Holy Smokes! This has been one crazy week! Monday was filled with preschool tours. Tuesday was herd health day where we learned that we will have over 20 cows and heifers due to have calve in December. Wednesday, our corn finally went into the ground~Jonathan and I are so excited to have our first field of corn. Thursday I was at the dentist and making parts runs. Friday, it rained, but then we had to bed in all of the cows and heifers. Saturday we dried off 4 cows due to calve in July. We also moved heifers and calves-graduating them to new pens with more space for their growing bodies.
Today, well we enjoyed a dinner out with family and then returned home to care for our newborn calf Osseo and her mother Olivia. Olivia surprised us with a new calf right before church this morning-I swear they do this on purpose! Nevertheless, we worked even faster to care for the calf and the new cow...and returned after dinner and church to do the final touches. Osseo enjoyed 1 gallon of fresh colostrum and Olivia enjoyed being moved to the milking barn, where she had all of the TMR that she can eat. Jonathan worked this afternoon on our disk mower (machine we use to cut our alfalfa) as we know that we will be cutting our first crop of alfalfa soon. I did a little landscaping. Seems like the weather forecast is calling for more cold and wet weather, so I am working during the sunny days while I can. We had a small dose of frost last night. The airport reported temps as low as 28. We woke to frost on the grass and the rooves. This afternoon I took a quick trip through the corn and alfalfa fields to survey the damage. Our alfalfa got nipped in the low lands, but on the hill sides it appears that those plants were spared. If we get some sun and warmer temps, I do believe that the alfalfa will be fine. Our corn, as it was just planted was safe and sound in the soil (warm, since the soil temps are over 60 degrees) BUT...our neighbor's have corn that has germinated and sprouted out of the soil. Those plants did get damaged, but if the growing point of the plant was still below the soil...the plant will be ok...so here's hoping their corn will be fine. I will try to be back a little more often this week, but once we start cutting hay, all bets are off....another busy week at Orange Patch Dairy!
Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Warm March Weather
Oh this Sunday was wonderful. Even though it was cloudy, foggy and rainy...the snow is melting and the temperatures are rising.
This morning we were greeted with a cow in labor. #97, who is 6 years old was in the process of calving, we decided that since she started before we found her that she may need some help. We assisted her labor and delivered a beautiful baby heifer calf. We named her Tracy. Within an hour Tracy was up and running around. We quickly milked #97, fed Tracy, and made sure that #97 was eating her morning meal of TMR (total mixed ration). Seems like we only get heifers on Sunday mornings, which make us late for church, but at least we have an excellent excuse.
We got to church, went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and returned to the farm to finish feeding the rest of the cows and heifers. Rest assured no animals ran out of feed, since we usually feed extra on Saturdays to make sure that the milking cows, heifers and dry cows have enough feed to let us enjoy church and a nice "day date". After swiftly feeding the animals, we went home and enjoyed a lovely walk outside. Though brisk, the 35 degree temperatures feel like a tropical paradise compared to a few short weeks ago when it was 35 below zero instead.
This weather is giving me the "itch" to play in the dirt. I am eagerly looking forward to planting my garden and planting our first field of corn. Spring-like weather also gives me the energy to tackle last minute projects at home, before I would rather spend my time outside in the garden. I managed to fully clean the kitchen this weekend and living room. I don't know how much more I will accomplish since we have a busy week scheduled on the farm, but we will see, with this new energy I may still find time. And I am so thankful to have my computer back!
This morning we were greeted with a cow in labor. #97, who is 6 years old was in the process of calving, we decided that since she started before we found her that she may need some help. We assisted her labor and delivered a beautiful baby heifer calf. We named her Tracy. Within an hour Tracy was up and running around. We quickly milked #97, fed Tracy, and made sure that #97 was eating her morning meal of TMR (total mixed ration). Seems like we only get heifers on Sunday mornings, which make us late for church, but at least we have an excellent excuse.
We got to church, went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and returned to the farm to finish feeding the rest of the cows and heifers. Rest assured no animals ran out of feed, since we usually feed extra on Saturdays to make sure that the milking cows, heifers and dry cows have enough feed to let us enjoy church and a nice "day date". After swiftly feeding the animals, we went home and enjoyed a lovely walk outside. Though brisk, the 35 degree temperatures feel like a tropical paradise compared to a few short weeks ago when it was 35 below zero instead.
This weather is giving me the "itch" to play in the dirt. I am eagerly looking forward to planting my garden and planting our first field of corn. Spring-like weather also gives me the energy to tackle last minute projects at home, before I would rather spend my time outside in the garden. I managed to fully clean the kitchen this weekend and living room. I don't know how much more I will accomplish since we have a busy week scheduled on the farm, but we will see, with this new energy I may still find time. And I am so thankful to have my computer back!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Is God Against Us??
Well, I don't really believe that God is against us, but it seems like this was yet another Sunday where the cows decided to interrupt our day of rest...
Jon and I successfully finished chores this morning just in time to make 11am mass-yep-we're Catholic ;) After mass we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and then home for a long over due nap. After a nap we hung out at home (first Sunday in months) to watch a movie together, when we got the call....cow down, can't get up. This was the 3rd Sunday in a row that something happened on the farm where we had to cut out "day of rest" short. Jonathan muttered under his breath "God must be against us". While he didn't believe that and I didn't believe that, some days it's hard not to think it. Sunday is suppose to be a day of rest, how could God let these cows get into trouble. So we ended our movie and headed out the farm.
We found cow number 73 in the sick cow pen laid out on her side and moaning. After a quick inspection we decided that 73 had come down with toxic mastitis otherwise known as e-coli. A little info about e-coli...it's environmental mastitis (infection of the udder) and when it infects an udder it produces a toxic poison in the cow's body which can kill if not treated properly. E-coli is everywhere in the environments of cows...pastures, stalls, alleys, etc. The goal of a dairy farmer is to keep cows as clean as possible to prevent e-coli to infect cows. Cleanliness IS next to Godliness! In the case of 73 we are pretty confident that she laid her uddering into a cow pie (manure). As clean as we keep our cows, we can't stop them from laying in manure. Cows in pack barns like ours and on pasture often lay in manure-it happens, we can't stop them. Cows in tie stalls or free stalls often lay in such a way that they don't lay in manure....so there is an advantage to having stalls. Back to 73....
Turns out 73 just rolled over on her side and couldn't get back up. She received a series of IV fluids...2 bottles of calcium for muscle function, 1 bottle of dextrose (sugar) for energy, 2 bottles of saline (water) to rehydrate her, some meds from her fever, and antibiotics for the infection. Without the antibiotics 73 would die....they work to help fight the toxins in her body. After her treatment 73 drank a lot of water--a great sign, and stood up on her own! We were so thrilled!!! She looked so much better by the end of the night, even though she was still sick she was definitely showing signs of improvement! Tomorrow she will get another treatment for mastitis in her udder, and any other fluids she might need to help her feel better-we continue to hope for a full recovery.
In other news, the farm is buzz with preparations for the county fair this week! I am in charge of the dairy show, but my brothers and sister in law all participate in various 4-H and FFA events at the county fair. There are animals getting trained, washed, and clipped. The cattle trailer is getting backed with supplies for the fair, and final touches are being done to 4-H projects. And I don't want to forget my other brother in law Marcus who has been working on finishing up his demolition derby car and truck for this week's grandstand events. I may not be able to blog this week as I will be busy at the fair grounds for the next 5 days, but rest assure I will do a full recap of the week's events!
Jon and I successfully finished chores this morning just in time to make 11am mass-yep-we're Catholic ;) After mass we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and then home for a long over due nap. After a nap we hung out at home (first Sunday in months) to watch a movie together, when we got the call....cow down, can't get up. This was the 3rd Sunday in a row that something happened on the farm where we had to cut out "day of rest" short. Jonathan muttered under his breath "God must be against us". While he didn't believe that and I didn't believe that, some days it's hard not to think it. Sunday is suppose to be a day of rest, how could God let these cows get into trouble. So we ended our movie and headed out the farm.
We found cow number 73 in the sick cow pen laid out on her side and moaning. After a quick inspection we decided that 73 had come down with toxic mastitis otherwise known as e-coli. A little info about e-coli...it's environmental mastitis (infection of the udder) and when it infects an udder it produces a toxic poison in the cow's body which can kill if not treated properly. E-coli is everywhere in the environments of cows...pastures, stalls, alleys, etc. The goal of a dairy farmer is to keep cows as clean as possible to prevent e-coli to infect cows. Cleanliness IS next to Godliness! In the case of 73 we are pretty confident that she laid her uddering into a cow pie (manure). As clean as we keep our cows, we can't stop them from laying in manure. Cows in pack barns like ours and on pasture often lay in manure-it happens, we can't stop them. Cows in tie stalls or free stalls often lay in such a way that they don't lay in manure....so there is an advantage to having stalls. Back to 73....
Turns out 73 just rolled over on her side and couldn't get back up. She received a series of IV fluids...2 bottles of calcium for muscle function, 1 bottle of dextrose (sugar) for energy, 2 bottles of saline (water) to rehydrate her, some meds from her fever, and antibiotics for the infection. Without the antibiotics 73 would die....they work to help fight the toxins in her body. After her treatment 73 drank a lot of water--a great sign, and stood up on her own! We were so thrilled!!! She looked so much better by the end of the night, even though she was still sick she was definitely showing signs of improvement! Tomorrow she will get another treatment for mastitis in her udder, and any other fluids she might need to help her feel better-we continue to hope for a full recovery.
In other news, the farm is buzz with preparations for the county fair this week! I am in charge of the dairy show, but my brothers and sister in law all participate in various 4-H and FFA events at the county fair. There are animals getting trained, washed, and clipped. The cattle trailer is getting backed with supplies for the fair, and final touches are being done to 4-H projects. And I don't want to forget my other brother in law Marcus who has been working on finishing up his demolition derby car and truck for this week's grandstand events. I may not be able to blog this week as I will be busy at the fair grounds for the next 5 days, but rest assure I will do a full recap of the week's events!
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