Bee~ Journal of then...

[Henrietta23]

Glad things are going so well! Good luck with the sale. I hate it too. DH has been known to put ads in and not tell me. So last week when I got a call from some guy about a Daytona for sale I told him he had the wrong number. Told DH about it and he freaked! "I don't have the whole car, just the engine, are you sure he said car????" Gah! If you're going to put the home phone # in the ad at least TELL me what you're selling so I could have at least set the guy straight.

 

[Beekissed]

This evening I will be giving Blossom her bath and getting her pretty for showing to potential buyers. I know her cleanliness will last about as long as the next bowel movement....but I have to try, don't I?

I bet not too many farmers bathe their cows before a sale......must be a girl thing, huh?

I'm praying for a quick sale and a good home for my sweet, ol' cow....she really has been a dear girl.

 

[Dace]

Hey Bee...I am so glad to hear that things are going well for both your mom and dad! That is awesome news

Good luck with selling your old girl I am sure your potential buyer will be impressed with your shiny clean cow.. while you are covered in chicken blood!

 

[freemotion]

This evening I will be giving Blossom her bath and getting her pretty for showing to potential buyers. I know her cleanliness will last about as long as the next bowel movement....but I have to try, don't I?

I bet not too many farmers bathe their cows before a sale......must be a girl thing, huh?

I'm praying for a quick sale and a good home for my sweet, ol' cow....she really has been a dear girl.

When I worked full time with horses, one day my boss and I were on stall duty as the regular kid was sick. It was a Saturday, and we didn't usually do stalls.....We were much pickier than the usual help....we rebedded deeply with nice, white shavings and then sprinkled the aisles with nice-smelling disinfectant and water before sweeping. Just as we finished putting the last tool away, a prospective buyer showed up for his appointment.

My boss looked at me as we watched the car pull in, and said, "The price of the colt just went up $5000!"

And it is true!

 

[Beekissed]

I agree! A little spit and polish seems to help sell just about anything. Why not a cow?

The fellow called back this evening to confirm our appointment and said he was bringing a stock trailer with him. I'm hoping and praying that means he has pretty much made up his mind to collect a cow that day!

Well, have went and finger tested several hens for culling and have secured all the extra roos. I will be processing 13 chickens early tomorrow morning, before it gets too hot and the flies start buzzing.

Just as I suspected, the three fat BOs are not laying and probably haven't been for some time now. I don't know what folks see in the breed, as all of mine were just overly hungry freeloaders who hogged the roos attention, went around with raw backs from being so submissive and didn't have much personality.

I don't normally process in hot weather, but I've gotten pretty tired of all the juveniles being too lazy to hit the roosts, and sleeping and pooping in my nest boxes. I'm also thinking the hens are not liking all the roo attention in this heat. Plus, feeding all those free loaders has gotten pretty old!

A few of the birds I am sorry to be culling....my old roo, Sue, and an old hen, Beth. They have been with me from the beginning of this flock at this house, so its purely sentimentality to feel badly about culling them.

Some of the young roos are very beautiful birds, also, so that doesn't feel good either. I hate to kill pretty things.....just doesn't seem right, somehow. They taste just as good as the ugly birds but it seems like destroying a work of art, you know?

I will be thinning down to only 17 birds. One roo, 16 gals. One juvenile hen who is not laying yet. She is a mutt but she is unusually colored. This little pullet is all black....even her comb, wattles, beak, and legs. Never saw a bird like that. On BYC, they said she would grow out of it, but she hasn't thus far.

Well, I hope Blossom finds a good home tomorrow....her sale will help me buy some school items for my oldest and put some new, safer tires on his car.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I know what you mean about having a hard time getting rid of a pretty bird. We have a young rooster coming up, he looks like he'll be a big one and has lovely feathers. But we already have a pretty rooster and he does a good job protecting the ladies and gets along with everyone else in the family. So the young one is going to have to go. I'll be getting rid of the non layers when the young pullets start to lay. Right now the keep the roosters attention, so that he won't spend quite as much time with the 3 hens that are laying. My BO is being a mama hen to 3 cornish x's, so is is doing her job.
Whenever you talk about Blossom, I think about the cows that our neighbor Farmer John used to have. He would only get beat up cows at auction, (probably because he couldn't afford a nice cow like your Blossom) and then nurse them back to health and they would be more like pets. I used to love to wash them and curry them. MMMh they smell so nice. When they are clean.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have had a FEW BO that were really nice hens, but I tend to agree with you. Many of them are just fat and lazy and even a little nasty. Give me a fat old Black Sex link or Ameraucana any day. Then again that is why there are so many different breeds, everyone has their personal favorites.

As far as eating a beautiful rooster is concerned, I had that problem as well a few years back. His name was Wallace and he was probably one of the most beautiful White Rock cockerels I have EVER seen. He came as a wrongly sexed pullet, so I never intended any roos at all - just no place for him. I tried really hard to find a 4-H kid or SOMEONE that needed a good roo, but alas no takers. He went into the freezer.

Your mutt pullet sounds like she may be at least part Silky - the black skin and comb?

You should take a pic of her she sounds interesting looking.

I hope you will be a rich farmer by this evening. If pics are anything to go by I wouldn't be surprised if he buys BOTH Shade and Blossom.

 

[Dace]

Best of luck today Bee!
Something tells me that all will go well You deserve to turn a nice buck on that cow, you put a lot of heart and hard work into her

 

[Beekissed]

Blossom and Shade are going to a very nice home! She will be on a 40 acre farm with other cows like herself and from the sound of it, very well cared for. The couple who bought her have a farm called Grousewood Farm, where they raise various breeds of chickens, quail and other birds, the fields are "thick" with clover~as the fella put it.

They did indeed seem very prosperous....their truck was enormous and brand new, looked to cost more than this house! They had a great stock trailer they had bought for $600 and refurbished with recycled materials....it was very unique and sturdy looking, very nicely finished and set up. Sounds like an SSer!

They didn't even argue about the price, just loaded her up and wrote out the check. The check thingy made me a little nervous but, by the looks of these folks, I don't think $1200 is a problem for them. They drove all the way from Earlysville, VA. I would estimate his truck gets about 5 miles to the gallon!

She will be put to use as a foster mom, just like I was going to do, so this seems alright. They seemed like very nice people and he certainly knew how to handle cattle....he put a halter on Shade lickety-split and shoved her fat behind right up on the trailer! It was very satisfying for me to see someone get the better of her!

Now, I know this is purely maudlin, but Blossom was sure giving me a sad look as they drove away. Nearly broke my heart. I know, I know.....she's just a cow. But she really did look distressed! I think I'm just hormonal right now.......... Good-bye, Blossom....you were just the best ol' gal!



On a side note.....got all the birds processed in under two hours, which is good for me. I'm not usually real prepared, so a lot of that time was used in setting up. I got a late start, so it was a little hot and the flies were starting to join in by the time I got done.

I'm always shocked with the amount of meat these dual purpose birds pack on!

AND, that killing cone is worth its weight in gold, I tell ya! I will never be without one now. So very nice to slice a throat and let it bleed while the bird is safely cupped in a cone, waiting quietly for me to get done with the last bird.

Don't know what I would do without it!

Farm, I don't know about the silky part. Let me ask you this.....do silky genetics show birds who all have tails that curve down? I swear, all the offspring out of that Blue Orpington roo had tails that curved down and made them look funny....like they had no butts!

Well, things will sure be much quieter around here....down to one roo who doesn't crow a whole lot. Toby, my 1 yr. old Partridge Rock. All the mutt birds are gone, except for that black oddball girl. Mainly have now a flock of Doms, White Rocks, NHRs, Black Stars and Jet, the black pullet.

Feels weird...... :/

 

[big brown horse]

Congrats on the sale of your sweet gal Blossom. Sounds like a great home for her and also for Shade.

ETA: My you have had a LARGE day!!! Whew!