Some Bad Boys
“OK you guys… There’s a new Sheriff in town.” I warn my latest captives, “I locked ya up, and yer stayin’ locked up.” The rogue bandits eyeball me suspiciously. “What are you lookin’ at Charlie?” I say in a gruff voice. “You better just be glad I didn’t use my whip back there in the corral.” Charlie glares at me, longing for me to venture to his side of the bars. It’s not just Charlie, the whole group moves their weight nervously from one foot then back again waiting for my next move. Slowly, I reach behind me. In one quick and practiced lightning fast move, I pull my trusty feed bucket! Yep, feed bucket.
These guys should have been weaned in the spring. With the delayed planting and rains, I could never get them corralled. Normally the bulls would have been castrated by now and they would be a little more manageable as steers. My wife once asked me why some bulls are aggressive. My answer, “Bulls are bulls”. These 700 pounders have decided they are grown up. Especially one Charolais in particular. If you think a 700 pound bull is small, see how many times you can get out of he corral before he catches up with you. They get bigger as they get closer!
Luckily I only have 3 of their sisters left to catch. The bad news… There are 30 more on another pasture. There’s a new sheriff in town… and he’s a little nervous!
More Cows
“We need some replacement cows”, said Mom. I had to agree with her. We have lost quite a few over the last few years. Many of them are getting older and are either not producing or have one foot in the glue bucket. I guess I have my reasons for stalling.
1. Cows are expensive. I never seem to get any more money when selling calves, but the cows keep going up.
2. Breaking ‘em in. New cows don’t know where the gates are. They don’t know what I am doing when I drive into the pasture.
3. The old cows remember where the fences are supposed to be!
Is It Spring Yet?
Is It Always This Cold Here?
Time for hunkerin’ down again. Looks like more winter weather is on the way. All here on the farm are sure ready for some spring warmth. At least the water should continue to run this go ’round. While the temperatures are expected to get back down in the single digits, it will warm up to the 20′s during the day. We are anxiously awaiting Groundhog Day. I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil is very accurate, but maybe he will give us some good news! Until then, the calves will keep their hooves crossed.
Starting To Warm
It looks like we are finally going to put the sub-zero temperatures behind us. The pipes are still frozen, I am still hauling water, but most of the danger has subsided. I never got around to posting pictures during the coldest weather, so here are a couple. The first one shows the thirsty calves crowding around the water tank as I begin hauling water. It takes a several trips a day to keep them satisfied. My estimate is about 200 gallons a day!
The next picture shows the calves enjoying some hay
I unrolled for them. They were glad to get their hooves off the icy ground for a while. So far none of them are sick. Getting them to a lot where they had access to the barn at night seems to have helped. Maybe the waterers will thaw by the end of the week.
The Week In Review
Let’s see… what’s been goin’ on this week?
Honey Bunches and I had our 1 year anniversary! We went to see a play at the Lyceum Theater in Arrow Rock. “Late Night Catechism” was showing. Now I grew up Catholic, but this “Nun” had the act down-pat. As soon as she entered the stage, she looked at me (in the 10th row) and ordered, “Young man, this is not a ball park, take that hat off!” Honey Bunches and I spent the next few hours trying to look small and not chew our gum!
The big tractor came back from the shop. It had a serious hydraulic leak I couldn’t find under the cab.
They claim to have fixed some leaks. After 2 hours disking, hydraulic fluid was running down both sides of the transmission. Still leaks as bad as ever!
Got a call from the mechanic who has had the little B Farmall in his shop for a month and a half. He says a cylinder is leaking antifreeze into the oil. His parts would cost $500, but between machining and his labor, total bill would be over $2K.
Started cleaning out one of two bins of corn to make room for the harvest. I scooped corn for about an hour until the pulley flew off the auger that was dumping grain into the semi-truck.
Trying to catch 6 calves who are extremely attached to there mothers! 
They never go into the corral at the same time. Must be some kinda Jedi cow trick they have learned. Some walk in, some walk out, some stare at a distance. I have 40 more calves to take to the vet, but it would be easier if I could take these at the same time. Maybe I will just have to make 2 trips.
Even with all the distractions, work on the house continues. Finally all the outside walls are up. We had heavy rain this morning, so there is now a couple inches of water inside the framed in area. I better get to work on a roof!
No Moo’s Is Good News!
We have been gradually catching and weaning calves from one group of cows. I think we have all of the big ones now. If you have never been around 40 calves missing their mamas, its pretty loud! Add in the bellering from the recently decalfinated cows and its mind numbing. Someone needs to invent calf pacifiers! (just kidding, don’t send me calf binkies and blankies!)
It’s been a week now and the cows are grazing peacefully. Only a couple calves let loose a bawl now and then. Finally, peace is restored. The calves are showing a little weight loss from the experience. Not bad though. They are really munching the baled clover to help settle their burning tummy’s. It won’t take long to get them back to pre-weaning weight. (400-500 pounds)
While this procedure my seem extreme to the non-farmer, it is required to produce happy healthy beef cattle. You should also know I have a new, handsome, young bull in with the cows. I am sure that both the cows and bull are happy to get a break from the youngsters.
