When I left for work this morning I checked the cows and noticed that Candy Apple looked a lot thinner than she was yesterday morning. Upon closer inspection I saw some evidence suggestion that she had a calf. A quick search of the pasture turned up nothing. So, I headed to work.
After getting home this evening I went out and spent another hour and a half searching for the mystery calf. I found nothing. So I thought maybe I was wrong and she was still getting ready to have the calf. I then went up to the barn to feed and catch up on some chores. I noticed when everyone else came up to eat she went across the creek and laid down. Then she got up. Then she laid down. So, after a bit I took the kids down to check her expecting to see her starting to have the calf. Instead, there was the calf laying there all clean and perky from where it came out of its hiding spot and just got done eating.
The calf is another heifer. That takes us to an 80% female turnout this year!!!! That is every farmers dream. Normally you get a 50/50 split or you get a 60%-75% male average but hardly ever do you get 4 out of 5 being female.
Anyway, mom and calf are doing great and I can't wait to meet 50's little one any day now.
Will keep you posted!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
We have another addition!
I will type more in a bit but here's a pic!
Her name is prairie fire! Her mommas name is candy apple.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Delivered some hay the other day.
Almost forgot to post this. One of my current meat customers started out as a hay customer for their alpaca farm. They raise them mainly for the thread from the alpaca hair.
Their farm name is Foggy Valley Alpaca Farm. http://www.foggyvalleyfarmalpacas.com/
They have awesome socks!! I use them during winter, very warm!
I delivered his hay for the year the other day, 200 bales. I took it on the gooseneck for the first time as I did not yet have it at this time last year. Unfortunately it rained just before I got there and I got stuck with my bologna skin tires and we had to move the first 50 bales 150 feet up the hill with his new Polaris ranger. I did however get it loose and got up to the barn.
He has a wonderful little setup but the fit is a little snug.
I am quite limited on how many I can get in the door and I have no chance to error in pulling in or backing out. I can only come in from the bottom side. Next year we will do it when it is dry and I will make sure I have good tread on the tires!!
Kenny
Their farm name is Foggy Valley Alpaca Farm. http://www.foggyvalleyfarmalpacas.com/
They have awesome socks!! I use them during winter, very warm!
I delivered his hay for the year the other day, 200 bales. I took it on the gooseneck for the first time as I did not yet have it at this time last year. Unfortunately it rained just before I got there and I got stuck with my bologna skin tires and we had to move the first 50 bales 150 feet up the hill with his new Polaris ranger. I did however get it loose and got up to the barn.
He has a wonderful little setup but the fit is a little snug.
Kenny
Picked up our first pork yesterday!
Well, we picked the first batch of pork up from the butcher yesterday. We are getting ready to sample the first of the bacon as I type this.
Some first visual observations.
For example, this is the bacon we got from the pasture raised pigs we just butchered. You will notice there is a little fat on the one side. This was the the pack with the most fat. The majority of the pack have approximately less than 10% of the weight of the packaged bacon being fat.
Our pigs have access to pasture 24 hours a day. The water they drink is from the spring fed stream in the pasture that our farm is named after. The pigs eat on the pasture as well as are supplemented with our own feed mix in the barn. Since they have to walk after eating to drink they are constantly getting exercise. This produces more muscle and less fat. They are also eating a more healthy diet which helps build muscle instead of fat.
Now, knowing that my theory was right I want to raise the hogs to 300 lbs instead of 250. This should produce a larger amount of meat without all the excessive fat giving us more product in the end.
I want to review what we feed our animals here on the farm. The cows get silage hay consisting of mostly grass with a little clover and alfalfa mixed in. They also have a mineral lick tub that is free choice. The lick tub will give them any micro-nutrients that may be missing in the hay due to variances in soil conditions during plant growth. The calves are born on their own and stay with the mother till they are ready to butcher or are sold. The mother cows wean the calves on their own naturally so we do not have an added stress or shock to slow down growth. The calves will start eating grass and silage hay within a few days of being born so it there is a natural slow transition from mothers milk to grass only!
The pigs diet is a little different. A pigs digestive system is quite similar to ours in the fact that they eat a large array of things and need a balanced diet to stay healthy. When foraging naturally a pig will eat almost anything. That includes grass and other green plants, roots, stems, insects, worms, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and almost anything they can find. Since this is hard to duplicate in the winter months we have to use what we can to reproduce the same basic nutrients they would find naturally. So, we grind grass hay made here on the farm with a hammer mill to break it down into very small pieces. We then add a little corn, oats, and minerals to balance out the mix and give them any missing parts of the puzzle. The hay is 70-75% of the total finished feed product by weight.
I am very excited by our results so far and cannot wait to improve on what we have learned!
Hay season is winding down so I am starting to work on catching up on all the stuff that has been sitting since spring that needs done before winter. I need to finish pig shed doors, tear down and rebuild new cow shed, repair lawn disturbed during construction and general clean up of the mess around barn area.
I hope everyone is well!
Kenny
Some first visual observations.
- Very lean cuts, not a lot of excess fat on bacon or hams.
- internally all the cuts look similar to pigs we have had in the past.
For example, this is the bacon we got from the pasture raised pigs we just butchered. You will notice there is a little fat on the one side. This was the the pack with the most fat. The majority of the pack have approximately less than 10% of the weight of the packaged bacon being fat.
Now, knowing that my theory was right I want to raise the hogs to 300 lbs instead of 250. This should produce a larger amount of meat without all the excessive fat giving us more product in the end.
I want to review what we feed our animals here on the farm. The cows get silage hay consisting of mostly grass with a little clover and alfalfa mixed in. They also have a mineral lick tub that is free choice. The lick tub will give them any micro-nutrients that may be missing in the hay due to variances in soil conditions during plant growth. The calves are born on their own and stay with the mother till they are ready to butcher or are sold. The mother cows wean the calves on their own naturally so we do not have an added stress or shock to slow down growth. The calves will start eating grass and silage hay within a few days of being born so it there is a natural slow transition from mothers milk to grass only!
The pigs diet is a little different. A pigs digestive system is quite similar to ours in the fact that they eat a large array of things and need a balanced diet to stay healthy. When foraging naturally a pig will eat almost anything. That includes grass and other green plants, roots, stems, insects, worms, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and almost anything they can find. Since this is hard to duplicate in the winter months we have to use what we can to reproduce the same basic nutrients they would find naturally. So, we grind grass hay made here on the farm with a hammer mill to break it down into very small pieces. We then add a little corn, oats, and minerals to balance out the mix and give them any missing parts of the puzzle. The hay is 70-75% of the total finished feed product by weight.
I am very excited by our results so far and cannot wait to improve on what we have learned!
Hay season is winding down so I am starting to work on catching up on all the stuff that has been sitting since spring that needs done before winter. I need to finish pig shed doors, tear down and rebuild new cow shed, repair lawn disturbed during construction and general clean up of the mess around barn area.
I hope everyone is well!
Kenny
Monday, August 15, 2011
Pic of the new calf
Ok, I just got my first chance in a month to jump on for a minute and I checked the blog to find that the pics I was posting with my phone were not going through with the post. So here is one of the new calf.
I am so excited about the calves this year. Normally you have an even 50/50 split between bulls and heifers or mostly bulls. This year I seem to be having all girls!!!
I apologize to everyone for not posting much this summer. As you all know we got a round baler this year. In addition to all the custom baling I am doing for the neighbor I picked up an extra 30 acres of hay for myself as well as doing 80 acres for my dad. This has put me either at work or in the tractor since May!
I am still planning on the customer appreciation party this year but looking more toward September/October. I want to have it at a cooler time as well as in the fall season so we can have a cookout for the party this year.
I will keep you posted!
kenny
I am so excited about the calves this year. Normally you have an even 50/50 split between bulls and heifers or mostly bulls. This year I seem to be having all girls!!!
I apologize to everyone for not posting much this summer. As you all know we got a round baler this year. In addition to all the custom baling I am doing for the neighbor I picked up an extra 30 acres of hay for myself as well as doing 80 acres for my dad. This has put me either at work or in the tractor since May!
I am still planning on the customer appreciation party this year but looking more toward September/October. I want to have it at a cooler time as well as in the fall season so we can have a cookout for the party this year.
I will keep you posted!
kenny
Our newest addition
We have another little girl! That makes one bull and three heifers. Im liking these numbers.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cooling off!
Thunder, my Charolais / angus cross bull, decided to cool off when I went out to check on everyone.
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