Farm Hand’s Almanac Archive

Joining Up

Sat, 4 Feb 2012 19:44:38 -0500

Promise and Sister have been in a field of their own since their arrival on January 17th. They would spend a lot of their time “hanging out” at their fence line that is closest to the Big Big Field, but separated by a 16 foot alley. On Friday afternoon I moved them across the way to join the herd they seemed to be longing to be a part of. They are now keeping company with Rhosyn, Pride, Circle and pony Chagal. They are all getting along famously. They are pictured above, spread out and preferring to graze rather than stand around a round bale.

The year end farm sum up and year forward should be finally completed and ready for sharing by tomorrow. The last couple of years we have spent figuring out what works in the way of our farm diversification (all but the horses) and it seems have settled on a handful of things that will continue to pursue and some things that will get left behind in 2011.

Dawn of Spring?

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 09:29:55 -0500

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. One would think; given the nature of our weather this winter and the forecast for this week (temps in the upper 60’s today) that we are going to find that Punxsutawney Phil will not see his shadow and predict an early spring. I always thought this reasoning was backwards. If he comes out and finds it cloudy and dismal; it should predict more winter weather. If it is sunny and warm, spring is upon us. Anyway, I don’t put much stock in Phil’s predictions, rather would like to think that the trend in our weather this winter so far would indicate an early spring. My tulips sure think so.

The weather has been great for outside work. I have finally sorted out my animal placements for the spring and arrival of babies and just this morning swapped the dairy goats and the spanish goats. The dairy goats are first up and I noticed this morning that Freska’s belly is looking quite round on the sides. I absolutely adore the dairy goat kids. The Spanish Goat kids are equally as adorable and so tiny when they are born.

The horse rotations will begin mid April just prior to the arrival of Indy’s foal. It would seem that there are two months of non-events left. Once the dairy goat kids are born the twice daily milking will begin... they days will get busier and longer. There will be foals to watch for; piglets to look out for, lambs to arrive and the spanish goat kids too....May I think will, hands down be one long continuous day.

Taking Advantage

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:57:51 -0500

Tomorrow’s weather is looking good for finishing the harrowing. While things are relatively quiet my mind is starting to get preoccupied with the plans of spring. The arrival of all the babies...which species of animal to put where for the arrival of their wee ones, my new project for this year goats’ soap, our plans to participate in a local farmers market, foaling and breeding of the mares...as is usually the case it promises to be a non-stop whirlwind of a spring. I sent off 31 yesterday who went to a farm not too far from here. The other 4 pure spanish does to part are awaiting the arrival of the scrapies tags so that they can travel out of state to North Carolina. As is with any bureaucratic process, I am told it will take 4-6 weeks for them to arrive. Hopefully they will come by the end of February and these girls can be on their way as well.

Next week is shaping up to be a busy week and also happens to be Kamille and Stella’s birthday week. Kamille will be 6 years old on the 3rd (Yikes, is it February already) and Stella will be 4 on the 4th. Much to my surprise, it seems Stella has come into (or is coming into) season way ahead of when has been the usual interval. She has been separated and has been keeping residence with her dairy goats and sometimes is offered a change of scenery to the other side of the barn where she can keep company with her Pure Spanish Goats. Stella and Kamille usually cycle relatively close together. Although Kamille has not shown any signs yet herself, there seemed to be some growing “male” tension between Mosby and his juvenille son, Jeb. So Mosby and Kamille have been sequestered to Joe’s field and they have been keeping company with Joe and mares and all the pregnant ewes. If in fact Kamille cycles closely behind Stella we will be way ahead of schedule for our spring litter of pups. We shall wait and see what transpires.

Above is a photo of Odin at his home in Pennsylvania. This was actually his second snow, but the first one that really amounted to anything. He is doing well and growing well and seems to have the most excellent role model in his pal Kaz who’s tail can be seen just behind Odin.

Where Have I Been?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:26:18 -0500

I have once again been neglectful in my attention to my posts. Sister and Promise are well settled in. With 8 mares of our own to be bred, and the expectant foals on the way, I have been thinking about sitting down and sorting out the breeding schedule for this spring. It is on the short list. I also have to accommodate for an outside mare that has already made a date with Fusi so must be sure she gets fit in as well. With potentially 8 foals on the table for 2013, I would like to have them all as close together as possible; although I do not know how realistic that will be....something else to figure out when pen goes to paper on the subject. The last two days have been downright gorgeous and springlike, so I have spent barely any time indoors. Taking full advantage. Tomorrow promises rain; so my mare breeding scheduling will be a good indoor activity on a rainy day. Today was very productive.

All the dairy goats got dewormed and had their feet trimmed. I took some shrapnel to the face and the eye, but think I got it all out. After all my exploits and injuries, I really should approach my outdoor farm activities with safety goggles and body armour. Both too cumbersome and get in the way. At any rate, they all enjoyed their turn in the milking stanchion with their head in the feed bucket. It was the quads first time on the stanchion and they needed some encouragement. Good news is that they are small enough still, I can lift them. (well, three of the four are...one is pretty hefty and I could only do fronts then hinds on her). Regardless, they are all trimmed and got some off season practice standing on the stanchion.

I also finally got around to taking the turkeys chain link teepee down. This was where they spent their nights safely locked up and with Stella on watch. I took advantage of the warm day that did not require gloves in order to manage the socket wrench to be able to dismantle the structure. I don’t think I have a photo of it; but if you can imagine those 8 foot panels used for dog kennels....I used those to make an A frame structure on the ground and blocked the ends with wire. Covered two ends in tarp for some protection of the elements and voila! Turkey house. It could have remained for the next group; but seeing as how we are increasing from 70 to 120 poults, I do not think this structure would have been roomy enough...at least not for very long.

The day was also a perfect day for a much needed and long overdue harrowing. It always feels good to harrow. I got all of Joe’s field and the top half of the Big Big Field. Sister and Promises was done before they arrived and Fusi and Willow’s is next on the list.

Two New CB Mares Join BHF

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:24:46 -0500

We are pleased to welcome two new CB Broodmares to our broodmare herd here at BHF. On Tuesday, Tregoyd Promise and Rippling Water arrived and settled in quickly to a field of their own. Tregoyd Promise is, as fate would have it, Joe’s full sister. She is one year older than Joe; but comes from the very same sire and dam. Rippling Water, who is also known as “Sister”, is a 1/2 bred CB mare by Penrhyn Bayswater. Our plan is to breed both mares to Fusilier in the spring. Hopefully, Sister will give us a 3/4 filly that can be bred back to Joe one day for a 7/8. We are not sure how long exactly these gals will remain here...it may be years, it may be only until the end of 2013....but we will enjoy having them around for as long as they are here. They will fit in nicely with everyone.

Promise is not unlike Joe and is a big substantial mare. I spent some time getting to know them both yesterday with a bag of mini-carrots, and a bucket of brushes. They are both burr free in the mane and forelock with later attention planned for the tails. They both seemed to enjoy the pamper and the get-to-know. The addition of these two mares puts us on track for potentially 8 foals in 2013. 5 pure bred foals, 1 three quarter CB and 2 half CBs. Certainly, things very rarely go according to plan, but it is always good to have a plan regardless.

The neck is 100% better today, the third day since Wally Jr. flattened me. Here’s a picture of the rascal....

125 vs 230

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:36:42 -0500

We have an opening in our fence to the Big Big Field that is large enough for our biggest Anatolian to slip through so that they (the dogs) can enter the field and do what may be necessary...chase something away, patrol, mark the perimeter, check up on the cows and horses...whatever it may be. With our largest Anatolian being 165 lbs and his son still growing and looking to top him...this hole is not small. There fore it is easy also for sheep to duck through.

The ewes and Wally Jr. were in the Big Big Field but they don’t pay much attention to the gate, the hole or looking to go anywhere else. Yesterday, the ewes found their way out the hole. I think Dr. Cornelius, our free ranging goat, may have coaxed them a little. So with ewe’s strolling through the back yard I went to go return them. I noticed that Wally Jr. was not as smart or maybe not as easily coaxed and did not follow the ewes out. This presented a great opportunity to separate them. They have been together since November 30th and surely, if any deeds were going to have been done, he had had ample opportunity. It was perfect because just the day before we had separated out Thistle, our buck, from the Spanish does. Thistle was happily back with the bachelors, Butters, big Boy Grin and Malcolm (a rising yearling ram).

With the ewes safely tucked into Joe’s pasture, the eldest Farm girlio and I went to try to encourage Wally Jr. out so that he too could be reunited with the bachelors. This is what he would want. But dumb as a brick and as obstinate as they could come, this was no easy feat. We finally got him out of the Big Big Field and into the system of alleys. This was perfect, because all we had to do was walk him down the alley, pop open the gate and let the joyous reunion ensue.

We walked him down once....he turned and ran past us in the wrong direction. We walked him down again....again the dolt turned and ran past us in the other direction. The third time we had him right where we wanted him but could not manage to get around him to pop open the gate for him without him once again running the wrong direction. Sheep are fast when they want to be. Shockingly quick.

The fourth time we had him walking down the alley, he again turned to go the wrong way. I made myself as big as I could so as to scare him back in the proper direction. But he did not comply. I was in his way. He started to charge; quick and head down with strength and a very bad attitude. I did not have time to think or get out of the way. I closed my eyes and felt a giant thump on my chest. I felt myself flying through the air...eyes still closed. I landed mostly on my lower back, then the shoulder hit the ground...I bounced or skidded (not sure really which) and after my head wobbled atop my neck for a bit like a bobble head, my head eventually hit the ground. It was not really a fair fight. He is approximately 230 lbs with all his wool on. Last March, naked, he weighed 220. He has matured a little and by shearing time gets shed about 10 lbs worth of wool. I had nothing to say about it. I did not want to give up and did not want to leave it having been beaten by that dull witted dope. I tried to get him back down the alley one last time; but instead the rascal ducked into the Big Big Field via the dog hole cut out he would not use just hours earlier. He can remain lonely for now. Punishment. When I have had time to forgive him, I might try to reunite him with his pals; but until them he is on the s#$t list.

Last night my head, chest and shoulder hurt the most. Today, by lower back feels bruised and is swollen. My head feels better thankfully. (Having been a child who fractured her skull, I am always a tad worried when my head takes a tumble.) My neck is quite sore today too....as though I experienced whiplash. Which I am sure that I did. Always an adventure. I am glad Corries do not have horns.

Awaiting delivery of a couple new residents today. Looking forward to sharing the news in a post tomorrow.

Meanwhile, above is a picture of OldDominion Bors and OldDominion Rhiannon. They are Wisconsin residents...both doing well. Rhiannon we are told is 18 hh (at least). Bors, who looks like a pony next to her, is actually nearly 17 hh.

Mid Month Already?

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:24:39 -0500

I am a little surprised to find that it is mid January already. My neighbor, who also farms (poultry mostly) reminds me that there are only 9 more weeks until spring. It seems like a lot of weeks to me, but find that I have not really minded the winter so far this year as it has been pretty mild for the most part. The temps will dip down for a few days then pop back up to the mid 50s for several days. The daylight hours grow by a few minutes each day.

It has been relatively quiet since earlier this week which has been nice and allowed for some catching up of other items and tasks that don’t always take a priority. This next week is filling up quickly, but I am hoping to find some down time to harrow (ground needed some drying out after our big rain the other night) and to take down my turkey night-time housing. I had created an A - frame structure for the turkeys to stay in during the night. Now that the turkeys are all gone (at least until the new poults arrive later this spring) the structure is empty and unused. I hope time find time to take it apart and store it until it may be needed again. I will have to come up with a new plan for turkey housing this coming year since our turkey numbers will just about double and be 120 strong and there will not be enough space in this structure for them all.

Some interesting developments brewing this week as well. Will hope to share the news as it happens.

Ribs for Dinner

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:47:10 -0500

I headed out early on Monday morning to pick up the product that our three sows left behind for us. I had 2 giant coolers (fishing coolers, that about double the standard size) and two large standard sized coolers. It was soooo much pork. The shoulders and hams were giant. The whole bellies were about 3/4 the span of my arms. Needless to say, I could not close the coolers. Fortunately, I was heading straight to one chef/restaurant to unload the all the whole shoulders, all the bellies and the jowls. His take alone was 200 lbs of pork. It lightened the load in the Rover which seemed to be working pretty hard with all the weight it was carrying. The remaining pork filled up our new giant chest freezer to the gills. There is a family coming today from 3 hours south of here for some pork fat, lard and some chops. ....we will be having our home grown ribs for dinner with homemade BBQ sauce (which is SO tasty), corn and mashed potatoes. Ymm.

This morning was another early rushed morning to get all the chores done, the girlios up and out the door for school so that I could get our next three little pigs to the butcher. I say little, only because they are smaller than the three sows who preceded them. I would venture to guess that these fellas are probably 85 lbs a piece.

It will be just a smidge quieter at pig feeding time.

We are expecting quite a bit of rain today and should it be any colder our impending rain storm would have made for a nice snow storm. But they are forecasting only rain.
 I have been working my way through the website to update and refresh and have now entered our Practically Country pages. I have managed to create Buy Now buttons for non perishable such as Turkey reservations, lamb pelts (of which I have only one currently available, apparel and the jams/jellies. Hopefully will finish those up in a few days time...as I find some down time here and there.

We have one odd-ball goat who does not fit in with the others. He is not a Spanish Goat and he is not a Dairy Goat. We obtained Dr. Cornelius nearly 9 years ago when our old Palomino, Goldie needed a pasture mate. Dr. Cornelius has been around...with horses, sheep, chickens, spanish bucks...I gave him a reprieve when I sorted the bucks to the does. (Dr. Cornelius was often the focus of attention of our other Spanish buck, Butters. So since then, Cornelius has been a free man.....a free ranging goat. He goes where he pleases....helps the chickens eat their food, finds the long untouched alley grass...

A Three Hour Chore

Sat, 7 Jan 2012 20:06:11 -0500

We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day really for the spanish goat toe project. It was about 61 degrees that day for what turned out to be a three hour chore. We did all 15 goats and was pleased to find that the limping was just due to some over growth more than anything else. The only one who was experiencing something more was Thistle, the buck who seemed to have some foot root. He is still sore today but definitely seems to be feeling better already. The foot rot remedy should do it’s thing. It should stay dry until Wednesday which should also help. The chore, while it took a good while, was pretty uneventful. Lois and I took turns with one of us holding the goat while the other trimmed. By the time we had each done our third goat, we had a harder and harder time standing upright afterward. This happens I guess as you get older....it just took a few moments to straighten out again. Nothing the heating pad that night could not remedy by morning. We have recently sold 3 of our mature bred does and 2 of our young does. This leaves us still with 9 females and 2 males. We will expect that we should still produce 18 kids this May.

I will finally be picking up my three very large pigs (they were about 400 lbs a piece) from the butcher on Monday. A special trip out to the Home Depot today was required for a super-sized chest freezer. Some of the largest portions will be heading directly to the Harth Restaurant after pickup; but some will be coming home while they await other customers. Additionally, on Wednesday the next round of pigs are due to be taken in. Naturally, it is due to rain that day...just as it was the day the sows were taken in.

The Farm Hand and I continue to ponder farm plans for the future and revisit the events of 2011 and will hopefully pull our thoughts together this coming week.

Goat Toes

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 19:33:37 -0500

It was 15 degrees on Tuesday night. Really cold. It has warmed back up a little so at least we are now back above freezing temperatures during the daytime. Tomorrow is Spanish Goat Toe day. Normally the Spanish goats are super low maintenance and do not require much attention at all except for the occasional deworming. I seem to have 4 of 15 goats with a gimp and I do not know if it is just that their toes need a trimming or if they may have developed some foot rot due to the unusually damp conditions they encountered in the Big Big Field whilst out there. In preparation I have ordered some topical foot remedy for foot rot (sheep get this as well so it is nice to have on hand). I have solicited the help of our friend (& horse trainer) Lois. The project will go so much more smoothly with two of us since Spanish Goats are not exactly like Dairy goats. They don’t just walk up on the stanchion and pick up their feet. It is a little more like trimming sheep feet with some wrangling and wrestling involved. The Spanish Goats also have a nice full set of twisty horns that one needs to be mindful of. So hopefully the project will go smoothly. It will be a nice day for it with temperatures around 57 degrees.

Tropical...but not for long

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 08:28:05 -0500

Happy New Year to all! We are due to reach a high of around 60 degrees today. Shocking really for the 1st of January. It will not last for long though. A 20 degree drop in daytime temperature is expected for tomorrow. Drastic. The above photo was taken yesterday morning. This “dragon’s breath” as we call it was all around and hovering in every direction. As soon as the sun began to come up the dragon’s breath started to dissipate. The Farm Hand and I are both thoughtfully considering 2012 plans and ideas for the farm as well the analysis of the year just past continues. As is customary, when we are done will share our year in review here, if nothing else to document it for posterity. Have begun a bit of an overhaul of the website and it will take me time to work through it all; but it will be a gradual project rather than a one fell swoop in a single sit-down.

Sadly, it has been reported from a third party, that the neighbor’s dog was euthanized. I suspect that her injuries were pretty severe.

Semi big project planned for next week. Due to the extreme moisture some of our Spanish Goats seem to be experiencing foot rot. It is odd indeed because I consider them far more hardy than the sheep; who were on the same field and have not experienced the same. So I have ordered some meds and such and hope that they arrive early next week. I will coerce the gang in a small enclosure in the alley crafted out of gates and hog panels and get to them one by one. Spanish goats are not like the dairy goats. They won’t just stand there and let you trim their feet. It will take some muscle and work. I am hoping to have some help.

Pig Tales & Piglet Sounds at Dinnertime

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:38:25 -0500

Time is whipping by just WAY too quickly. I cannot believe it has been 4 days since I posted last. Tomorrow is already New Year’s Eve!
Tomorrow is delivery day...we will disembark with 161 dozen eggs destined for several locations. 161 dozen eggs...that amounts to 1,932 eggs. That is a lot of eggs. Fortunately the Rover is back in commission (it has been out of commission for several weeks due to a brake job). The eggs travel much more comfortably in the Rover as opposed to the heavy duty diesel quad cab pick up truck. That can get a little rough for that many eggs on our bumpy back windy roads...or even smooth roads for that matter!

Upon a quick check earlier this week, it was determined that Snickers the barn cat (that we thought was female but was not), was finally presenting both his bits. So on Thursday morning he was able to stay and spend a couple hours with the Dr. around the corner and have them tended to. He was home just a couple hours later and did not seem to notice that anything was missing. It is business as usual back in the barn with the three of them. They are definitely doing their job. It used to be that when you opened the barn door you would see a handful of mice scatter here and there. My feed bags (I take delivery of a ton of this and a ton of that every couple of weeks) have not been nibbled into and have remained in tact. Good kitties!!

I thought that the obnoxious squealing and squabbling of the young pigs would subside once the boys were with the boys and the girls the girls. This it seems, is not the case. The girls are downright obnoxious! They know when it is feeding time. They all do. When they see me coming in the morning the squealing begins and does not cease until they are busy eating. The same with the evening. Now, you might remember that I had mentioned before about putting up pig feeders in an effort to automate and make the routine a little easier. Well....here’s how that went.

It started out pretty darn good. The feeder was able to hold 150 lbs of feed. The sows were the first to have theirs. They did well at first. But as soon as the feeder was empty and they were hungry, the were very unkind to the feeder. I probably picked it up and remounted it a handful of times before the time that they ripped off the feeder bin flap. Again, I remounted it. I even strapped it down with those hold-tight, zippy strap things. They still managed to beat it down and cause damage. So I took it away. Back to the 2x daily bucket system for them.

Now the piglets did SO much better but it was a lot of piglets for one feeder so they went through 150 lbs of feed in a day. I did a quick mental calculation once and figuring there were 19 piglets in there they each would have eaten just under 10 lbs of feed in a a day. I was going through pig feed way too fast and spending so much. I kept waiting for them to regulate but they don’t they just keep eating. Not too long ago the piglets managed to rip down their feeder as well. So they got theirs taken away.

So I find myself putting up with the obnoxious feed time squealing and the carrying of buckets which is not such a bad trade off for the constant retrieval and revival of the feeders and the huge feed bill. They do well being fed 2x per day and keep very good weight. I noticed that the sows and piglets both, when given free choice access to the feeder started to look unfit and too heavy. I have a sound wave that I recorded a couple of weeks ago of the sound of the piglets while they were waiting for their feed. It is only 29 seconds long, but you will want to turn it off WAY before you find yourself at the end. There is a decibel meter on the recorder on the phone and as I was recording noticed that we were recording just inside the red zone.

Remembering Loo & Sad News & Badly Behaving People

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:05:32 -0500

We find ourselves as we do at the end of every year wondering how, once again, it passed so quickly. How is it that certain events of the year can feel like so long ago...even if they were only a few weeks ago; while others, even if they were 10 months ago; feel like yesterday. It is amazing how much we seem to pack into a 12 month period of time. It is now, at the conclusion of the holiday season and prior to the onset of the new year, that the Farm Hand and I start to reflect on the year past and begin to plan for the year ahead.

It has been five days since I posted after my unplanned pig gender sorting. Although activity on the farm does not stop or even slow down; what down time we have had these last several days has been spent enjoying the holiday; it’s festivities and family and friends that we have been able to share some time with.

The 23rd of December would have been Leeloo’s 8th birthday. We thought of her especially that day and how much her presence is missed around here. It was just before her birthday last year that we had to unexpectedly say goodbye to her. Like so many other events of the last 12 months past, I remember that one like it was yesterday. Sitting with the Farm Hand and Dr. Andrea on the floor of the aisle in the barn as we said our last good-byes to Loo-loo who only a couple days before was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer. Lee loo was a fantastic dog. She was a mother and teacher to Mosby (not his real mother; but a good stand-in and role model), she in her prime and with the rest of the pack took down several deer that were trespassers on the property. (she had to be fast to catch a deer and bring it down...would have loved to have a video of that hunt.) She was a very good girl and we all miss her very much. Especially, I think, Mosby. They were very close.

Since their gender sorting the piglets have adjusted to their new accommodation and group of friends. This week, I will be picking up the produce of the three sows delivered to the butcher last week. Then, in another couple weeks time will be transporting several additional pigs to follow suit. While the last year has been very busy tending to the pigs and raising the piglets; we have not seen the regular return on pork...only the regular charge on the bi monthly feed bill that it takes to feed them! While we did harvest 2 pigs in 2011; This next year, 2012 the farm should see a better balance of the income to expense ratio in that department as these sows and 2011 piglets find their way to the dining tables.

Some of you who might read regularly may recall the stories of the neighbors dog that is permitted to run loose. In case you have not; the cliff notes version is this: There is a little dog that lives next door. It is permitted to run around unattended. Loudoun County has a leash law. They also have laws about unwelcome dogs running poultry. This little dog has come over, many many times onto our property and gone after our chickens. There was one occasion where I rescued a chicken from it’s grasp; the chicken did not make it. The neighbors were notified. The dog continued to be let out unsupervised and free to go where ever. Because it is small; it likes to go under our wire fencing. And because it is small, it can. This is how it made its way over to the chickens. We fenced our 40 acres with wire no climb fencing for a reason...not only to keep our animals in; but also to deter others from entering. Several other incidents and occasions this neighbor dog was found patrolling through my pig fields. I again notified the neighbor and reminded him that if our dogs found his dog on our property it may not come home. I also reminded him that pigs are omnivores; and are capable of hunting and eating small animals. I knew the day would come...it was only a matter of time.

Yesterday, on Christmas Day after an early and long morning and many long weeks preceding it; I had found time to have a nap. I was awoken by the unfriendly sound of dog screaming and fighting. I jumped out of bed and peeked out the window to see the 4 Anatolians circling something small and dark in color under the walnut tree. They were on it. I flew down the stairs and ran out the front door. The Farm Hand was close behind. We got our dogs off the little dog who continued to bark and growl. We put our dogs in the field with the goats where they could be contained away from this injured intruder. Any effort made to assist the dog illicited an aggressive reaction so we did not press the issue. I called the neighbor with adrenaline pumping and asked him if he could drive over quickly; bring a towel and get his dog who was in need of some urgent medical attention. He came. His dog, scared and in shock bit him. (glad I didn’t try to help it as was my original instinct). This is the same dog that, 7 years ago...during one if it’s excursions came onto our property and met our little Shiba Inu, Loki who did not welcome it kindly. This dog received medical attention then too...and was fortunate to survive.

While I feel very badly for the dog I find myself really bothered by it’s humans inability to ensure the dogs safety after so many repeat trespassings and warnings. This time the dog would have gone under the fence; across the pig yard (as she as done so many times before) but this time marched down piglet alley around the back of the house to under the walnut tree where our dogs found the intruder and reacted. They were doing their job....as was Loki 7 years ago. This has been an ongoing saga with the neighbor, who after that very first incident 7 years ago had the gumption to suggest we euthanize our dog Loki because of the attack. We had to calmly remind him of the Loudoun County leash laws, the fact that his dog was on our property and our dog was doing his job. Needless to say there has been a smidge of neighborly tension regarding the issue since day one. Although, I do think when the neighbor came to retrieve his dog yesterday; he may have finally realized the consequences of his inactions to be a responsible pet owner.

I do not know yet what happened with the neighbor dog, if she lived or if she was euthanized. I suppose not everyone who has animals cares for them in the same ways....like the people around the corner with the goats....I drive by their place every day...there was a goat in their field on it’s side. It was not moving. The first time I drove by I hoped it was napping. The next day it was still there. Later the second day...still. Surely they are going to check on them at some point I thought and find that they have a dead goat. By the middle of the third day, I called animal control.....or like my most recent experience that still disturbs me....

I went to a location to meet someone about a barn renovation. (I work as a sales rep in the VA/MD area for PA builder) I was making notes and taking pictures and measurements while the owner stood outside. The barn was cluttered with stuff...trash, furniture, pieces of this and that... I turned to go another direction and there was a partially decomposed cat on the floor tucked in between some pieces of this and that but still in plain view. I was shocked. I debated in my mind “say something, don’t say anything...say something...maybe she doesn’t know...” Ultimately I said something. I could not NOT say anything. As it turns out it was carelessly dismissed and “just hadn’t gotten around to picking it up yet”... are you kidding me? The rats and mice had gotten around to it. it still had fur...it could not have been dead long. I wanted to pick that cat up and put it in my truck and take it home to bury it. That I did not do. I wish I had.

Anyway...this post has turned into more of a long winded diatribe than I intended. It seems I have jammed 3 topics into one post...

Unplanned Pig Sorting (again...??)

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:19:34 -0500

Yesterday I was going about morning duties anxious to get through them so I could head out for some very last minute gift items for the holiday. I was ahead of schedule and making good time when I watched as one of our young piglet boys was taking a serious interest (in an forbidden love sort of way) in one of the females. We had been told that piglets will reach sexual maturity at around 9-11 months. Apparently these guys were early bloomers. I had just done some pig sorting the first week of December and was doing so in order to have my pigs exiting for the butcher in que and in smaller paddocks. I was another week away from the further pig sort that would have separated males and females.

However, with this unacceptable behavior going on there was not time to wait. In one paddock I had 3 boys and 3 girls. First, I separated out the three girls from the paddock into piglet alley. This was not easy because they all look exactly the same and in order to tell the males from the females, I had to keep bending over to see where their plumbing was located. I got the girls out shuffled them down the alley and into the other larger field with the other 19 piglets.

But there were boys in there too...although a tad younger. But they needed to come out too. So I figured; while i was already at it and pretty dirty, I should finish the job. The bending over to see who had what plumbing was not going to work while trying to sort through 22 subjects. So I went to the barn for marking paint...this is the sort of paint used to mark the grass where you might put a fence post. With marking paint in hand I waded through the sea of piglets and marked the boys. I knew there were far fewer boys than girls. 8 boys to the 14 girls. Once marked it was a matter of getting the boys to the gate and shuffling only the boys out while leaving the girls in. Not an easy task for one, it took some time...but it got done. I then used a hog panel to secure all the 8 boys to the far end of piglet alley. Phew...

I finally got out to do some shopping.

Today I took three large sows to the butcher. This left an open paddock. When I returned from the butcher my priority was hosing out the disgusting mess the sows made in my horse trailer. Yuck! Afterwards I shuffled the next in line for the butcher (3 boys) to the empty field and then shuffled the 8 blackshire boy pigs (who are two months younger but equally as big) to the other open paddock. All the girl piglets remain in the one larger field. I am now officially gender sorted!!! Big Relief!!

Just took a call from the abattoir to confirm the cut sheets. They reported “some fantastic looking sows with a lot of good fat on them...whatever we are doing we are doing it right and should give lessons!” Some fantastic looking pork. Funny...we are such newbies to the pork thing...although I guess whatever we are doing we must be doing okay. It is nice to get positive feedback. We have sold the bellies (bacon) and shoulders of all these sows and have only left ribs, loins, chops and hams. I am looking forward to trying some of our own bacon very soon though and plan to retain some for ourselves with this next group going in early January.

Our First Born Makes Us Proud

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:05:31 -0500

We say our first born, because it was a pretty close tie. The spring of 2005 was our first spring on this property and was also our first spring of welcoming our first foals to the OldDominion Stud name. On June 1, 2005 OldDominion Artorius (pure bred) was born. The very next morning on June 2, 2005 OldDominion Bedwyr (part bred) was born. So we really think of the two of them as sharing the status of our first born since they came within hours of each other.

Big B (Bedwyr) stayed with us for quite some time. Prospective buyers came and went. He became part of the family. It became very clear to us very early on that Big B was a special horse. I have shared stories of him before about how his sister was colicing and he would not let her lay down. He hoofed at her incessantly and nosed at her and encouraged her to get up and when she did he ran her around the field. We witnessed all this as we were waiting for the vet to show up. By the time she arrived; there was no need for her any longer...B had fixed it. There is another story of when I was in his field to collect a visiting mare from his field to another field. B was no where in sight and I was fixing to catch this mare when something startled her from behind and she ran me over. All I remember is her giant red colored chest in my face. (her name, of all things was Big Red). I blacked out and tumbled pretty hard. When I came to, Big B was standing over me keeping me safe....placing me in between him and the fence. He stood still while I used him to pull myself up. A pretty good head bump and several broken ribs I hobbled back to the house. He’s the horse that is there when you need him.

It was not until January of this year at 5 years old that Big B found his forever home...and it was the best home we could have every asked for for him.

Big B...who now goes by the nickname of Boz (not sure if I am spelling it correctly) is now actively hunting with his human in the Middleburg Hunt. We had been wanting to see the two of them off ever since the season started but it had always conflicted with our egg /chef delivery schedule. This past Saturday we were able to make accommodation.

To see Big B so happy, and Ann so happy and B with a job and a purpose and looking oh so handsome...it was a great moment of pride and happiness for the Farm Hand and I as we were able to witness Big B doing all the things we had hoped he would one day find himself doing. He is doing remarkably well and in spite of his youth and inexperience is getting great compliments and attracting quite a bit of attention. Way to go B and Ann! The big bonus of all of this is that Ann and B are not only in our hearts and minds, but they are just down the road and are our neighbors to boot!

In other news, sadly hypothermia chicken did not make it. No other chicken incidents thus far though...so maybe we escaped the chicky tri-fecta.

Bad Chicken Ju Ju

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:52:45 -0500

My hen suffering quietly alone with her prolapse that would not stand to be corrected, departed us sometime on Wednesday night. I found her on Thursday morning. I think maybe the infection was too much to fight and she gave in. Darn it. Then, this morning I had made an unexpected trip back to the barn for some odd reason and found that a hen was stuck in the water trough...submerged with only her wing clinging on to the outside of the container as if clinging to life...it was the only thing keeping her from submerging as I think she had probably tried really hard to get out but lost the energy after a while. Her head was above water but she was a drowned rat and although the night was not too cold...the water certainly was. I quickly dropped my buckets and ran around the fence and through the gate to rescue her.

Those of you who have dogs know how bad a wet dog can smell. Let me tell you, a wet chicken is SO much worse! It was easy to tell the poor girl was in shock. I carried her to the barn and into the heated tack room. I grabbed a towel and tried to dry her off the best I could. She was not looking good. When that one was sufficiently wet, I grabbed a fleece blanket and wrapped her in it like a sausage. She did not protest. I tucked her in a crate, left her in the warm tack room and headed to the house for a hair dryer. With hair dryer in hand I headed back to her in the tack room where she was, just as I left her. I unwrapped her and began her salon treatment. The warm hair dryer dried and fluffed her quickly. She was soaked to the bone and no doubt probably experiencing chicken hypothermia. The warm heat of the hair dryer probably really helped to bring her body temperature back up a little. Once dried and fluffed I re-wrapped her and tucked her back into the crate. Hopefully, this one can be saved.

We just added 50 more laying hens to our already 400 something hen population. No matter the numbers it is still hard to loose one. I did the math once. Although a small contribution...if this hen lays...just to be conservative 300 eggs per year; at .36 per egg, she is generating over $100 each year...a hen of this sort (a red sex link which is bred to be a hearty egg producer) will lay this well for at least two years and possibly longer...so her overall contribution is well over $200.

As the saying goes; things come in threes. Earlier this week we had prolapse chicken, this morning hypothermia chicken...wonder what will be the third. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the bad chicken juju will stop and there will not be a third.

The poor gal is featured above this is after her fluff and dry treatment.

Belly Flips & Errors in Anatomy

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:11:58 -0500

It would seem that I have been delinquent and remiss, yet again. Four days since my last musing. There is not much that turns my stomach. Just the very nature of farming will lead to one to see some pretty gory things...Usually, the only time my stomach goes queasy is when I am on a boat, reading in the car, sitting backwards in a moving vehicle, or too much time on the park swing. However something has occurred since my last post that has incited a belly flip and it did not include rapid or unnatural motion. We have had chickens for quite a while now and we have just recently experienced our first official prolapse in a hen. Sheep are known to have this happen when they lamb sometimes...it can happen in many animals...it is never a good thing. Apparently this poor hen was trying to express an egg that was too large and things went wrong. There is not a whole lot you can do for a hen in this predicament except for isolate her (so her pals don’t peck at her in unwanted places), give her some medicated feed, clean her up and try to put the protrusion back where it goes. The trouble is, it is not staying put. We will give her several more days and hope that it shrinks enough to stay put eventually, but in the meantime, she is at horrible risk of infection. This is the mild, cleaned up version of this story...

If you are a regular reader of our musings, you might recall one just about 12 days ago entitled “Snicker-fella”. Well, this particular event is somewhat related. Also in that post I made mention of relocating the cows, Lakota and her two boys, Tuck and the newbie Conan to the smaller field up top by the house. This was all done in an effort to prepare for Conan’s inevitable castration. Friday morning, Dwayne, the farrier and I were walking from one field to another; to go trim Fusi and Willow. As we were walking and talking, Dwayne was remarking about how cute and adorable little Conan was. As I was in the middle of telling him why Conan and family were there, Conan stopped, lifted his tail and peed....only, he peed like a girl!!! What??? My emotions and feelings were mixed. Elation and confusion. Mostly elated that it was a girl and not a boy because this meant the ordeal of the cowboy roping and castration could be avoided. Confused and bewildered because all the while I thought she was a he. Now, normally I do not have trouble sexing animals. However....kittens are easy to mis-sex....as are apparently little peeps (when we order females; we often get a good mix of males). Right, you say, but how hard is it to sex a calf. Well...when the calf was unexpected born (Yet Even More Shocking Surprises) I was home alone and a little nervous about approaching such a big cow with a newborn calf. She grumbled quite a bit and at the time I was not entirely sure she was very keen on my presence. So, without touching the calf and lifting tails and such which I will do with a newborn foal (I know my mares so much better than i know this cow...cows are not easy to read...for someone who is not cow savvy). I tried to make a judgement based on what could be seen. I sized up the new one against the older brother and they both appeared to have the plumbing at the belly. This is why I assumed it was a fella. What I probably was looking at was the area of the newly detached umbilicus. So...there you have it. However, I did have to come clean with the Farm Hand on this one and this is something I will not live down....ever.

Well, so...that is one less thing. Phew.

I was able to find some time outside again today with brushes in hand. Managed to get to Willow, Fusi, and the entire mass that is Joe...who seems easily twice the surface area of everyone else...especially when you stand 5’2”.