Surviving the scours

September 19, 2011

It's been a long four weeks with these sickly calves, but im happy to say they are all feeling better and out and about with the rest of the animals.   It has been a learning experience and alot of trial and error to get them well and strong.  They are now getting a warm welcome from the rest of the heard with lots of TLC.

It did them some good to get out that stall and into some sunshine and green grass.  We wondered if they would try to nurse on our new mom "Oreo".  Well they checked her out, but she nudged them away, which is probably  a good thing, as four of them would pull her down.  So she set them straight from the get go...

Scours can kill a calf fast if you don't keep them hydrated with electrolytes.  We are so proud that they survived it and are thriving out in the field. 

Happy Farming.........................

                                                                       Live simple...............Sheryl

Much needed rain.............

Sept. 5, 2011

We finally got some much needed rain this weekend.  Tropical storm "Lee" dumped 10+ inches of rain in 3 days.  I know some folks are dealing with flooding, you are in our thoughts and prayers, but we are thankful for the rain we received.  Even the animals enjoyed it, they stayed out in the fields soaking up all that moisture along with some cooler temperatures. Notice the trees in the background of these pictures.   Some of them were turning brown from lack of rain, definitely not from an early arrival of fall.  Although, this morning our temps were down in the high 50's, and wasn't suppose to get out the mid 80's today.  It felt absolutely wonderful...............Maybe those cooler fall temperatures will be here to stay before too long.

That's "Oreo" and her baby "Maggie" she is doing fine and growing so fast.  All the other Cows watch over her,  even T-Boy the bull makes sure she keeps up with the heard.

That's "Peanut" and "Merry Bell" our two Angus cross cows.  Both are Dec. 09 calves we raised.  We are anxiously waiting to see if T-Boy's work was successful.  They are loving all this rain.



T-Boy



That's our little St. Croix sheep, "Ramsey".  He is showing signs of maturing, his mane on his chest is starting to grow out.  Look what our grass has done to him!!!!!! he's SO FAT.....and he doesn't get any special feed.  We may have to put him on a diet so he can do his job and breed our Katahdin ewe.  Been spotting some activity............can't wait to have some lambs running around the farm.

Thanks for dropping by.................
                                                                         Live simple............................Sheryl

I'm in Love!!!!

Sept. 4, 2011

I have always dreamed of having a milk cow, i don't know...... call me crazy, but to me a farm is not complete without a milk cow on the place, to supply the family with fresh wholesome milk.  After talking about the price for a gallon of milk and not to mention the quality of milk you get, we have been thinking long and hard about this.  Buying a cow ready to give milk can be pricey, but hubby has been on this mission scouring the papers and Internet to find us a milk cow.  He approached me last week with this ad for some jersey/holstein cross dairy calves.  I got all excited and couldn't wait for him to pull up the ad to show me pictures.  I was already having visions of this gorgeous milk cow, with a full bag of milk that i always dreamed of. 
As we were pulling up the ad, he went on to discuss the fact that we haven't put any beef up in the freezer yet, and in order to have other animals we want for the farm we could grow out some others and sell for a profit. Then this picture loaded up with these cute little dairy calves, Oh my!!!!!!!  how adorable they looked.  But!!!!!!!!!!!  the ad read ...bull calves!!!!!!!!  But honey!!!  i can't milk these.     
Needless to say,  They arrived here a week ago Friday.

We came home with four jersey/holstein cross bull calves.

The kids thought it was so cool to feed them a bottle.  After i told them it had to be done twice a day, everyday, their enthusiasm changed some.  So did mine, after we got them home and one was near death due to the scours (calf diarrhea).   Being the google farmers that we are, we searched the Internet for advise and solutions that would not cost us vet bills to solve.  Knowing that diarrhea in babies can have a negative effect quickly, i knew we had to get some electrolytes in them fast.  I found a home remedy to use short term, when you have no electrolytes handy.  Diarrhea can cause a metabolic effect on a baby calf in a short period of time, especially during those really hot days we have been having.  I was lucky to have these items in the pantry, and made up a batch to give to this poor little guy.

1- 2oz pkg pectin
2tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 101/2 oz beef consume
water to make 2 qrts.

Electrolytes need to satisfy four requirements;  To supply enough sodium to correct dehydration.  To provide agents that help absorb sodium and water, like glucose, glycine,or acetate.  An an alkalizing agent to correct acidosis like bicarbonate.  This home remedy supplies those four requirements.
 It was a struggle to get him to suckle, and he didn't have enough energy to stand.  We worked with him every hour to get some electrolytes in him, but didn't think he would make it through the nite.  Much to our surprise, he was eager and up the next morning and ate well from the bottle. I truly think if we didn't get those electrolytes in him that quick he would not have made it. They all have had a touch of the scours, but are all eating well, and getting supplements of electrolytes and we gave them some antibiotics as well. 

This is the little survivor ............ we can't seem to name this one. Love his shield like white spot on his forehead. I think he deserves a courageous name.  Any suggestions??????????

All the other farm animals came to check out the new additions and say hello......

T-Boy the bull greeting his new male friends



I think T-Boy is excited to have some male companions on the farm.  Three of the calves are brown and white spotted. And one is solid brown.  This one is "Bucky" he runs around the stall in circles and hops and bucks.

Bucky



Speck

"Speck has the most brown specks on his leg.  He was also pretty weak and not feeling as good as he should.


Buster

 This is my new "LOVE".  He is the sweetest one out the bunch.  We named him Buster because with his first feeding, he would pop that bottle to try to make that milk come faster. The kids thought that was funny, and thought he would bust the nipple, he was pulling and popping it so hard.   He is the tallest one, and i defiently thought he would be a hand full.  But turns out he's the gently giant.  He follows me around the pen, rubs up gently on my side and loves to suck on fingers, he loves it when i give him rubs and scratch his head. 
Watch out hubby!!!!!  i have a new male in my life.....

I will keep you posted on their progress. Thanks for stopping by........



This post has been linked to:     barn hop


                           Live simple................................Sheryl

Disappointment

August 23, 2011

Well, my chicken flock has diminished.  One day this tamed chicken we raised from a small chick, turned on me and came after me.  Well, he didn't actually attack me.  I was just walking across the yard and he came running and flapping toward me with feathers flared out.  In that moment i thought, did my calm little chicken grow up to be a rooster???  I searched the Internet to find out how to tell if this was a rooster or hen.  I have read that sometimes you can tell by the size of the waddles and it's comb, but it depends on the breed.  I read, to look at it's saddle feathers, which are feathers that come down before the tail feathers.  If these are pointed, not rounded like those on a hen, then it could be a rooster.   I also read that sometimes it's difficult to tell by these alone, and a possible confirmation would be when he began to crow.  Well needless to say,  it was confirmed about a week and a half ago.    I walked outside at daybreak  and heard what  sounded like a bad sounding bark of some sort.  When i crept around the shed and spotted that red chicken perched up on top of the nesting boxes, practicing his crow........ I could not help but laugh.   I wasn't sure i wanted a rooster, for some reason they have always intimidated me and i guess they sense that.  After being chased by this chicken i started walking around him with a broom in hand, in case he decided to charge after me again............But after i heard him crow on that early morning, I started to step outside every morning just  to hear him faithfully practicing his cock-a-doodle-doo.  I  actually started to trust him and not feel intimidated by him.   I finally put by broom down and walked around him with confidence, and i guess he sensed that as well.

Our Barred Rocks, along with the two that were left from our Easter chicks, have been doing fine free ranging around the yard and pasture.  The Rocks lived in the chicken tractor that my husband built, from the day we brought them home.  After awhile we would open the door and they had a chance to free range and would go back to the tractor to lay eggs, and roost come sundown.  They did this faithfully, with no problems from our dogs or cat. We have never had any problems with predators of any kind so on occasion we would not close up the chicken tractor.  The red and black chickens did not mix well with the rocks in the tractor, so they were content hanging out by the barn.  We built nesting boxes along the barn wall and they had lots of roosting spots there under the barn. 

  We took the kids camping the week before school started for one last getaway.  We decided to keep the tractor door open so the rocks can free range along with the other two and keep each other company while we were gone for a two night trip.  When we returned home, there were feathers all over the back yard.  We frantically searched  for the chickens and to our surprise they were all accounted for.  They had missing feathers and one was injured pretty bad.  Days following they began to heal, they ate well, and there feathers were growing back.  We didn't know at that time what had gotten to them.  Was it a predator passing through? 

   This week, much to my dismay.......................I caught our own "Dally" the border collie mix, chasing and catching my friend,Rudy the red rooster.   After catching her and putting her on a lead, i found she had chased the others as well. 

  One of the rocks didnt make it, and Rudy the Rooster didn't make it as well.   How disappointed i felt, that it was our own dog, and that we did not protect them better.  What i think happened was that Rudy the Rooster was starting to show signs of being a young cockerel around the hens.  That was a different behavior that Dally hadn't seen in them before.  Maybe she was trying to scare Rudy away from them, sorta protecting them, or maybe thought they were playing and wanted in on the fun.  Needless to say,  I felt horrible.  We are now rethinking our housing area for the chickens.  And as far as Dallly, she gets put on a lead during the time our chickens free range.  Now my flock stands at two Barred Rocks and this one black chicken. 

Our journey on this sustainable homestead will continue, despite disappointing setbacks.

              live simple.........................Sheryl

Coming to an end...

August 10, 2011

The kids started school on Monday, and summer is coming to an end, and  we hope soon!!.  With record temps all over the country, I'm sure everyone is praying for a little cooler weather.  I Don't know about you, but when the kids go back to school i start making my list of fall projects.  A few on the list for hubby and i are; to work on fencing, now that we are getting sheep, new additions need to be added.  A bigger chicken tractor to keep more chickens, three were fine to start off with, now I'm addicted, and want more.  A pump house for the well,  a project we have been putting off.  Some painting on the exterior of our home, been too hot to paint the past few months, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it, he he he......Several furniture pieces to redo, and of course, planting a fall garden.  What's on your fall project list???

  Reflecting, i feel blessed that our garden produced for us this year dispite the drought.   I was able to put up by canning and freezing, beans, peas, tomatoes, squash and figs.  We also had potatoes, cucumbers, onions, shallots, and a few herbs.  We thank you Lord, for the fresh foods that are brought to this table.

It's a Heifer!!

Mom and baby are doing fine, and we are so excited that it's a heifer.  Not sure of what her registered name will be, it will have magnolia in it somewhere so we have been calling her Maggie. 

A picture of the herd, they have all bonded, and living in harmony.

Walking in the pasture the other day we noticed this:

mushroom growing out of oak tree

Found this growing in the compost pile.  Scraps get thrown in here, sometimes things decide to sprout......

Looks like we might end the summer with a homegrown watermelon of our own.



Everthing has come to an end, except for a few bell pepper plants and marigolds.  Dreaming of my fall garden coming soon.

I heart gardening



dryed sunflower in shape of a heart

                            Live simple .......................Sheryl

It finally happened!!!!

July 24, 2011

Well......It finally happened !!!!!!!!  Our long awaited moment happened during the night or early morning hours........Our Oreo had her calf!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up this morning, as the coffee was brewing i walked to the window to check on the sheep, Rosey, that had made several escapes out the fence the other day, and to my surprise....... i spotted something white on the ground up the hill, grabbed the binoculars, and confirmed it was indeed the baby.

I couldn't stand it....I had to get a closer look and get some pictures because hubby is out at work and it will just drive him crazy not to see this cute little thing. She let me walk down a little closer in the field to get a good look.  She seemed calm and confident, being her first calf.

Isn't it soooooo cute........Not sure if it's male or female yet. I didn't want to get to close for too long and make her nervous. She is showing all the signs of being a good momma cow, very attentive to her young.  When we know the gender we will post it's name along with more pics. 

All the new additions to the farm, along with the regulars, are all co-habitating together just fine.

Thanks for stopping by............ more later.

                                              Live simple.....................................Sheryl

Happenings on the farm

July 21, 2011

It's been awhile since i was able to sit at the computer and post the latest happenings on the farm.  Family and farm duties keeps us hopping and we are enjoying every minute of it.  With the hot and dry weather we have been having, it's been a chore to keep everything watered and alive.  We have been lucky to have gotten enough from our garden to freeze and do some canning as well. 

Besides putting up whole tomatoes, i tryed a batch of chili sauce, a sweet sauce that goes well over fresh butter beans.  It was a big hit with the family, they enjoyed it on blackeye peas also.

Our pole green beans and butter beans with mammoth sunflowers growing in the center of this circular bed.  It turned out better than i expected.

Our fig tree was generous this year, i had to work fast before the bees and wasp ate them up.  I was able to make a few batches of strawberry fig preserves.  By adding a few boxes of strawberry jello to the cooked figs, everyone thinks they are eating strawberry preserves.  Another item grown on this small farm that we are able to utilize, and by making this myself, I'm able to control the amount of sugar that's put into our preserves.
Figs are a good source of potassium and calcium



A few views of what it started to look like around here with lack of rain and record heat a month ago.

This cypress tree started showing some fall color, and the green pastures were slowly fading into brown.  This was taken about a month ago, and we have gotten some rain, but we still are in a deficit, and praying for more.

A view of the pond drying up, and the cows trying to stay in the shade.  Poor girls.............not enough water in the pond to keep them cool.

Some much needed rain brought greenier pastures

Our poor "Oreo" the Belted Galloway, we are still waiting for her to calf.  We thought it would be around early July, but was wrong.........she may go into August.  She has done well through all this heat.  They are a breed that does well up north because of their thick winter coat.  They do shed it during the spring here and she has surprised us and done remarkably well.  This breed is listed in the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) as recovering.  They are a very adaptable breed and they forage well, as you can tell by looking at her.  They eat alot of what some of the other cattle won't eat.  It's been fun watching her grow and we are anxiously awaiting the birth of her first calf.  Will keep you posted...........

Remember the baby chicks we got at Easter?....... Well, this is whats left...........The whites, turned out to be cornish hens, so those found their way to the dinner table.  I had two reds and this black one, which i turned out with the Barred Rocks when they got old enough.  One red didn't make it so im left with these two social ladies.  They are busy free ranging and chasing crickets and other insects to fortify their diet, which will inturn improve ours.

Ramsey and Rosey

Our latest additions to our little farm............Meet Ramsey (left) he is a four month old ram St. Croix hair sheep.  I have always wanted a sheep and we have been talking about it for months.  I did some research on hair sheep and looked into the Katahdins.  Last week we found a breeder selling a ram an hour and a half away from here.  The kids fell in love, so did I, with the pictures on the internet of these cute little things.  So do i need to say more.............he came home with us.  The woman told us he would bond with other animals but would do better with a companion.  The next morning my husband took off to the sale barn to see if he can find him a friend.  He came home with Rosey, a Katahdin mix ewe.....let me tell you, she is a Nosey Rosey......if she hears us walk outside, she makes her way to the fence and wants to visit.  We have discovered that finding a St. Croix ewe around here is tougher than we thought.  This breed is interesting to us and its another breed thats listed on the threatened list with the ALBC.  The St. Croix is well adapted to the heat and humidity of the south.  It has excellent forage ability and the breed has a strong resistance to parasites that other breeds of sheep lack, which makes it a easy keeper. No sheering needed, they shed the little wool they grow.  They have a high fertility rate and can breed at six months of age with sometimes two lambings a year.  They often have twins or triplets which Ramsey was a triplet himself. We are excited to learn more about this breed of sheep and will keep you posted on this journey with Ramsey.

                    Live simple.....................................Sheryl