New Tenant

We have a barn with a two bedroom apartment on the second story.  Our tenants who have been there for 4 years are leaving us.  Finding a new tenant is always a challenge.  Will we like them and want them to stay? How will they take care of the barn? Will they get along with the other tenants? Will they like us?  It's like dating.  So far we have been incredibly lucky and friendly with our tenants. I am still sad that one of our Tenants/friends the moved back to another state - No I'm not a crazy emotional person. 

 We are a hobby farm.  When people ask why we don't own horses I joke that you can't eat them.  We love watching horses but don't want the expense or care of the horse.  SO when we are looking for a new tenant having a horse puts that person up several notches on our list.  This time in our tenant search we were lucky enough to have 3 people we thought would be great choices.  

Darling Husband and I chose the person that sounded best.  We had her over last night to sign the contract and work things out.  Stick Boy was excited to have such a friendly person with friendly animals move in.  Darling Husband and I were thrilled with everything she wanted to do on the property.  Then right before she left she said, "I'm a vegan.  I hope you don't butcher your animals on the property."  

I am sure my mouth dropped open before I could stop it.  

I do remember when we were showing her the property she said something to the effect of she hoped I didn't eat my cows.  And I replied "We don't eat the cows.  We also have 2 steers and they are only good for one thing."  So we talked a while longer and we will let her know before any animals go to freezer camp or become quests of honor at a BBQ.  Hopefully this will be another beginning of happy tenants and neighbors.  

New Pastures

Our pretty fence.

The main cattle pasture is getting a little low on grass. 

I gathered up the fencing materials.

Drove to a pasture that we want to use but has falling down fences.  We used plastic clips to hold up the electric wire: one strand around the perimeter of preexisting fence and 3 strands where no other fencing is.  We did not have enough electric netting to go across the pasture.

The boys and I put up electric netting fencing.  Darling Husband used a new solar panel, old dolly, car battery, and old charging system to power the fence.

And now we have happy cows again!

Spring

Spring is a time when there is plenty of grass so the cattle and sheep will often share the shade of a tree.  

It is also a time of tough decisions.  This guy got an abcess in his neck.  I think it is from when he was in a pasture with cactus.  A vet visit would be a couple hundred dollars and he is destined to go to Freezer Camp in a couple months.  We decided it wasn't worth the vet bill to put an extra 50 pounds on him.  

Our two rams being friendly for now.

A friend gave me this black and white lamb.  She will add some fun color to the herd and she has quite the personality!  She loves chasing the dogs and inserted herself right into the middle of the herd the first day.

Don't Try to Teach a Pig

My brother had a bumper sticker:

DON'T TRY TO TEACH A PIG TO SING

IT WASTES TIME AND ANNOYS THE PIG!

Well....

We lost a tree.  A beautiful tree fell over in looking at the tree I found a water leak they are not close enough that I think one caused the other.  The water line needed to be repaired and that meant turning off the water to the pigs for several hours.  

The pigs drink out of a nozzle not water bucket like the rest of the animals.  I did not have a way to use a nozzle without the water being on.  They do a set up at the fair but we are not showing our pigs so we don't have it. 

 In my infinite wisdom I decided to teach the pigs to drink out of the bucket. 

 I grabbed one pig and put it's nose near the water NOT even INTO the water and 

it squealed so

 badly the dogs came running, 

 

Luca saw it was me and started watching the perimeter of the pen.

Good dog.

the other pigs joined the squealing and started running around knocking the bucket over,

 the chickens started squawking, 

and I fell into the mud from the knocked over bucket.

The pigs survived 2 hours with no water without any problems.

Missing Cattle

One of my morning joys on a week off is getting up while the boys are sleeping and walking with the house dog outside and taking a short walk with him while letting Luca off his cable and checking on the other animals while the 3 dogs play.  That joy is cut short when I see the cattle fence is down and the cattle are nowhere to be found.  

I called and woke up Teen Son, while he went to get fodder and go off on the quad.  I ran into the house and woke up Stick Boy and our HelpXer.  So much for everyone's relaxing morning.  Teen son drove one way down the street and I went the other.  Then I went up the main road with fear in my heart and luckily didn't see any of the cows there.  Then I drove to the housing development that runs along part of our property and in a neighbors yard was a knocked over bronze horse and 7 bad cattle.  I knocked on their door but they wouldn't answer so I left my jeep with the keys in it in their driveway called the boys to let them know we found the cattle.  I grabbed a bucket of fodder and started walking home with the cows pushing and bumping me for more fodder.  We walked through 2 neighbors back yards then they heard Teen Son and ran for his fodder hoping he would give them more fodder than I would.

We put the cattle away and fixed the fence then I went to get the jeep and make sure the neighbors knew to contact me if they had any damage to their property.  

Oh Happy Mornings!

None of these pictures are of today.  I was more concerned with bringing the cattle home than taking pictures.  

Piggies!

In November we sent the pigs to be processed.  I sold one for the cost of processing the one we wanted to eat, so we were able to put almost 200lbs of meat in the freezer for less than $2.00 a pound.  We are LOVING eating it but it is clear I did not get enough of it made into sausage.  We decided to buy 2 more pigs; one to sell and one to turn into sausage and bacon.
Yesterday Darling Husband, Stick Boy, and I went to pick out 2 pigs.  His friend took us to meet the woman he buys his pigs from.  I have never seen so many pigs, big happy pigs, adorable day old pigs, old sows with young piglets playing around them - it was so overwhelming I didn't take any pictures.

While we were there picking out or piglets to grow for sausage Darling Husband says lets start breeding pigs.  It's not in the plan but if you have read my blog you know not much of what we do is in the plan.  Sure lets breed pigs!  We chose 2 piglets that were not related and put them in the travel crate.  It is then I reminded Darling Husband that if we breed these we will not have any sausages for summer.  So we borrowed money from his friend and bought a third pig.

The piglets are checking out the sheep.  They kept running up to the fence.  Here is Maxwell wondering why the piggies get more fodder than she does. 

Crazy Senseless Loss

I have been avoiding my blog.  I know I have to write about this but it hurts my heart.  With farming and animals, crazy things happen and it just doesn't make any sense.  The new lambs were strange little guys it took a couple days before they would walk uneven ground without stopping to study it.  Looking back I should have kept the penned in an area with rocks but I am not sure that would have helped.

Here the Painted Desert Sheep are with the rest of our sheep but most of the time they would keep to themselves.  

We went to dinner with at my kids grandparents and with the freedom of having HelpXer's here we were not worried about it getting dark while we enjoyed our family.  During dinner we got a call all animal lovers fear.  When the HelpXers came home they saw Oakley with something in the pond.  They thought she was attacking a duck but instead she was trying to pull the lamb out of the pond but the bank was too steep and she kept falling back in.  The HelpXers pulled the lamb out of the pond and warmed her by the fire.

Then when the sheep were being put away another lamb ran up over the dam and right splash into the pond the lamb swam over to where the bank was super steep but thankfully our HelpXer was able to pull the lamb out quickly.  

The drive home was me making calls to vets and other animal friends looking for advice and medicine.  The first vet I spoke with was unwilling to advise on sheep, the second would see us but not until the next day and didn't advise treating the lamb he wanted $250 just to see her.  

  

Our first couple hours at home were spent warming up the lambs.  I spent that night keeping the lambs happy and fire roaring.  The white ram lamb made it clear pretty quickly he was there because it was nice by the fire but it was freezing outside and the other lamb rested easier with him beside her.

In the morning we took both lambs out for a walk to see how they would respond to being out in the cold and in their natural environment.  The ram lamb made it clear right away he was DONE with being cooped up and wanted freedom.  The ewe was still weak.  

I spent the next 3 nights keeping the fire going and walking/carrying her around while I did my chores.  She was eating, drinking, and pooping well so we believed she was recovering.

The fourth day she was ready to be out running around so we let her loose with the sheep.  A few hours later I could not find her.  While I walked the property looking for her the dogs would not come to  me finally I decided to get smart and look were the dogs were.  

The dogs would not leave her even after she died.  

A few days later the black and white ram fell into the pond and drowned.  

I would find the Livestock Guardian Dogs putting the white ram into pens or corners and just laying down so he couldn't get away from them.  Now he is running happily with the rest of the sheep.