Cows Archives - Page 27 of 29 - Ninja Cow Farm LLC

September 19, 2013September 20, 2013

Sunrise and some poop

Today SWMBO was feeling under the weather and couldn’t get warm. I offered to share a little body heat and we ended up snuggling in the bed an extra 20 mins so I got a later start than normal. It was totally worth it. Especially when we got to see this effect from the sun rise. A clear line of golden light hitting the trees. I share these pics because they only last a few minutes. The rest of the day is the same day everyone else sees. Its these moments that make me glad I choose to have a farm rather than go to the gym. Can you compare sweating on an exercise machine with ear buds in trapped in a concrete box of a building vs saying hello to my animals and seeing sights like this? Nope.

So the mineral feeder was topped off today with silica and trace mineral TC. I put double the phosphorous in last time and it is GONE! I can’t believe how much phosphorous these cows are eating. Tomorrow I will have to add another 50 pounds, I didn’t even bring any with me this morning because they couldn’t possibly of needed some.

Not everything on the farm is sunrises and flowers, although for a cattle farmer, this is just a beautiful. This is a perfect poop. Not too runny, not too firm. Plenty of dry matter in the pat. This poop means the cows are getting what they need and are returning to the ground the nutrients it needs. The grass is looking good and we are getting good results.

September 11, 2013

Another misty morning

The view this morning. Can you spot the cows?

Cool weather is coming. Although its going to be another 90 degree day today, lows in the 40s are coming this weekend.

The grass looks really good in the pasture where the cows are on the top of the hill. Its very thick with 0 signs of overgrazing. The paddocks are about 25 feet wide and the full length from the old fence line to the golf course.

September 6, 2013October 22, 2013

Thin grass

The grass in yesterday’s paddock looked a bit thin when I walked it a few days ago. Apparently the cows felt the same as there was some grazing under the fence by the waterer. I didn’t walk the whole paddock to see if the trend continued since most of the overgrazing appeared to be clover so it wasn’t a crisis. As we continue up the hill the grass thickens up nicely so we will keep the paddocks the same size going forward until we see how the cows react.

Speaking of going up hill, pulling the mineral feeder is getting interesting. The next 5 paddocks are going uphill and the mineral feeder hasn’t gotten any lighter.

September 5, 2013

Another foggy morning

The cows are just barely visible through the mist this morning. It was pretty neat watching them appear.

Here they are a minute later as we moved paddocks.

And now moving back down the new paddock grazing. Note the nice sunrise in the background. As usual, the picture doesn’t do it justice. Mornings like this make the other days worthwhile.

The grass still looks very good. Its not growing as crazily as it was, but I think we still have plenty of growth coming. We cut out 6 acres for winter forage so this will be our first experiment with winter grazing. The grazing pressure looks just right and the cows continue to perform. Tomorrow the new fence charger should show up and we should be back in business.

September 3, 2013

Fence charger woes

It doesn’t take long for the cows to figure out that a fence charger is down. They must have a special sense for when you aren’t prepared.

We are running with the old 6 joule Stayfix charger since the new Kencove charger has given up the ghost. Right now we have 1.3 Kv on the line and the cows have chosen to just walk right through it. Luckily they only went through their back fence and there was no cattle wrangling this morning. Unluckily they broke the back fence wire so there’s that to fix. The interns are jumping in an even older box but isolating the paddock so its only running a couple of paddocks. That should get the voltage back up until I can get the 24 joule going again. Gotta go find the receipt for this Kencove charger in my shoebox of receipts.

August 31, 2013

A merry chase

Today, while moving and watering the cows, I made a mistake. I thought we had back fenced the cows into their new paddock. Thinking the cows were safely in their new paddock I went to work on their waterer which was leaking, which required me opening the pasture gate.

Then, Brian pointed out that the hot wire had no juice, none. So off we went to discover the source of the problem. After 15 minutes of fencing checks, we came back to the paddock where the cows were. Were, as in used to be, is the key word as they had disappeared. Off we went to discover their whereabouts and shortly we discovered the cows in the woods behind the wood boiler. The cows were having a merry time, crashing through the trees, eating anything that looked good, etc. They very much looked like a group of sailors just hitting port.

Brian took the gator and I went on foot with a stick I found to use to herd the cows. We chased until reaching the neighbors house, where we were able to turn the cows around and herd them back to the barn. 15 minutes and a few bad words later we had them at least in the barn yard. Phew! Crisis averted.

Just another day on the farm.

August 30, 2013August 29, 2013

Raw milk

I don’t really get into the raw milk debate. Until recently I had never had raw milk and frankly thought it was kind of odd to drink it. I certainly thought anyone picketing to get milk was part of the tinfoil hat brigade. Of course, it had never occurred to me that plain old cows milk was illegal and that people with guns would come and take it and you away. I was completely detached from the whole thing.

Then we bought a Jersey milk cow and I figured I would give it a try. Not because raw milk caused hair regrowth (which I could use) but because having lots if milk meant I could have lots of cheese and yogurt and whatnot. I have to say, I had some trepidation drinking that first milk. Would it kill me? Would I get sick? I certainly didn’t give any to the kids. How scary. I was still a product of the USDA.

After a year of drinking unadulterated milk, I can truly say that raw milk is hands down better than store bought milk. It’s been better for us and it tastes SO much better. Think tomatoes warm from the garden sun vs grocery store tomatoes. It’s that big if a difference. After real milk, store bought milk tastes like liquid chalk powder. It’s nasty.

Dr. Mercola and raw milk

For those on either side of the debate, I thought this was a good talk on raw milk. It’s long and far ranging but enjoyable.

August 29, 2013

Grazing update

Todays paddock on the right, yesterday’s on the left.

With the 90 degree days, the fescue has begun to peter out again, not a lot, just compared to how it did when it was 75 and rainy for a few months there. The good news is there is still plenty of it. Its supposed to be in the low 90s for the next 6 days so the Bermuda should have a chance for one last hurrah before fall weather sets in.

This is the last rotation in the front pasture and the last set of paddocks at 22 yards wide seems about perfect. 90% of the grass has been clipped of the first 1/3, 10% is uneaten and the best bites like certain types of grass and clover are mowed to the ground. The cows seem to be performing well and are carrying pretty good weight. There are still hints of red in some of their coats from the worms and some of them never slicked off. We aren’t in a position yet to cull again but soon it will be time to look at who hasn’t calves recently, who has a shaggy coat all year, and who can’t shake the worms even with treatment. Then it will be time to cull.

I think I am going to go ahead and now the rest of the dog fennel. The pastures look so much better with it knocked down. I will leave a small comparison area but not much of one.

August 27, 2013August 26, 2013

Mom! I want breakfast!

It’s a funny thing when you get the cows up in the morning as compared to letting them get up on their own. All the morning rituals all happen in compressed time. There is a lot of pooping and peeing, some bleary eyes stumbling around, and of course the kids want breakfast.

This little calf was doing it all at once. He was nursing and pooping. Then mom decided she wanted breakfast and this is the part I could catch on video.

August 26, 2013

Grazing update

Yesterday’s paddock on the left, todays on the right. The grazing looks much better today, with no signs of overgrazing. The wider paddocks certainly make the difference.

The unseasonably cool weather continues with the foggy morning temp this morning at 56. We had to get the cows out of bed to get them moving this morning. They weren’t too keen on waking up but we were earlier than usual. The high today is going to be 85 with 90s the rest of the week. However September is right around the corner and fall with it. I had to break out a cool weather shirt this morning and something tells me I’ll have it back on again shortly.