Heat Day 4

We had another day in the sauna.  It was cooler in the barn milking this morning because its naturally cooler over night (that is a stretch these days) and the cows have been out.  By evening milking we not only have the build up of the heat of the day, but the cow body heat from having them in the barn all day.  It is still the most comfortable place for them, but miserable all the same.  Joe came again this morning so all 3 of us milked.  Last night Joe mentioned that he usually showers in the morning.  We laughed and suggested he shower before bedtime.  By the time we get done we are all totally soaked with sweat, not to mention cow dirt and manure.  No problem with plugged pores in this weather!  Most of today we spent in the house.  Bruce actually napped for a bit which is good after the last few days of fun.  By the middle of the afternoon he went out and checked the cows and then worked on some fixing projects that didn't take a lot of energy.  We have our milk picked up every other day so today's pick up was the first involving the heat and the cows being in, along with the feed change of more haylage.  This pick up also included the fresh treated cow that can be milked in the tank (4 milkings) and the other fresh cow that was milked 1 milking.  In theory there should have been a significant increase but today it was an increase of 6# over the last pick up.  Actually an increase of any kind in this heat is a surprise.

My calves are doing ok.  The newest one will drink water for me which is nice since some calves will only drink milk.  Even newborn calves have an opinion!  Seasons change.  In winter I do the extra calf stuff in the morning because its the warmest and brightest.  In summer I do the extra stuff in the evening when it is the coolest.  I was disappointed to see that the calves didn't drink as much water today as I would have hoped.  Just like people, in this heat they aren't motivated to do anything including eat.  Tonight I could see a couple of the calves through the windows when we started milking kicking up their heels and playing so I guess they are doing fine.

The test results on recent milk shipments show our fat test is down.  When cows eat they produce energy or heat.  When it's hot they eat less so they produce less heat.  When they eat less they chew their cuds less.  When they chew less they don't produce as much saliva.  Saliva is a stomach buffer, so less of it produces a more acid stomach, which in turn results in a depressed fat test.  Part of our component pricing is our fat test so when the fat test drops, so does our income.  Heat and humidity not only causes less milk and a lower fat test, it breeds bacteria galore which increases our somatic cell count.  Part of our component pricing is our SCC so our income is decreased from that also.  What is not to love about this heat wave!? The weather report tonight said yesterday was a record high low and also record high dewpoint.  Our weather gadget showed a heat index of 124 today. Tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day this week.

Joe was not able to help tonight so it was just Bruce and I.  I took a thermometer along to see just how hot it was out there.  The temperature in the barn was 86 degrees.  Cows body temperatures are about 96 degrees.  Add humidity and who knows how to describe the experience.  I did decide on a miserable scale of 1-5, milking last night was a 5.5 and the over night for the cows was probably a 5.  Tonight I would say milking  was still easily a 4+.  As soon as we got a section of cows milked and post dipped we let them out since there was a breeze outside of the barn.  I am hoping their comfort level in the pasture tonight is at 3.

I got to the barn tonight to find that one of the projects Bruce worked on was replacing my hose reel. I had a plastic one that was mounted outside the milkhouse but it had gotten broken last summer.  Until now I have been dragging a hose around or carrying pails. In my world this is exciting stuff! I guess farm women can be easily entertained : )