Milk Cow News

So, on Friday we inserted the weaning rings in the  calves muzzles so that we could dry off the moms. Their bodies need a break from producing milk before their new calves are born in July and time to produce colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk, full of antibodies to give the new calves protection from illness. Colostrum is so critical that newborn calves often  do not survive without it.

The weird thing was, LaFonda was behaving as if she were in heat.  I posted a question about it on the Family Milk Cow website. Two people responded that I needed to have a vet do a pregnancy check--she might have an ovarian cyst that caused pregnancy symptoms. Yesterday afternoon the vet came out and did the pregnancy check.

The good news is that LaFonda is healthy- no cyst.   The bad news is she isn't pregnant - there will be no calf in July. She probably aborted or reabsorbed the fetus a couple months ago. The good news is that her 1-year-old baby is being weaned, so now WE get all the milk!  

So, rather than drying her off, I have begin a milking morning and night. I hope to  reduce to once a day miking soon.  She is giving over 3 gallons - no wonder Lindy has become such a burly little fellow.  

The first few milking sessions did not go so smoothly. We both have to re-learn the routine. LaFonda wanted Lindy to have the milk, not me, so she was holding up her milk and kicking off the claw. I was frustrated and a bit afraid of being kicked, and I wanted to just give up, but it is imperative that she be emptied or she will get mastitis.

Finally, I resorted to purchasing a Kow Kant Kick. This metal, horseshoe-shaped tool  fits over the cow's back with the side bars nestled in front of her hip bones. The device is tightened down with a crank.

It doesn't cause discomfort, but the cow is unable to move her hind legs more than a little shuffle.  Amazing success!  She stood  calmly and quietly,  munching her  grain and hay.  After a few days I probably won't have to even use it any more, but it will be a great tool to have on hand if somebody new ever wants to milk her or if we ever want  to train a new cow for milking.

It has only been three days of dairying and already LaFonda is getting into the new routine, waiting for me at the door when it is milking time. She is the most wonderful cow.

Sunshine/Moonshine

A few miscellaneous images inspired by the play of light.
Shadows and reflections on the kitchen counter from the steamer.

Morning  coffee shadows on the cupboards.

A house spider  at work in the morning sun (yes, we have a house spider or two!)

It has been so rainy lately we are now officially out of drought.  Silvery wet road on the way to town after the rain stopped.

Last night's moon - two days after the super moon, but still pretty super to me.

Moon  caught in the branches.

Farmyard at night, lit by the moon and the yard light.

Duck , Duck, Goose

The gosling and ducklings had their first foray outside yesterday. The big world was a bit overwhelming so they stuck pretty close together.

We've had a lot of rain lately and they loved the big puddle in the driveway.

The gosling is the ringleader, whether because of his size, his age, or his smarts, I don't know.

There are two swedish Blue ducklings. I can't tell them apart and I don't know if they are male or female, but for now they are named Inge and Olga.

One of two Khaki Campbell ducklings, no names yet.

Inge or Olga with the Black Swedish duckling, He is so handsome! His name is Rolf. 

Robin's Nest

We found a robin's nest with three beautiful turquoise eggs this afternoon.

Chad, the young man who helped us erect the greenhouse last fall, was here to confer with us about working on a few farm projects, including my dream garden shed.  When we went inside, we discovered the nest.

That robin must have thought it  had lucked into a Birdhouse McMansion!
Now I don't know what to do. Probably I'll have to remove the nest now so the  robins have time to start over in a new site.  I don't think they will want to raise their young in  a construction zone -especially when we tip the shed over to make it taller.   

Weaning Day

Yesterday started out to be such an idyllic day for the bovines, peacefully grazing in the front yard. Little did they know, life was about to change forever.

It  was Weaning Day.
This is a calf weaner. It gets inserted into the nose of the calf. The weaner creates a barrier so the calf can't get a grip on the teat to nurse. The little plastic points make it uncomfortable for the cow when he attempts to nurse, so she pushes him away. With this method, the calf gets to remain with his mother during weaning, less stressful than separation. We have to wean the year-old calves now so the pregnant cows get a couple months rest and can produce colostrum for their new calves, expected in July.

This is Lindy's huge nose, in which the weaning ring will be inserted. The plastic is somewhat flexible and will be twisted to enlarge the opening to slip it into his nostrils, but if you compare the width of his nostrils to the opening in the weaner you can see why I have been dreading this task.

Lindy is easy to halter and lead, so we tied him to a gate and immobilized him with another gate. Last time I tied him to a gate he got a bath and lots of treats - not so bad --so he was totally mellow about it.
Rog  inserted the weaner while I held Lindy still.  We needed all our hands for this job, so no photos of the actual insertion. It was surprisingly easy once we got Lindy tied in place.

I am sure it is a bit uncomfortable and weird-feeling at first.  Lindy tried to shake it off and back out of it, but it wasn't going anywhere.

Jitterbug was a a bit harder to tie up - she isn't really halter trained (must work on that) but her nose is so much smaller and  now we knew what we were doing, so, it was very quick and easy to insert.  She was not happy about it, though, poor baby.

Sad Lindy, not a baby any more.  It reminded me of when my daughters gave up their pacifiers.

Now the challenge is to make sure the cows do not get mastitis as they dry off. I  rubbed cooling Udder Relief balm on LaFonda last night, which she seemed to appreciate, but when I touched Lariat's udder, she kicked me.  I am more worried about Fonda because Jerseys  are bigger milk producers, and judging from that butterball calf of hers, she has been producing a lot! 

Wordless Wednesday: What's Up

Gotcha!

Our  dairy farmer/huntsman neighbor Mark lent us a live trap to catch the raccoon that has been devouring our chickens. He recommended baiting it with marshmallows and I had some of those giant fruity marshmallows on hand  so I put in a raspberry, a banana and an orange flavored one, hoping he would  find one of them irresistible.
I set it just inside the door of the barn, where the cow cookies and chicken feed are stored, because he has feasted there before.

Yesterday, I made Rog come out and check with me before he left for work, because I wasn't sure what kind of welcome to expect if we caught him. But no raccoon. This morning, I wasn't even thinking of it and opened the door, dogs along with me, and they surged in growling and snarling. The raccoon was in the trap, also growling and snarling!  There was an adrenalin moment while I got the dogs out of there and closed the barn back up. Then I called Mark, who said he would like the coon if we caught it.

The raccoon  obligingly showed us that he was a young male, so at least I don't have to feel guilty about orphaned babies somewhere.  He  looked a bit  scruffy because it is shedding season, but otherwise  seemed pretty healthy.  When I took the dogs and cats in for rabies boosters last week, the vet said that several cases of rabies have been found in the region already this year; it  looks like a peak year  for rabies (it tends to cycle.)   Raccoons can also carry distemper. Two more reasons I don't really want this raccoon  living in the barn.

Being careful not to get bit by the raccoon, Mark carried the cage to his truck.   He will put it in a cool, shady spot today, then tonight take it a few miles away and release it. He has a new young coonhound that he is training to track it and tree it.  He will only shoot it if the dog performs perfectly.  Mark said that since it is the dog's first time, odds are that the raccoon will get away.

I have mixed feelings about the fate of this raccoon. I  know his alternative fate is to be killed - there really is no good place to release him where he will not become somebody else's problem. At least this way he has a chance, and I am secretly kind of rooting for him, as long as he doesn't return to eat my poultry.

Last year,  Mark and his fellow hunters shot almost 100 raccoons in a ten mile radius of his farm.  He said you would think there wouldn't be many left in our neighborhood, but they are all over.

Mark's family has been avid coon hunters for at least three generations (not to mention, deer hunters, turkey hunters, duck hunters, pheasant hunters, bow hunters...)  Coon hunting season is in the fall, when the raccoons have finished raising their families and have grown luxurious winter coats. The hunters take a flashlight, a backpack with a bottle of water and a little sustenance, and track on foot, following the sound of the dogs.  It can be a long hunt - once they ended up near Oxbow Park, about eight miles away, and it's unlikely the hunt was traveling as the crow flies.  Mark said often he and his brother, sister, dad or uncle will have worked all day, go coon hunting all night, return in time to do the morning milking, and just skip sleeping that day.

Mark invited me to join them on a hunt next fall and I just might take him up on the offer.  I would go along for the adventure of traipsing through the woods and fields in the dark by flashlight, not to shoot a raccoon myself.   It seems like a cultural aspect of being a farmer that I should experience.