Four Winds Ranch: " Life on the Farm "

[BrownSheep]

That's almost happened to me a couple of times! Enjoyed catching up with your journal!
Your not the only one that stacks by hand! I did 40 tons a couple weeks ago .

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Hope your head feels better! That is some dangerous work, putting in fence posts....

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Every year we go to a community event called the 'Barnyard Scramble'! It is a weekend event with all kinds of mule races, silent and live auctions, swap & buy tables, ext, ext!!! On the Sat. evening they have a couple of kids events! Kids 10 and under do a Barnyard Fowl Catch, where the get the kids to line up at one end of the arena, and let cages full of fowl out on the other end! They blow the horn, and the only rule is : You have to take home whatever your kid/s catch!!! I had 2 kids in this event, so I ended up bringing home a Grey Silkie Rooster, and a Brown Leghorn hen! I now have a very puffed up proud 4 and 5 yr. old!!

The older kids (10 and up) event is "The Greased Pig Race"! They used 3 greased pigs for this one. My oldest 11 yr. DD entered this one, and I am very proud to say, she caught one of them greasy pigs in about 30 sec.!!!!! All her having to help with the pig chores at home really payed off!!!

It had been raining all day so I can honestly say when I brought my kids home, they stunk as bad as the animals!!! Mud and manure everywhere!!! Oh well, memories!!!

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[Four Winds Ranch]

I am never going to feel the same about going outside for quite some time now!!!!!

Yes, I know I am kinda strange, going outside when itis pitch black out at 5:00am., in the pouring rain to check my sheep!!! Well, thats what I just got back from doing.

As I was walking down to the sheep, I stopped to open the gate (I try to keep all gates shut at all time just incase). I just got it unlatched, when I faintly heard something that sounded odd, so I stopped to listen. Not a sound but the rain falling! So I continue through the gate and hear it again! :/ I stand there for a bit listening, thinking how strange that there are no other early morning sounds, like a cow mooooing, coyotes howling, a neighbors dogs barking, well heck, lol, my dogs barking (I have quire a few). And then I hear it twice in a row, MMMEEERRROOOWW, MMEEROWWWWW, and it sounds like it is getting louder, witch means CLOSER!!!!!! That sound means "COUGAR" I remember from my experiences with them last year!!! Once I realized what was making the noise, I developed a serious case of goose bumps, and a paranoia that something was following me! I practically ran the rest of the way to the sheep and checked everyone over with the flashlight, and everything looked good!!! So I took the fastest route back to the house (practicaly ran) and just barely refrained myself from slamming the door behind me!
Well, now I am sitting here having a coffee, safely in the house, thinking it might be a good idea to drive the kids to the bus this morning!

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

I decided to drive the kids to the bus!!!
As we were waiting for the bus, we seen all the horses and donkeys come running into the yard!!! Which means they broke out of their pasture for some reason!! :/
Once the girls got on the bus, my son and I grabbed a bucket and got all the horses and donkeys back into the pasture! They did tear down the gate, and luckily, only one of the babies as just a small scratch! As I was trying to fix the gate, I noticed a big lump in the hosre pasture and the horses kept going way around it and snorting!! I told my son to wait in the truck, and I go into the pasture and sure enough the lump is a dead sheep!!!! (No wonder the horses broke out)! And it is none other than my bottle baby from 4 yrs ago, Sheila!!!!! Very freshly killed, probably within min. of me getting there, witch is pretty creepy!!!! She has the classic couger killing symptoms, but the officers will be out shortly to check things out!

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Well, the CEO Officers were out and confermed a 'Cat" kill!!! They figure it was a pretty big one too, as it drug my 150lb sheep over 300 yards, and over two, 5 ft. fences!! Not much they can do I guess now, except fill out their forms, and hopefully I will get re-embursed for my sheep. It will just be cull, meat price but that is better than nothing!
I am kind of worried about going too far outside as some of the neighbors have reported their dogs taken right off their front decks, and another has had his mini pony killed in the corral right behind his house!! And I hear the cat out there at night, I think sometimes fighting with something, and sometimes calling........

On a kinda more possitive note!! :/ Usually a pack of coyotes follows cougars to clean up, well, I caught one sneaking into the back part of the sheep pasture! I was standing up in front counting the sheep and caught movement out of the corner of my eye! I look up, and there is a coyote just crawling under the fence! All I had was my 22, so took aim and 'wham', it dropped!!! I walked up and sure enough, a clean shot right to the ear! Ok, yes I am a bit proud of my shooting, cause it was a long shot, 280yards, with a 20 inch barrel, 22, one shot!!!!!!
And it is 100% legal here, me owning an operating farm with livestock, as soon as any predator animal so much as steps foot on my property, I can shoot it, with exception of the Grizzly!

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[BrownSheep]

Coyotes are considered varmint here no cause nessecary for removal.

Maybe play a recording of hounds. Our cougars hate dogs thanks to the bear and cougar hounds that are used.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

So far so good!!! The cougar hasn't come back!!!

Through out yesterday and today I got the sheep all checked, wormed, culled, taged, and all that lovely stuff!!! As well, I did up the replacement ewe lambs! I am beeing super picky this year and am only going to keep 9 back!
I guess it is off to the auction with the lambs!! How many do you think I will be able to fit into a 20ft.,stock trailer? I have 77 to go, we'll have to see if they will mabye, all fit......!!

With all the excitment with my cougar visit, I forgot to mention my newest farm additions!!!! (Sorry, I can't post pics cause for some reason my comp. wont download them)
I am now the proud owner of two, 4 week old Flemish Giant rabbits!!!! A buck and a doe, the buck is the typical sandy color, and the doe is a carmel!!!! They are going to grow into pretty big bunnies! Already at 4 weeks they are bigger than my 2 month old Standred Rex bunnies!!!

 

[promiseacres]

That Barnyard scramble sounds fun! doubt it'd fly around here though.

Great shot on the coyote....am still waiting til we get another shotgun so I can start practicing.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

I have one 4 yr old ewe that is very thin! I was attributing it mabye to a heavy worm overload, but she has been properly wormed a few days ago, but still is weaker than the rest and she doesn't seem to have much of an appatite! I usually worm every spring and then in the the fall! This year has been a bit wetter than normal, which is not good for worms! I probably should have wormed again sometime in the summer!!!