Takin my baby in for a check up!

Well, earlier in the summer I was running over to neighbors to get a few bales of straw for the Beef Buyers Party and on the way back the tractor started losing power.  Well I talked to dealer and they had me change all the fuel filters thinking it might be some bad fuel.  Well, $45 later the tractor still wouldn't run right and I burnt up about 4 hours of my time messing with it.  After some more consultation with the mechanic he told me to check line coming from tank....bingo, tissue paper in the line.  Well, got it through the summer with only two more problems but now I have a break in the action so I am dropping it off at the dealer for them to remove fuel tank and flush it and the fuel line.  Hopefully I can pick it up on the way home tomorrow and be back at it tomorrow night.  Cows are eating hay way too fast.

Pigs are starting to really enjoy the ground alfalfa!  Even the little ones. 

Herd check schedule for Christmas break.  A herd check is when I have the vet in and we check each animals health, treat them for worms, and vaccinate for any known diseases.  Lastly, any of the bred females will be checked for pregnancy and anyone who is still open will be available for meat or auction.  Lets hope they are all carrying little ones!!

Kenny

Got the feed ground today and the Piggies found a way out of the pasture!

Well, didn't have much going on today so I had a chance to split some more firewood to sell and make the new pig feed mix.  The first shot is what it looks like after we grind the alfalfa and add the the supplement mix to it.  If you zoom way in you can see a little bit of the supplements. 

A pigs stomach is not very big so every bite needs to count.  When she is feeding the little ones she needs to eat a lot of high energy feeds with lots of nutrients.  The pasture is dormant and the ground is starting to freeze.  To meet her nutrient need I am using alfalfa which has a much higher feed value than the grass hay. However it is very course and stemmy so we needed to grind it to make is small and easier to eat more at one time. We then simply added a very small amount of ground corn for extra energy, ground soybeans for a little extra protein, and some minerals to compensate for the frozen ground as normally pigs will get minerals from the ground while rooting for insects and roots. 

Normally in the summer when the pasture is growing well we shouldn't  have to do this but winter is a different story.  I am still feeding them the silage hay and grass hay which they enjoy as well.

 The neighbors grinder.  Worked pretty slick.  Took about 30 minutes from start to finish. 

 This is a quick pic of the little ones having a stroll in the drive way.  The found that they can sneak under the higher parts of the fence, through the gate, and through a small hole in the shed wall and go out in the lawn and garden.  First they stopped in my wife's garden and had some leftover tomatoes.  Then they turned the mulch in my flower beds around the garage looking for worms and insects.  Then lastly, just for fun they had some pig races in my newly seeded lawn area and rooted for some bugs there too!  After a few rounds of chasing them in I got my dog and my daughter out and they kept them in the pasture for me till I could check the fence.  Turns out it was out of an insulator and was shorting out.  I put back into insulator and it was hot again.  Before I got to the barn one of them tried to head out to my flower beds again and touched the fence.  They haven't left the pasture since!! 

I don't really mind when they go out under fence anywhere else.  However, our house sits quite close to the road and I think that getting bit by the fence once is a lot easier to get over than meeting a car or truck on the road.  Once they know what the fence is they will never test it again, they learn very quick!


Kenny

Got a plan for keeping Pig Pig healthy

I tried feeding the alfalfa hay to Pig Pig.  She did not like it as it was too course and stemmy.  So we decided to take the feed back over to mixer/grinder and grind the alfalfa bales with the grinder and mix it with her supplements.  This way she gets her supplements while getting some quality alfalfa hay that she can enjoy eating!

 I went out to check the piggies last night and Pig Pig was still out and about but the little ones were taking a nap.  Just like our kids they are just spread all over laying this way and that.  They didn't even move when I got in the pen to check them and add some hay for them to nest in.  They are getting close to 15-18 lbs already, amazing!

 Took a tractor ride to check fence and creek.  We got around 4.5"-5" of rain from Wednesday night till this morning.  This pic was yesterday morning.  This is the highest I have seen the water since mid may.  This is just slightly higher than normal.  The day my wife and I got married it rained about 12"-13" in a two hour span.  When the sun came up and we were getting ready to leave for the church the entire bottom was covered in 6'-8' of water.  If you look behind the wood pallets in pic below it went from the fence post behind pallets to other side of pasture!  That was a once in 100 years rainfall!

 Some fire wood I split up to sell.  This is cherry and came from the large cherry tree I removed from the lawn.  I have 9 more pallets sitting nearby that are two years seasoned.  Three pallets equals a cord.  Most of the firewood I have comes from cleaning up fence rows and the edges of fields.  I have an awesome splitter that hooks to the 3-point hitch on the tractor and plugs into the hydraulics of the tractor.  I can lay a piece of hickory sideways on it and cut it in half.  I love it.  It took me and one more person 2 hours to split and stack 6 of these pallets!

 These are a couple of quick pics of me haying the cows.  They are eating one of these 1700lb bales in three days now.  They are tube wrapped and I simply use the spear and pull it off the row.  I lift it over the feeder to remove the plastic.  As you can see below, once I cut plastic and net wrap the bales starts to come apart pretty quick.  As long as I open it over the feeder there is hardly any cleanup.  The baler my cousin uses to bale it up has knives in it to cut the hay.  Once you get in past the outside 3 inches the rest is cut into 4"-6" pieces.  The small pieces allow the cows to eat it easier and digest it better.  It also cuts down on waste as they are not grabbing large chunks of hay with each bite and pulling it out of the feeder. 

What is that sound outside?

I awoke this morning to a familiar sound that I haven't heard in a while.....RAIN!!!  we got over 2.5" last night and it is still raining!  Now I understand it is thanksgiving but we needed the rain so bad.  We have been in a moderate drought since late June.  It is supposed to continue raining most of the day which should bring us up to where we should be in precipitation to start December!!  Another great thing about this cold rainy day is that the animals all have a dry place to get out of the rain now.  Having fixed the shed roof and the barn wall everyone is just chilling inside till the rain dies down then they will head out to the pasture for the day.

Cows are all doing fine.  Jo Jo the bull is still enjoying his visit and is constantly schmoozing with the ladies!!  Hopefully next years A.I. goes better as I spent a lot of money on it this year and I think that only a 2 or 3 out of 7 settled with it.  FYI, it costs about $50/ service to do A.I. (Artificial Insemination).  I bred everyone at least twice.  What I am finding is that my estrus synchronization was off and thus caused them not to be in heat when they were supposed to be.  Anyway, I am going to try a different Sinc. system next year to hopefully get better results!

Piglets are growing so fast.  They are closing in on 20lbs already.  Momma is getting a little thin from feeding them so much.  We have been researching ways to supplement her diet to keep her healthy.

For the cows it is easy.  We keep a lick tub in the pasture that gives the cows any missing micro nutrients and minerals that are low in their diet.  The speed that they eat the tub varies from time to time depending on where the bale they ate came from.  If the fields nutrients are unbalanced the hay from it will be also. 

Likewise is also true for the pigs.  They have free access to the pasture and we supply them with all the silage and dry hay they want.  They eat it and enjoy it but sometimes the nutrients they get from it are not balanced correctly for a sow feeding piglets.  From the research we have been doing you can feed them alfalfa hay, which I do not grow here, or give them some supplement.  One option we found was during the winter months when the pasture is dormant and ground frozen is to give the mother a small amount of ground corn containing the minerals and nutrients she would normally get off the pasture.  This will keep her diet balanced and allow her to supply the amount of milk the babies need.

I would like to ask anyone reading this to leave me a message and let me know if you have any ideas.  Grass fed pork and beef is not new and information for the cows is readily available.  I am finding however that this is not the case for the pork!

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Kenny

A stroll in the pasture!

Went for a walk out to pasture to see the pigs and cows.  Haven't had the time to go out during the daylight lately but got home before dark yesterday so I went out to see what everyone was doing and see how everyone was.

This is Sally, the Shorthorn mother, and her calf Frosty on the right.  While I was walking down to see what was up they were checking out the baby pigs.  Pig Pig came running to me to get a snack and left the little ones with the calves.  Everyone was intrigued!!

 This is Daisy and one of the piglets sneaking up on Pistol.  He didn't even get up.  He must have decided it wasn't worth it!

 Picture this, I am walking along the stream.  I am followed by Pig Pig and behind her is the little ones.  Behind her was these two still being curious. Then daisy in the back just checking everyone out.

 Well, this was supposed to be at the end but I guess I'll address it here.  This is a small end table we made for the project I am currently working on at work  it is a 3" think cherry slab 30" long by 24"-27" wide.  Very nice.  We made two of these, one will have a projector sitting on it for the outdoor movie theater and the other will be for use as an end table on the patio.  I previously posted the benches.  They are all from different parts of the same tree.  I can't wait to make more.  I have six table slabs and 4 bench slabs still in the barn.

 This was a quick pic of Stormy.  He is Jane's son.  He is 1/4 red Holstein, 1/4 Hereford, 1/2 Black Angus.  He is growing very fast.  He was born July 25th and is already pushing 350lbs.  I am thinking about keeping him for a cleanup bull. 

A cleanup bull is used after doing artificial insemination (AI) to breed any cattle that didn't settle.  AI is expensive but is a great way to quickly get good genetics into your herd.  It also allows you to have multiple breeds and crosses without having to have a bunch of different bulls.  I try to settle everyone with AI twice, after that I run a bull in the pasture to take care of business. 
At my annual herd check I will see who is bred and how far along they are in their pregnancy.  This will tell me whether they were bred by AI or the Bull.  Anyone who is not bred is subject to being sold.

 Kenny

Found the pic of the piggies in the shed!

Ok, so here is the pic from when the little ones were visiting the cow shed over the weekend.  Pig Pig is standing up and Pig is laying down.  The little ones would not leave her alone and the look on her face said it all....."I ain't allowed in the barn and now I gotta baby sit too!!!???

The cows were enjoying some face time also getting to know the little ones.  The smallest is about 8 lbs. and the largest is probably a 10-11.  I have been feeding the momma some silage hay to supplement her food she is getting from the pasture.  I also take treats to them when I can.  Tonight they all had the leftover celery stalks and leaves from supper.  Even the babies enjoy the snacks, it just takes a little longer for them to eat them!

As for the cows they are eating hay quite well right now.  Going through a round bales every 3-4 days.  At this rate they will eat a bale every two days during the bad part of winter.  Good news is I still have quite a bit left so we should be fine. 

I will try to get some pics of the cattle this weekend to post to compare with summer ones so you can see the difference in their coats as the seasons change!

Kenny

Pics, wood fired dinner, and all around nice day!

Had dinner cooked on the outdoor fire pit tonight and last night.  I recently had some hickory boards sawed up when I had the cherry slabs cut.  During this process a bunch of hickory slab wood was created which I brought home to use.  I made some shaving for my wife to use in her wok to smoke with and I put some on the coals to cook burgers last night and sirloin and flat iron steak tonight.  I started the fire with cherry wood to get a nice hot coal base and put the hickory on right before cooking to create the smoke to flavor the meat.  Oh my goodness it is sooooo good!!!  Will be doing this a lot more as I have a lot of hickory slab wood.  If we can afford to get a gas grill I may even try smoking a couple of roasts to see how they turn out!  Should be awesome!  This is a pic of the flat iron steak, a little rare for me but still very good.  I like mine pink in the middle but not red.

Checked piggies tonight before coming in.  They are growing so fast! They are right around 5-7 pounds and are doing great!

 This is a pic of Lisa Left Ear.  She is the one that got her ear stepped on as a baby.  Vet had to amputate to get it to heal and not get infected.  She is doing really well and is almost completely healed up!

This is another pic of the bench for the project I'm working on.  It turned out so nice.  Can't wait to make some more.  If you are interested in one let me know.

Kenny

Finished barn doors, wood benches.

 

Quick pic before sun set while I was cleaning up the large mess I made doing this project.  All I have left to do is mount a door handle for the little man door and the two drop pins that will hold the bottom of the door shut.  I also built the little door on the left today and need a door latch for it as well.  Had to do some repairs to the barn frame before I could install it.  I am slowly getting it all repaired and will paint all the new stuff next summer after it has time to finish drying since it is all green wood.  There is a lot more to do but at least now I have usable doors that actually close tightly! 

 This is a bench we built for the landscape project I am working on right now.  It is made from 3.5" think cherry slab cut from a cherry tree I removed from the lawn this year.  There is two more that I didn't get pics of yet.  I have four more slabs like this one to make benches from.  These slabs are from one of the main limbs.

This is a slab also cut from the cherry tree I removed from the lawn this summer.  I have six more in the barn drying out to make tables from.  They are beautifully grained and have live edges as well.  These slabs came from the main trunk.  They are 3" thick, 5.5' long, and 20"-29" wide.


Piglet update.  Today the little ones followed mom down to the cow shed this afternoon.  They slipped out under the big gate and had a tour of the drive and outside of barn before daisy herded them back into the shed with their momma.  The cows seem interested in them but don't really bother them much.  The calves run around playing with them but don't seem to bother them much. 

As for the cows we have one of dad's bulls in with them right now to make sure everyone is bred.  I use artificial insemination but there are still a few that I either miss or don't settle.  So, after I have tried twice to breed them or I think I have them all I put a bull in with them to make sure they get bred.  I keep detailed records of who I bred when so I will be able to tell at my annual herd check who settle with the AI and who was bred by the bull by how far along they are in their pregnancy.  Furthermore, anyone who doesn't settle with the bull is then open to sell or butcher for meat.  So far he has gotten two of them for sure, hope their aren't too many as I spent quite a bit on AI this year and hope it wasn't all a waste.  He also seems quite content with a change of diet, pasture, and a whole herd of new women!

Kenny

Had a scare the other day!

Got a call from Josh, the neighbor kid who said the piggies were missing and the mother was frantically looking for them.  Well after some very worried minutes, I was at work, I got a follow up call to say that when they came in to check on them the mother was in the bottom by the creek.  She saw them come in to barn and came running up to get a treat.  Her little ones however decided it was much more pleasant to remain in the tall grass and soak up some sun.  When the boys went out to look she remembered where they were and sprinted back down to get them.  They are growing sooo fast it is amazing!

Kenny

My wife just gave me some more piggie pics!!

 GOTTA SNACK!!!!  Pig Pig is running to my wife to see if she has a treat!

 Their second mother checking them out!

 Meeting of the mommas!

 Sally on the left and her daughter Frosty on the right.  Wondering who these little piggies are.

Jane on the left and her son Stormy on the right.  They are cautiously watching daisy to see what she is doing.

Piggies visited the creek!

Momma took the babies for a long walk today.  As soon as it warmed up they all went for a walk out in the pasture.  She took them clear down to the creek.  Once again daisy was checking to make sure everyone is ok and nice and clean!!  They are growing so fast.  I will get some pics this weekend when I get a chance to show change.  They are between four to seven pounds already.  They were about a pound when born.  they are eight days old today.

Kenny

PIggies take their first tour of the pasture.

 Pig Pig took her babies out for a stroll this afternoon due to the awesomely nice weather.  Their surrogate mother Daisy was doing more watching than the real mother did!  She goes and checks them every time I do.  I even had to sit a square bale next to their pen so she could see over the board to check on them.

I promised a pic of the barn doors.  Two drop pins to hold bottom corners shut and a door latch for the man door and they are finally done.  I had the door latch on already and I used it once and it fell apart, it was brand new.  Will have to go get another one.  Any way, I will have to let the wood dry over winter/spring and paint next summer.  It is all green wood so too wet, and too cold to do it now. 

I will take some better pics in daylight once I clean up the enormous mess I created building them.  I also have a small one to do to the left of these so it may be a few more days.

Ken

We got our first snow of the season last night

I know, it wasn't much but that means there is more on its way!  I don't really like this time of year much, it depresses me.  I plow snow during the winter and this just reminded me of all those sleepless nights and really long weeks.

On a lighter note, you can see the door I am building in the background.  Got it hung and trimmed in today.  Looks awesome.  Gabe, a friend of mine from work, helped get it finished up and on.  He does really great work.  Gonna start the other one tomorrow.  Will take some pics after I get it all cleaned up.  Looks like a bomb went off down there right now. 

As for baby piggies, everyone is doing good.  The little one who is missing an ear is starting to heal and is doing very well.  I moved the heat lamps into their little piglet area today and cleaned the pen out.  It took them all evening but they are finally getting comfy under the lights and Pig Pig (momma) is calming down and spending a little time out in the pasture getting some exercise.  Pig, our other sow, hasn't come back into the barn yet as Pig Pig doesn't seem to want her in there right now.  So, for the time being she is camping in the shed where the cows come to eat.  Not too long after cleaning and moving everyone around, momma went out to get some sun and three of four babies followed her outside.  They quickly decided it was too cold out there and made a dash for the barn!!  I think after tomorrow they will all settle in and be fine.  They are growing quite quickly also.  They were maybe a pound and a half when they were born.  They are now a solid two to three pounds so they must be eating really well. 

As for the cows, we currently have a guest.  After two full round of Artificial Insemination (A.I.) I still have a few females that aren't bred.  So I brought my dad's bull Jo Jo over to take care of things.  He didn't waste much time finding one in heat.  He is a shorthorn bull and should give me some nice calves. 

Kenny

Piggy update!!

Well everyone is eating really well and growing quickly.  We only had one issue so far.  Momma must have gotten spooked last night and jumped up quickly and in the process stepped on the ear of one of the little girls.  Had the vet out to see what could be done.  We had to take her ear off as it was not able to be stitched up.  She is resting now.  He gave her a sedative so she wouldn't feel anything and got her all fixed up.  Momma was not happy at all but we had to make it better so the little one didn't get sick. 

They are all resting now.  Momma is also calming back down as she was pretty worked up.  She was eating some hay and having a drink when I checked a little bit ago.  I am going out again in a little while to see if the little one is up and moving yet or not. 

Wish her well.  It has been a very busy week with work and piggies and everything so I haven't done any updated photos.  Will get some this weekend I promise!!  Hopefully I can get the new barn doors finished before weekend is out so I can post those picks also!

Kenny

Meet Pig Pig's Pigs

Well mother is finally resting from her 18 hour labor of love!  She had a total of eleven piglets unfortunately several were stillborn but she still has one little boy and three little girls.  All are very healthy and active, a little chilly but we have three heat lamps above them and mother is cuddled in good too so they should be fine.  If everyone makes it through the next 36 hours they will be fine.  She is already learning to look before she lays down.  She almost squished one this morning when I found her cause she turned around and laid down on the little boy. 

I will post some more pics tomorrow.  I want to let everyone relax for the night and hopefully they eat a lot before morning!

We got piggies

Kenneth R. Merrick

Ok, I'm back.

Well long story short, wife was checking out restaurant info our trip to the Purdue/Ohio State game last weekend and got a virus on computer.  Before I got home she restarted it and virus installed.  Spent a full week and $80 just to retrieve farm and bank records.  No fun.

Irregardless, I'm back!  And good news is Pig Pig is ready to have her little piglets!!!!  We made pen much bigger in barn with an area for the piglets to get away from the mother to take a nap if she goes out to eat.  There is a heat lamp in that area and a space big enough for only them to get in through.  That allows them to be safe and warm till they get big enough to wander out and explore. 

Normally, when a pig has it babies they will find a secluded area away from everyone else and build a nest to have them in.  Once they are born she will not move much at all for a few days till they are up and moving around good.  Then she will go look for food.  Since we are coming into winter we didn't want to have any piglets die in the cold so we built a little pen in the barn for them to use and shut her in the barn for a couple of days so she can nest in there and have her piglets without the other pig bothering her or them!

She is currently making a huge nest in the barn out of hay bedding and is restless to say the least!  I hope to either wake up to babies or come home from work to see them!

I will post pics as soon as they are born!

Wish her luck!

Kenny