The "Convincing" Process of Grafting a Calf.......

We have had two sets of twins this year. Both mommas took both twins.  (yes, sometimes a momma cow will walk away from one of the twins)  A momma cow can raise twins but it's pretty hard on her, unless she's a milk cow (meaning she has tons of milk, which neither of these cows did). It's also hard on the babies.  Neither will get the nutrition they really need. We've handled twins in different ways in the past, depending on the situation. We've let a momma raise both twins because she seemed to have lots of milk (I sure felt sorry for her by the end of summer. She was skin and bones),  we've supplemented twins with a bottle (which was a pain in the rear end),  and we've taken one twin off and made it a bottle fed baby (real cows milk is always better then the replacer milk).  The ideal situation is to graft one twin on to a different momma, one that has lost her calf. (which I guess really isn't ideal, since that means you lost a calf)  Anyways..... This year we have lost two babies, so we were able to put a twin from each set on a different momma. The first grafting went very smoothly. The new momma accepted her new baby right away. They are doing great. The 2nd grafting is not going as smoothly. We are now into day 6 (or maybe its day 10. These days seem to be running together) and bitch mom still does not like the new baby.  She has "braclets" (they are really called hobbles) on her back legs so she can't kick him. But she sure can head butt him!  (I tried to video it, but, of course, she wouldn't do it while I was recording)  Of the twins, my Farmer picked the bigger, stronger calf to graft on. Good choice. He is more aggressive, so he just keeps going at it no matter how much she butts him.
I have mixed emotions as we are doing this grafting process.  I watched these twins for three weeks. They were always together. Eating, sleeping; they were so cute. Then we split then up. Gave one a new mom that is not nice to him. He went from having a loving, caring momma to having a bitch mom. Poor guy.  His twin and real momma, however, are happy and don't even seem to miss the little guy.

Once the gate was opened, momma and twin leave and don't look back.

Its seems sad and maybe even a bit mean, but in the long run, both calves and cows will be happier and do better. But for now, we still have to work on bitch mom and continue to convince her that she loves her new baby. And she will. LOVE him that is. My Farmer will "convince" her.

My Farmer "convincing" bitch mom and talking on the phone. (Multi tasking)

On the first day of this "convincing" process, my Farmer had to stand inside the corral with a "big stick", mostly to "look intimidating" to bitch mom, while baby ate.  She may have been a tad bit more upset this first day because of her new "bracelets" that my Farmer had just put on her.  (I'm thinking maybe she isn't a leather type girl?  Maybe she wanted studded jewels on her "bracelets".  Who knows.)  Anyways...... She wouldn't let the baby eat unless we were standing in the corral.  (well, I would stand outside, of course)  Baby learned real quick that as soon as his Farmer showed up, it was time to eat.  We don't have to stand inside the corral all the time now.  We just kind of hang around, and when she head butts him, we yell at her and she stops.  Most of the time, anyhow.  All I can say is, she better get a mind adjustment soon though.  This is getting real old, doing it three times a day.
Once we are done with the "convincing" process, and she realizes that he is her calf and she's his loving and caring momma, her whole attitude will change.  Now, she could care less if we are around the baby.  When she decides she Loves him, she will not even let us close to her best ever baby. She will have become his best ever protector! (I'm hoping anyways)  Cuz that's how it is. Ya just gotta get the "convincing" process done. 
And that's what we do.  It's all part of  Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is......

Baby and Bitch Mom.

UPDATE!!!     My Farmer has taken bitch mom's "bracelets" off!  She still doesn't completely love him yet (shes still in denial), but we're getting close!

Not Fun when it's Cold.....

Well, my midnight cow check duty is not fun anymore. Tonight, the moon is just under full, the sky is clear, the stars are shining, but it's frickin cold! Its suppose to be 15 degrees! Ugh. I really want to just crawl into my nice warm bed and go to sleep, but these are the nights that it is most important for me to do my part and check the cows. There is usually nothing going on when I go out, but you just never know when I might find something in trouble. If a calf is born when it's this cold, we have to make sure he gets up and eats. If it's too cold and if the momma is not aggressive enough at licking him, the calf could just lay there and freeze to death. And thats never good.
There was a new baby calf born this evening just before dark. He had gotten up and eaten from his momma, but he was still pretty wet. I will look for him and make sure his momma picked a warm place to bed him down.
 Well, it's almost time for me to go check things. I believe I will be putting on my insulated coveralls tonight and my warm fur hat. And I'll be driving the pickup over. That warm pickup, with the heated seats, waiting for me, after riding around on the 4-wheeler, through the cows, in 15 degrees temperature, will be mighty nice.  Yep, thats Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is.......

When the Pressure drops.....the Calves drop....

I believe this to be a true statement.  When the air pressure drops, we can always count on lots of babies to be born.  And the other day was no exception.  The weather here went from sunny and hot one day to cold, snowy, rainy, and windy the next.  On the sunny day we had 3 calves born, which has been about our norm.  All jumped right up and took to eating with no problems. The next day, the cold, rainy, snowy, windy day, we had 8 calves born.  And since it was cold, they are slower.  4 went to the corral and two got to spend the night in the calf house to warm up.  The others did get up and eat on their own but it took them a while to do so. (When I say it took a while I mean over two hours, because if conditions are right, a calf can be up and eating within an hour or less.)  This makes for a long day for my Farmer (well, and me of course).  My Farmer and I have a system when it comes to bringing the calf and its momma to the corral, and usually it works pretty smooth.  He puts the calf in the ATV trailer, which he built sides for,  the calf can stand up, but can't jump out, and the momma can see it and sniff it, which usually means she will follow it all the way to the corral.  Usually.  And this is a one man job.  It seems if I go out to help, the momma freaks out, thinking its a trap, and she will not follow.  So my job is to close the gate at the corral as soon as she goes through it.  Sometimes, once the cow realizes that she has been lead through the gate, she will freak out and try to turn around and run, not caring whether you have her calf or not. So shutting of the gate is a very important job (well ALL my jobs are very important, right?!? Haha).  I have to hide so she can't see me and then leap into action once she is through the gate.   The other night, as I was sitting in my hiding position, I was admiring the beauty of my surroundings.  The sky was incredible. Picture perfect.  I was suppose to be very still as not to spook the momma, but I just HAD to snap a picture!  To share it with all of you, of course.  And I did.  I was sneaky enough, momma didn't spook....Thankfully!  But don't tell my Farmer, we need him to think he had my full attention.   And he did, of course.....kind of.
Hope ya like the picture cuz .......This is...... Livin' the Life......the Farm Life that is. 

Snow Painting......the Farmer way

My Farmer and I did a little "snow painting" yesterday, the farmer way.  Let me explain.  One of the problems we have when we get a lot of snow around here (note I said one because there are many) is that it can be hard on our wheel lines.  If the snow covers them then crusts, it will pull the lines down as the snow settles.  Believe it or not, the snow can crust so hard that as it pulls the line down it can break the pipe.  One year we had enough snow that it pushed down hard enough to flatten the metal wheels.  Crazy! And wheels do not roll so well not round.  Snow is an interesting object.  Anyways, to prevent this from happening, we remove the snow from the pipes.  In the years past, or lets say when my Farmer was younger and had lots of energy, he would walk the wheel lines and shovel the snow off.  As he became, ummm, lets say "wiser", he started saving the ashes from our fireplace and spreading them on the pipes, which made the snow soften and melt.  It worked pretty darn good, only we never really had enough ashes to do all the lines.  Well....this year we used lime.  This is where the "snow painting" comes to play.  We put lime on our fields every year, something about needing it for the ph in the soil or something, not my expertise so thats all I know.  So my Farmer decided why not use lime instead of the ashes, should work the same.  I like the idea of using the lime.  We have lots of it AND it comes in pretty colors.  Now let me admit something here, I normally do not help my Farmer do this task.  Main reason.....he does it early in the morning, when it is cold out.  I guess that is two reasons, early and cold.  Yesterday, the sun was shinning, it was a beautiful day, I went outside for a little walk and there he was, working, and I had a guilt moment. But he was riding on top of the snow with the atv so I didnt have to walk, it was a gorgeous day, and I did need a little exercise.  Turns out, it was kind of fun painting the snow.  We had purplish lime and a beautiful pink color lime.  I kept wanting to make flowers or something, but I was suppose to be working, it was a job, and the boss was watching.  I did manage to snap a picture or two, when he wasn't watching.  hehe. 

So, if you drive by and see this image, you now know the reason. 
Well, the sun is shinning, there are three more wheel lines to do, and I had so much fun yesterday, I think I will go help my Farmer finish.  Besides, have you ever riding on top on the snow with your ATV?  It is a blast!!!   That's livin' the life.......the Farm life that is!

Lessons Learned from working with Cattle.....

When someone yells at you, don't take it personally........A lot of yelling takes place when working cattle, sometimes at the animal, sometimes at the people.  It's important to remember that the person raising their voice is probably just frustrated at the cattle and not me you.  Remember the old saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.  (But I highly recommend not saying this to the person in the corral, it does not go over well......(teehee))

It's OK to get mad, but then get over it.........Working cattle can be very trying.  You will not always see eye to eye with the other people on where they  you should be standing or pushing the cattle.  I've learned it's OK to get mad, but once the moment is over and the job is done, get over it and move on.  Life is to short, plus it takes way more muscles to frown than it does to smile.

Stay Focused on your goal; when going from point A to point B, have your planned route, be prepared for unexpected bumps and turns, stay focused, but do not give up .........When herding cattle, most of the time they are not going to go the direction you want them to go.  They have a mind of their own and do not follow directions at all.  Some will try their darnedest to go in the opposite direction of the way you want them to go (and some will succeed), but stick with them no matter what, let them know who really is in charge, and do not give up until they are where you want them to be.  Accomplishment is a good feeling.

Never lose faith............We have had many calves that would not suckle their moms for one reason or another.  Some times it takes only once helping them, and other times it takes way more. When it takes longer, you start to lose faith.  But when you get to that point and think they are never going to get it, something will seem to just click in their little heads and boom just like that they start suckling on their own.  When this happens, there is usually a lot of  hip hip hooraying, hand fist pumping the air, smiling, and really fast tail wagging (from the calf of course). And once again, life is good.

They're not as stupid as you think.......Or is it that we are not as smart as we think we are?  Nope that's not it.  Don't think I will expand on that.

The more fun you can put into work, the less work it is.......I find this true when we have family and friends help us with working the cattle.  My Farmer and I are always a little stressed and uptight trying to get everything done.  When someone from the "outside" shows up to help, they always seem happy to be there, thrilled to be helping out, and this cheerful attitude just seems to radiate around to us, and it is no longer a work we dread, but a work we look forward to.  Enjoy life, you will live longer (I'm sure someone did a study on that).

And no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just end up getting the shitty end of the deal.  And that's OK because it does wash off......and believe me, that IS Livin' the life, the Farm life that is........

You get WHAT from a COW??????

This past week my Farmer and I participated in a program called Ranchers feeding Youth.  This was the second one we've helped with.  I totally love this!  It is put on by our counties Idaho Farm Bureau Federation and the ranchers in the area , and is headed up by a very lovely lady at the University of Idaho Extension office.  Our population these days are so removed from the farm/ranch that it is really important for us involved in agriculture to bring the farm/ranch to the people.  And this program is doing that.  Our lovely UofI Lady has put a lot of work into this and we are hopeful to eventually have it in all of our area schools. After we have the kids rotate through 3 different stations, we then bar-b-que them hamburgers for lunch.  The three stations include food safety, animal by-products, and animal production.  My Farmer has been helping with the animal production station.  In it they show a short video of a heifer calving, and then it's just an open discussion period.  I'm sure they get some interesting questions from the kids after the video.  I help with the animal by-product station.  This subject is dear to me because it was one of the things I touched on when I was doing Ag in the classroom some years ago.  I did post a short story awhile back Is a day without Agriculture possible?, that touched on this subject.  It is really mind blowing when you learn what different things in our lives are actually made with an animal by-product.   One thing that I like to point out is glue.  Stop and look around.....what do you see that is made with glue?  This is a by-product of animals.  What about gelatin?  Also a by-product.  And what about medicine and medical supplies.  Collogen, pancreatin, heparin, coritsol, and medical sutures are all made with by-products from a cow.  And the list goes on and on.  So even if you do not eat beef, you most likely are using it in one way or another, in your everyday life.  Candles, cosmetics, insulation, plastics, leather, antifreeze, yogurt, pasta, and cake mixes are all made with beef by-products.  Without beef as a renewable resource, not only would the butcher's job be affected, but also the businesses that produce pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and textiles.  Yes, it even affects the baker and the candlestick maker.
So next time you see a cow out grazing in the pasture, remember...if she did not exist, not only would that beef steak or hamburger not be on the dinner menu, a lot of other things that we have come to rely on to make our lives easier, would also not exist.

Time to Bale that Hay..............

My Farmer servicing the baler.

Now on to baling.  Baling the hay is the tricky part.  You don't want it to dry or to wet.  If you bale it to wet it will mold and if it is really wet, it can get hot and actually burn.  Not a good thing.  We let the hay get dry, which usually takes 3 to 4 days, and then bale it in the evening with a little dew on it.  The dew helps  hold the hay together and keeps the alfalfa leaves from shattering.  However, when the dew gets to heavy, we have to stop.  Our balers have moisture sensors in the bale chamber that measures the moisture content of the hay and displays it in the tractor.  Very seldom do I run the baler.  I can, but luckily I don't have to very much.  We have two balers, one makes small bales, and one makes big bales.  The small bales usually average around 110 pounds, and the larger bales are 3X3's and they average around 950 pounds.    

This is our big baler picking up the windrow of hay

This is our little baler.

Here's Pete trying to lay in the shade of the bale.

 After the hay is baled, the last step is hauling it to the barn.  We use a stacker wagon to do this, and we actually use it for both kinds of bales.  The machine picks up the little bales by itself as you drive along. 

To stack the big bales, we load them on to the stacker with a fork lift.

Yep, that's my Farmer wearing shorts.....it was really hot that day!!

OK, so now all the hay is put away, and we have a break for a little while until it is ready to harvest the 2nd cutting.  Which, by the way, is now.  Not much of a break, but oh well, we'll live with it.  That's "livin' the farm life"...........Gotta love it!!!!!!

Agriculture is an important part of our everyday lives.

One of the reasons I started this blog was for agricultural education.  So far, I have mostly just been sharing my personal stories.  Today I would like to launch the first of a new label, AG ED 101.   Years ago I attended an Ag in the Classroom workshop.  After attending the workshop I started going to the local schools and talking about agriculture and how it affects our everyday lives.  This is one of the stories from the "ag book"  that I shared with the kids.......

We depend on agriculture for much more than just our food and clothing.  Let's take a look at an average day and see some of the agricultural products and byproducts that you might use.

You wake up on sheets of cotton that have been woven with cornstarch for sizing.  You step out of bed onto a carpeted floor.  The rug pad underneath the carpet is made from hair from the hide of cattle.  As you reach for your robe, you might notice how warm it is in the house.  The insulation used in the walls is produced with a byproduct from cattle and hogs.  The plaster on the walls is made with a binder produced of hide of hogs and cattle.  The wallboard also contains cornstarch and soy flour from the soybean.  The soap you use to wash your face is make from byproducts of corn, soybeans and cattle.  At the breakfast table, you notice that everything came from agriculture in some form or another.  The food might have been made sweet by a corn sugar called fructose.  As you eat, you remember your homework assignment that you finished last night; the paper you wrote it on contains a corn and soybean byproduct that helped hold the ink.  The tires on the school bus are made with a byproduct of beef, stearic acid, that is very important to make the tires run cooler, therefore, they last longer.  The bus might by fueled by gasohol which is a grain alcohol made from corn and gasoline.  You arrive at school ready for a great day made possible by agricultural byproducts. 

Did you learn anything new from this story?  I would love to have you leave a comment and let me know.  Until next time, I'm still livin' the life, the farm life that is.............