160 Cows on One Acre...for 12 Hours!

My husband put the cows in the field that we call "the Calf Pasture."  As it is the only pasture surrounded by four wires of electrified fencing.  He only expected them to be in there for a couple of hours as there didn't appear to be that much grass in there.



Boy were we wrong!  At 11:00 AM I texted Danny, who was helping his dad that morning, and told him, "Don't hurry back, the cows still have piles of grass."  And they did!  Danny said that the pasture had about 90% clover and 10% fescue and bluegrass.  Even when we took them out to milk there was still some uneaten grass in there.  I looked at Danny and said, "if only all of our pastures produced like this one..."  But for the most part we give the cows about 3 acres of grass for a 12 hour period, and right now we give them some supplemental hay to help it last until the next milking.  We are on shale ground, so the fertility isn't the greatest and we are only ever ten days away from a drought.  Meaning that if we don't get rain or precipitation for 10 days, the land already has a look of a drought to it, because the shale allows the soil to drain very quickly.

Here are some pictures of our cows enjoying the calf pasture. 

701 - a Milking Shorthorn/Holstein Cross

1005 - Jersey/Holstein Cross.  Her sire is Kiwi Cross Northsea 190XD2

757 - Jersey/Holstein Cross

Everyone's favorite cow, Tubby! (an Ayrshire/Normande Cross - she is a NZ Ayrshire Challenge granddaughter)

One last picture of 160 cows on one acre.

Blessings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Graveyard Field...

Our calves are in the field that we have named "the Graveyard Field".  I am not sure that we shouldn't change the name of this field.  It is next to a graveyard (see below) but it is also next to a church.


 
We use either our tractor or our ARGO (a six-wheeler) to haul milk and feeders over to the calves in a cart. 

Dad's tractor is pulling our cart that we haul the milk and the calf feeders over to their field.

"Why might this picture be of Dad's tractor hauling milk over to our calves?" you might ask.  Well, the Graveyard Field is living up to its name.  Ironically, both our tractor and our ARGO have decided to stop in the Graveyard Field with no urgency to move...ever (grin).   Maybe we should call it, "the Church Field."  Maybe then our pieces of machinery would be resurrected with Christ...ok maybe not.  But here sit the two pieces of machinery until they are fixed.

 My hope in sharing this is to bring a smile to your face.  I can not do anything to fix either of these pieces of equipment (they would NEVER move if I tried), so I will choose to focus on the humor of the situation, and hopefully bring some smiles to your edge of the globe as well :).  Blessings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory and honor forever, Amen.

Calf Pens for 2012

This year we are attempting to keep the baby calves on the farm again.  Last year we took them off of the farm because they were having trouble with their respratory systems and we could not figure out what it was.  So, we took them to my father-in-law's farm.

Since then, after analyzing our records (thank you DHI-dairy herd improvement and more specifically Dairy One) we saw that calves that were given one nasal vaccine (TSV2) were being treated just as much as the calves that we didn't vaccinate, however, calves we administered Enforce 3 to, we treated 2/3 less of that group.  We then looked at what Enforce 3 covered that TSV2 did not.  The only difference was that Enforce 3 protected against BRSV as well.  Then we talked to our vets (who had already been out to look at the calves and could not figure out what was the root of the respiratory problems).  When we told them our findings our vet looked at our calves and cows and said, "Yep, you have classic case BRSV.  Not fun.

We started a new vaccination protocol for both the cows and the calves last year.  This year we noticed a definite decline in clinical cases, though we could still see some.  We knew we had to get them away from the barn where we used to house them, because it is only 15 feet away from the holding pen.

So, we took them across the road to what we call the "Graveyard Field," being as it is right next to a graveyard and a church.  Though it does sound ominous :).  So far we have not had any baby calves die this year once we get them on the ground and get them started.

We started out by building pens out of big round bales.  These were bales that were made late and we were selling them for mulch hay.  Most of the bales had plastic wrap on them, but some did not.  The pens looked like this:

We put three round bales on each side and two in the back.  We put them close enough that we could lay two gates across the top, which we secured a tarp to so that they would have a nice wind break and shelter in inclement weather.  Danny sat a bale on both sides of the "roof" to keep the wind from carrying the gates off.

I took these pictures during feeding time this morning.  This is our baby pen--the youngest ones.

We also provided a little bit of a running space outside comprised of four pieces of calf panel from TSC.

 BUT..... we were having some problems with some of the pens.  The pens made up of bales wrapped in plastic provided too much temptation for the calves....and they chewed on the plastic.  Then they proceeded to lick the moldy shell of the bale underneath the plastic (why, I have no idea - especially because we were offering them fresh clean hay, grain, water, and milk).  So, we visited TSC again and purchased some round pen gates, which have so SO many uses on the farm, and this is the new and revised pen, which wouldn't work in early March, but thankfully we were through the cold, yucky weather by the time they started chewing on the plastic and moldy bales.

We used three 12' round pen gates per pen.  The best thing about these gates is that they have their own hinges and pin locks built in.  We did have to move one of the gates in a little bit so that the two 12' gates still reached across the top of the pen to form their roof.

We built the round pen gate pens right as the weather started to get very warm, so the calves really appreciated the extra ventilation.  For the two pens that did not have bales with plastic on them, we simply pulled out the two round bales that formed the back of the pen and we put gates across the back so that they could get a nice breeze through their pens as well.  Thankfully, they don't chew on the net wrap...

And those are our calf pens.  As far as the calves not getting BRSV...we still have some issues with it.  We notice the most problems when we don't get the calves away from the cows quickly enough.  We have had to treat a number of calves this year, but it has not been nearly as bad as it was in past years.  Also, it helps that we now know what to look for and can address the problem quicker.

May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and keep you.  I am going to head to bed, but I have so much more to share!  We have had lots going on and I am just now finding time to sit down in front of the computer and write it out.

We Have Not Fallen Off of the Planet...

This will be a short post, but I have not abandoned this blog.  I have lots to share, both trials and triumphs, but not tonight.  Tonight I need to go to bed so that I can get up in the morning.

To summarize, we are milking 139 cows and have 30 left to calve by the 10th of May.  We calved about 20 more in March this year then we did last year, so we are condensing our window, which is nice in one sense, but exhausting in another.

We have had 5 sets of twins so far, and two sets were from bull bred heifers.  All but one set were born alive without assistance.  One of the heifers had a dead bull and a live one.  None were heifer heifer.

Our calves are here on our farm and Dad is raising his calves at his farm as well as all of the bull calves, which is very helpful.  We figured out what we were dealing with in the baby calves the past two years--BRSV.  The cows got it from our bred heifers that we sent off farm to be raised at a fellow grazier's farm.  He had some beef cattle there from the auction house that a man bought to "make a quick buck" off of them...  We instituted a new vaccination protocol last year and it has seemed to lessen then symptoms that we were seeing in the cows.  We took our babies across the road from the cows and put them in the pasture that is not touching the cow lane at all and has a barrier of trees between it and every other pasture.  So far, we have only treated 6 calves for BRSV symptoms and they are a result of us not getting the calves across the road quick enough.  We give the calves Enforce 3 nasal vaccine and that has helped reduce the instances of the virus.

We have one calf that is struggling with some bloating.  We got the vet out to look at her and he isn't really sure what it is, but said to keep doing what we are doing, which is pro-biotics and fluids.  We gave her the antitoxin for clostridium, but whether that was the issue or not, it hasn't seemed to have stopped the bloating.  We changed the nipples on the feeder, but that hasn't seemed to have helped either.  I lowered the feeder in case she is a ruminal drinker, but that hasn't seemed to have much effect.  We have given her activated charcoal, in case of toxins, we thought it helped at first, but now seems to be hit and miss.  We gave her mineral oil in case she is indeed eating the plastic that is wrapped around the bales that comprise her pen.  She ate well tonight, but I think that was because she knew we would bother her more if she didn't.  Still not sure what to do with her, but we are praying and hoping that she gets better.  We also have to get a tuber with a stainless steel tube on it, because she ruined my two with flexible plastic tubes by chomping on them.  It is discouraging to do everything that is within your knowledge and power to do and have it still not be enough.

(4-28-2013:  I reread this and I wanted to add something.  Yes, we get discouraged by sick baby calves, calving problems with the cows, and equipment breakdowns.  BUT that is why we put our trust in Jesus Christ, who is the Author and finisher of our faith, because we have heaven to look forward to.   Even when things are discouraging, I must remind myself that even in this, God is still in control.  No matter what this is, it is not out of His control, and that gives me comfort.  He is never surprised and He is never not in control.  Though I may wish circumstances were sometimes different, I will still choose to praise His holy name.  I will still choose to give thanks.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus."
~Philippians 4:4-7

I strive for the peace of Christ.  Things can be going smoothly, but man may not have peace, and things could be going horribly, but I know that Christ is my rock, and the anchor in the storm.  He will hold fast any who call upon His name for the salvation of your souls.

It sounds really preachy, I know, but turning to Christ is how we hold it together when mountains seem to enormous for us to climb.  We don't always react the way we should right away, but when we take a deep breath and remember Who is actually in control, it allows us to step back and have peace.)

Well, I need to go to bed, but I will be back.

Blessings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory and honor forever, Amen.