Spring in NE Texas seems to be too short. It starts later than you’d think and ends earlier. In terms of grazing, I typically see the grass really start to grow sometime in mid-March, but spring grazing patterns can’t start until mid-April, when the grass is tall enough to sustain the animals. The early growth… Continue reading Looking Forward to Summer
Some notes on statistics
I won’t go into detail in this, but I wanted to point out the meaning of the word “significant” when it comes to statistics. Say you had 10 animals. You feed 5 of them a supplement, and the others you leave alone. If all 5 animals that had the supplement survive while the other 5… Continue reading Some notes on statistics
Hotwire Training Sheep (Specifically)
I noted yesterday that the sheep were crossing the wire willy-nilly. It seems they really don’t care much for it at all. It’s time to review what I know about hotwire and what I can do about it. First, hotwire only works because it is psychological. The animals don’t get hurt when they get zapped.… Continue reading Hotwire Training Sheep (Specifically)
Spring is actually here finally
It came suddenly, but it is definitely here. Last week we all had allergies really bad. This week, the trees have started to turn green and the grass is growing very fast. There is already enough grass that the sheep (leading the cows) may not need hay at all. I’m not going to start the… Continue reading Spring is actually here finally
Baby Chicks are Here!
We got 10 Barred Rock baby chicks from the feed store up in Commerce TX. I have them setup in the shop with plenty of food and water. I’ll check on them in the morning.
Some notes on weather and such
A viewer asked me to elaborate on why average temperature is useless and what I think about the extreme weather events. I’ll try and summarize what I said. First, temperatures don’t add like masses or velocities. They don’t multiply or divide in any meaningful way either. This is because the temperature is not a quantity… Continue reading Some notes on weather and such
2025 3/10-3/16 Week in Review
Allergies really started this week. The warm weather kickstarted the grass. Monday 3/10 No video. Tuesday 3/11 It got to the upper 70s in the afternoon. Very nice. Wednesday 3/12 Thursday 3/13 It almost got up to 90, if not surpassing it. Friday 3/14 Working the sheep. No video. Moved the sheep to the northernmost… Continue reading 2025 3/10-3/16 Week in Review
2025 3/3-3/9 Week in Review
We had a windstorm on Tuesday morning, and then 2″ of rain on Saturday. Monday 3/3 Tuesday 3/4 We had a windstorm. I thought it damaged by shop. It was my neighbor’s barn that was blown away though. Wednesday 3/5 Thursday 3/6 Friday 3/7 No video. Saturday 3/8 We got 2″ of rain on Saturday.… Continue reading 2025 3/3-3/9 Week in Review
2025 2/24-3/2 Week in Review
The weather is warming up. I turn the ram on the ewes. Monday 2/24 Foggy morning. It took me a while to get things back to the old way of rows. Tuesday 2/25 Spring is finally here — I declare it to be so. There’s plenty of hay. I can keep rolling out at this… Continue reading 2025 2/24-3/2 Week in Review
2025 Grazing Plan
Now that the weather is warming up, it’s time to get ready to implement the 2025 grazing plan. I keep notes in a Google doc and refer back to them often. I’m not comfortable with sharing all of them, but I will share the highlights. Goals Why am I doing rotation grazing? To develop soil… Continue reading 2025 Grazing Plan