Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

This may or not work but this video made for some smiles on an otherwise somber day:

Hang Gliding with a flock of geese… Incredible Video

Antidote to politics. Getting away from it all with a flock of geese.

citizenfreepress.com

 

[farmerjan]

Oh Thank you so much @Mike CHS . I went down through the comments and there was another link to a longer video and it had footnotes about who this man is and what he does and that he takes some tourists up to experience it and it helps to support his efforts of raising orphans and teaching them to migrate.

It does take you away for a few minutes....

 

[Mike CHS]

We spent a lot of time going over our fecal results for the last two years and was actually surprised at one paddock. We haven't had a lot of problems with Barber Pole in most of our paddocks but the one directly behind our shop and handling area has historically been the most problem until this year. We have only found their eggs in three sheep and all of those were lambs. The fecals we have pulled all of this summer for this paddock have resulted in a low overall parasite count except for one ewe and even that one is showing a much reduced load this week with no treatment. None of our senior ewes have needed worming since they were weaned three years ago.

This paddock has been sprayed with Nitrogen twice this summer and I have not cut it at all this summer so it is taller than it has been since we started using it. This paddock gets a lot of use since it is the feeder for most of the other paddocks so sheep are always coming or going but they are never there for very long.

There is really nothing scientific about the parasite findings but we are happy to see less of a parasite problem while doing considerably less "grooming" of the graze. Other than the Nitrogen and some mowing around the handling area, this paddock has been hands off this year.

 

[farmerjan]

One thing that we have found is that sheep will have a higher worm load on short grass as opposed to tall grass. The worm eggs/larvae will mostly be found in the lower 2-4 inches of the grass... so taller grass, not clipped or mowed short, seems to keep the sheep from eating down close. Don't have any idea if the nitrogen would be a factor. From what we have learned over the years,,,, is to either keep them in higher grass, or to dry lot them... the short pastures are the worst. Don't know if that is true... and we have never done fecals... just eye balling and worming when we think necessary... so much less scientific and not recorded like you do. But it is interesting that your records have shown this to you....

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm not sure I can call the kittens and their mom feral anymore but they are entertaining. Three of the four kittens will come running up the hill when we walk down to the shop and they will walk around brushing up against our legs when we sit and talk to them. Momma will come up to about five feet away and lay down and just watch but she will be there every time. I know it is all food driven but they will come over for their petting even after I put the food bowl out. I stay amazed that wild born kittens seem to enjoy human contact even before they get their feed.

 

[Mike CHS]

We had a good friend come out and visit this afternoon to let us know that he has had an offer on their house and they are moving to Alabama. Matt runs the County Extension Office for UT and has has arranged to take a similar position for Auburn's Extension program.

I had planned on doing some spraying in two of our paddock but Matt has been a great resource in our sheep program and the plus is that we have a great friendship along the way. Matt is the farm that we traded Maxwell for Cooper. He is starting to lamb now and Maxwell has produced some really nice lambs.

I have some Perilla Mint thriving in two paddocks where we never had it before but I need to take it out before letting the sheep on those fields.

 

[Mike CHS]

I picked and processed another batch of bell peppers for the freezer. We have a couple of plants in another bed that we will use for fresh eating but we told the neighbors they can help themselves to the main bed. We had already told another of the neighbors but they never came to get any. When we lived in South Carolina we told one of the neighbors that we had all of the green beans we needed and they could have access for the rest of the season. Her response was that she gets home around 5:00 if I wanted to bring them over. Needless to say that they never got any of the beans.

The garden work is winding down since the main things growing in bulk are the okra and peppers but we did plant another few hills of cucumber and zucchini for fresh eating and they have fruit on that will be ready to eat in a few days. We have just about given up trying to grow zucchini in the spring because of squash vine borers but we never get them with fall plants.

We have all of the saved seeds dried and put up until it's time for next spring. I did do some germination tests on a few things to make sure they were mature enough.

 

[Mike CHS]

This is one of those that I don't know if it work or not:

Goat And Rooster Save The Day When Their Friend Is Attacked By A Hawk

 

[Bruce]

Good goat and rooster! Not sure if the rooster could have saved the hen on his own but that goat took right into the hawk.

 

[farmerjan]

That was really neat. I have never seen a goat do something like that.... had a couple of cows that came thundering in when there were buzzards around a cow that was calving.... the calving cow was bellering at the buzzards threatening a brand new wet just born calf... and several other cows went running across the field and the buzzards decided that they were outnumbered and out weighed.... but they can harass a cow by its self.... But to actually go and butt that hawk like it did is really something. I have had roosters attack something that was after it's hens... once had a rooster run at a fox that was trying to catch and run off with a hen... Who needs a guardian dog when you have a guardian Goat?????