Feeding Time

We are about 1/3 done with calving.  We run just over 300 females, so have about 100 calves running around.  We have had 3 sets of twins.  They add extra work because we need to make sure both calves are getting to eat enough, make sure the cow has enough milk for both calves, and that she loves both calves.

The first set are still together with their mom.   The second set was born to a heifer (first calving).   It is hard on the cow feeding two calves so Brett fed them some milk replacer to supplement the cow's milk.  We then had a cow who's calf died so we moved one of these twins onto that cow.  Lucky for everyone, that foster project was successful.

Just a couple of days ago, Christopher took a cow to the veterinarian as she was having trouble calving.   It turned out that her calf was breech.  The vet got it turned around and delivered - only to find a second calf in there!!   Thus, our third set of twins.  This set is unusual as one is black with white face and the other is red with a white face.  This cow is a black white face (happens to be Black Angus / Hereford cross).  She was bred by an Akaushi bull.  This breed has both the black and the red trait.   So, obviously, this is how one cow had calves of each color.  They are all doing fine.

Just when Brett thought he might be done bottle feeding, he found an orphan calf.  We cannot find who the mom is.  The guys walked around the herd with no luck.  We finally decided it must be a twin and the cow just walked away from it with her other calf.  However, when you have 5-10 calves born in one day it is difficult to figure out the mom.   So, Brett has a new bottle calf.  Here is the little sweetie.

When Brett is going into the barn, this little guy starts moo-ing for his bottle!  It is so excited that it doesn't even want to quit sucking to breath!!  

Here Brett is feeding his little buddy.  The calf drinks so fast that some of the milk runs out.   Fluffy, the cat, has figured this out so is always nearby for a little snack!

Busy Night

3 AM, 22 March 2015 -  Temp:  23*, wind: strong and cold

Well it has been an exciting night here.  On my usual 3 AM check I found a cow in labor.  I go back to the house and wait for about an hour as I know it will take her a while yet.  I went out later and she had made no progress.  I call Brett (son) to come help me get her into the big, red barn.  In the meantime I try to get her to stand up.  She couldn't stand - at least not for long.  Her back end is weak.  So, Brett brings the equipment down to the pole barn so we can pull the calf there.  I call Christopher (other son, owner of cow) to come out to the farm - and warn him that we might need the pickup and stock trailer.  Brett does an internal check of the cow.  Bad news, the calf is backwards (coming tail first, legs down). Call Mark (hubby) to come and help.  (I have a love/hate relationship with my cell phone currently it is love.)  Good news, just as Christopher shows up, Brett got the cow up and she walked!   The 'boys' got her up to the red barn and I carried the puller, etc. back up there.  All four humans gather in the barn.  The cow is in a small pen with a head gate to hold her in one spot.  Brett puts on fresh OB gloves (shoulder length) and goes in for another check and explains to us what he feels.  Oh no, the cow sits down (like a dog).   Christopher releases her from the head gate and she rolls onto her side.  This is not ideal for assisting with delivery.  After both Brett and Mark try to get the calf turned enough to get the legs back, they give up.  (Note, they are attempting to work inside of the cow while she is have contractions.)  Christopher takes his cow to the veterinarian in Minot (about 45 miles away).   We don't know if the vet will be able to pull the calf out or if she will have to do a c-section.  

It is now 5:30 AM.  Brett takes the 4-wheeler up to check cows again.   It has only been a little over an hour since I was up there to check them.   He comes back home to get me and our calf sled.   There is one new calf and another should be born when we get back up there.

Sure enough.  We now have two fresh calves and cows to get back to the red barn.  We leave the newest calf for last so mom has time to clean and get to know it.  Brett gets the calf into the sled (large version of the sleds kids have).  We bring the pair back to the barn.   Brett puts the calf into the calf warmer.   This is a special space with a heater in it.  We want to warm the calf up so it doesn't get sick or freeze it's ears off.

We go back up to get the other pair and bring them back to the barn.

It is now 6:40 AM.  We are chilled and wide awake.   It is common that we have to sit up for a while after being out at night.  So, now we watch a bit of TV, play on the computer or just curl up in a blanket - and wait for Christopher to get home with a report on his cow and calf.

7:40 AM - Christopher just returned home from the vet.  Sadly, the calf did not survive.

The rest of the day will consist of continuing to check cattle and trying to get a few minutes for a nap!

Calving Season 2015 has begun

Calving season has begun at Rockeman Herefords.  As of this morning we have 10 calves - only 310 or so to go!

As I have stated on here before, I have the night shift.  For the 30 years that Mark & I have been married it has been my shift.  I go out around 3 AM to check the herd.  My three guys check the rest of the time (I do help sometimes).  We are not strict with this schedule - sometimes it is worse.   For example, we had a few nights this week when the overnight temperature was 15 below or colder AND windy.  Those nights we checked every hour or two.  Newborn calves could freeze their ears and lose them - or worse, freeze their hooves and never be able to walk - or even worse, freeze to death.  Another reason we need to check on the herd throughout the day and night is to make sure none of the females are having trouble with their delivery.  There are times when the rancher(s) need to assist with the delivery or have a veterinarian help.  As you can see, calving season is a full time job (24/7) for everyone here.

This morning I happened to also take the 7 AM check.  The sun was just coming up.   The moon just going down.  I just had to grab my camera.

Moon setting

It is a beautiful morning.  There is very little wind and the temp is about 24 above.  As I walk out to the barnyard, I have a fluffy cat join me and a couple of dogs checking out everything.  I heard coyotes howling to the south/southwest (not a good thing).  The first 'girls' I checked were just enjoying the sunshine while laying out on the straw covered hill.   (The straw works like a blanket on the ground to help keep the cattle warm.)

Some of the cattle enjoying the sunshine.

The cattle can also go into a barn.  As I was checking the cattle on the hillside, I could hear a soft moo-ing sound coming from the barn.   I was certain I would find a newborn calf in there - or a female calving.  Sure enough, I looked around the corner into the barn and I found this.

1304 had her baby

 The calf was up and walking around.  Mom was keeping a close watch.  (The 'stuff' at the cow's rear end is the afterbirth process taking place.)  

checking the girls in the pole barn too

There were other moms-to-be in the barn too.  No more babies, so back to the house I can go.

We will move the new pair up to another barn to be with other new moms and calves.   We like to get them in where we can watch them closer and they will be warmer.   We feel it is important to watch them closer when it is their first calf (that is who is calving now at our place).  We need to make sure the calf is being mothered (loved by mom) and gets that colostrum (first milk with the extra antibodies).

Later we will give each calf it's name - an ear tag with it's individual number.  I have written about the various jobs we do after a calf is born including record keeping, weighing and tagging.

Excitement in a Night Check? Some might call it that.

Sometimes those night checks are so exciting because we have lots of calves born.   Sometimes, they are exciting because no calves are born (especially on those stormy nights).  And sometimes those night checks are exciting and it has absolutely nothing to do with the livestock!   Such was the case last night.

The checks have been somewhat easy as I only have to walk out beside the barn to check one pen then drive up north.   During that drive I use as spot light to look for the 1/2 mile drive at the cattle in the pasture along the road.   It can be tricky but in the nearly 30 years I've done it I have not yet driven off the road!  I didn't last night either.  (Here is the image:  spotlight and head hanging out window of jeep driving slowly down township road.)

Last night however there were a few cattle up on the hill across the little creek.  I had to make a trek over there.   We had a little rain a couple of days ago so things are nice and sloppy out there.   I was nervous about going over there.  As it turned out I was right to feel that way.

I was carefully watching where I would step.  One foot got stuck.   I got it out.  So I continued on.     Carefully, carefully, ca.r.e.f.u.l.ll  Oh no.   I could hear the suction.  Yep, one foot got stuck.  I could not pull it out - well I could pull my foot out but not my boot. Try again.  Same result.  What to do?  Call someone for help?  Why?   So they could laugh?  (Heck, I'd be laughing if I weren't short of breath!)  After a few unsuccessful attempts, I took my gloves off, laid them on the ground so I had a place to put my foot.  I then tried to pull the boot out with my hands.   There was not way I could get that darn boot out.  Remember there are still those few head of cattle I am attempting to go check on.

Heck with them.  I shove my flashlight into my stuck boot.  (Looking back I'm not sure why.  I think it was to make sure my guys would find the boot later plus it would keep the cow manure out!) 

The flashlight and my buried boot

 I pick up my gloves and take off  back to the yard.  One boot off, one boot on, diddle dumpling ....

Good thing I wasn't wearing socks anyway!!

I still had to make the drive up north to check cattle.  Everything was okay.   When I drove back into the yard, I used my spot light to look at those cattle up on that hill.

Today Mark & Brett were out tagging calves so they got my boot and the flashlight.  Mark said it took some pretty good tugging to get that boot out.  They got the 4 wheeler stuck near that same spot too!

My salvaged Muck boot

the 4 wheeler stuck in about the same spot as my boot

Editor's note:   I was not able to upload this when I wanted to due to troubles with Blogger so I will add an update.   Brett told me of a better way to get to the cattle that are up on that hill.   I did that tonight and by golly it was WAY better! 

New Life on the Ranch

Last night the guys had to help a heifer (one of the females that has never had a baby before) deliver her calf. She had been laboring for quite a while and, like some of us women, she just needed some assistance.  All went well with that.  Mark asked me to check on momma and baby when I checked cattle on my shift in the night (remember the 3 am check?).  So, at 3 am I went into the barn and found the two of them snuggled up close together.  Mom got up right away but baby didn't care that I was around.  I stood 'her' up.  I wanted to see if the calf had suckled (eaten) yet.  It is very important that the calf get colostrum (the first milk) in the first few hours as that milk from the cow has important nutrients to keep the calf alive and healthy.  I sometimes can tell if the calf has sucked by looking at the cows utter, but that is not always accurate.  This was one of the times I was not so sure.

So, I enjoyed the time of watching this Hereford calf run around the pen.  I thought about a name for 'her'.  Oops, I got a peek under the tail area and could see it for sure it was not a 'her' IT was a HE.  Shoot, I was going to name 'her' Nami, but now have to call it Dan!!   You see we'd gotten a 'Flat Nami' in our email about the same time this fella was born so I thought it would be fun to name the calf after her for her school project  (like the 'Flat Stanley' many of us have done before).  Instead we will have to use her Dad's name!!

Anyway, the calf skipped and jumped and slipped.  He ran and Mom sniffed and mooed at him.  Maybe she was telling him to settle down and eat?!  He played some more, peeked under mom.   Then he laid down for a bit and Mom came to lick him off a bit more (that is a cow's way of cleaning her calf off and her way of getting used to his smell so she recognizes her own calf).  She made him stand up and eat too!

So, after about thirty minutes of enjoying this bonding time I got to see this:

Dan's First Meal

I had a chance to get a photo of the calf  - now known as Dan - with Flat Nami:

I think Dan might be wanting to give Nami a kiss!!

Sounds of the Night Shift

Back in the 'old days' - before Facebook & blogging - I used to send out emails to family and friends during my 3 AM cattle checks.  I would report on the previous few days or the weather or whatever was on my mind (& sometimes it didn't make any sense because I was too tired but HAD to stay up!).  Since Facebook, I have not done that very much.  So, I thought it was time to report again!  

The sounds on my shift tonight were so pleasant that I just have to share about them.

First, I wake up to the radio playing "I'll by Missing You".   So, that song is stuck in my head as I walk around checking the cattle.   (Lucky for all, I don't sing it out loud!)

First step out of the door of the house and I hear the jingling dog tags on Odie.  There is no wind which is perhaps one of my favorite sounds.   The sound of NO wind that is.  The temp is about 30 above so there is only a slight bit of ice on any water that had been running during the day.  The mud has just a little crunch to it from freezing on the top layer.  A train is heard off in the distance.  I walk down a little hill to check the heifers (those who have never had a calf before).  Clang, clink, clunk.  The sound of taking the chain off and on to get through the gate.  I hear, and see, a few 'girls' chewing on some hay.  Others chewing their cud.  Ahh, the sweet sound of a new momma resting with her baby as if to say, "Look at my baby, isn't it the best?".  She has the nicest, softest little "Moo" - almost like a whisper so not to wake the baby, but enough to get my attention.

The rustling of straw as I walk around the pen of heifers.  They sure have settled down since I started this shift the end of February!  Then they would get up and run, now I could snuggle right in with them!

A flock of geese must be flying over as I can hear the 'honking'.    I just hope they are headed north.

I crawl over the fence (there may or may not be a couple of human noises here) and climb up the hill to check on one lone cow.  Heavy panting sounds from the overweight human are heard.   Again, the quiet moo of a new momma cow.  Back down the hill, crunching ice as I cross the little stream of water.  Do you hear the babbling?   There is a little waterfall here too.

Up a little hill, over another fence and further up a hill.  Yes, the human is panting again!  Oops, a little calf is running around without the cow nearby.  It says hello, "Moo" in it's little voice then comes over to me.  "I am not your mom.  Go find your mom.", I tell the calf.  It is a cute little Hereford baby.

I climb through the feed manger and walk to the Jeep.  A bit of crunching of the thin ice and slightly frozen mud can be heard.  I can also hear two owls visiting with each other.  "Who-who-Who" followed by "Who".  (I never hear the 't' sound so I think they say 'who' not 'hoot'!)

Crunk, Bang.  The sound of the Jeep door opening (it has a few dings in it so the door hits the fender when you open it.).  Click.  rattle.  Click.  It won't start.  clunk.  (put it Neutral)  Vroom!  (okay, not really, but you know what I mean - the thing started!)  The crunching sounds of the ice bits again.  Roll down the window.   Now the crunching sounds of driving on a gravel road.   Banging around trying to get the spot light out the window - and plugged in to the lighter spot.  I drive along slowly using the spot light to check the cattle as I drive the half mile to the north.  I really don't hear much except the gravel and an occasional cow talking.  (Lucky for me, tonight I didn't even hear the coyotes.   Guess they were happy about no wind too.)

I turn around and come back home.  Tonight I leave the window down on the drive back too as it is so nice out.  I take time to enjoy the lights of Minot Air Force Base, the glow of the lights from the city of Minot and the dark sky so full of stars.  

Back in the yard, two dogs are excited to see me.  They growl and play with each other.  Their dog tags are jingling.  The third dog is waiting at the door.   They all want in the house.   "It is too nice outside.  You guys stay out."  *sounds of scooping dog food*  (I don't know how to describe that!)   clink, clink, clink as the dog food is put into three dishes outside.    Water is running to fill their water dish.  I need to tell them, "no", as I come into the house because Rufus still wants to come in.

There you have it.  The sounds from my cattle check.  It is so nice to have beautiful weather - with NO wind.

Sunny Saturday

I went for a walk on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful spring-like weather we were having.  I snapped a couple of photos to share with you.

All three dogs walked with me.  These two belong to Christopher & Paige.  They are named Odie (white one) and Eli.  This stick was so big it took both dogs to carry it I guess!  Our dog, Rufus, was a bit camera shy. 

 

The cattle are enjoying the nice day.  We are lucky to have this coulee to feed them in as it provides a lot of protection from the wind.

Busy week of deliveries

It was a week of nice deliveries.  I don't mean Christmas gifts either!

Brett purchased a Peterbilt semi about 10 days ago.  He utilized on-line bidding. The auction was taking place in Fargo, ND during a nasty storm.  He purchased it on a Wednesday.  Mark & I were heading that way that weekend so we were able to bring it home to him.  He was pretty excited - until he started to really look it over!  There are just a few things that need repair. 

A couple of looks of the semi tractor.  The second one shows a smiling Brett!

Getting things hooked up.

 

Mark & I purchased a different loader tractor last week.  It was delivered here this week.

We purchased a New Holland T6050.  It isn't brand new so it is just 'new' to us. 

 

Mark is backing up to help pull the 'new' semi that spun on the snow until it was hooked up to a trailer.  It just needed some weight for traction!

Both of my guys were up at the feedlot when they needed the tractor,

so I was asked to drive it up north.  My first time driving it. 

 

So, our last 10 days

Wednesday of last week Brett bought semi. 

Thursday - Mark & I drove to Williston to look at this tractor. 

Friday - Mark & I drove to Fargo to try to get Brett's semi (it was too cold to get it started) so we drove to Valley City were we had meetings and a room to stay. 

Saturday - we drove back to Fargo, purchased some supplies and got the semi to start.  We came home.  Thus starting the deliveries!

 

Well, that is an update of our last couple of weeks.  I got a new camera last week and it was used to take these photos.  So far I like the Panasonic FZ200 camera too.

 

Fall's Work

We have completed our harvest.  The last crop in was the corn. We had all of our corn chopped for silage.  Christopher's corn was combined.  It was wet but will be rolled (cracked) to be fed to the cattle in the feedlot. 

We have weaned all of the calves.  We do this in a multiple step process.  I thought I had written about it before, but I guess not.  I will have to try to do it next year.  Anyway, weaning, as you probably can guess, is when the calves and cows are separated so the calf will no longer nurse the cow.  We now have the calves in the feedlot.

Our cattle have been enjoying fall grazing.  There are some grazing a barley field and others are in the corn, pea & canola fields.  After we harvest these crops there is still some waste.  There are ears of corn & pea pods laying in the fields that fell off the plant for some reason, the barley & canola seeds that did the same and have now started growing again making for lush, green grazing.  This is a great way to add value to the crop (that would have otherwise been wasted) and to extend the amount of time that we do not have to feed them hay.  We did get a couple of inches of snow Saturday/Saturday night but that was not enough to end this "aftermath grazing".    Some of the snow has settled away and I hope for a bit of sunshine to take care of the rest that is out in the open areas. 

The men have been busy working on fence repair. There are some new fences being built and others are mended.  Some of this fence was around a field of Sudan Grass that was planted as a cover crop (to help dry out soil that did not get planted in the spring).  We had to wait until after November 1 (government regulation) to utilize this crop.  We plan to let the cattle graze this field as another way to help preserve our winter hay supply.  Our hay supply is a little short this year due to all of the rain we've had.  Most years we can cut hay in sloughs (marshy ponds) and get quite a bit of hay, but this year they still had water in them. 

The forecast sounds like the ground will freeze up this week.  Once that happens we will get busy hauling the hay and straw home.  

No photos this time, but it was time for a farm update instead of Andy!!

Sunday Scenery

Okay, I know this is being posted on a Thursday.  I am a little slow, but the photos were taken on Sunday.

This past Sunday we moved about 130 cow/calf pairs and 4 bulls home from their summer pasture.  They had been out on the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge for the summer.  It is a beautiful location which I had never visited before. 

The refuge headquarters are about 35 miles away from our place.  We had four stocktrailers for hauling cattle.  Three of them are shown here.  Each trailer took at least 4 loads.

The cattle were happy in their pasture.  Here a few are resting before we put them in the working corral.  This pasture had our black cows with their calves (most of them whitish, some black).  Our black cows are bred by Charolais bulls.  Charolais bulls are white.  The calves grow up to be great feeder calves and then beef for you!

 

This is the working corral that we rented.  We could move the panels around to make one huge pen or two pens of varying size.  We had two pens plus the built-in alley way.  One pen was smaller so we could load the trailers and the other, larger, pen kept us well stocked (no pun intended) with more cattle to load. 

 

On the drive to their new pasture, I saw these two adult moose.  The photo is not great as it was with my cell phone but I just had to share!  These moose were only about three miles from our place.  Some trips when I went past they were laying down in this soy bean field. 

 

This was the view out my window.  (Before you discipline me for taking photos while driving you need to know I have already gotten a tongue lashing from our 22 year old son.)  In this photo you can see a cow nose peeking out of the trailer (sometimes it was an ear), the oil wells that are now plentiful just west of us and the green grass.  Green grass is rare this time of year. 

Then there was this crazy thing.  A couple of weeks ago C&P were out checking cattle along with her parents and saw this sheep in with our cattle.  It is not ours.  We think he was a stray and was just happy to find company as he has been with our cattle ever since.  Poor guy has not been sheered in a few years.  We'd like to find the rightful owner, but in the meantime we have a woolly cow!

 

Farm Centennial Celebration

WOW!!  What a weekend.  We were very busy but had so much fun.

We had grilled burgers and salads.

What's a party without the cake?

... and cake without ice cream?

Some of the visiting and story telling ...

Special guests from Hector, Minnesota

They are more photos of the day on our Farm Centennial FaceBook Page. 

Thank you to everyone who helped, attended and sent well wishes. 

Ranching is a nursery rhyme?

Today I felt like I was part of a nursery rhyme - specifically "There was an old lady who swallowed a Fly".  You know how it goes, right?

Well, here was today's version at NoDak Herefords  (minus the rhyme since I don't have that talent) ...

There was a herd of Herefords who were ready to move to the next pasture...

It was easy to move them.  Mark just had to open the gate and they eagerly moved to this pasture with grass up past their bellies and water almost everywhere!

The trouble was - the fence needed to be repaired to hold them in.  (We don't know why they would need out with all of this grass, but history tells us they will!)  We have had so much rain this spring that we are unable to drive around this pasture with our usual fencing pickup.  We also use our 4 wheeler for that job and have rigged it up to haul a roll of barbed wire along with a basket to hold supplies such as fencing staples and clips.  So, today Mark took off with the 4 wheeler to fence.  Brett used the loader tractor to haul fence posts and installed a few of them.  I was "on call" should they need extra help.

I don't know why he thought he could drive through this area ...  (guess he thought he could float)

Notice how the cows are in the background keeping an eye on him.

 

 So, he called Brett to bring the tractor to pull him out.  Brett in turned called me to bring out chain, rope and other "pulling out" supplies.  I met Brett along a prairie trail to get the supplies to him.  He took off across the field.  I noticed him spinning but he kept going, got on the trail and found a sodded area to travel on.  He got down to his Dad's location and got everything ready to pull when, oops...

guess it was a little wet there too!  Could it be because he was just on the edge of the same slough as his father?!

Sunk axle deep and spinning.  They had to call me again to bring a bigger tractor. 

I don't have a photo of the set up with the bigger tractor so I will explain.   The cattle are still watching this operation!  The 4 wheeler is tied to the loader tractor.  The loader tractor is tied to the big tractor.  Mark was stranded on the 4 wheeler (since he was surrounded by water).  I drove the loader tractor and Brett pulled all of us out with the big tractor.  What a sight!

 

SO, we drove the big tractor to pull the loader tractor to pull the 4 wheeler.  I don't know why the 4 wheeler thought it could get through the water.

 

 

Week 17/52: Dental day and Calving 2013 (Part 2)

This week Mark asked me if I realize that Andy is NOT human!  Well, duh, of course I know that but it is way more fun to treat him kind of like a human.  My guys just laugh at me and this Andy photography project that I have going this year.  I think they should just be happy they are not the subject on a weekly basis!

Great news since last week's post - we've had warmth and sunshine.  I glanced over at the park on my way from church on Sunday and noticed the snow was almost all gone!  That would make Andy happy.  Yes, I plan to have a photo of him playing - oops, pretending to play - there this summer.

That same sunshine and warmth melted snow around our place too.  Today the wind is blowing about 50 miles per hour so that will dry things out too - except for when the snow falls.  Yes, we had a few mini blizzards today (and I don't mean the Dairy Queen kind of blizzard).

Calving has been steady.  It will start slowing down now but we have had good luck for the most part.  We've had 5 sets of twins born - with only one of the 10 dead.  Twins really are a pain since most cows do not produce enough milk for two calves to grow the way we'd like them to.  We have found foster cows for one twin from each set.  These foster cows might have had a calf born dead or for whatever reason it died later.  Because the cow was still producing milk, we put one of the twins on her.  This process is not always easy, but we got lucky this year.  We are just over 80% done calving so have about 40 cows left to calve.

Back to Andy ...

Andy went along with me to the dentist recently.  Dr. Maercklein tried to take a little look - but you can see how that went! 

Calving 2013 (Part 1?)

We will pretend that I fulling intend on writing more about calving season and call this entry "Part One"!! 

I just don't think I have shared anything about calving this year.  It is basically the same every year, but still, it is our business so I should share something, right?

Today I was helping Brett with some of the chores so I snapped a few photos to share.

This little guy would "graze" inside of the bale feeder for a while then jump out to wander for a while and then go back in the bale feeder!  For a little while he even was chewing on the twine string that is hanging from the feeder.  It is fun to watch these young ones at play!  In a few months he will be quite big and we will have him for sale as a bull.  Maybe I will remember to post a photo when he is bigger and for sale - remember 0735A  (that is his number).

This guy entertained me for a while (it doesn't take much when one is running on little sleep!).  He kept grabbing his tail to chew on!  Calves have sharp teeth so I would have thought it might hurt, but perhaps it was more sucking than biting!  He should go find his mom to eat -  not his tail.

Here are two of the dogs that run around at NoDak Herefords.  Eli is the black one and Lori is the white one.  Eli belongs to Christopher and Paige but he spends most of his time at the ranch (especially during calving season because he gets so dirty & stinky!).  Lori is our White German Shepard.  She loves attention from anyone and everyone.  She has gone deaf in the past few months but still enjoys running around and playing - especially with Eli.

0520A was born just minutes before I snapped this photo.  This was the first time it had stood up so it was maybe 15 minutes old.  In this photo the calf is looking for mom's udder to get some of the very important first milk called colostrum.  Colostrum is vital in the newborn calf if it does not get any it likely will not survive.  Colostrum contains the antibodies the baby needs to grow "big and strong".

Well, that was a little bit about what happens on the ranch at calving time.  I don't take photos of the routine stuff - like putting bales in the bale feeder or feeding silage.  I suppose I should really do that sometime too.  If you ever have any questions about what we do here or something I have written about, feel free to ask and I will do my best to explain things to you.  Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to leave a note so I know you were here.

Week 13/52: Easter

For Easter, Andy was hangin' with his Peeps!!

Our family enjoyed church this morning and a meal with the Rockeman family.  Oh, and much laughter!  Of course, since it is calving season, there was a slight delay in eating.  We had a new calf who could not figure out how to eat.  So, the guys made sure the calf ate before them.  This evening they are out tagging calves.  Though it is a holiday, the routine must continue.

Week 9/52: Andy & the blizzard

We have been warned about an incoming storm so had been doing things to prepare.  We tucked a young momma and her twin calves into the barn, put extra straw into the barns so there is a nice, comfy spot for the cattle to lay and tried to mentally prepare for trudging through deep, blowing snow.  (Okay, my guys did the first two things and I did the last!)

The storm didn't come quite as soon as expected but the weather folks were correct about the storm a-comin'.  By the time I went out to see if there were any new calves at 3 AM it was snowing and starting to blow.  When I went out again at 6, it was really blowing.  I had sent a text to Christopher and told him to stay home (he lives in our little nearby town).  He usually is out here at 5 or 6 AM to check cattle but today I asked that he stay put at least until daylight.  He & Paige came out later to tend to their horses and help with cattle chores.  The visibility actually kept getting worse.  Sometimes we can see quite a distance, but the ground drifting is terrible making the roads bad.  Plus, it is very hard to see the edges of the roads when everything is white and moving.  Brett had to help Christopher & Paige get "unstuck" a couple of times after they decided they had better get back home.  After Brett was back home, he said, "I watched for the fences to find the road."  He made sure he could see the fence in either ditch but even that was tricky sometimes.  Anyway, everybody got to their respective destinations safely.

Andy went to see the blizzard and didn't even get the screen door open when he found this.

Guess that is what happens then the wind is blowing straight at the door.  Lucky for us the inside door is tight!

I went to the other door and could hardly get the screen door open.  Here are a couple of photos from that door (I wasn't going out into this mess unless I had to). 



















 

The visibility in the yard isn't too bad right now.  Heck, we've had blizzards so bad that we couldn't see the barn. 

Week 8/52: Andy makes friends

If you have been following my blog you know that calving has begun at NoDak Herefords.  You also know that I have been participating in a 52 Week Project where each week I submit a photo with Raggedy Andy in it.  This week Andy finally visited the barn.  He found out that the straw (hay that is on the floor of the pen to help keep it warm) looks like his hair!! 

He made two new friends today. 

This calf was especially snuggly.

(Because we sell bulls, I was told to tell you that this calf has a brother for sale.  Give us a call if you are interested.)

This calf was born just a few hours before this photo was taken. 

Andy tried to ride this bull until he realized he is too flexible and could not sit up!  (Andy is too flexible, not the bull!)

I will be sharing this with Farm Photo Friday

COLD

We are having quite a cold snap here in northern Dakota.  Last night the overnight low was something near minus 35 degrees.  Today's high was about minus 5 degrees.  Tonight it could be about minus 20.  Now these are air temps, any bit of wind makes the wind chill (feels like temp) worse.  Last night they said the wind chill was about minus 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since we are calving now we need to be walking through the cattle herd occasionally.  When it is this cold we are checking every two hours.  What are we checking for?  Well, we are looking for newborn calves or females showing signs of labor.  If there is a fresh calf we need to get the cow/calf pair into the barn and put the calf in a specially built box with a heater so we can warm the little "guy" up.  If they are too cold they could freeze off part or all of their ears or tail or even have damage to their hooves/feet  OR  they could die.  If a female is showing signs of labor then we try to get her into the barn so she has her calf inside (saving moving a calf and it is warmer).  If anything is calving (in labor), then we check on them more frequently until they have their calf.

During the average temps, we will check every 3-4 hours and I take the middle of the night check (about 3 AM).  With this weather, we are taking turns checking.  Tonight (rather tomorrow AM) I will be checking at 3 & 5.  I usually take the night shift because it is easier for me to get back to sleep AND because the men are busy with other chores during the day while I can (hopefully) catch a nap.

I have written about my night checks before in case you are interested in my experience/thoughts from a previous year.

The Fotos by Friends group that I am in has a photo topic of  'Cold' this week.  I thought I would share a couple of the photos that I took that fit the topic.

Here are a bunch of horses.  Some of them have moved here from southern USA so they are not yet accustomed to the cold.  Paige will put a coat on them to help keep them warm.  The ones without coats have lived in the north country forever so they are already toughened up!!

I like the turtle shell coat on this one!  It makes me smile every time I see it.  You can see we have been getting snow during this cold snap too as it has settled onto the backs of the horses.