HeatherLynnKy on the farm Ranting and hormone crazy tonight warning

[BarredBuff]

Glad your cow is doing better

 

[heatherlynnky]

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

Yea I thought my Bessie was so undersized until I was told what a big girl she was by my brother. He is trying to figure out why I am fretting over her size. She is already as big as the momma cows at the farm where we got her. Granted they don't seem to feed theirs well enough ( yes bessie is another we gotta save her animal, a soft heart will cost you money every single time. It breaks my heart) and they have almost no grazing. Bessie has TONS of grazing and is well fed. Problem is the only other cows I had any experience with is Simmental's. Compared to them she is so PUNY. Granted they are not supposed to be close in size so..... I don't know. The vet has already said when he has a slow day he is going to stop by for a visit cause he wants to look in on Blossom. He is also going to check out one of my goats. Holly has what looks like wry mouth but we could be injury from her mom. She is blind in one eye from her mom. ( yes another we gotta save her animal, I doctored her eye the best I could and she has the eye but half of it is clouded and a bit scarred so...) he is also going to check my pregnant ones and is pretty excited to find another in our area raising dairy goats. We have a ton of meat goat people around here. So he wanted to come for a visit. He is really good friends with my brother......Anywho got distracted there. He does AI and said he would be more than happy to check her out and we would plan something when its time to "knock her up" . Gotta love these country boys I swear. Blunt and blunt can be. The man is a super sweetheart though, really really soft heart according to my brother. Being a town vet did not suit him and almost dragged him down. He decided after that to just be a farm vet and I am really glad he decided to be one near us.

You know I never have listed what we have and what the plan is at all.

Ok so right now we have the 2 heifers, 4 breeding goats, and we are down to 20 laying hens( a few decided to retire) and after tomorrow 3 roosters, we have 16 ducks on the pond. They were supposed to be food but the family objected and said they would not eat the meat. My parents were leading that revolt. (sigh) We also have 9 geese that are my mothers pets. I have one goose that is actually nice and sweet and thinks its a chicken. Its also scared of other geese and hides behind me when they get too close. We also have 3 horses. None of us ride. These are horses family members rescued and then found they could not keep up with the costs. So they brought them to the farm for a visit and now forget to come by and take care of them. Of course they get cared for by us because we simply cannot help ourselves. One of these may have to be put down due to some severe injuries it was recovering from when we got it that were badly healed.

The plan started with provide our own eggs. There are 9 total who live on the farm and the extras go to my nephews family of 6. Not as many extras as this family needs really right now. I do not sell any eggs. I have sold some chicks and point of lay pullets before. Sold a few ducks too. But its nothing that I depend on money for. Its more to keep my numbers at an acceptable level.

The goats I got specifically because they are known for their milk being good to make cheese. Also we have pretty bad allergies ( or we did) and goats milk is supposed to help with this. The cows have a similar purpose. I would like to have 1 cow in milk while the other is dry and pregnant. Sorta switch them off. I don't ever want to resort to methods that might put a strain on the gals, so letting them dry off and then get pregnant and not rushing things is my priority along with providing the family with fresh raw cows milk that is free of antibiotics and hormones. So thats the goal really. We want to make this farm provide for the family. Its not just a place to keep some pets and be a hobby farm. It should provide us with what the family needs and we are working are bums off to get it to that point. Most of our families think we have lost our minds and are waiting for us to become normal people again that live in front of the TV and put everything on credit and get our chicken for the store like normal people. My sister says she misses the foam and cellophane. Weird!

 

[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

Yea I thought my Bessie was so undersized until I was told what a big girl she was by my brother. He is trying to figure out why I am fretting over her size. She is already as big as the momma cows at the farm where we got her. Granted they don't seem to feed theirs well enough ( yes bessie is another we gotta save her animal, a soft heart will cost you money every single time. It breaks my heart) and they have almost no grazing. Bessie has TONS of grazing and is well fed. Problem is the only other cows I had any experience with is Simmental's. Compared to them she is so PUNY. Granted they are not supposed to be close in size so..... I don't know. The vet has already said when he has a slow day he is going to stop by for a visit cause he wants to look in on Blossom. He is also going to check out one of my goats. Holly has what looks like wry mouth but we could be injury from her mom. She is blind in one eye from her mom. ( yes another we gotta save her animal, I doctored her eye the best I could and she has the eye but half of it is clouded and a bit scarred so...) he is also going to check my pregnant ones and is pretty excited to find another in our area raising dairy goats. We have a ton of meat goat people around here. So he wanted to come for a visit. He is really good friends with my brother......Anywho got distracted there. He does AI and said he would be more than happy to check her out and we would plan something when its time to "knock her up" . Gotta love these country boys I swear. Blunt and blunt can be. The man is a super sweetheart though, really really soft heart according to my brother. Being a town vet did not suit him and almost dragged him down. He decided after that to just be a farm vet and I am really glad he decided to be one near us.

You know I never have listed what we have and what the plan is at all.

Ok so right now we have the 2 heifers, 4 breeding goats, and we are down to 20 laying hens( a few decided to retire) and after tomorrow 3 roosters, we have 16 ducks on the pond. They were supposed to be food but the family objected and said they would not eat the meat. My parents were leading that revolt. (sigh) We also have 9 geese that are my mothers pets. I have one goose that is actually nice and sweet and thinks its a chicken. Its also scared of other geese and hides behind me when they get too close. We also have 3 horses. None of us ride. These are horses family members rescued and then found they could not keep up with the costs. So they brought them to the farm for a visit and now forget to come by and take care of them. Of course they get cared for by us because we simply cannot help ourselves. One of these may have to be put down due to some severe injuries it was recovering from when we got it that were badly healed.

The plan started with provide our own eggs. There are 9 total who live on the farm and the extras go to my nephews family of 6. Not as many extras as this family needs really right now. I do not sell any eggs. I have sold some chicks and point of lay pullets before. Sold a few ducks too. But its nothing that I depend on money for. Its more to keep my numbers at an acceptable level.

The goats I got specifically because they are known for their milk being good to make cheese. Also we have pretty bad allergies ( or we did) and goats milk is supposed to help with this. The cows have a similar purpose. I would like to have 1 cow in milk while the other is dry and pregnant. Sorta switch them off. I don't ever want to resort to methods that might put a strain on the gals, so letting them dry off and then get pregnant and not rushing things is my priority along with providing the family with fresh raw cows milk that is free of antibiotics and hormones. So thats the goal really. We want to make this farm provide for the family. Its not just a place to keep some pets and be a hobby farm. It should provide us with what the family needs and we are working are bums off to get it to that point. Most of our families think we have lost our minds and are waiting for us to become normal people again that live in front of the TV and put everything on credit and get our chicken for the store like normal people. My sister says she misses the foam and cellophane. Weird!

The family comments thing reminds me of Michigansnowpony, on utube - what sheeple say She's hilarious! My family farmed my entire growing up life, and STILL make snarky remarks about my lifestyle

Our cow and bull are both miniatures. Right now, our heifer is borderline micro-mini (Somewhere in my journal is a picture of Ice Cream with my DS#2-found it, pg 49). She stands 36" right now, with no signs of getting too much taller anytime soon - wider, yes, but not taller She cannot be easily AI'd, due to the difficulty of insertion (it would require a well trained child/petite female hand/arm to do it, I'm told).
None of our animals are salable endeavors. When we have extra eggs, my MIL always scoops them up to sell. In all honesty, in the future, we will sell some things: Excess piglets(unless we convert them to dog food), excess heifers (unless we decide to keep them for the freezer), but for the most part we are planning to use everything we raise/grow. I am really enjoying the experimentation, and thankfully I have a hubby who doesn't grumble (too much ) when I tell him I want to rip it all out and try something else

 

[the funny farm6]

good to hear your calf is still doing good. and that you found a good vet! they can make a big difference!!

 

[heatherlynnky]

Good thing I got so many chores done yesterday, I woke up this morning to the sound of my 3 year old barking. She wasn't playing puppy either. We are of to the doctor to get her ear checked and confirm either croup or whopping cough. Bad thing is I think its whopping cough. Stupid ballet mom brought her daughters little sister in with it. Right around all the pregnant women and other little kids. We already had a warm eucalyptus bath which eased her breathing massively. I think this is pretty mild so far. Mild fever so her body is fighting the virus, ear hurts, and cough. All things mom can help with. She is just so tiny I want the doctor to check her over.

Blossom is doing great. She has become a very active eater and a bit pushy. She is still a bit attached to her baby blanket. My brother and the diary man who has helped with her has said we should go ahead and put her feed bowl out with a handful of feed and hay. Before we know it she will be off the bottle, eating food, running around with Bessie. Amazing how sick she was and the one vet told us to give up she wasn't going to make it and how well she is doing now.

Off to the doctor for me. Think after that one of those roo's we culled last week is going in the stew pot.

 

[the funny farm6]

i was telling a friend of mine who has bottle fed quite a few calves about your calf and she said if you need to catch her up on a little weight take some calfmana and oatmeal and run them threw a goffee grinder till they are powdery and add them to her bottle.

and i hope your daughter gets better quickly!

 

[Denim Deb]

Hope your daughter feels better soon. I HATE it when parents do that kind of stupid thing. Years ago we had someone bring her sick son to church and put him in the nursery. I knew nothing about it until I went to get my son after church. And she made the comment that he had been sick all week long and wasn't sure if she was going to be able to bring him out. Needless to say, my son got sick. He was throwing up and had bad diarrhea so bad that he used up all the bedding that I had for him in 1 night! I don't think he was even a year old at the time.

 

[BarredBuff]

Ugggh :/

 

[the funny farm6]

dont you hate that? if my kids run a fever, i keep them home 24 hrs AFTER the fever has gone.

 

[heatherlynnky]

Its Croup, I figured it was. She has horribly small breathing passages( i do too so I understand) and the least bit of inflamation has her gasping. I gave in to the steroid even though I hate to. When she is older I have natural stuff I use to help but for tonight all I know is she is breathing and not all raspy, barking and gasping. She is a TINY tiny little 3 year old. She is my little preemie girl. I wish this did not hit her so hard. My son had the same issue. By the time he was 4 though it was no longer an issue and he has not had issues since so crossing my fingers.

Blossom was literally running today. She was a little wreck and getting into stuff. It was great to see. My dad was so thrilled because it really bothers him a lot when I lose one. I can't help it when I do but he sorta holds it against me I think. Makes it a bit tough living on the farm then. If she had died, it would have been after the holidays at least before he spoke to me. Add that on top of my own guilt for failing her and a son all torn up. I am triple glad she is doing so well.

Its a bit tense here on the farm right now. I don't know whats going on to cause it. We live here with my parents while our house in town sells. Right now there are no plans to even build because between parental health and all that needs to be done I don't know when we will have time. Taking care of my parents is slowly going to become a very full time job and keeping them happy right now is definitely a full time job. I fill ill prepared for what I am about to do really. How do you prepare for becoming a caretaker? I don't know. I do know that my dad is staying upset right now. He never wants to say what it is but generally he is feeling bad, or feeling sad or upset, feeling un needed or not useful, unloved at times. I worry a lot. My logical dad is very emotional and forgetful and that points at things I would rather never happen. EVER For right now it makes a very tense, walking on eggshells situation for the rest of us. It gets my mom all kinds of upset. Of course since becoming more parent than child now, I am right in the middle of it. The stress has been a bit much for a long while but as of late its over whelming at times. I went to an emotional accupressurist. Very sweet sweet lady who has really been a help. So what if I spend my afternoons napping and reassuring myself that I am loved, forgiving and can let go. They already think I am nuts for my goats, cows, and debt free rants. Whats one more nutty thing I do.

i say all this so blase but tonight its really bothering me and I have spent more time in tears and in prayer. I love my parents dearly but I don't know how to deal with all the changes in emotions and conflicts that growing older is causing. I won't desert then and I won't foist them off on a sibling ( I don't know that any would ever be willing to even take on any of this, I know for sure the majority won't) I want to be there for them but I really feel like a complete failure at this caretaker thing and I am not even really started. I am more a helper than a caretaker right now. I just want them happy, not confused, lonely or sad. Not even sure why he is feeling this way since he won't talk. Never his strong point.

I guess when it gets too much I just go hang out with the goats. They are a rescue remedy for my sanity I swear. I love those little gals dearly. Not that I don't love my cows but my goat gals are really my joy. Ok now I'm crying again. I think its time for a lavender bath and some cocoa.