Busy Spring Day

Another spring time day here!  We started the day with a call that there was a new calf walking around the barn.  The last heifer had delivered a heifer calf sometime during the night and she was wandering around the barn and luckily managed to stay out of serious trouble.  We are now done with our May calvings and, according to the manual, we should have a minimum of 2 weeks before we have another new calf  Milking is pretty streamlined now with the exception of 2 special needs cows, although during milking this morning, we did have a bolt break on a stanchion and a cow out making her own rules.  Generally we don't have trouble getting them back in but this one wasn't willing to be that cooperative.  As it turned out, Ed came over so he and Bruce and the dog were able to get the stanchion fixed and the cow back where she belonged while I continued milking.  Ed had very helpful timing! After milking this morning I put all the ear tags in the cattle that needed them so they all have their "addresses" as Joe called them.  The tags go in just like pierced earrings, and if possible, I put these tags in a previously created hole.  Surprisingly all but 2 were pretty cooperative and Bruce watched them so they wouldn't pull their heads out of the stanchion while I put their tags in also. Sometimes it's tricky trying to get a tag in a moving ear on a 1300# animal that isn't impressed with you touching them.  As a general rule I can do it but occasionally Bruce has to do them.   It was again cattle moving day and we brought home 11 steers to start on feed.  With the ones already here that group will be a total of 16.  It is great they are getting started but they have to be in the feed alley that can only be fed with a wheelbarrow so for a few weeks it will be pretty labor intensive for Bruce.  Once they on the final finishing diet they will go out into the cow yard where we have a bunk and can be fed with the feed cart. In theory we should be able to sell this group by the end of the year. After we were done hauling them we also brought 8 heifers home that are big enough to breed.  Ed's place is only 1/4 mile from here so the distance isn't too bad.  We use a cattle trailer they built in the 60's that is big enough to hold 3 animals the size we moved today so it still takes a few trips to get it done.  The steers were put in a secure yard but the heifers were put in a yard with an electric fence.  Some of the new ones haven't learned what an electric fence is so it wasn't long before they were out of the yard checking things out.  I barely got my shoes on to go help and Bruce and the dog had them heading back into the yard. The dog is loving these days with so much more for him to do.  The day disappeared faster than we would have liked but Bruce and Jim did manage to go out and remark some of the strips.  We had the county do it earlier but Bruce wasn't exactly happy with the changes so he took 105 ft of rope and they measured the fields again.  We use this width because it works best with the width of the equipment we have when planting and harvesting.  Bruce and Jim were both pretty pleased that, in the short time they had before it was time to feed, they got the 3 biggest strips remarked. Bruce said walking on the previously chisel plowed ground was exhausting so we do know that Bruce, the dog, and our son who isn't used to this much walking, will sleep well tonight : )