Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Field Trip Day


Today was a very full and fun day.  A local day care came to visit the farm.  They got to pet Baby the horse and Paco the donkey.  They also played with Rat, our dog, and Clara Bell.  These two LOVED all of the attention!  Dana and Tamara (show heifers) were happy to be fed by the children and Dana even let them sit on her back while she was eating.  They then got to pet one of our bulls, Boss.  Watching the cows through the fence seemed to be enjoyed by all.

Many of the children seemed to really enjoy themselves and we loved having them on the farm.  They were eager to learn about the animals and to pet them.  Watching their faces light up when they interacted with the animals was rewarding for us.  I hope that some of them gained a new appreciation for animals and what it takes to care for them.  I appreciate all of the adults that were with them assisting in keeping an eye on the children while they were taking turns petting the animals.  This is defiantly something that I would like to do again.

I hope you have a fabulous day!

Until next time,  remember.......Beef, It's What's for Dinner!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Change of Plans




Our plans last night were to relax before we get swamped with wedding stuff.  Guess what?  Those changed!

When we were doing chores, we found a calf that would not get up.  We got him in the barn and gave him medications that were needed and then gave him electrolytes (like Gatorade).  He received two doses of electrolytes last night.  After each one he seemed a little better.  This morning he was getting up and standing on his own so I let mom in so he could nurse for five minutes.  Why just five minutes?  He has had scours (diarrhea) and so too much of mom's milk too fast could make them worse.  We limit amount of nursing time so that he can continue to recover.  This will need to be done at least three times today along with electrolytes to keep him from dehydrating.  We are praying that God saves him, but helping that out by treating him with the resources we have at our disposal.

While we had to change our plans, this is something that happens when dealing with animals.  It's just like changing plans because you have a sick child, except this child can not tell me what is wrong with him.  I have to play detective and figure it out for myself.  Fortunately, after living on the farm all of my life the detective work is much easier than it used to be for me.  Take care of yourselves and those you love.

Until next time,  remember.......Beef, It's What's for Dinner!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Springtime Work




Yesterday, we did our Spring round of shots and put in fly tags.  This is about a month earlier than normal for fly tags, but because of weather conditions they needed them.  This will most likely mean that we will need to put more tags in later this summer to keep the flies off and the number of pinkeye cases down to a  minimum. We do this so that the cattle remain healthy and the calves can continue to grow.  It took us all day to get the shots done and bring the bulls home to give them shots and tags.  After the bulls were done, we sorted the cows as to which ones went with which bulls.  Since our animals are registered, we have to keep the bulls separate so that we will know which calves are from which bulls.  We then moves 'Marbelizer' and his cows over to the other farm and turned 'Boss' and his cows out into the pasture.  We are keeping this group at the house until Wednesday when the daycare comes for their field trip.  They will be moved to another pasture after this visit.

Wednesday, we are to have about 20 two-year-old children at the farm for a field trip.  We are excited to see their faces when they see and touch the animals.  We will have two show heifers for them to pet as well as Clara Bell and Baby (our horse).  It should be a fun filled two hours.

There is only five days until our daughter's wedding!  We are busy prepping for this and making sure everything is ready to go.  This week is extremely busy at our house, but we wouldn't traded any of it.  We are excited to introduce young children to the animals and to make our family larger (officially) on Saturday.

I hope you enjoy your week and take the time to say thank you when you can.

Until next time,  remember.......Beef, It's What's for Dinner!