of the outdoor things will probably close up and go home early if the storms come to fruition.... but we can still go eat pancakes and do all the inside craft places and all... It will give me time to do whatever all else I can outside here too... Wish I had opened up that "chicken coop" box of the other set... and put some of it together...Maybe will try it tomorrow anyway...
Went to the pasture and went down in the field and fed the calf the bottle... he is staying with the jersey cow, and the group of calves, and they were down where DS had rolled out a nice bale yesterday... "stupid 1305" came to the barn and I opened the gate and put feed in there but she went around and then wouldn't come in... Betsy (jersey cow) didn't even follow the truck back to the barn... so she was not there to "show the way"... I put feed in the bunk for the calves on the side where the creep gate is... they can come in or not to eat. Since Betsy did not come to the barn, and I had fed the bottle calf in the field, I just came on home.

Sad note.. found my cow that had the twins, laying dead in the field... curled up in a normal sleeping position... DS said it was like she laid down and went to sleep and didn't wake up. She was the one that had the uterine infection and was the only one that wasn't bred back... maybe the infection went into her blood stream although she did not act sick and was coming in the barn with the group of calves and eating okay. We were going to take one calf off and sell, and then put her out with the bull in June, with the heifer calf to grow more... it was the smaller one... to see if she would breed back... since she had the twins, she was getting a 2nd chance. Last of her family... I think. I will have to look up on the sheets... but I think she has had bulls the last 3 times... and one heifer that was bat sh!t crazy that I sold???? Oh well... bad thing is... there's over $1000 that will go to the landfill..... no idea what happened... it just does, sometimes.

DS said the guy is now quibbling over the price on the heifers... what if they weigh 490,,, would he still want the $3.00 / lb that DS quoted for the 4 wts, instead of the 2.85 that he quoted for 5 wts.... since they might be "almost" 500 lbs... I told DS the he// with it... we will just take them to the stockyard and sell them... worth the $50/hd commission... to not keep dealing with this BS.... There are only about 20 to sell... guy where we take 6 heifers now wants us to put another 6 or so in the lower field he has there, that was empty last year... so screw it... just take and sell them at the stockyard... and get the check after they are sold.. and be done... If we have the market for the steers that the guy bought a month ago... we can sell the heifers through the stockyard and pay the commission on them...
DS called the guy after we got the check... said he wanted to thank him, he got the check, and were the steers still doing good... Guy told him they never missed a lick, and went right to eating and are gaining and he is happy with them. So DS said that he just wanted to make sure that he was happy before we cashed the check... and he said he would be talking to him again when we had more to sell. This guy only takes steers... too bad... would have loved to sell him 20 heifers...

So, that is that. Not going to do all this BS on the heifers... we will take the best ones to the closeby stockyard on a Friday... maybe this coming Friday... take the "mediocre" ones and the odd colored ones... all the odd balls.... to the Saturday stockyard in a week or two after.... where there are more "backyard farmers" that only want a couple to graze their 3-5-8 acres out back kind of thing... someone wanting something to raise up for a beef and don't /can't / won't pay the top dollar for black calves... which is fine... I have the one holstein to go, the black steer off Jess the longhorn with the "buttons" for horns, they will never get any bigger since they haven't grown by now....looks like someone did a dehorn almost... but it throws them out of the groups... a black white faced steer that has short legs that they cut out of the 45 we sold, for being short.. perfectly fine steer, but the feeder guys want certain type cattle... stuff like that... These kind of calves do fine for a different market... they won't bring top dollar, but they will do better at that stockyard since there are many more small acreage "farmers" that go there. Gotta know your market...

I am going in to get a shower and go to bed... Done for the night.

 

[Ridgetop]

wound up buying one steer that he said was decent... but then it proceeded to jump several gates in the stockyard when they went to run it down the alley, and it jumped a gate at the barn when he unloaded it..

That is what they call a "turn around steer".

Sad note.. found my cow that had the loss.twins, laying dead in the field... curled up in a normal sleeping position... DS said it was like she laid down and went to sleep and didn't wake up. She was the one that had the uterine infection and was the only one that wasn't bred back... maybe the infection went into her blood stream

Oh no! Two more bottle calves? Sometimes s**t just happens. Sorry about the

I told DS the he// with it... we will just take them to the stockyard and sell them... worth the $50/hd commission... to not keep dealing with this BS....

Sometimes not worth dealing with people that want to haggle you down on price. Just sell and get them gone.

"Stupid" and "Turn Around" can go with them.

 

[farmerjan]

Came in for a breakfast/late lunch ... not really a brunch at 3 in the afternoon....Made a big salad, added some sliced mushrooms that I picked up that were marked down and some store bought tomatoes...

It was 41 overnight..... started out more clouds, then some sun and clouds mixed... Breezy so not really warm. Got up to about 60...

The wind is blowing enough to be a bit chilly, wore a sweatshirt out earlier.. Started putting together the 2nd poultry run... then realized that I didn't want to get it all done UNTIL I get the other box started on and see what I have to work with or not... to combine anything... Plus I really want to get the one finished and the "skids" on the bottom... Getting the top put on has really made it more sturdy... everything "tied in together"..... but I do want to make it so it can be moved and the base needs to be done... I did also use a piece of plastic ... not the piece I was planning since it is longer and I wasn't ready to cut it up... I had a clear shower curtain liner that I had taken down and put up a new one.. so used that to "close in" the corner of the run.... I used the staple gun to attach it and some bricks on the ground for the extra length to hold it in place. It is not as long as I wanted to close in more of the side/back... but it is also cheap and thicker than most plastic... and it was going to be "recycled" into something so this was perfect.
Let the roosters out and they were just calmly walking all around... little NH rooster was also around... not right there but close... One good thing, there are no hens for them to want to show off for or fight over...
Since I have a full second pen, and then a third incomplete one, plus the other partial one.. I think I am going to put this 2nd one together and have a second complete large pen... then mix/match the other one together and maybe make 2 smaller pens since there aren't any premade roof panels...

I will go up to snyder's to feed the bottle calf... and put hay in the bunk for the calves if they come in if we have all this rain that is in the forecast.

@Ridgetop ... no the twins on my cow are old enough to be weaned... was going to sell the one and leave the other on her when she went back out to see if she would get bred back after getting over the uterine infection that we treated her for... she should have been bred back to calve late this spring... with the group that is calving now... figured she would have been a little behind them... and would have calved in May/early June...(there were 3 in the group that were not as far along) since she had the twins, she was getting a free pass because she would have in essence "paid for" her keep with selling 2 calves in one year instead of 1 each year... And I am not inclined to hold her heifer to see if she will breed.... they are worth too much money at the stockyard to hold her for a 10% chance of being "good"... There was one other heifer that was so-so that I had said I would probably sell, off another cow, that I might keep now... see what she looks like when we decide to sort them out. But with prices the way they are, might just sell her too. Her dam is getting ready to calve here again....
Yeah, "stupid " will go when we come up to get the older holstein and the black calf off the cow that calved young... at the nurse cow pasture... I will have to open the gates and get a bunch of cows in to get 1305 in, but that shouldn't be too big a deal... she will come in with others, she is just being stupid about coming in for the calf without the jersey... and sometimes won't come in with her even then... The jersey calf that is on the bottle once a day, I think is stealing off the jersey since the smaller holstein I had grafted on her, is still nursing on her some... and I think the jersey calf might be stealing some... he is eating grain so I am not overly concerned... They won't get sold for another couple weeks though...they will go to the Saturday stockyards in a couple weeks...
There is a poultry show next Saturday, and DS father wants to go... DS will have to drive him... I may go along... trying to line up getting some birds and/or some eggs to bring home to put in the incubator... doubt I can talk these calm roosters to set on them..... if they ever did anything like that, they would have a home for life.....

Okay, headed back outside for a bit... it's pretty cloudy and feeling more "damp" out there... radar shows the rain not coming in until early Sunday morning, and then a couple waves of it...

 

[farmerjan]

Done and in for the night. Wind is getting "BRISK" out there..

Went to the nurse cow pasture... cows came to the barn and "stupid" went right in the barn... before the jersey even got there... REALLY ??????? Calf went on her, I think she is drying up... I had put grain in there, on the chance she would come in yesterday(day before?) ... and forgot to open the dividing gate so the calves could get to it, so the grain was still in the bunk .... I realized that when I put grain in the other side where they can come in the creep gate... so she came right in the barn.. ... still will probably sell her since I am raising the calf not her... she's getting some age on her too... better to sell her than bury her too... or feed her for another 6 months and her not breed or something... Kicked them out, put some hay in the bunk so the calves could stay in and eat if the rain gets nasty...opened the dividing gate and made sure there was a little extra grain in there for the jersey calf to eat some too... came home.

DS called, he was going to get a roll of hay across the road to take up to the nurse cow pasture.... said he would stop... it took him less than 5 minutes to reach the screws on the very top of the pen... so the whole pen is done except for the improvements I want like the skids on the bottom so I can move it. Got the tarp back on the trailer to cover the 2 boxes still on the pallet... stuff in the shed. Roosters went in, I gave them some scratch as incentive.. but they are so calm acting... NH went in the crate he has been staying in at night as protection from any predators.

Put the fuel additive and then the non-ethanol gas in the ranger 4x4, and ran it for a bit. Started and turned it off a couple times and then ran it for about 10 minutes and it sounded good. So, I will take it down to fill it with the non-ethanol gas and start running it up to the nurse cow pasture some...

Remembered to put the rain gauge out... I tried to seal up the crack from when it froze... if it still leaks, I will get another one...
Looking at some of the horrific winds that this latest line of storms has created; hoping we don't get them too. 40% chance of rain by 4 a.m. then rain through about 6-8 p.m. 2 possible waves with a break for a couple hours mid-day... we'll see.
Looks like @Mike CHS and Teresa are getting some pretty hard stuff now... Hope they don't have any problems...

 

[Mini Horses]

Yeah, that crap is supposed to get here tomorrow eve 7-8ish, hang out overnight and into Monday half day. not looking forward to it -- big winds!! Might take rest of shed down from last wind event a week ago. Still no chance to work on that damage.