At long last, as of Wednesday April 3rd, 2024, I have the sheep penned up along with the bulls. I had been planning this for well over a month now. It is going to be a pattern from now on, that once a rotation finishes, or I move the animals to the north of the… Continue reading Penning up the sheep
Author: Jonathan
Yellow Dung Fly
I was intrigued by some yellow flies crawling on a fresh cow patty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before. Thanks to a blog post, I think I found out what they are: Yellow Dung Flies or scathophaga stercoraria. The flies reproduce on fresh cow patties and lay their eggs. They don’t bother the… Continue reading Yellow Dung Fly
#46 is born to Yellow
Yellow finally gave birth. I noticed the night before that the teats had gone taut, which is the last indicator that the calf is on the way. About a month ago, I saw the early signs: a swollen rear-end and bags that were growing. #46 is a brown heifer calf with white on the belly… Continue reading #46 is born to Yellow
#45 died two days after being born
#45 was born early Sunday morning, March 17th. He was born to #19, who was only 18 months old. I did not want her to breed yet and did not expect a calf. However, she was showing signs of pregnancy about 3 days ago. I fully expected either the calf or the cow to die,… Continue reading #45 died two days after being born
#34 is born to Metal Tag
#34 is a all-black heifer born to Metal Tag. We got some rain to boot!
#33 was born to Speck
Amidst the excitement of the calf that fell in the pond, #33 was born to Speck on February 9th. She is a white heifer with some brown markings.
#44 is born to #4
When I came to check on the cows on March 2nd, I saw a black lump in the field. It turned out to be a calf. I couldn’t tell who the mama was, because he was so far from the cows, but I was able to tag him as #44. I then decided he needed… Continue reading #44 is born to #4
Double wire is not enough
The dogs and the sheep are crossing the wire. It turns out that 4 wires worked, but 2 wires are not enough. I think the problem is there is too much of a gap between the middle wire and the ground. The dogs are able to crouch and get through easily. The solution for the… Continue reading Double wire is not enough
Red gave me #43
On February 28th, 2024, the same day that #38 died, Red gave birth to a beautiful bull. #43 is a brown bull with white markings. It makes an interesting pattern on his face.
#42 is born to #21
#21 has been the fattest cow throughout 2023. She gave me a calf in 2022, but the calf died shortly after he was born. I blame the field fire and everything associated with it. #21 gave birth to a beautiful bull calf on February 24th, 2024. He is black with some white markings on his… Continue reading #42 is born to #21