How big are they full grown?

Probably the most frequently asked question , (after "how much?") is how big are they when full grown? Well, pictures say a thousand words, so here is a picture of myself with a 2 year old heifer "Babette" She is considered full grown, and although I have not measured her lately, I would say her frame score would be 000. She is roughly half the size of her mother, "Miss Piggy", which amazes me at how much the size of these animals can be reduced in just one generation with the right bull!

Mother and son July 2009

Landscape tip of the day (or week, or month....)

Ok, enough gushing about the cattle, heres something for the homeowner who has a landscape (unlike myself....) around their home. Well, after designing all these fabulous estates and homes, the last thing (honestly) I feel like doing is coming home and, you guessed it, landscaping! I am partial to planting trees, however, and have planted well over 100 of them so far on our property since moving here 8 years ago, so, at least we have shade around our house now.
Which leads me off in another direction entirely than what I had planned on writing about....shade tree placement!!
Folks, get your shade trees planted asap when you buy your home if they are not already there!! Pines, conifers, evergreens are nice, and do serve a purpose, but most people waste their time with these because they are cheap to buy (when small) and easy to plant, but they do not do the job of summer air conditioning and allowing winter radiant heat like a decidious tree will.
Watch your sun patterns for a summer season, where is it hottest at what time of the day? This is where you will need to correctly place a deciduous shade tree. Late afternoons are the hottest, morning sun is usually welcome. Do you have an outdoor living area? Nothing will drive folks away from a patio or deck like the sweltering afternoon sun. Do you have shade there for afternoon entertaining? How about that hot afternoon sun beating on your house? The sun sure feels good in the winter, but it can be brutal in the summer. And folks, please don't stick your trees so far away from your house that the shade will never be cast where you will use it. Take a look at old farm houses and older homes, they have plenty of shade trees quite close to the houses, right where they will actually do some good. Know the mature spread of the tree you are planting, and plant it close to the house. ( Just close enough that the mature branches may someday possibly touch the house, maybe). Don't worry about it breaking up your foundation, etc, by that time (if it ever even happens) you will not be around to deal with it (well, its true!!)
One more thing, and its a pet peave for me: plant some shade where you park your car!! Nothing is worse than baking your car all summer long on a nice hot driveway! Give it some thought, and I dont mean some sticky sappy pine tree, or messy crabapple, a nice shade tree!
Got kids? A play area? First,and I see this all the time and it drives me crazy.... don't stick the swingset- playset in the back 40; kids want and need to be near the house and mom....nobody is gonna hoof it all the way to some forgotton back corner of the yard to play and bake! Near the house and in the shade of course (no shade? plant some!) Some trees will grow as fast as your children! (More on that later)
And now that you are inspired, or shamed , one more thing....please, dig the hole twice as big as the root ball, pull off as much burlap as you can, and plant at the same depth as it was balled or potted. See previous post on mulching. Trust me on this, take time now to do it right once...its no fun having to dig that hole a second time. That tree can never move, give it a nice comfy place to stretch out and thrive!
Enjoy the tree for as long as you live in the house, and know the next folks and their children will as well.

New Offerings to the Cattle Corner

We have some new pictures of our little bull calf, as well as a fine registered miniature Hereford yearling heifer we are thinking of parting with. We have such a small operation here, which in some ways is very good, in that it enables us to fuss over each and every one of our animals, but at the same time requires us to sell several animals every year, whether we want to or not.
One of the most pleasant ways I know to spend a quiet summer morning is walking around the pasture with a cup of tea and the camera. The animals move slowly, eating, scratching or walking up to me to see if I have anything to offer them. They are so docile, I am sure my blood pressure must be at its lowest point when I am standing in the middle of the herd, just watching, giving a scratch....I almost think they are more therapy than anything else....of course, check back this winter when its below zero and the wind is howling and the water is frozen.....then we'll see who NEEDS therapy!! LOL!
Be that as it may, here are some pictures of our little boy who is a few weeks old; a fine Red Pride daughter who will be bred to our new polled bull, and of course our standing herd sire, who gave us all these lovely calves you see in many of our pictures. He looks better every day if I do say so myself! All our animals are available for sale, and if you see something here that interests you, please, do not hesitate to give me a shout!

Yearlings

We could not be more pleased with our yearling heifers! Bull has done a wonderful job for us, giving us a heifer out of each one of our cows! Here are some of his offspring from last spring, enjoying a pleasant July afternoon.

Summer Cattle Corner

Ah yes, summer, time for everything, except blogging!! Be that as it may, we have had a busy summer so far, expanding our pastures, pounding in posts (yes, by hand....) and watching the babies being born. We've had a lovely little bull calf born here recently, and cannot wait for his siblings to join him. The cows and bulls are all sleek and fat on the lush pasture we've been blessed with again this season; we've had enough rain and then some to keep things greening after a late start this spring. So far we've not had to feed hay, and with the new pasture we've added, won't have to until frost hopefully. The new pasture was frost seeded to red clover two seasons ago, and the deer have enjoyed it; now its time the cattle do as well!
Our cattle seem to be pretty carefree in the summer months, we water once a day, check the fencer, and check the animals at least once daily just to see that all is well, which, thankfully, all has been! Aside from keeping tabs on the pasture conditions, and moving the herd from old to new pasture, there's really not much else to do with these guys....except take pictures of them, dream of a bigger barn, better hay feeder, nicer fencing in the barnyard area.....
That reminds me, I had better get outside and put in some more posts....
Later!

Cattle Corner, May 21, 2009

Well i know i havent posted for a while, please forgive, things get pretty busy this time of year on the farm. Our first calf heifer finally had her calf, and the outcome was not what I had anticipated. I suppose one could say we lost our first calf, but sine the calf died before it was really born, I'm not sure if we had much to do with that.
You see, our heifer went into labor, and 1 1/2 hours later all I could see was the two front hoofs, which is a little long. I felt around for the nose, it was there, and a tongue, and it was moving. Almost 2 hours and not much was happening, i began to get really concerned, so we called the vet. By now it was evening, but thankfully we were in a lit stall with clean bedding. The vet was dispatched, and low and behold, out came the head, calf gasping, but breathing! I cleaned off its face and began to rub the calf vigorously. We cancelled the vet call, hoping he hadnt left his house yet. The rest should have been rather easy, usually a few more pushes from mom and that calf should slide right out, but this one was not to be. She pushed and I pulled. The calf gasped. Push, pull, push pull, nothing moved! Call the vet again!. By now momma was pretty much exausted, laying on her side , eyes rolled back. The calf was stuck half in and half out,its umbilical cord still inside, and there wasnt a thing either of us could do about it. The calf continued to gasp, I continued to rub it down, "hang in there little one", but it wasnt meant to be , and the little calf died in my arms. No time to morn, my thoughs immediately went to my heifer, laying flat out, panting. Thankfully the vet arrived within 15-20 minutes of the second call, and he could not pull that calf out with chains, nor could he turn the calf inside the mother, as it was wedged tight by its hip bones. The cow was given a sedative to make her more comfortable (never skimp on these, they are extremely inexpensive cost wise) and the vet, after assessing the situation quickly, informed us since the calf was already dead, he was going to have to cut, or partly dismember it to get it out. I know this sounds gruesome, but the calf had passed, and momma was in perial at this point. I cradled mommas head in my arms and then left, letting the vet finish his task. My husbnd picked up the calf and placed it in the spreader for burial the next day. The vet had somehow got a fine cutting wire in around the calfs hip and sawed the calf apart at one hip. There was no blood; I did not study the carcass too long, as I did not want to know if it was a heifer or bull I had lost. (keep it as impersonal as I could, otherwise the tears would have started....).
The mother was given a shot of oxytocin to help her to clean, and an epidural as well to help her regain feeling of her legs that she had been laying on far too long. He explained the leg nerves can get damaged from the pressure of giving birth and laying on her side for the hour or so she had, and that she may not regain the full use of her legs at all.
She was sitting up (laying but upright) when he left, we gave her fresh water and hay, cleaned up a bit and left her for the night.
Morning came to find her standing , although shaky, and cleaned. She was eating and drinking. After 2 more days in the box stall, she was let out to join her compainions, quite stiff on the one leg, she has almost completely recovered after 2 weeks.
We are thankful. Thankful we did not loose the mother along with the calf. Thankful to the vet that came out from his house quickly to help, and knew just what to do. Thankful that our little heifer sustained no lasting internal or external damage, and lived to join the others to graze again on the lush spring pastures here on our farm. She will have a relaxing summer!
The baby, we buried it under the pine trees, and pitched our composting manure pile over top. We will plant in the pile soon.

We should have some beautiful pumpkins.