Cryin in my Crown N Pepper

Well, we lost the calf. : ( Not for lack of trying!! We got her in the headgate and pulled. Then we got out the calf jack. Sorry, no pictures. I was covered in fluid and blood. So no camera, besides we were too busy. This angus heifer just had NO pelvic area! We worked on her for about an hour. 45 min into it, the calf quit breathing. You can coach a woman and MAKE her push. Or you can push on her stomach. You can't MAKE a heifer push, and you can't push her calf out for her. And this heifer just quit trying!!

We finally got the calf out, and along with it came a glob. We took the calf inside the house and worked on it for about 15 min. We breathed for it (yes, mouth to mouth) and drained its lungs (hung it upside down) and pumped its heart. No dice. We worked and worked and worked. Nothing. So, we both spat out the fluid from our mouths and "called it quits". We weighed the calf, only 74.5 pounds. Not that big. Heifer should have had her easily. We took the calf back outside to have the heifer lick her off and mother her (yes, the calf was a nice heifer). The heifer was still laying down. A good amount of blood behind her, uh oh. Honey felt in her hooey, and pulled out two big globs, of FAT. We estimated all the globs (including the first one) to be about 5 pounds. WRONG! Just Wrong! A heifer should not put that much fat into her uterus! That means that she was too fat to calve, and most of our calving issues were due to the fat. Hmmm.

Got her in the barn and she laid back down and started mothering the (dead) calf. Good. Just hope she doesn't bleed out. Honey made a call and we will have a (reputable) bottle calf in the AM to replace hers. We will skin the dead calf and put the skin on the new one to get the heifer (now cow) to mother the new one. Honey has this neat little trick to skin a dead calf and keep the anus intact, so you just stick the live tail thru it and tie a string around the neck (live calf) and into the hide. That way the skin will stay on pretty good for at least a week. I know its gory, but its the truth, and it IS useful info to a cattleman(woman).

So, I hope she(the cow) makes it thru the night. And we can at least graft a calf on her, cause she has a really good udder.

But, that doesn't mean I'm not sad and upset (and feeling my Crown n Pepper, wait I poured a full glass, and still have half of a can of pepper left, oh well, I'll sleep well till midnight check). If it were any other heifer, she should have had this calf VERY easily. And it did look like a good heifer.

So, now that we have gotten that out of the way (loosing a calf) for the YEAR, I'll sign off and go to bed. Yup, at 7pm. Honey has the kids snuggling and watching Hannah Montana.

Thank God for Midwives, Doula's and Hospitals! I'm glad my last 2 children were in the prescence of these! Heifer should have had a C-section, and the vet that does them was at least 2 hours away.

We've Got FEET!!!

Just got home from taking Squeak to the Dr. And sending the Freegrazers home at a run (Rosie LOVES her job). Stopped in the barn to check heifers, while on the phone to my sister, and screamed in her ear, "We've got Feet!, gotta go".

I know, we live on a cattle ranch, and these things are supposed to happen. BUT, it's the first one of the year, and we bought her, and I'm really excited and nervous! So, I went in the house to fold laundry. Nothing like something mundane and annoying to get your mind off the subject. But, I will be back outside checking her in another half hour....

I have no clue how you midwives and doula's stay so calm and are so wonderful! I am as nervous as a cat on ice! So, I will check her every half hour, and see if I can help her stretch when the time comes. Then I'll help take care of the calf. I might even try to take some pics. The one at the top shows how long I have to wait,..... a LONG time.

BTW - Calving is 506T (44 from Juli's sale) She is a SPA Blackbird 1407 (angus) bred to Gigolo Joe (Maine Anjou) and was due 2-9-09. This should be a very exciting halfblood Mainetainer calf!

Dam Freegrazers!

Name that movie! - No offense to those that live in freegrazing states. But we don't; we live in IOWA. You are supposed to have fences. And you are supposed to CLOSE the gates to keep your cows in. AND it would help if you actually fed them and chopped ICE, so they would have water. Ahh, I feel a little better.

Apparently, we live in a freegrazing area of the county. NO ONE keeps their cows in their fences. And the latest and most frequent to our house, cattle visitors, are "owned" by our county assessor. He lives 1 mile north and 1 mile east. Down a Level B road. [A level B is basically a dirt road, that is maintained 2 times a year, wait then our main road to our house should be a Level B].

The cows have been out since 3 or so, and Honey did call to let him know. And, SO HELP ME, if those cows are on my hay pile when I go out at midnight to check heifers.... The dogs will get a workout and "I'll scatter them to the 4 winds" (can't help it, once I get on that movie, I can quote it all night). No really, Rosie has been so penned up (with the pups) she is itching to work, or just chase something!! She was begging me all night as I chored with those big blue/brown eyes and begging "pllllleeeeaaaaseeee, come ON, they're not in a pen, we gotta go get um! Ruf!" circle spin, run to the road circle spin! IF any of you have aussie's or working dogs, you get the idea.

She KNEW they weren't supposed to be there and she just HAD to put them away. So, after an hour or so, I walked to the road and said "SKOOO" (that's her word to move the cows away, and bite if they aren't going). You would have thought that dog won the Lotto! She took off, barked for her pups (the 9 month olds) to get up here and took off. At this point, the freegrazing cows were 1/4 mile north of our land and headed towards us at a trot, 'cause I had been feeding our heavy cows. Well Rosie and the others turned em! She stopped them, turned them East (took a good direction from me after waiting to see which way I wanted them). She even called off pretty easily considering they were so far from me when she got them turned. She brought the pups back and was praised to high heaven!! She even tried to show her pups that my praise was a good thing. She danced on her hind legs and pranced and was SOOO excited! I wish everyone could love their jobs as much as Rosie and I do!

Still can't figure out whose nuts stink. It doesn't smell as bad, but there is a faint odor. So, tomarrow, I'll put them in the alleyway and check nuts to see if we need to re-band one, or doctor someone. Yes, I consider all my animals people. They all have their own personalities and feelings.

Today was a good day. Got off to a slightly rough start. Honey went out to hook up my truck to my pig trailer (so sweet!) and 2 mares were waiting in the yard for him. I hustled outside and we gently led them to the pen. One, wasn't a broke mare, but she was tame. The other was our one-eyed mare. As soon as Tasha could hear me, she turned her pretty little head and let me take her back to the pen. I knew the gate they had knocked over, and wired it up right this time.

Hauled my piggies, and arrived home after noon. Squeak still doesn't feel good, so we fussed and fretted till he passed out with me at 3. I snuck out of the house when the girls got home at four and started choring. While the waters were filling, I moved some more tin for my "real" round pen. The pen we made the other day is about 56' x 56', and looks like we will have it filled with cows/heifers for the next several months. So, I hope to build a 30' ROUND pen this weekend. I want it small for slow work with some colts.

Honey got home, and kids were still doing great, so we hooked up a new bale unroller on the tractor. (as soon as I figure out how to get them off my phone, you'll have pictures). I went out and honked the cows up. [Imagine a crazy lady in a painted up, dented up old crew cab pickup, driving out through the pasture honking her horn and calling "come baaaaassssss, um baaaassss"] I brought the cows up to the new hay and fed them a little corn. They love the taste, and were chasing me the last 60 acres! It was all I could do to keep from bouncing out of my seat, and staying infront of the cows, so I could cross the creekbed first! Honey drove the farm pick up to work and the seat was all "messed up". You have to remember he is 6'4" and I am 5' 0" and we keep our seats as opposite as you can make em, so it takes me a while to get the seat "right".

I came in the house, and to my suprise, he was cooking! AND, he had the girls picking up the house, squeak was getting fed, and there was no yelling or whining! WOW, what a man! He does supprise me sometimes, and it was wonderful for them to all help pickup the house since I had been so lacking today, with my pigs and a fussy one. AHH, I love my honey.

Seriously, has anyone guessed that movie yet??? It's my current favorite, and has been for a while.


One other odd tidbit, I just put Pomegranate & Mango Chipotle Sauce on one of our chairs. A pup has been chewing, and I didn't have any tabasco (must have used it on tales when the colts were chewing) and this sauce really heats up your mouth. But it is good, so I didn't waste the whole bottle.

Night y'all, I'm headed for a nap until my midnight night check, or Squeak's teeth hurting wakes him up, whichever comes first. I'll bet Squeak wakes me up at 10.

I'll have to figure something out and do a drawing for something fun, for all of you who guess at my movie lines.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Well, my dad's officially OVER the hill. Cause he's been perched at the top O that hill for a whole year now. I'm sure you guessed, he is now 51.

Wow! I used to think 30 was old. Then 50 became old.

I once heard a teenaged cousin at a family gathering say that this guy was REALLY old, like 80 or something. Then someone cleared his throat. It was Granpa Smith. He had just turned 81 and we did not consider him really old. That small snipped of a conversation changed my whole idea of old. Now age is something you strive to attain. Because you have a ton of knowledge when you get there! And you've actually made it!

Congrats Dad! You've survived your own childhood, AND us two girls. Hope to congratulate you on another 50 or so birthdays!! LOVE Shanen

Nuts and Butts

That is the story of my days around here now. And will be for quite a while, it's calving season.

First the Nuts - Somebody's nuts stink. [My honey says I must edit this right away to note that HIS nuts and Squeaks nuts do NOT stink! A calf's nuts stink] So I have been checking nuts on the (soon to be) steers. You see, two weeks ago we banded everything that we aren't going to keep as bulls. Banded is just like it sounds, we have a tool that lets us put a large rubber (think surgical strength) piece and wrap it around the nuts and click it into a clip, and thus you have a TIGHT band that will slowly and with little risk of infection, cut the nuts off a bull. Really a great little tool! We haven't had ANY issues since we started using this bander. Because we like to cut our spring calves later, so that we can see who is really going to mature and grow (cause the good growers might get to keep their nuts).

Then the Butts- All day, every day, SEVERAL times a day (AND NIGHT) I check butts. This time I am checking all of my girls (cows and heifers, but these ones are new, and will be babied BIG TIME). As of yesterday, we have 8 heifers and 1 cow in the barn, at least a dozen more outside the barn, and several across the road on pasture; that are ready to calve.

[I hope y'all forgive my grammar, but that is really how I talk. So, my "bad" writing will probably continue]

Checking Hooeys* will continue until May when all should be calved. Thus, you will hear aLOT about nuts and butts in the weeks to come. We will be banding all the fall calves this weekend.

* Definition of a Hooey (pronounced WHO-EEEE) Long story but it is a synonym of the noun, HOOHA. This word is a general term for the external genetalia of a female bovine. Hooey or Hooha is a MUCH preferred term over ANY of the general cowboy terms that can be heard behind an AI chute or in the calving barn. When thinking of other cowboy terms, make sure that no children or women are present, because they are all derogatory curse words for anything female related. The terms Hooey and Hooha were required language at our previous ranch when we had at least 5 cowboys present when AI'ing 1500 head and a then 3 and 5 year old daughters present (and they decided to repeat exactly what terms the cowboys used, but I will say the girls used those "terms" in the same way they heard them to describe a cow's but).

There, so now when I blog, y'all will know the definition of Hooey. : ))

A Round Pen

Last nite was great! I loaded the kids up in the truck with their Nintendo DS’s (a privilege to play) and parked at the barn when my honey got home. We built a Round Pen!! YEAH!!! Those colts better look out on Monday when squeak is at “school”! They’re gonna get a workout.

Well, it’s not round, but it is a pen.

And I will work the colts. If its not filled with Cows (or rather heifers).

I’m sure you know it IS calving season. And we do have some new (expensive) heifers. And, right now, cows pay the bills! But you better bet that if there aren’t any little, cold cute little calves in the barn, I’ll rotate the heifers into a different pen, and look out colts!

Halters are in store, and some petting. You see these things are really scarry for some of the little ones, and some of the yearlings aren’t yet totally halter broke. But they will be, and one by one, they will see that people are great things! They will love you and pet you, and FEED you. And they will all be getting new homes in the next year.

If you need a new (or another) beautiful, kind eyed quarter horse, just drop me a note.
Also, the pups are eating food great and will be ready soon. Holler if you think you want a great working family dog!

Not Again Monday

OHH, by popular demand, here is my ponytail. After this was cut off, Amanda cut another 3-4 inches off of my hair! Also, now that the pic is done, this tail is off to lock o love. Yeah!!

So, I din't post yesterday, but I wasn't crying for my child's shool day problems, AGAIN (but younger daughter this time) NOT ME! Yah right....

I went today, and interviewed a new school today. I am going to fill out the open enrollment forms with my honey tonight. We don't have to "activate" this open enrollment form if we decide that we are happy with the current school..... Don't think it will happen! But it could....

The new (proposed) school would have between 6 & 10 in each class (entire grade level). The enitre shool K - 12 has about 97 students TOTAL. I think this might work well for us... I would get to be involved and help in the classrooms, and they would get the social interactions that they are used to. The students are tought the core subjects (math, reading) in their grade level only, and then grades will combine to teach other subjects. It is an older school, but they have TONS of caring going on, between students, and teachers too.

OHH, by popular demand, here is my ponytail. After this was cut off, Amanda cut another 3-4 inches off of my hair!