HeatherLynnKy on the farm Ranting and hormone crazy tonight warning

[heatherlynnky]

The hills are alive with the sound of Moooing la la la la. yep thats the farm this morning. Beautiful frosty morning. I threw on my wool farm coat and was off to the barn. There was Blossom laying in the straw with her baby blanket. But not just laying on her side like when she was sick. Her head was up and body upright and she was wanting some company. As soon as she saw me she was up and pushing at me for her bottle. I ran back in side and made that real fast, added in the sulfer pills and her molassas. She drank the whole thing down. No cloudy snot this morning and her poo is looking good. Her backside is MUCH cleaner. Of course when she was done she wants to play a bit and suck on my chin and have her ears scratch. She is a much happier much more perky baby this morning. So laters I will again take 1 quart of electrolytes with a bit of molassas in it and then this evening its another milk bottle with the sulfer and molassas. Hopefully no more shots. Of course she gets a bit of probiotics with each bottle also. I swear they are the go to thing in this house for everyone and every animal.

So far this morning we got the ice broke in the water, everyone got their feed and an extra portion of hay. I figure with this cold everyone will have the munchies. Kids don't mention till this morning that they gave the last of the alfalfa pellets last night( sigh) So I guess off to tsc to pick up another couple bags. Bessie is in a bit of a temper this morning and I am not sure why. Since that first heat she is not as sweet and friendly as before. She has been in a royal mood. ( frustration?) I have no clue, all she wants is food and to be left alone. She is still calling for a bull. We took her bull buddy away the week before she went in heat and man she has stayed ticked. Not sure what to do with the poor gal. Maybe once Blossom is a bit bigger and sturdier they can become good friends and she will be happier. Maybe.

Today its more reaaranging the finished attic rooms. I just can't seem to get things where I want to keep them. Every 6 months or so I feel the need to move everything. Granted it always starts with the family being little piggies and making messes and not cleaning up. I start to do another super deep clean and the rearranging bug hits. Ah well, I guess I could have worse habits right? So I guess its back to work for me. I started the laundry but now I have to put away more clothes. (sigh)

Edited to add: I should have mentioned, the whole family is going out to trim our evergreens and holly's. We will fill up bags to stuff in my moms back seat and the trunk. We trade these to a friend for a fresh cut tree from his tree farm. He makes wreathes to sell to the rich folks who are his neighbors and we have the best varieties of plants so it works out well. With such a big variety he makes really beautiful and intricate wreaths. Every once in a while he gives us a little one to put on our door. Especially if we get enough to fill up the back of the truck!! Its a nice trade and saves some money.

 

[the funny farm6]

glad she is doing so good!!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Glad to hear she's doing better!

 

[heatherlynnky]

She is a tiny bit snotty again and coughing and a bit of the runs. (sigh) She is still up and walking around like a little mad woman though. Still taking in her bottles. The vet may be coming tomorrow to give her a look over. I will tell you this, buying with your heart instead of you head always is expensive. I know it. I learned the lesson but I follow my heart every single time.

So I have loads of time on my hands tonight. Everyone went to the church to see a play. I have a headache and a fever though. Its lack of sleep i swear. Every single time I have to push myself like this I get a little sick. If I rest and nourish myself, bump up that immune system a bit I will feel fine in the morning. Anywho I am stuck at home now. Instead of resting though, I am trying to do the bills instead. My husbands company is behind on paying roughly $800 ( right after they reported record profits) so things are a touch tight. My husband hates to be around when I do bills because it came be stressful. Every single penny gets stretched till it screams. With all this money outgoing on the calf things are a touch tighter than usual. Oh well thats how life is. Keeps things interesting. Man i feel like laying under the desk and falling asleep.Maybe i will

 

[BarredBuff]

I hope you get to feeling better!

 

[heatherlynnky]

I hope you get to feeling better!

I will, i am just danged cranky tonight. Headaches do not sit well with me. Its more migraine than headache. I spent most of my evening in the dark. Its just being tired. My body has a fierce way of saying, "rest a bit, you idiot". Ahh well. Blossom was a little piggy tonight and she made several attempts at laying in my lap while I scratched her ears tonight. Spoilt little thing that she is. I will have to post pics soon. Ok well computer lights are too much, so I am off for the night.

 

[Denim Deb]

Good night. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

 

[heatherlynnky]

I knew it was just exhaustion. I told everyone I was on vacation for one night and to just take care of what they should without me fussing. 9 hours of sleep later I feel human. The good news is they managed to not make Blossom or anyone else sick while I slept a bit and i am ready to kick this day's rear end. My husband is going to take out the rest of our roosters this weekend so its time for me to separate them from the gals. I hatch mine own thinking it would be a great experience for the kids and honestly I needed to find replacements for some of my old gals ( they will not get culled or anything but a couple stopped laying. I bought them as layers and I've had them 5 years so....) Instead of many replacements I got roosters. Lots of roosters. Granted I do love the taste of a slow grown, free range bird so the freezer is becoming very well stocked. I think he only has 4 more to go. In total 21 roosters had to be culled. This next year I an ordering online for the first time. I cannot find the birds I want locally so......no choice. I just hate to think of baby chicks in those boxes.

Bessie is turning a bit of a pain in the rump since this heat. Her personality has changed a bit I think and thats upsetting. You should have seen her trying to get scratches and hugs. She has just stayed cranky really. My dad is insistent I not breed her till she is 24 months old. I am trying to imagine 15 more months of heats with this gal. She is going to go nuts. From what I read, the dairy breeds are done at 14 months. I guess I am going to have to pull in experts on this one. Thankfully I have those volunteering left and right. Of course the new vet raises dairy cattle and is willing to advice. A very sweet older guy who I am looking at buying a gurnsey from is also helping out. He has been calling to check on Blossom and said to call him anytime if I need help. The hay guy too. Surely between all the people I know locally I can get a good solid idea of what is best for the gals. I already have AI lined up for them also because I have no intention of buying a bull. I am hesitating to buy another milker. I have the goats and one milk cow. We are only a family of 8 BUT I do provide for my sister also. And my nephew and his family of 6. Trying to feed those in my family and those in my family that cannot provide for themselves due to disability gets complicated. They will eat the cheese but not drink the milk if its not in a little white jug. If the eggs are brown or white they will eat them but only my direct family will eat the blue eggs.

Ah well lots of work to do on the farm today. We are slowly working toward our goals here. Chris and the kids are going to make solar panels to run the blower for the wood furnace, so I gotta go shopping for that. Oh and I gotta go to the chick sites and with "poor impulse control" pick out some new birds so I can keep the family in eggs. I would hate to resort to store bought eggs. I'll probably add more later but my husband started the shower for me, so I could get moving and buy some groceries. lol I think he is hinting.

 

[heatherlynnky]

I am going to visit another farm this weekend. The man who has offered to sell me his gurnsey heifer had his grand daughter extend and open ended invitation to visit them on the farm. She is just getting into chickens and ducks but they are a long time dairy farm family. My little mini herd is not much to speak of at this point. Eventually, if we get this gal, we will have 2 cows producing milk and babies. Another cow producing meat calves for us. Its part of the long term plan. Granted everyone is 9 months and under, so this plan is not even close. Its great to see up close a couple different operations to get some ideas though and gather more information. I am all about the research right now.

Still no progress on the goat gals. I swear they are going to stay pregnant forever. The daily bum and udder checks is getting a bit frustrating due to lack of anything happening. Soon though we will have our nigerian babies and before we know there will be fresh, raw milk and cheese. In theory anyway lol. I am very hopeful and yet still researching and trying to learn all I can.

We are keeping 2 bantam roosters who are part of pairs and one random mixed rooster simply because he is the son of our favorite silkie and a maran. Don't even ask me how that happened, its not a pretty picture. He is a beautiful rooster though and very protective, so even though his was not the best genes for pure bred in the bunch he is a keeper. He was the most protective and gentlest with the hens and for now thats what counts. I am still trying to decide on what I am adding to this flock. My 2 production reds are 5 years + and no longer lay. The 2 australorp gals are laying maybe an egg a week during the good times. Right now they lay nothing. But they have been good girls and they deserve a nice retirement and I can afford to give them one. Considering how many chicks ended up being roosters and going to freezer camp I think I will be buying 25 of some type of assortment. Still deciding right now. I am also working on a summer coop for the girls. Not as big as the regular winter one but big enough to hold them all. They need replacement housing for this summer as the chicken coop gets an upgrade and they need shade. So looking like I might do an open front coop in the "tamed" woods beside my dads workshop. My mom plants this area with all her shade plants but she said she is more than willing to share with the chickens if they can protect her from ticks. I caught her this year trying to lure them over to her wooded beds this year when the ticks were so bad. You can tell she really appreciates their free range foraging.

We took the truck load of pine, spruce, boxwood, cyprus, and holly branches up to our friend and got to pick out a 7 ft Christmas tree for free. No goat cheese this time though. He is drying several of them out right now so it will be a couple months till he has enough extra again for cheese.

Blossom seems to be doing well. If nothing else she is more energetic and spends alot more time up on her feet and walking around. She has enough energy to explore a bit. With her acting a bit better its time to put out a little bit of hay and maybe a handful of feed. The vet would like to see her off the bottle at 8 weeks and on food. So thats the goal. Have I mentioned I really like this new vet. Yep, I do.

I think tonight I will light a couple candles and relax a bit with the hubby, if we ever get these crazy kids to calm down. WOW are they energetic tonight. Ah well 9 minutes until calm down and lights out. I can last that long. After that they all go down pretty quick thankfully. We survived another day on the farm. Every day we get a little bit further into the plan. Slow but steady.

 

[SSDreamin]

Glad Blossom is doing better!

I was advised to let my cow reach at least 18 months before we attempted breeding, because of her size. We got the bull 'just in time' for when she'd be 18 months, but were mislead about his age - so he was about 6 months old when she was old enough - more interested in where the milk was supposed to come from than anything else She absolutely FLIPPED OUT this last heat (I posted about it in my journal ) so I can completely relate to your issues with Bessie! I REALLY wanted AI for our girl, but couldn't find a single vet in this state who would attempt it because she's so small, so our only option was Ferdinand. He was 'bred for gentleness' which I thought was a bunch of hooey, but he is STILL a sweetheart at 9 months. Sweetheart or not, I do take the normal 'intact male' precautions with him