June 3 update

We are just waiting on one cow and a couple of ewes to have their babies.  The vast majority of our lambs and calves arrived safely and with minimal help from us.  We had 12 sets of triplet lambs born this year, which is way more than we usual have.  We have a bumper crop of lambs this year, as very few mature ewes have had singles.

We have moved all the yearling cattle to the meadow to begin grazing the pastures there, leaving just the beeves we will harvest in July, and the ewes and lambs here at the town farm.  In the next few days we will begin grazing the ewes and lambs across some alfalfa grass mixture fields.  We have started the ewes and lambs on a bloat preventing supplement to try to prevent this deadly problem.  Bloat can occur when animals graze on legume pastures (like alfalfa) because the bacteria that ferment their feed in their rumen (stomach) can produce more gas than the animals are able to pass by belching.  The gas can expand their stomach to the point that the lungs are unable to expand-causing rapid death.  The compound in the supplement stops the frothy bubbles from forming in the rumen, and thus prevents bloats in animals that consume it.  Alfalfa is a very high quality feed-very palatable, very digestible and high in protein but it can be deadly if not carefully grazed.

Checking the ewes and lambs to detect health problems, feeding the “bummer” or bottle fed lambs and calf, and now building temporary fences to control the ewes access to the pastures is keeping me busy.  The kids are now done with school for the summer, so the season of hauling them to 4-H activities, base/softball games and practice, scouting and dance is now in full swing.  We are also making weekly trips to the butcher to replenish our meat supplies from the meat we store there.

John is hoping to finish planting our new hay and grain fields in the next day or two.  He is also getting all the fences repaired and is going to rebuild a section of old fence along our perimeter.  The water system has need a major repair which has delayed our being able to get animals into some of the pastures. 

We are planning to “work” the cattle next week.  We will give the calves their booster vaccinations to supplement those they were given shortly after birth.  We will give the cows their annual booster vaccinations as well, they are vaccinated against diseases that cause abortion as well as other diseases.  The yearlings will also get their booster shots.  The yearlings will also get branded at this time.  Branding is the only way to prove legally that the cattle we take to the butcher are our own.

I’m hoping to get several fleeces skirted so I can deliver them to the spinner on the 11^th.  I’m not sure how long we will have to wait to get them back as yarn.  I hope to get a batch of yarn dyed too.  Sometime soon I hope to get a few things into the garden- although we are still getting heavy frosts. 

I’m late getting to our daughter’s softball game so I’ll leave this a bit short for now.