New Baby

Yesterday we got to the barn in time to see another calf was about to be born. At least we were in there for this one. Now, Stripe cow does yell as she goes by her baby Tessa, but she licked her clean and did all the nice cow mom stuff she was supposed to and was protective. She calls out for her calf and the calf returns the call from her stall down the barn. Gertrude just ignored hers completely and I was ‘mom’ until we sold him.

Dot, on the other hand, is the darnedest thing I ever saw, and people, I have been raising cattle a long time, as in, off and on for over thirty years. She was quietly dealing with her labor while we moved the ladies in and out of the parlor to milk. During the second round I noticed the feet heading out but she wasn’t done by the time we were. It was, however, completely out by the time we got the first half (4) back in their stalls, so we stopped what we were doing to deal with getting the calf up to mama so she could lick it clean. 

This important for a lot of reasons: 1) It cleans all the yuk off the calf and dries it. 2) It stimulates the calf to breath – like when they smack a human baby’s bottom to make it cry the fluid out of its lungs. 3) It warms the calf. 4) It stimulates the mama cow to finish the delivery process by expelling the afterbirth. If she doesn’t clean out, she’ll get an infection that costs a lot to clear up and it could interfere with her being able to breed back. 

What Dot Did

Dot sort of licked at her calf. We had to babysit her cleaning it to a point where my husband forgot we had cows still in the parlor waiting to be put back until I reminded him. We got them put up to much foolishness as they wanted to play with the new baby and we had to stop them. This being done, we were back to monitoring the cleaning process. We constantly had to push the calf back to his mother (it was a bull) and she would just scream at it. I’ve never seen a cow scream at her calf that way. It was like she was saying to it, “So you’re the reason for all my discomfort!” The reason we were monitoring her when we normally would have left her in peace? She kept trying to bite him. Seriously! She opened her mouth and almost took off an ear. She bit his neck. She went for his side. She had his foot in her mouth. She kept pawing at him with her front foot. We thought at first she was trying to get him into a position where she could get to him better, but she was knocking him out of the way even though her instinct told her to lick it clean. We made sure she did the licking part and she did most of it before she got too out of hand with him and we finally just took him away and finished cleaning him off ourselves. She calmed right down. Weird.

We took another round into the parlor even though she would be the only one to get milked so we could get the colostrum for the calf. There was no way she was going to let him nurse and she wouldn’t allow us to hand milk her. The calmest cow we had, even in training, went totally berserk when we actually tried to milk her. (Yup; had to hog tie her.) But, I got the colostrum and fed the poor little guy and made sure he had his blanket on him because he was shivering. It is cold up here! He ate well though.

Later, after the chores were finally finished, we sat across from the calves watching them. The new one was breathing funny and my husband thought he might have gotten pneumonia since he didn’t get the proper stimulation to get the fluid out of his lungs, but then I noticed how he had him tied up and jumped up just in time. His breathing got worse by the second and he was gurgling. I said something colorful and grabbed my pocket knife and cut the string free and started stimulating him to breath. My question to my husband was why does he always tie a slip knot on their necks? He didn’t think it was a problem the way he ties them. I had to inform him it was because I ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, have to go back and either retie or start from scratch, the string he uses to tie them up because it tightens up on their neck and chokes them. He has just never seen it I guess. I had to teach him how to tie it so that it doesn’t slip and choke them anymore. We’ll see. The calf is fine and breathing right now. No meds needed. 

I won’t give the little guy a name. Bull calves are worth too much right now to keep him and we don’t have our calf facility set up yet. We’re using unused cow stalls for them until then and it isn’t that much space – only four stalls. We can fit 8 little ones in that, but once they start to grow they’ll need the stall to themselves. 

Are you getting a barn full of new calves?

 Our newest little guy to the barn. He is so darned cute; it's a shame I have to sell him.

 

Tessa photobombed him. 

Mom- Dot

Cow Punching and Barn Update

Cow Punching- Literally

My husband decided that since the cows I hand raised had been outside for a year and only come near him if he has feed (even then they stand back and wait until he dumps it out to go near it) that I needed to reacquaint the heifers with people.  I talk to them through the barn gate all the time, although for the most part they just ignore me, except for a couple of them. But that darn Jersey bull is a royal pain. He has taken to butting the ladies away from the barn and anyone who gets near them. So, I made friends with the bull.

First, I unloaded about fifteen bags (plastic burlap type) of feed into the feed bins (a/k/a metal trash cans with lids), and then I stuck my feed scented gloved hand out the gate as I scolded him for running off the other cows. He came at the smell and stayed for the scratching of the ears. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he sticks his head over a gate at the silo room when he hears my voice with an expression my husband describes as love struck. I told him I wasn't a cow, but he doesn't seem to care. I almost gave his nose ring a yank just to get him a little scared of me.

Flash forward a week and Chaos (the awesome companion Labrador retriever- not cattle dog) are out in the woods which are part of the cow's field marking dead trees before the leaves all fall off so we can make fire wood. She is wandering off and being older, she is going deaf and blind, and also having a penchant for chasing skunks, I was busy trying to get her to stay with me in case one was holed up out there somewhere. Next thing I know, I am surrounded by the cows and one love-struck bull. Everywhere I moved, there was that stupid bull! I kept a small tree between me and him in case he suddenly decided to charge and always moved backwards in order to keep an eye on him. Chaos finally decided to come to mama and she for some weird reason decided she was a cattle dog. Now, if she had been trained to move cattle I wouldn't have worried about it, but she isn't - she's a hunting dog, so I told her to get behind me when the bull pawed the dirt at her. She actually minded me and did it (trust me- there was a reason this amazed me). He wanted that dog bad. I finally reached out and just smacked him on the nose. "No dog! No dog!" I yelled at him. He actually looked disappointed. Hmmm.

I told Chaos to go home and she started that way, but hesitated when I didn't follow. I was keeping an eye on that bull as I walked slowly backward. There are a lot of holes out there and other cows, and I didn't think falling was a good idea. I was still taller than the bull and being on the ground could be dangerous. The cows finally meandered off, losing interest, I thought, and I was able to get to the pasture part of the field and we headed for the gate, not running because that could be trouble. Almost there and I hear the sound of hooves running. I turned around and those silly cows were running to beat the band to catch up. I held up my arms and yelled 'stop' and to my surprise, they did. Feet splayed out in front of them, they literally skidded to a stop- every last one of them. After I finished laughing at that ridiculous sight I backed up again, very slowly, because I was coming up on that very hot electric fence. I was too low for the dog to go under (and as stated before- I was not getting on the ground to do it either) and too high for me to go over. I got out my cell phone and called the husband. "Please turn off the fence for a minute so the dog and I can get out of the field. The cows won't leave us alone and the bull really wants Chaos." He asked what only once when he heard me belt that bull right in the nose. "I told you to leave that dog alone! Now leave us alone!" I yelled. He was crowding us to the fence. I heard my husband say real loud it was unplugged. I left the line open and pushed the wire down enough to get over it and then raised it for Chaos and then told him to plug it up quick. I knew when he did it because that bull hollered when he hit it.

I really don't think I want to go out there for a while. Maybe I'll carry a ball bat or something. I apparently am too good at making friends with the cows.

Now, onto the barn!

We finally have the siding up! I helped even though it like to have scared me to death once we got to the higher up part on the front. Heights and I do not get along. I got dizzy and nauseated. Yuk! But, it came out nice. We haven't quite finished the inside as we have to re-roof the barn first (it leaks into the new part- dang!) We are getting along on the parlor though. All the concrete work is done and we got the concrete sealer (garage floor coating) done yesterday. We still have to clear coat both the milk house floor and walls and floor of the parlor pit. I learned how to lay concrete block (foundation for the walls so the wood doesn't sit directly in water when we clean) and how to run a cutting torch (the steel grating for the guttering where the cows stand while being milked). I have epoxy in my hair, though nail polish remover got it off my hands and arms. I think I'll just let it wear off my hair; I just don't think acetone belongs on hair.

Pictures!

                                                        Siding going up- partially done

                                  Siding done! Yay! We had to push the bulk tank out to do the floor.

                          Some of my friendly cows! The bull cannot be disturbed for photographs.

Wintertime Preparedness on the Farm

The calendar says today is the first day of winter. I wonder who thought that up- it's been winter here for weeks. The snow is very deep and of course it is very cold. I live in northern Wisconsin, though, not Hawaii (although that is a dream of mine someday) so snow is expected, if not appreciated.

                                            To give you an idea of how deep it is already.

Most people know to keep gear in their car in the wintertime such as cat litter for traction, a shovel to dig out if necessary, a blanket, a spare pair of socks (important to keep your feet dry and warm), some food that won't ruin like nuts or granola bars, and water. A small board is also useful in case you sink in and need to put it under the tire to help you drive out. But are you prepared for just going outside? Case in point below.

Last year we had issues with the waterline freezing and we had to get a water tank to go get water for the cattle. Unfortunately, the tank was frozen to the ground and had about ten inches of snow around it. We had to get that tongue unstuck and attached to the truck, but I had the wrong gloves on. I was wearing leather chore gloves instead of insulated gloves and let me tell you, frost bite is not fun. I didn't have it severe enough to loose fingers, but it was excruciating when my fingers started to warm up and now I have issues with pain in my fingers when they get even a little cold. I'm lucky I didn't get it on my face too, because I wasn't exactly wearing the right protection there either. I was wearing a large knit scarf, however, and that is probably what saved my face.

Now when I go out in the cold to do chores, or hunting, and it is cold, as it has been here since early to mid--November, I gear up. The tractor we use for feeding hay has no cab and so we are exposed to the elements. I wear a mask to protect my face, along with a hooded coat, and if I am wearing a hooded sweatshirt, that hood is up too. I also wear some seriously insulated gloves. The kind I have is actually for hunting. They have individual fingers, but the ends are cropped off so that one can pull the trigger and get a good grip on the weapon. However, they also have a thick mitten covering that folds back out of the way to keep the ends of the fingers covered when the fingers don't need to be exposed.

                           A good stocking hat is needed when exposed to the cold to protect your face.

 Gloves are important to protect your hands at all times.Thin leather gloves are NOT appropriate in freezing weather. If your gloves get wet, change them immediately.

One problem of course with wearing all the gear is that when turning to back up the tractor, the hood gets in the way and I end up pulling it down so that I can see where I am going. That is where having that stocking hat helps tremendously.

During hunting season we had to have all orange clothing, so I had the insulated coveralls, the scarf (close enough to orange), a knit hat, a billed hat (I attach a clip-on flashlight to the hat), and the hood of the coveralls to protect my head, and the gloves for my hands. I have some thick insulated coveralls that look like overalls and a big coat for farm chores. Because of their color, which is brown, they were not a good idea for any out of doors activities during hunting season.

It was very cold- below zero- during hunting season, but I was warm in my insulated clothing. I wondered if maybe I had on too much, but I never broke a sweat, and it was a quarter mile to my hunting blind walking though a good four inches of snow. Always carry water with you when you will be outside for any long periods of time during the winter. The air is dry and you need to keep hydrated. As an asthmatic, the cold air is dangerous for me to breathe and water can prevent the dry air from causing me to cough and inhale more freezing air into my lungs. On a lighter note: being bundled up like this also caused my glasses to fog up and then the fog froze. It's a little hard to see that way!

Always let someone know where you will be so if you get stuck or stranded somehow, even on your own property, they will know where to look. You should let them know approximately how long you will be gone as well. I know from experience that just because you have a cell phone, does not mean you will have a signal to call for help. Stay warm and stay safe.

Deadly Nightshade

Well, I want you to get a good look at the plant below:

Chances are if you have some ground that has been neglected or ignored, such as an old garden spot, or a field you don't normally mow anyway, it's there. This plant is called nightshade (it gets berries on it from the blooms) and it is extremely toxic. The berries start out green and then then turn black. Several years ago when we lived in Missouri we lost a couple cows and when we opened their mouths to see if they ate something (before we did a dreaded necropsy/autopsy by actually opening them up) we found several leaves of nightshade in their mouths. It only takes a few leaves and the berries are worse. Last year I had several sheep die on me and one I saw dying. It was very sad to watch but he went so fast I didn't have time to call a vet (not that I have ever heard of a cure for nightshade poisoning). My son asked me if I had checked the pen for nightshade, something he knew was there growing around the silos but I didn't. We just barricaded them to keep the sheep from getting behind the silos, but they jumped it and went in anyway. I found the half-eaten plants and knew he was right.

When you mow your rural lot or yard or even weed your garden (I found some in mine this year for the first time), before you get the bright idea to be helpful to the farmer next door and feed the clippings to his animals rather than composting, please ask their permission first. If you see nightshade on your lot, don't give it to them, and in fact please do pull it up by the root- using gloves you will dispose of. You'll notice I am touching this one and I thought afterward how stupid that was and immediately washed my hands. If they mature and go to berries, the birds will plant them for you. If you burn, don't be anywhere near the smoke (or your pets) as this is also toxic. I'm not sure of the toxicity to humans, but I wouldn't chance it. By the way, nightshade is related to the tomato plant, so don't give that to them either.

Thank you from a farmer!!

Well, the Fence Works

Fence maintenance is a time consuming, but necessary chore on the farm. We have several fields fenced off for our cattle to graze in. One is right behind the barn and has woven wire with electric fence inside. It has woven wire because it is the first place we put weaned calves to get used to fences in the place. It turned out barbed wire wasn't much of a deterrent to cows that have never been in a fence and many times we had to put it back together. Thus, we re-fenced it with the woven wire. Next, is a little larger area (a couple acres) outside of the first one that is barbed wire and electric. Once they are used to that and have begun eating the grass faster than it can grow back, we give them the larger field - the other areas are inside the big one. Every year the deer have a habit of running through the wire and either knocking it down or breaking it altogether. This fence has to be repaired often- like daily. We keep the cows up next to the barn starting in the fall because it's hunting season and we don't want people shooting at the cows. We also have a hard time getting around the field in the deep snow.

The circumference of  this outer field is about a mile. We finally got the cows used to the middle field and it was time to fix to the outer fence. Last year we had taken down some of the posts for the combine to have access to our soybean field so I spent a day putting up posts and replacing plastic insulators. FYI-Insulators go on the posts to hold the wire and they are plastic so they don't conduct electricity between the wire and the posts and the wire will maintain its ability to shock the heck out of the cows (or anything else) that touches it. The next step is to put the wire back on the insulators or in most cases, splice it back together where the deer broke it and then put it back. We also have to tie orange tape (non-stick kind) on the wires so the cows know it's there before they get shocked. (Fair warning and all that.) My husband did the other half mile of the fence the next day as I was tied up with other chores, and we turned the critters out for a test run. The cows of course began immediately exploring so we heard a lot of bawling as they discovered the fence in spite of the warning tape.

Now everyday someone has to walk the perimeter of the fence to make sure no insulators have come loose or are broken which happens on occasion, especially if a deer decides to crash land on it or a cow doesn't heed the shock. And we have to check to see that the wire is not grounded, which causes it to not shock, or broken, also causes it not to shock, or some weed didn't sprout to immense proportions overnight and take on tree-like status which also shorts it out. I did go around the fence with the tractor and big spray tank and spray weed killer under the wire, but sometimes it just doesn't kill it.

Today, I walked the fence and judging by the black hair on the barbed wire, a cow did not heed the shock and it broke an insulator which also set free the wire which tangled with the next one down. Shucks. It was like passing a law to get it untangled and if I had not decided it was just too far back to the barn (and through ankle deep mud -we'll call it that- yeah, since it has rained so much lately) to unplug the charger it would go much faster. I carefully separated the two pieces using the fence tester (a heavily insulated piece of wire-the wire exposed on each end that one puts one end on the wire and one on a steel post to see if it zaps), and a pair of fencing pliers with plastic coated handles. It must have had a few cracks in the coating on the handle because I got some mild shocks - nothing too bad. Then I put a new insulator on and commenced to putting the wire on it. Now the way one threads an insulator of that type is that it has to go under one hook and over another one like a set of fingers holding it in place. That wire was stubborn, but rather than putting in on the insulator and then onto the fence post, because the wire was hot and I thought it would go easier without the wire on it (it did). All the tools slipped and I ended up with a firm hold on a non-coated part of the pliers. The tools went flying one way, I went another and I know a really bad word slipped out. I got up and shook my head, almost afraid to reach for the tools on the other side of the fence, but I got them. Of course my legs felt like jell-o all the way back to the barn and I'm not sure my heart will ever forgive me. But you know what? It's really hard to check for shorts in the fence if it's not plugged in. It was about a half mile back to the barn where the charger is, and then another half back and then back again, because it does have to be turned back on in order to continue the check, but I think I'll just suck it up and get the extra exercise and wade through the 'mud'. Ouch!

The Long Winter's Affect on Raising Bottle Calves

Last year we decided to go from raising beef cows (the big cows had the babies and raised them), to raising Holstein bottle calves. Bottle calves, for those who don't know, are day-old calves diaries separate from the milking cows within hours of being born. Some feed the colostrums to the calves and some do not. This can make the difference in a healthy calf and one that needs extra attention or one that just doesn't survive. We ran into a lot of that last year. We had many that because of their treatment at birth (sent immediately to a sale barn for whatever they could get) died within weeks if not days of our buying them. I hate when that happens. I get attached very quickly to my calves and I feel it deeply when they don't make it. As a result of the pneumonia most of them acquired within days of leaving the sale barn, we had to keep them inside all winter, which turned out to be very long.

Our barn cleaner chain had not been used in years, so we were constantly repairing it and putting it back in the gutter. It usually slipped off its wheels when it was full, so getting it back on required a winch and a lot of time. Also, because we had not used the system in years, the pipe to the retaining slab from the intake pit was plugged with years-old dry matter. Once it got wet, it swelled and would not let the waste through. We had to call someone from 80 miles away with special equipment to use high pressure water jets to 'drill' the pipe out. Most farms that have been running constantly don't have that issue often. Hopefully, we won't either for a while.

In the fall, we did obtain some really healthy weaned calves that were not bought from a sale barn, but from a local farmer. That makes a huge difference, as they had given the colostrums to the calves for several days before putting the moms back on the production line. Now, those are the kind of calves you want. Since we had to take down our pasture fence to allow a combine into a soybean field, and the deer had done a lot of damage as well, we had no secure pasture for them, so they too had to be tied into the barn. Our barn used to be a dairy barn so we were using the tie stalls from the dairy cows and they all had to stay in for the winter.

Calves don't stay calves for long, in fact, healthy ones grow rather fast and they eat enormous amounts of hay. Farmer's control the amount of grain and hay cattle get, but while grain is fed in a few pounds a day, hay is fed in bales. The winter ran so long we ran out of the small manageable bales and had to put large round bales in the barn and roll them out, using a pitchfork and wheel barrow to feed the animals. They could go through a bale a day easily. These are four to five feet across and have to be moved by tractor, but since the tractor won't fit into the barn, they have to be rolled manually. It usually takes two people until it gets down quite a few layers.

Calves are also quite clever. They could teach magicians a few tricks in the escape arts. We used a variety of types of clips and they somehow figured out how to unscrew, unclip, or outright break the chains that held them in regularly. When you're all alone doing the chores that can be a lot of fun –not- getting them back to their stalls. First, you have to catch them, and they run really fast when they want to. Then, you have to get a rope on their heads and make a harness out of it. Next, since they were usually in the feed aisle, they had to be coaxed to go all the way down the aisle and around to middle walkway and back to their stalls, and stand still to be re-attached to the chain. Often I had to fix the chain before I even went for the cow.  This might sound easy, getting them back to their stalls, but let me tell you, when they are loose, they decide if they are going to move or not and you are not going to drag them. They will spread out their legs and hold their ground. Unless a calf is trained as a show animal, they cannot be lead. You have to get off to the side and tap them in just the right place while leading the rope as one would a horse. Usually when they decide to take off, it's at a dead run and you could get dragged rather than running alongside of them. It can be very dangerous, and they can in their sudden taking off dislocate your shoulder, which is also true if you try to drag them. A lot of people use a cattle prod, which is a long fiberglass stick with a plastic handle on one end and a taser-like device on the other end. These are very effective at persuading the cattle to move, but again, if they don't have a rope, you can't control easily where they will go, and once they are moving, it's hard to stop them, even if someone else is in front of them. Sometimes they stop with a skid, and others, they trample the person standing in front if they don't get out of the way in time. We roped them, got to the side and got them moving, and then jumped into their stalls and wrapped the rope around the pipe they had been chained to and sort of winched them in, or tied it off in a way that it could be loosed and pulled tight again easily and then got with them in the walk aisle and got them moving again until they jumped into their stall. This was usually if only one person was in the barn trying to move them. I have been known to tie the stubborn animal to a post and call for help from my brother-in-law or nephews. Then of course, once the animal is back in the stall, everyone is mad because they haven't been fed, but the feed aisle has to be cleaned of the manure and limed down to dry it up, and then they can be fed.

As they were not full grown and the barn was not stocked full to the brim with animals, the cold could be too much for the water system and then we had to torch the lines and each bowl to thaw them so the animals could get water. This had to be done several times a day when it was extremely frigid. At one point, it got so bad we opted to just shut the water down to them and go give them buckets several times a day until it 'warmed' up enough that it wasn't freezing the lines faster than they could be thawed. At one point, the cows were so anxious about the promise of spring, they started butting heads under the stanchions dividing them and they ended up banging the shared water bowl to a point they broke the line. That was fun! At least I had learned how to rebuild the water lines and was able to fix it myself.

One would think as anxious as the cows were to get outside; they would gladly leave the barn when we tried to put them out to pasture at last. Nope. It was hours to just get thirty cows out of the barn. They ran all over the place and into other stalls and knocked each other all over the place, and my husband ended up with several broken bones in his hands and feet and we both had bruises and cuts and scrapes, but we got them out. The next morning they had knocked the cattle panel gate over (the ground was too soft from the mud and the post didn't stay put) and several of them were back in the barn. It took another hour to get them back out where they belonged and we put up a sturdier gate and more posts to hold it.

Some lessons learned:

1.  Get a cattle prod!

2.  If you get calves at a sale barn (which is a really bad idea unless you have no other means) get them early in the week; if it's a Saturday, they are left over from the other days of sales and sale barns do not feed the calves. Day-old calves don't eat grain or hay yet and most of the barns will not go to the trouble of bottle feeding the calves. They're half-starved and sick by the time you get them.

3. Turn them out immediately upon weaning so that they don't get too big to handle in the barn. The bigger they get, the smarter they get and will figure out how to get loose from their stalls and are harder to put back!

4.  Get a cow dog that knows what it's doing. We have never been fortunate enough to get a herd dog that went for the heel as it's supposed to. For some reason they always went for the nose and turned the cows around the wrong way. I should quit getting puppies and get them already trained, but I suck at dog training. I'm great at dog spoiling!

Winter on the Farm

Originally posted on Eliza Lynn Taylor's You Never Know! January 27, 2013...

Living in Northern Wisconsin is a lot of fun for a lot of people. I am not one of those people. I do not enjoy snow or the sports one would engage in when it snows. I like to fish, but there is no way I am going out on a frozen lake to do so. I'm from Florida, so the cold and I do not get along, and I absolutely do not like snow.

That being said, for farmers wintertime should be a time of semi-restfulness, right? Don't count on it. Crops have to be planned for spring planting and equipment needs to be maintained so it actually works come spring and summer. Animals have to have extra care, especially if they are kept inside a barn, after all, either way, they can't feed themselves and there isn't any grass to graze on. If a farmer has a dairy, forget about any rest. As much as snow gets in the way and adds more work, it is also a necessary evil. Economic impact on the community that depends on it aside, snow, and a lot of it, is needed for soil moisture when planting time comes around. A good layer of snow is needed to protect hay fields. It keeps some warmth in and the freeze out. Doesn't make sense, does it? Snow also helps weigh down the grasses so that the freezing cold and ice isn't able to heave the delicate plants and kill them off.

We got some snow, but not a lot and it got really cold. Then we got the January thaw, which is temperatures in the forties that got rid of what little snow we did have. Then it got cold again, as in way below zero. I'm going with the notion that all that nice alfalfa and clover we planted is not going to come up this year. Also the unseasonal warmth we had last year during January and February sent our fruit trees for a loop. They bloomed out and then the blooms of course froze when winter returned and we got no apples. It affected the entire state's crop of apples and cherries and other berries and fruits that grow up here. There is a good possibility of more of the same this year.

Now comes the 'fun' part. It got so cold last week that our entire water system froze. We've been having to take a torch to the cow watering system, as in pipes, bowls, and mechanisms so they could drink for several weeks now. We have a barn full of cows so that is a lot of water bowls and pipes. When I say the entire system went down, I mean no water to anywhere, including the house. We had to use an old drag-type spray rig to water the animals by hand (think buckets) and buy water for the house. Thank goodness we have relatives nearby so we could get water for the animals. After finally giving up getting things going on our own, we had to call a well company to get the ice out of the lines. I give up using the automatic watering cups for the cattle though. Until it warms it a bit, I'll just have to keep on using buckets. Even though there are a lot of cows, it takes longer to thaw the lines than to just give them a bucket and babysit them to make sure they don't dump it over accidentally. The barn cleaner chain also froze down so we couldn't run the chain to clean the beds out. I thought we were doomed to the old Armstrong method (two strong arms, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow). The tractor can be used, but it still has to get to the tractor, which cannot fit into the bottom of the barn where the animals are. My poor husband spent hours with a sledge hammer breaking the ice loose so we could get that cleaner going again. He's not too keen on the Armstrong method either for cleaning.

Next week, it's due to get way below freezing again and we might have to do this all over again. Thankfully we got some snow and so we pushed a nice pile around the building where the well is to keep some of that heat we keep going in there where it belongs. So, wish us luck.

Think this is unusual? Probably not. Farming is like that. On good days, the work is not too bad, the equipment works the way it's supposed to and things go smoothly. I do enjoy my cows in spite of all the work, and bucking hay and scraping stalls is some great exercise. But the bad days tend to be really bad, and most farmers know what I'm talking about. Like to gamble? Skip the casino- go into farming.