I recently had my belt that I wear for work break at the buckle. So my wife purchased me a new one last week. Well in the mean time she found me a new buckle!!
I also took a pic of hers next to mine. I like them both!
Monday, November 21, 2011
My wife's early christmas present to me!!
So, a package came in the mail today for my wife. She couldn't wait till Christmas so she gave me my gift early.
I recently had my belt that I wear for work break at the buckle. So my wife purchased me a new one last week. Well in the mean time she found me a new buckle!!
I also took a pic of hers next to mine. I like them both!
I recently had my belt that I wear for work break at the buckle. So my wife purchased me a new one last week. Well in the mean time she found me a new buckle!!
I also took a pic of hers next to mine. I like them both!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Sold some cattle today.
Well, I sold my three littlest steers Monday night. They needed to go to a home where they could be with some calves their own size. They family that bought them had a little jersey calf at home that lost his buddy to illness and felt they would make a great group!
Today I have a gentleman come pick up Crazy B. and her calf and my two little Angus x Shorthorn heifers. He is starting his own heard and was looking for some good girls. They have pasture ground and such and I think Crazy will do well there as will the little girls that went with.
I was sad to see them go but happy at the same time to know they were going to where they can lead a great life and be happy.
I also put in a very long day today at work trying to complete a tree planting before the rain hits. We got it done, planted a semi load of quite large norway spruce today. They look awesome!
That being said I am very tired and very sore. So I am gonna head to bed.
I wish my girls the best of luck and lots of green grass to eat!!
Kenny
Today I have a gentleman come pick up Crazy B. and her calf and my two little Angus x Shorthorn heifers. He is starting his own heard and was looking for some good girls. They have pasture ground and such and I think Crazy will do well there as will the little girls that went with.
I was sad to see them go but happy at the same time to know they were going to where they can lead a great life and be happy.
I also put in a very long day today at work trying to complete a tree planting before the rain hits. We got it done, planted a semi load of quite large norway spruce today. They look awesome!
That being said I am very tired and very sore. So I am gonna head to bed.
I wish my girls the best of luck and lots of green grass to eat!!
Kenny
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Finally got all the COW PICS!!!
Finally had a beautiful sunny day that wasn't cold so I went out and got pics of all the cows and calves. So here we go!
This is John, one of our shorthorn cross steers. All of the shorthorn cross steers came from my dad. These first two were in trade for hay work last year. The others were from this year.
This is Jeff, another shorthorn steer.
This is one of many steers I got in trade from dad for helping with his hay this year. He is a shorthorn hereford cross.
This is a Shorthorn/angus/x cross from dad. He is actually a bluish color, not black. I hope to get a color like this from some of mine some day.
Another downside to the weather this year! When we made first cutting the ground was very wet and I had a lot of muddy spots when baling. Unfortunately when baling in these wet spots some mud managed to get on some of the hay and spoiled parts of some of the bales. When I get one like this I let them eat what they want and then put the rest out for them to pick through and lay on.
Here we see 50 (left) and Sally shorthorn (right) picking through and eating the same hay they wouldn't touch minutes before in the feeder.
This is a good shot of 50. We purchased her in 2007. Her first calf was a heifer but was not able to be bred so we had to sell her. She is an awesome mother. Very easy going and even likes to be scratched from time to time. She is also the matriarch of the herd. The herd follows her every move and she is clearly the boss!
This is Precious. She is 50's second calf. I am anxious to see what her first calf looks like as she looks quite good herself. She is bred to Thunder, our Charolais x Angus cross bull we have now. She was born in april of 2010 and has grown very well. I look forward to her offspring as she shows great potential!
This is 50's third calf. He will be used as a steer. His father is dad's shorthorn bull. He is growing very quickly and looks great!
This is Chilli. We purchased her in January of 2010. She is a purebred Angus but is quite small. She is a great mother and very easy going but looks like she will produce smaller finished weight calves. This is not always a bad thing as a smaller cow eats less for the amount of meat you get in the end. She is currently approx. 1000#'s whereas her counter part, Koyuki, is probably 1200'#s at the same age.
This is Chilli's first calf. Her name is Thing 2. My wife and daughter named her and her counterpart after thing one and thing two off of Cat in the Hat! If you look closely you will see she has little orange tufts of hair in her ears. Her father is a shorthorn bull by the name of Scotty. Very good well proven bull.
This is Candy Apple. She was purchased at auction with Crazy B., Chilli, and Koyuki. She has had one calf. I have to admit I am partial to red cattle. I get that from my dad. As soon as I saw her I knew she was a keeper! When she had her first calf this year I made the decision to name all her calves after Crab Apple trees. I am a landscaper during day so it fits!
This is Prairie Fire, Candy Apples first calf and a heifer. She has to be one of the cutest calves I have ever seen. She is doing very well and I can't wait to see how big she gets in her first year.
This is Thing 1. Koyuki's first calf. She is a lot fluffier than Thing 2 but also has the little orange tufts in her ears. She also has Scotty as a father as well.
And here we have Thunder. He is our Charolais x Angus bull that I purchased in march of this year. He is pretty easy going and has an interesting color to him. I will use him this year and possibly next year for breeding and then sell him. After a bull reaches 2-3 years of age they begin to get territorial and one day will decide they want to take over the herd. Till that point I am the boss / #1 in the herd. After that day he will take any opportunity he can to challenge me for dominance over the herd. I prefer to not give them that chance and will sell them before this becomes an issue.
This is an angus steer that I purchased with thunder in the spring. He will be ready in February/March
This is Stormy. He was Jane's first calf. He will be ready to eat in February/March. We had to sell Jane last month as she was having frequent foot problems. I really didn't want to but had little choice. I was hoping to at least get a good price for her at the auction to use the money towards barn repairs. However, I didn't even get enough to cover the vet bills I had from treating her foot. That is why I do not like auctions.
This is Jane's second calf. Her mother was a Hereford x Holstein cross. She is going to be heading back to the farm that her mother originally came from. I am giving her to my cousin in exchange for all the bale wrapping he did for me this year. She should do her mother proud. He is in need of some good beef cows and she fits the bill for his herd.
This is the smallest of the steers I got off of dad this year. I have had him penned up for a month or so with the blue steer to make sure he gets enough to eat but it was a beautiful day and a weekend so I decided to let them out and clean and re-bed the barn. I will put them back in tomorrow before the weather turns bad again. The problem is he and the blue one are just a little two small yet to eat well from the feeder. Another month or so and they will be good to go!
This is Fussy Prissy. She is a brindle heifer that I got from dad in the trade this year. I know her father is shorthorn. Other than that I have no idea what her heritage is. I just liked her color. I still have to go look at one more heifer. He still owes me one more calf and I am letting my daughter pick her out. She wants a white one. He currently has one entirely white calf but is unwilling to let her go. He has since had another one that is almost all white. I am going to let my daughter keep the one she picks out for her own. I want her to learn about the cows and such and this will be a good opportunity to start young.
This is Crazy B. We named her that after we got her due to her being a little nutty after she had to be treated by the vet the first week we had her. Now that she has had her first calf she has calmed down a lot but still doesn't want to be touched. Excellent mother, just likes to be left alone!
Here is Crazy B's calf, CB2
This is one of the steers I got from dad in trade for doing his hay for him this year.
Couple more pics of Candy Apple
This is Sally Shorthorn, I bought her off of my father a couple years ago when I was starting up the herd. Very good mother and I like the look of her.
This is Frosty, Sally shorthorns first calf.
This is big red. He is Sally's second calf. His father is a very good Gelbvieh bull. I plan to use him to breed the herd once he is old enough. He is growing very fast and looks awesome!
This is John, one of our shorthorn cross steers. All of the shorthorn cross steers came from my dad. These first two were in trade for hay work last year. The others were from this year.
Another downside to the weather this year! When we made first cutting the ground was very wet and I had a lot of muddy spots when baling. Unfortunately when baling in these wet spots some mud managed to get on some of the hay and spoiled parts of some of the bales. When I get one like this I let them eat what they want and then put the rest out for them to pick through and lay on.
This is Precious. She is 50's second calf. I am anxious to see what her first calf looks like as she looks quite good herself. She is bred to Thunder, our Charolais x Angus cross bull we have now. She was born in april of 2010 and has grown very well. I look forward to her offspring as she shows great potential!
This is 50's third calf. He will be used as a steer. His father is dad's shorthorn bull. He is growing very quickly and looks great!
This is Chilli. We purchased her in January of 2010. She is a purebred Angus but is quite small. She is a great mother and very easy going but looks like she will produce smaller finished weight calves. This is not always a bad thing as a smaller cow eats less for the amount of meat you get in the end. She is currently approx. 1000#'s whereas her counter part, Koyuki, is probably 1200'#s at the same age.
This is Koyuki. As stated above we got her at the auction. She is a full blood Angus cow. She just had her first calf this year and is both are doing great. Another easy going good momma cow.
This is Thing 1. Koyuki's first calf. She is a lot fluffier than Thing 2 but also has the little orange tufts in her ears. She also has Scotty as a father as well.
And here we have Thunder. He is our Charolais x Angus bull that I purchased in march of this year. He is pretty easy going and has an interesting color to him. I will use him this year and possibly next year for breeding and then sell him. After a bull reaches 2-3 years of age they begin to get territorial and one day will decide they want to take over the herd. Till that point I am the boss / #1 in the herd. After that day he will take any opportunity he can to challenge me for dominance over the herd. I prefer to not give them that chance and will sell them before this becomes an issue.
This is another of the shorthorn steers I got from dad this year.
This is the smallest of the steers I got off of dad this year. I have had him penned up for a month or so with the blue steer to make sure he gets enough to eat but it was a beautiful day and a weekend so I decided to let them out and clean and re-bed the barn. I will put them back in tomorrow before the weather turns bad again. The problem is he and the blue one are just a little two small yet to eat well from the feeder. Another month or so and they will be good to go!
This is one of the steers I got from dad in trade for doing his hay for him this year.
Couple more pics of Candy Apple
This is big red. He is Sally's second calf. His father is a very good Gelbvieh bull. I plan to use him to breed the herd once he is old enough. He is growing very fast and looks awesome!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sold some of the piggies today.
Well, trying to generate some income going into to winter. Put a lot of money out this year and hoping to get some coming back in before end of the year. Sold eight of the piglets today at the auction. They averaged 20lbs. / piglet. We got $3/ pig. so after they take out commission for selling them we will be left with about two or three dollars. Yea, that is gonna help!
Anyway. I will be posting pics of all the cows this weekend. We are gonna to let go of some of the herd. I want to start picking for the specific traits that I am looking for in my cattle. I am planning on listing online for sale and will be taking pictures of everyone for our records as well as to go with listings I will be posting on line.
On another note, I have been baling bedding for the neighbor the past week. We finally got a week without any rain and that allowed him to get a lot of the grain harvested and get the bean and corn stubble ready to bale. got around 120 bales so far. Hoping the forecast holds so we can make some more before the snow hits.
Kenny
Anyway. I will be posting pics of all the cows this weekend. We are gonna to let go of some of the herd. I want to start picking for the specific traits that I am looking for in my cattle. I am planning on listing online for sale and will be taking pictures of everyone for our records as well as to go with listings I will be posting on line.
On another note, I have been baling bedding for the neighbor the past week. We finally got a week without any rain and that allowed him to get a lot of the grain harvested and get the bean and corn stubble ready to bale. got around 120 bales so far. Hoping the forecast holds so we can make some more before the snow hits.
Kenny
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
More pics and updates
Well, another month has passed already. This year is moving faster than ever. Funny how when you are young nothing moves fast enough and as you get older things begin to move way too fast and it is hard not to miss things.
We are currently setting new records for yearly rain fall and there are still two months left to add to the total. This has been the worst year ever for making hay. The neighbor and I both had hay on the ground for 7 days straight with 70 degree weather and sunshine. Still couldn't dry it enough to make good square bales. They are all getting musty.
Now that we are done with calving for the year I am looking at who to keep and who to sell to generate some income going into winter. I have already sold a heifer that I bought at auction earlier this year and took a $100 dollar loss before you figure in the feed she ate all year. I thought it was a one time auction thing and that I wouldn't get hit twice in one month with a bad sale price so I sold Jane. She was having some foot problems and she was part Holstein and her calves have been very nice but not beefy enough for what we do here. So I decided to let her go and use the money to benefit the others. I paid approximately $400 for her 3 years ago. I cared for her and raised her for since then. She gave me two calves. Again she was a good cow just not a good fit for here. I sent her to the auction expecting to be in the $800-$900 range. She brought me $500. Very depressing. She deserved better. I am going to trade Jane's little girl to my cousin for wrapping the hay, he needs a good beef heifer and she will do him well.
That being said that is why I do not like auctions. I may list the current cows I have for sale online first and see if I can sell them reasonably that way rather than give them away at the auction.
These are my little girls that I am definitely going to keep. On the left is Thing 1, center is Prairie Fire, and right is Thing 2.
On to better things! While at the Farm Science Review this year I was able to purchase a pig waterer. I spent the last few weeks figuring out where to run the lines and gathering the parts. My boss allowed me to use one of our excavators from work to dig in the water lines. It took me a couple of hours to dig, install, and bury the lines from the house to the edge of the pasture. It then took me an entire day to dig the last 50 feet across the hog lot. I crossed the fence line and immediately hit a 12" thick concrete slab that used to be the floor to an old barn about 90 years ago. Apparently, when it burned down they just buried everything and left it. I had to dig around the concrete which meant digging up the entire barn foundation in the process. I ended up getting everything in and regrading the entire boars lot. I also now had another ten tons of barn stone to get rid of. I got off work early Friday due to the weather so I came home and finished hooking up the water lines and installed the waterer on the concrete slab Steven and I poured last weekend. It took the pigs a couple days to get used to but I think they like it.
All I have left to do is hook up the wiring in the house. This waterer has a small heater in it to keep it from freezing in the winter. It can support up to 60 pigs with this one waterer.
I had to stay home today to watch my daughter. She got the flu and was not able to go to preschool today so I stayed home to watch her. The good thing about this was I got to enjoy one of the most beautiful days we have had all year! Since she was feeling better after lunch we went out to feed the animals and check on everyone. Since it was a nice day and I was home we decided to put the sows in with the boar to get them rebred and wean the babies.
This is pig pig enjoying a meal without all the little ones bothering her.
I walked around the lot to check the fence and found this. The sows and piglets literally plowed the lot looking for bugs!
This is a pic of the latest project I completed at work. We started with a run down 20 year old landscape and took it all out and started over again. The goal was to create an inviting landscape that can be used any time the weather is fit and install an outdoor seating area for Grinders Above and Beyond in the market place plaza in Alliance Ohio. We installed Forever Lawn artificial turf for the lawn areas. In the spring they are going to put Adirondack chairs in the lawn areas for people to sit and eat or do pottery etc. and because there is no need to mow they can stay there all summer without needing moved.
This is a pic at the west end of the project. Can you tell which grass is real and which is artificial?
Hint: We put irrigation in the lawn area to make sure it stays pretty all summer. We mark the heads with flags till the system is tested.
We are currently setting new records for yearly rain fall and there are still two months left to add to the total. This has been the worst year ever for making hay. The neighbor and I both had hay on the ground for 7 days straight with 70 degree weather and sunshine. Still couldn't dry it enough to make good square bales. They are all getting musty.
Now that we are done with calving for the year I am looking at who to keep and who to sell to generate some income going into winter. I have already sold a heifer that I bought at auction earlier this year and took a $100 dollar loss before you figure in the feed she ate all year. I thought it was a one time auction thing and that I wouldn't get hit twice in one month with a bad sale price so I sold Jane. She was having some foot problems and she was part Holstein and her calves have been very nice but not beefy enough for what we do here. So I decided to let her go and use the money to benefit the others. I paid approximately $400 for her 3 years ago. I cared for her and raised her for since then. She gave me two calves. Again she was a good cow just not a good fit for here. I sent her to the auction expecting to be in the $800-$900 range. She brought me $500. Very depressing. She deserved better. I am going to trade Jane's little girl to my cousin for wrapping the hay, he needs a good beef heifer and she will do him well.
That being said that is why I do not like auctions. I may list the current cows I have for sale online first and see if I can sell them reasonably that way rather than give them away at the auction.
These are my little girls that I am definitely going to keep. On the left is Thing 1, center is Prairie Fire, and right is Thing 2.On to better things! While at the Farm Science Review this year I was able to purchase a pig waterer. I spent the last few weeks figuring out where to run the lines and gathering the parts. My boss allowed me to use one of our excavators from work to dig in the water lines. It took me a couple of hours to dig, install, and bury the lines from the house to the edge of the pasture. It then took me an entire day to dig the last 50 feet across the hog lot. I crossed the fence line and immediately hit a 12" thick concrete slab that used to be the floor to an old barn about 90 years ago. Apparently, when it burned down they just buried everything and left it. I had to dig around the concrete which meant digging up the entire barn foundation in the process. I ended up getting everything in and regrading the entire boars lot. I also now had another ten tons of barn stone to get rid of. I got off work early Friday due to the weather so I came home and finished hooking up the water lines and installed the waterer on the concrete slab Steven and I poured last weekend. It took the pigs a couple days to get used to but I think they like it.
All I have left to do is hook up the wiring in the house. This waterer has a small heater in it to keep it from freezing in the winter. It can support up to 60 pigs with this one waterer.
I had to stay home today to watch my daughter. She got the flu and was not able to go to preschool today so I stayed home to watch her. The good thing about this was I got to enjoy one of the most beautiful days we have had all year! Since she was feeling better after lunch we went out to feed the animals and check on everyone. Since it was a nice day and I was home we decided to put the sows in with the boar to get them rebred and wean the babies.
This is pig pig enjoying a meal without all the little ones bothering her.
I walked around the lot to check the fence and found this. The sows and piglets literally plowed the lot looking for bugs!This is a pic of the latest project I completed at work. We started with a run down 20 year old landscape and took it all out and started over again. The goal was to create an inviting landscape that can be used any time the weather is fit and install an outdoor seating area for Grinders Above and Beyond in the market place plaza in Alliance Ohio. We installed Forever Lawn artificial turf for the lawn areas. In the spring they are going to put Adirondack chairs in the lawn areas for people to sit and eat or do pottery etc. and because there is no need to mow they can stay there all summer without needing moved.
This is a pic at the west end of the project. Can you tell which grass is real and which is artificial?
Hint: We put irrigation in the lawn area to make sure it stays pretty all summer. We mark the heads with flags till the system is tested.
Anyway, my next project is a swimming pool and landscape in a residence in Lake Cable Ohio. Can't wait to get started. I also may be building a trout stream at the pond project I recently finished this summer as well!!
I will talk to everyone again soon!
Kenny
I will talk to everyone again soon!
Kenny
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Few calf pics
Sitting here watching the scrap pile burn making sure it doesn't get out of control and thought I would post a couple of pictures of some of the calves. I have been extremely busy busy this month and I haven't had time to post. I will write more when I get a chance. Lots of new things going on this month!
Kenny
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