The final total for rain the last couple days is 1.2 inches. Bruce and Ed are still celebrating the completion of stacking before our world turned to mud. During milking this morning another heifer decided to have her calf. I have to say that they must be confused, waiting until after our Saturday plans and delivering while we were in the barn is not exactly normal. As milking progressed we realized that this calf was quite likely dead already since it never moved after she pushed. Bruce used the obstetrical chains to help her deliver since she wasn't making much progress pushing against a limp calf. I am checking the camera during the night and have always been glad to see nothing going on.
We had plans to go to town today but first Bruce had a few things to get done. He mixed a huge batch of steer feed and fed half of it right away. The rest he left in the mixer with plans to feed it before evening mixing for the cows. With all the steers together we have a huge group. Feeding is still being fine tuned. He climbed the harvestore and closed the hatch. As long as he was up there he put new batteries in our weather gadget so we can see how darned cold we will be in the coming weeks! The harvestore is full within one ring, so it is basically about 5 feet from the top. Chances are we could have fit all the corn in but I am just as happy fitting that one load in the check book! When the gravel was delivered one load went on the driveway at the other place. He had gotten the gravel on the driveway here all spread out a few days ago but needed to get that load done before it froze that way. He also ran the chopper boxes out since there was some corn silage residue in them. He is hoping to do some maintenance on them over winter and if he left them the way they were they may have been frozen. According to the weather forecast everything will freeze up by the end of the week.
We did have a bit of excitement within our dreary day. Bruce noticed the coolant light on the tractor would come on when the tractor would lean sometimes. He knew it was close to needing coolant so that didn't surprise him. When he turned the work lights on the amp gauge went low so he got out of the tractor to see if there was a loose belt. He could smell smoke and when he went around the tractor he saw smoke. As it turns out the fuel shut off solenoid burned out so he couldn't shut the tractor off. He ended up unplugging the solenoid when he got parked in the spreader shed, and after a trip to the shed for wrenches, and the tractor shut off. We will have to get a new part within the next couple days but in the meantime he can use it. He just has to shut the fuel off with the lever on the back side of the injector pump.
Of course the heifer that freshened was standing where the pulsator wouldn't work. Bruce checked the parts for the stall cock (pulsator plug in on the pipeline) and decided it would be just as fast to move the heifer as fix it. Moving heifers around isn't exactly a non event but it certainly could have taken longer than it did. Tonight while we were milking, the heifer on the end of the row managed to open the row of stanchions. The heifers were locked in but there were 5 cows who weren't. They took the stanchion opening as their chance to leave. In trying to get them in the stanchions to shut them one went around the west end and thankfully down in front of the row instead of outside. Three of them went running and kicking up their heels to the east, past all the cows with milkers on. Of course, the gate on the east end was open so 2 of them went into the alley in front of the cows. The dog was so excited but had no idea what to do first. Bruce managed to get the cow on the west end turned around and out so she could go into her stall. He then got the next one back into her stall and headed over to stand in the way so the 2 cows in the feed alley had no choice but to turn and head back to where they belong. Between all the chaos we took the milkers off that were done and left them hang until everyone was back where they belonged. Tonight the stanchion levers are tied. In the past we have had random cows that would spend all their free time trying to figure out how to get the lever open so this is not a first. I do believe it is a first while we were trying to milk though. Bruce had great hopes of getting in the house a bit earlier tonight since he got feeding done early. With all the tractor and cattle commotion he walked in again at 10:40. The good news is we will sell the 2 cull cows tomorrow that he is milking last. We will still have 3 special needs cows but at least it is progress!
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