Category Archives: Winter

Preparing for calving

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I had been tossing around the idea of doing a post like this for a while now, but never actually wrote it out. But after a dear friend sent someone my direction today for this type of information, I decided that I better get to typing while the juices were flowing.

(Sorry if there are many typos…my desktop is in the shop, and my new keyboard for my new iPad is a tad tough to get used to!)

Anyway, I was asked what kind of things are needed to get ready for calving season, from a new farmwife, getting ready to embark on her first calving season. And since we are just about a month away from calving on our own farm, I thought this was a timely topic. So here’s my calving top 10 list (and please remember, this is a great list for my farm…each operation has their own way of doing things, but this is what works for us):

1) Figure out your schedule ahead of time. Write down appointments, meetings, etc. Make sure that you are both on the same page. That way, if you’re taking night checks (like I do), you can start getting ready for it by going to bed a little earlier. No need to go into calving season already tired and worn out. That’ll come soon enough!

2) Have a working (and effective) alarm clock! The first few nights of getting up every two hours isn’t a problem for me…but the last few weeks seem to be pretty rough. If my alarm clock isn’t obnoxious, I’ll sleep right through it, which can be bad news for a new calf born in subzero temps!

3) Get a good set of walkie-talkies. Charge them. Use them. In our area, cell phones don’t always have the best of signals, especially in the barn. Walkie-talkies can be a God-send. But only if they’re working! 😉 (It also helps if the other party has theirs on them…and on. Right dear?)

4) Have the vet’s number in your phone. And posted near the door. And have the phone readily available…and charged. Hmm…I seem to be speaking from experience, eh? Anyway, there’s nothing worse than searching for the vet’s number at a ridiculous hour…and then realizing you don’t have a phone nearby anyway!

5) Be prepared. Have your supplies on-hand ahead of time, and readily accessible. That includes: calving sleeves, lube, pulling chain, rope, warming box, milk replacer, colostrum, ear tags, ear tag marker, calving record book, baseball bat and whatever else your vet may suggest or request.

 

We have one of these for every calving season, since 1988.

 

 

6) Be prepared for the weather. In our area, we generally have very cold temps and snow. Although this year, we’re going into 2012 with no snow on the ground and above average temperatures! Yay! My calving wardrobe includes a set of Carhartt coveralls (purple, in fact), a pair of Muck boots and a good set of gloves, various hats and a scarf. A good pair of coveralls makes bundling up at 2 a.m. a little less painful, and a good pair of boots make sure my feet stay dry and toasty. Both are very important to me!

7) Have some meals ready ahead of time. Freeze lasagna, have some pizzas on stand-by, whatever is appealing to you. Soups, chili, snacks…and hide some, so when you think you’re out, you have an emergency stash. Unless your husband takes that as some kind of personal challenge to find your hidden treasures, then you’ll go into your stash and come up with empty wrappers. Kids are good for that, too.

8) Don’t forget to pay bills. Set them up on auto-pay, set your cell phone to send you a reminder, whatever may be. Sometimes calving season can seem a little crazy and hectic, and sometimes the days kind of meld into one another. You’ll look at the calendar and realize that a week has gone by…and perhaps you should shower. (Just kidding!)

9) Don’t forget to take time for yourself. Yes, it’s a crazy time, but it’s amazing to watch the new calves playing, watch a heifer loving up on her first-born calf, and experience all the craziness that comes with calving. But you can’t forget to spend a moment or two snuggled on the couch, watching the news before you both fall asleep; enjoy a warm meal together, even if it’s something as simple as warmed-up pizza; and take a moment whenever you can, to thank God for all you’ve been given. I’m going to double up on that last one this year…I couldn’t thank Him enough for the gifts of 2011.

Our cows are normally red...not snow covered!

 

10) Don’t forget to pack your patience. It’ll be tested. When everyone is tired, no one is getting a good nights sleep and tempers are running hot, even the silliest of missteps can set off some fireworks. But just remember, this too shall pass. And before you know it, life will be back to “normal.” Whatever “normal” is.

Deer, oh dear

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I’m not sure if you heard, but we had a slight deer problem this winter. Well, slight is an understatement…it was a MAJOR deer problem. If you look back through my posts, you will find pictures, videos, eloquently-written, almost poetic-like blogs, etc. (well, I’m pouring it on a bit thick about that one, sorry 😉 )

I figured I would wrap up the winter deer posts with this update:

This is a pile of deer carcasses that were collected from our hay yard. Approximately 60-80 deer in this group.

Yeah, we had a problem. And some deer died. I’ve been asked many times, “Why?” The answer isn’t so simple. Game and Fish statistics say that most of the dead should be does and fawns that couldn’t handle the winter conditions. But from personally witnessing and inspecting many of the dead animals, (well, from a distance anyway) I can tell you that there were a LOT of nice-sized bucks in that pile.

So, again, why did they die? They had protection. They had plenty of protection. They had feed. Very nice, dairy-quality alfalfa. Which would have been worth between $10,000-$20,000 in the hay market. Ouch. That hurts. My guess is that the deer couldn’t handle the feed. It was truly too rich, and they basically died from really bad stomach aches. Kinda like dying from too much caviar. (Can that happen???) You see, deer are built to browse, they eat things like leaves and berries and your brand new trees that you plant! 😉

But the fact of the matter is, they died. And beside this pile of deer, remember that Game and Fish had already come and picked up a pick-up load of carcasses? So that’s more than 100 deer that died on our farm.

A closer shot of the pile that Mark buried.

What frustrates me almost more than the lack of action by Game and Fish is the waste of meat. Can you imagine the food pantries that could be stocked with this much meat? But I have an idea for this year…and it’s a way that we can curb our deer problem, encourage hunting, AND stock the food pantries!

Stay tuned for an announcement tomorrow! I can’t wait!!!

Reflecting (Ag Book of the Day 10)

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I’ve been reading more and more situations lately, where churches and others are making broad statements regarding farming, and the decisions that farmers should make.

I have a real hard time with that. I do not know of one farmer that would ever make a decision, based solely on financial gain, without thinking to the future or what will happen to their land if they abuse or misuse it. Yet, those are the implications that are made everyday by some that are not actually physically involved in production agriculture. Now, I’m not so naive as to think that those types of farmers/ranchers don’t exist, but we can’t cast down all of agriculture for them, can we?

Well, I don’t want to delve too deeply into it today, because it’s Friday, and it’s snowing, and I’m already in a bad mood. But I want to bring your attention to a blog I wrote about it a little while back…and I still stand behind it today. What if these tools have been given to us to use? What if technology isn’t an “accident” at all? Hmmm…

Anyway…on to Ag Book of the Day 10:

Today, I went with an old stand-by…not because I don’t have any others to choose from, but because I have it on my Kindle. How’s that for combining traditional ag-themed children’s books and modern technology??? Without further ado, welcome to

“Old McDonald Had a Farm” and it’s now available wirelessly! 🙂
not only does it have great illustrations (if you have the original version, the illustrations are definitely funnier, and not so politically correct!), but it also teaches young children about the sounds of the farm, and how busy it can be! And who can forget one of the greatest nursery rhymes of all time???
I just had to throw this one in the mix, since it is on my Kindle. Next week I’ll be back to more obscure and lesser-known books, but for now…ENJOY!

Sleepy Saturday

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We had an interesting 24-hours. Scooter is grounded until he turns 60, Boss Man decided to run a fever (spiking at 105.2), EJ has been busy (as in lots and lots of trouble, busy), Big Bro is bored and George is being George.

Little George decided he wanted to wear underwear today. I knew he didn’t mean that he wanted to wear underwear and actually USE the potty, so we compromised.

Not the typical way to wear underwear, but it works. Are you cute enuf to pull it off?

I’m disinfecting everything, trying to make sure that George doesn’t come down with whatever Daddy managed to pick up. Let’s hope I’m successful…but hey, when you’re that cute, how could a germ decide to call war? Right?

Well, Boss Man just called from the clinic. He is influenza positive. Nothing like having a whole family on Tamiflu. I declare germ warfare!

Fresh on the Farm

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This is my first Wordless Wednesday post – ENJOY!

Silver linings

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If you’re friends with me on facebook, then you’ve probably realized that I’m kinda into finding the silver lining in every situation. I think it’s a mental-survival thing. Without it, I would be completely whack-o a few times over. (Be careful…I know what you’re thinking!)

But today’s silver lining showed up a few times! Yay!

First: George ran his first fever last night since we had The Plan in place. It was a bit scary, but things went well. I called the pediatrician, he ran through things with me, we formulated our plan and all went well. I ended up not having to take him in, the temp stayed down over night, took him in this morning and all things are well. Woohoo! Chalk one to George!

To celebrate, we got his FIRST big-boy haircut! Not bad, for a boy that’s about to be 2!

Not only will George be 2 in a month, but he got his first real hair cut today!

Second: Someone asked if the deer are still a problem. Here’s the answer:

That isn't just dirt on the horizon. Those are hundreds of deer, still making our yard home.

Yep.

But the silver lining? Another creature has followed them here…namely Bald Eagles. It is COOL! There are at least four of them right now. I think they’re eating off the carcasses. But they are so majestic and all things amazing. I tear up looking at them, and feel like saluting as they fly by…kinda weird, I know.

Getting close to a Bald Eagle isn't as easy as getting pics of deer in our yard.

And just to let you SEE what kind of damage the deer are doing, I’ve got these pics for you:

Yeah, that's what you think it is...deer urine

You can see where the hay has been moved from. Notice the difference between white and yellow/brown.

Notice the yellow/brown snow? Do you remember what your mother said about eating yellow snow? That’s right, that’s urine. As in deer urine. As in lots and lots and lots of deer urine. Now imagine all that on your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.

But SB 2227, which will give landowners a few more options in deer depredation, is supposed to be voted on in the House of Representatives tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted.

And come next fall, I expect you and ALL of your family to come hunting.

First week of spring

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Yes, that’s right, according to the calendar, it is indeed spring. Could’ve fooled me.

It’s been a long week, that’s for sure. Let me run down the last six days or so for you:

Saturday – Scooter had his first wrestling tournament in Lisbon. We had a blast, he placed first (even pinned his second competitor!) and it was a pleasant day overall. Little did I know that this would be the highlight of my week!

Sunday – Scooter was supposed to have another tournament in LaMoure, after singing in church that morning, but he woke up with 102 temp. No church, no singing, no tournament. Spent the day quarantined upstairs, so that our chances of transmitting something to George was lower. Talk about a long, miserable day for everyone.

Monday – Scooter stayed home from school, just in case. He quit running a temp late Sunday night, but if more parents would follow the 24-hour-with-no-fever rule, think of how much less stuff would be spread around? But that’s another topic, for another night. Another day of quarantine.

Tuesday – Forecast of bad weather, but it’s supposed to be further north of us. I held onto that hope up until the minute that we got the call that school was dismissing early. We ended up with rain, followed by about 4-6 inches of snow and nasty winds. No wrestling tournament in Ashley, two crabby boys home early from school, awful weather outside and a husband MIA at a meeting, since he received the message that there was no wrestling, which gave him free reign to “run errands.” (AKA – visit with anyone who will listen…for hours…and I’m not even close to kidding. Someday ask me about his “wrong number” phone call…the one where he didn’t realize that he didn’t know the guy he was talking to until 15 minutes into the conversation…and I wish I was exaggerating.) At this point in time, I’m beginning to hate the mocking way that the calendar declares that it’s spring. And checking cows in 6 inches of muck, covered with a few inches of snow, is still not fun…but great workout for the legs!

Wednesday – No school, but the school waited until after my regular alarm time to make the call. Thanks, appreciate it. So, instead of letting everyone sleep in, it was just a day where everyone was up early and bored about 10 minutes into the day. Oh, and did I mention that EJ is now sick? Yeah, he decided to start running a temp late Tuesday night. By Wednesday he’s coughing and miserable. He even asked if he could go to the doctor and get a shot. Normally, if my 4-year-old requests an injection, I would be heading to the ER, but in the middle of awful weather and blizzard-conditions, you tend to stay put a bit more.

Thursday – EJ gets his wish to go to the doctor, but the strep test is negative and it appears as if he just has a cold and some fluid in his ears. I’m not sold on that, but we have the medicine anyway, so as long as George doesn’t get sick…we’re good to go. As we leave the doctors office, EJ has a coughing fit, which leads him to remark, “The doctor’s office is broken. I’m still sick.” Apparently he figured that the minute he left, he’d feel better. I wish, bud, I wish. My mom kept EJ and George that evening while Scooter had another wrestling match. Him and three other boys from Ellendale all tied for second. It was the best possible outcome for that group of four boys. I love that he’s learning how to win (and even more importantly, lose) and still be a good sport. We have some work to do yet, but it’s a good start.

Friday – EJ is feeling a tad bit better, and I’m hoping and praying that George doesn’t catch “it.” So far, so good. Tonight was the carnival at school, and the three older boys had a blast! We brought home three goldfish (somehow the other two found foster homes!), bags of candy, toys and books from the book fair! It was a good night, until EJ got home and proceeded to throw up. Apparently the carnival was too much excitement (he hadn’t coughed all day, but went into a coughing fit as soon as we came home), but Mommy took care of things, then went and checked cows so Dad could sleep. (He came with to the carnival, which thrilled the boys to no end!) Not quite how I hoped our potential “date night” would go, but better than some.

Tomorrow, Scooter has a wrestling tournament in Ellendale. My mom will watch the other boys, just to make sure that George isn’t exposed to anything else.

When I get home, I’ll try to post some pics. And as long as everyone is healthier this week, we’ll be posting more often as well! By the way, did I mention that we only have 19 cows left to calve??? What a relief!

The difference a week makes

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So, last week Friday, we had a blizzard that hit. It even left buses stranded that were trying to get kids home from school.

This week, the snow is melting…and fast! I’m always grateful for the spring melts, even when it causes a mess. It’ll dry up soon enough, and then summer can begin!

This river behind our house is normally the kind that you can easily walk across.

Although another snow storm is supposed to hit in the morning, we know we’re on the downhill slide with things. And for that I feel blessed! Woohoo!

Much like when you pull the plug on a bathtub, all this water has to go somewhere!

Our bathtub is just a bit bigger than some!

I think spring fever is officially setting in!

Silence

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Another 45 have died. I know because I counted them. Add in the two dozen or more from before, and that seems to be a pretty significant number. (And apparently the coyotes can’t keep up.) According to Game and Fish literature, it’s expected that about 10 percent of a population will perish through the winter, especially in high-stressed areas. If this is an accurate percentage, then we definitely had more than 500 deer in our yard.

We were working on a bill that would have allowed unfilled deer licenses to be used in areas that are facing extreme amounts of deer pressure. These tags were ones that the Game and Fish Department had already sold and profitted from, I’m assuming with the intentions that they would be filled. If the Game and Fish Department deemed an area a “problem,” then December through March 15, the tags could have been filled.

A perfect solution? Of course not. Another tool in the tool box? Certainly. Apparently continuing on with the status quo isn’t working.

One of the legislators that I contacted regarding the issue was kind enough to reply. He told us that they are sending the bill to a “special committee” to come up with another idea, perhaps with food plots and feeding areas. They don’t want to see the deer shot. My question is why? These are tags that were already paid for and calculated by Game and Fish as being acceptable to lower deer numbers.

Somewhere, somehow, we need to start thinking outside the box and trying something new.

Rain, sleet or snow

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Farmers and ranchers are responsible for their livestock, their land, their resources, whether it’s raining in the south, or snowing in the north. That fact is true, even during a blizzard.

Our cows are normally red...not snow covered!

This afternoon a very strong storm hit our area. Now, compared to the tsunami that rocked Japan and the destruction felt in other areas afterward, what we were dealing with was small potatoes. But for our cattle, they still relied on us for safety, shelter and food.

That’s why Boss Man spent most of the evening in the barn, or out in the lot, covered in snow, not seeing more than a few feet in front of him, making sure that no new calves were born out in the terrible conditions.

This was the travel map for North Dakota for this evening. Fun!

And I went out this evening, once things had settled down a little bit, to make sure things were still good to go.

I'm on the cutting edge of blizzard fashion, I know.

Although this video isn’t the best, you can still hear the wind whipping through our trees. But rest assured, if the conditions weren’t improving, the cattle wouldn’t be out eating and they wouldn’t have been starting to move around.

They know WAY more than a meteorologist! 🙂