Congrats on both the new additions. I'm sure your wife is very happy to no longer be "with child"... You too probably. 
High Desert Cowboy- How far is it up north?
- Thread starter High Desert Cowboy
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Bruce
Herd Master
I bet he is "with child" a lot now, considering she was "shouldering" the entire burden for 9ish months. She probably shares the duty now.
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
Congratulations!!!! I’m glad your wife and baby Maggie are doing well!
New barnyard members are always fun and it sounds like the kids are thrilled with this one being so tame!
New barnyard members are always fun and it sounds like the kids are thrilled with this one being so tame!
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- #394
High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
The kids enjoy how tame he is but they did learn a lesson yesterday. My younger daughter was petting him and I didn’t notice she was standing on his line then he took off running and that little guy has some power (course Millie only weighs 24 lbs). He launched her off the line and she did not find that funny. He’s done a number on what feed there was and I moved him to another spot in the yard until probably today when I move him again.
ouch... I'm sure Millie learned a valuable lesson from that evolution.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Just realized I hadn't seen any recent posts from you so looked for your journal. Congratulations on the arrival of little Maggie. Glad to seebabies are cut too. the picture of your new goat - Millie has something to pet now. However, where is the companion picture of Maggie?!
Love the story about roping the ram. We have all run to the barn "for a minute" in inappropriate foot wear. Anyone else ever had a hay sliver in their foot? OUCH! The lambs look good.
You are a true hero to your son like those cowboys who get shot and still manage to capture the bad guy while simultaneously bleeding out and dragging their broken leg. This will become another legend in the family lore.
Love the story about roping the ram. We have all run to the barn "for a minute" in inappropriate foot wear. Anyone else ever had a hay sliver in their foot? OUCH! The lambs look good.
You are a true hero to your son like those cowboys who get shot and still manage to capture the bad guy while simultaneously bleeding out and dragging their broken leg. This will become another legend in the family lore.
- Thread starter
- #397
High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
Fall is in the air. Leaves are changing, pumpkin flavored everything is out, and everyone is bringing cows off the mountain. It’s my favorite time of year. And it won’t stop raining. I won’t complain because we had such a dry year, and at least a cold miserable rain is moisture for next year.
With all the rain Alfalfa has now occupied the empty duck coop until I can get him dog house bought or built. My older daughter is still in love with her “best friend alfalfa” and sneaks him treats on occasion or just shares her current one. I looked outside to see her with an apple, she’d take a bite, then Alfalfa, then her again.
Sheep are growing well and I believe I’ll sell Cowboy next month. He’s gotten way bigger than the twins and is almost the size of his mom. And they’re all a little better about being handled, but that may just be because of my assistants.
Bella is now bigger than Kya but she doesn’t realize, and she’s 7 months old. We planned on that happening as Kya has always been a smaller dog. She was the runt of the litter but her personality and ability more than made up for it.
I changed feed a while back and while Jack has done well with it Bro started to lose some weight. So I separated them, which I’ve wanted to do for a while just haven’t had the means to do so. My father in law sold me a covered corral that I could put him in so he’s got his primo feed all to himself. So I still save a little on my feed bill which is a blessing. When it’s been this dry hay prices are not pretty, though I did manage to find a supplier last year that treats me more than fair. The previous gentleman charged me an arm and a leg. My mom was recently visiting my step sister in Oklahoma and commented on there being so much hay that they were just leaving it to waste in the fields, whether that be because of no one buying or the difficulty of shipping round bales I don’t know. No one here does round bales, we like em square and stacked.
With all the rain Alfalfa has now occupied the empty duck coop until I can get him dog house bought or built. My older daughter is still in love with her “best friend alfalfa” and sneaks him treats on occasion or just shares her current one. I looked outside to see her with an apple, she’d take a bite, then Alfalfa, then her again.
Sheep are growing well and I believe I’ll sell Cowboy next month. He’s gotten way bigger than the twins and is almost the size of his mom. And they’re all a little better about being handled, but that may just be because of my assistants.
Bella is now bigger than Kya but she doesn’t realize, and she’s 7 months old. We planned on that happening as Kya has always been a smaller dog. She was the runt of the litter but her personality and ability more than made up for it.
I changed feed a while back and while Jack has done well with it Bro started to lose some weight. So I separated them, which I’ve wanted to do for a while just haven’t had the means to do so. My father in law sold me a covered corral that I could put him in so he’s got his primo feed all to himself. So I still save a little on my feed bill which is a blessing. When it’s been this dry hay prices are not pretty, though I did manage to find a supplier last year that treats me more than fair. The previous gentleman charged me an arm and a leg. My mom was recently visiting my step sister in Oklahoma and commented on there being so much hay that they were just leaving it to waste in the fields, whether that be because of no one buying or the difficulty of shipping round bales I don’t know. No one here does round bales, we like em square and stacked.
I think the round bales are easier to deal with from the hay farmer's perspective. They are obviously much bigger than square bales (the small squares). Farmer Jan was saying that she makes both kinds but has moved away from the small squares because they are much more difficult to manage. Nobody wants to stand on the trailer and stack them. For small hobby farms like mine, I don't have a tractor or the storage facilities to deal with the big round bales. I buy the small squares at 45-60 pounds. I once bought the large squares at ~110 pounds. If I could afford it I'd like to try buying a "bundle" of the small squares, which is 21 bales. Or one of the large squares that are 3'x3'x8' or 3'x4'x8'. I think those also break down into smaller bales... (40-60 or 100-110# respectively?)... Maybe they are in fact the bundles I'm talking about?
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- #399
High Desert Cowboy
True BYH Addict
Sorry I should clarify. Most folks around here do the larger half ton bales. Easy to handle with a tractor, load great into a bale spreader, and they’re not bad to feed off a flatbed truck either.
Those that do smaller bales usually have a bale wagon which is a wonderful contraption. It collects and stacks for you, and then they usually have a hay “claw” on their tractor that allows them to pick the whole top layer up and place it elsewhere. But of course these are full time farmers, they’ve got more tools than the beloved BYH crowd.
In my area it’s hard to do small scale haying for just oneself, with limited water if you do have a small pasture it’s used for grazing and you feed hay in the winter. But for those that try it, they’ve got friends with tractors.
Those that do smaller bales usually have a bale wagon which is a wonderful contraption. It collects and stacks for you, and then they usually have a hay “claw” on their tractor that allows them to pick the whole top layer up and place it elsewhere. But of course these are full time farmers, they’ve got more tools than the beloved BYH crowd.
In my area it’s hard to do small scale haying for just oneself, with limited water if you do have a small pasture it’s used for grazing and you feed hay in the winter. But for those that try it, they’ve got friends with tractors.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Love the picture of Missy sharing her apple with Alfalfa. My children grew up surrounded by dogs, goats, sheep, horses, etc. It wasn't unusual to see a 4-Her at the Fair sitting on a bucket sharing a bag of chips with their lamb or goat. Your children are lucky to be able to grow up in that lifestyle.
