The Day the Farm Went Black

A nightmare came to fruition Sunday night.  One thing you don't really want to think about is loosing power for a long period of time.  No one wants to be without power....we've come to enjoy cold food, hot showers, Internet and air conditioning.  But, for a dairy to loose power, especially in the middle of summer, it truly can be a nightmare.

It happened to us around 9:30 Sunday night.  It was pretty much an emergency and I just thought it would be kinda cool to give you the low down on how things went in the 12 hours we had no electricity.  It's kinda cool now.....now that power is back, the farm is running, the Dairy Farmer has slept and my air conditioning is on.  Let me tell ya....as Nelly says....it was getting hot in here.   And momma don't like to be hot! 

So, 9:30pm- we had finished our work day and were chillaxing on the couch with the Olympics and the lights flickered.  They went off and tried to come back on....The DF said, "come on, baby" (which was not meant for me).  Then, total darkness.

I get accustomed to the noise on the farm, not the smell, but the noise.
People always say "you must be used to it."  Honey, I'm here to tell you, I'll never be used to it.  Stink is stink no matter if you live beside it, near it or 10 miles away from it.   It comes with the territory- cows poop and poop stinks.  It's pretty black and white (or brown and ploppy, if you want to get technical). 

The farm, she was quiet.  All the humming of the fans, refrigeration pumps and vacuum pumps had shut down.  You never want to hear silence on the farm.  The DF threw on his boots, grabbed his phone and yelled......call West Penn....and ran out the door.   I followed after to say.....huh?......and heard the girls (and by girls....I mean our employees) yelling...or maybe shrieking.....in the milking parlor.  I thought to myself- oh man, this isn't good.   The milkers were in a totally black parlor, full of 24 cows....in the process of being milked and we have no power.   We have a barn full of 600 cows with no ventilation and our bulk milk tanks full of 11,0000 gallons of milk, with no refrigeration.   Yeah....this really isn't good. 

From my perspective:  the punks and I grabbed a flashlight, lit some candles and played on our ipods.  Eventually, we went to bed.  It was rough.....seriously rough.  We had a good dose of pioneer that night. 

From The Dairy Farmer's perspective:   first thing on his mind was opening the barns.  The barns are sealed on the sides and on one end for tunnel ventilation.  We have 52 inch fans (30 of them)on the end of each barn.  Their job is to pull air through the barn at 6 mph.  Well.....they weren't running.  That meant that it was going to get hot in there too.....real quick.   Cows really can't sweat- so our job is to keep them cool and comfortable.   Now, the sides of the barn are covered with curtains- we are raise able to raise and lower them.....so he grabbed the punks and one of our employees, some cordless drills and they were able to raise the curtains and let the heat start to escape. 

As that was going on, The Dairy Farmer started to hook the generator up.  Oh yes.....we have a generator.  We can NOT be without power.   He uses one of our tractors to run the generator, the generator hooks up the power junction box and boom.....we're back in business.  The generator isn't huge- but it can power the milking system, the milk cooling system and the Dairy Farmer's wife.  She may not have had a/c, but she did have lights, water and a fridge full of unspoiled food.   Lord, I love this man. 

In the meantime, the milking crew was in a hold pattern.  They just had to wait for the power to come on before they could start back up.  The cows that were in the process of being milked were let out into the holding pen.  It was getting pretty steamy in the parlor.  Rather than let them stand, wait and over heat, The DF choose to skip their milking for the evening.  They wouldn't get milked until 8 hours later.....so they may have been a little uncomfortable by that point.....but at the time, he felt that it was the better thing for them.   It took almost an hour until he had the genny up and running.

Once the generator was up and power was supplied......The DF stayed up and made sure that it continued to run at the correct speed.  It's easy to get too  much or not enough voltage and that can ruin electronics/equipment very easily.   Here is a run down of what is powered on our farm on a good day:

Barn Ventilation Fans
Feed bins (run by auger into our feed mixer)
Air compressors that run all the gates that let cows in and our of the parlor
Bulk tanks that store the milk
Well pumps that pump all the water to the farm
Computers that contain all our feed rations and our herd records
Dishwasher/Washing Machine
Pasteurizer
Milking System

As you can see, when this stuff isn't working.....we're up sh** creek without a paddle, as they say.   Now, what would happen if we didn't have a generator?   We'd have no water for the cows.   We couldn't milk and the cows would become engorged with milk and start bawling.  All you nursing mom's out there.....you know what I'm saying, right?  You can imagine what 500 cows would sound like if they were all crying to be milked.  We wouldn't be able to feed them....so now, they are hungry....and thirsty......and in a lot of pain.   You do know that if you don't milk them within 24 hours, they'll explode.   You know that right?  Who wants to see exploded cow all over the place...that's just nasty.   Nah...I kid.  They won't blow up.  But, they will loose productivity- which isn't good for us. 

Regardless- the power was on in 12 hours.  It was a stressful 12 hours (for The DF..not for me...remember, I was in bed).  The generator was working and the farm continued to operate.  A big thanks to our friend who works for West Penn.....always nice to call him  and find out real quick what is out and where.  We aren't sure what we'll do when he retires.  They did a great job of getting power back up....we sure weren't the only ones without.   The blessing in all of this is that it happened at night, when it was a tad cooler and we didn't have the heat of the day to contend with. 

Anyway....that's what went down the day the farm went dark......always good to throw the Dairy Farmer a curve ball, never let him get too comfortable....gotta keep him on his toes.  In fact, he's on his toes so much....homeboy's like a ballet dancer- bless his dairy farming heart. 

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When does school start?

Wow....it's been a REALLY long time since I've blogged.  So sorry if you've been missing your daily dose of farming. 


Things here are moving along.  As I discussed on Facebook, about 2 weeks ago we were in a drought situation, things in The Ville were looking a bit parched.  Corn was dry and wilting.  The ears were coming on and without rain, they were going to start to try and fill out. 


Well, within the past 2 weeks, we've had some rain.  I know it can ruin our summer fun.  It's no fun to be at the pool and have to pack up and head home.  Trust me, our trip to Raystown was cancelled due to rain, but it was needed.  Boy....was it needed.  Just a few inches of glorious rain can make or break a farm. 


We have hundreds of acres of crops to feed our cattle.  Our cattle need to eat good quality, nutritious feed (and lots of it) to make milk.  We need to sell milk to make money to continue running our farm and take care of our family....well....you can kinda get the picture of how it can become a vicious circle. 

In a nutshell, the rain made a difference for us and the rest of our county.  Our country is in a drought situation and when we don't have good quality forage for our ladies, we have to buy it.  When the rest of the country is in drought.....prices of feed skyrocket, along with gas prices.   Well, sometimes <insert- most time> farming is a risky, tricky, stressful, tiring gig.  But, The Dairy Farmer is hanging in there.  And as the rains fell last week....a little hint of a smile appeared.   (and was quickly dashed by a few 100' days)  See....ain't it fun?


Speaking of hanging in there.  We are.  Summer is moving along and although we aren't vacationing this summer, well....the punks are.....we aren't, we're still trying to have fun around the farm. 


I am pretty sure school needs to start soon, however.  This is what Farm Boy Jr. Edition was doing this morning:

Yeah....that's right.  He's playing Uno with the dogs.

Bella didn't really care for the hand she was dealt, and Jack will probably lose because, well.....it's hard to hold your cards when you don't have thumbs. 

I had to take Poodle to an orthodontist appointment, so I didn't get to hang around and see who really won.  I was also curious to see how Jr got Jack to say "uno."

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God's Promise

A few days ago, we happened to have a pretty decent storm around these parts.  Afterwards, we looked out The Dairy Farmer's office window and low and behold....a full on double rainbow!

It was so close to our house, that we could see the end shimmering just in front of our woods by Penn National.  We considered running over right quick and just standing in it, hoping it would turn us all rainbow brite and sparkly....but, it would have resulted in ruining some corn and beans- so we thought better of it. 

It was also so close to our house that we couldn't get it in one picture.

I am pretty sure that Chambersburg - greater and lesser- stopped in time as facebook exploded with status updates and pictures of this wonder.

I am pretty sure that a rainbow captivates us so much because it's our visual reminder of God's promise.  It's not just refraction and dispersion of the sun's light by rain, it's a promise that God made to us after Noah and the great flood....to never do that again and God always keeps his promises. 

  
I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.  Genesis 9:13.   

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Here we go again

When I was out browsing around the barn the other day, guess who I saw?

None other than Ms. Brown Sugar.  She has a special place in our hearts, because she was our first red calf that was born on my watch.   You can read all about her in her very own blog post HERE.

Then Brown Sugar had her first baby......which was named Cheezit and you can read all about her RIGHT HERE


And, of course, time flies when you're having fun and she had another baby....
who looks like this:

But, <sniff, sniff> he is a boy.  He's super cute and super brown with super big, warm, soft eyes and we don't want to get rid of him!    He's a nice looking guy, so we are going to keep him maybe sell him for breeding.  It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it, right? 

In keeping with tradition, we named him.  Allow me to introduce you to :

We pride ourselves on our originality around here. 

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Saying Goodbye

I must say, I am getting tired of saying goodbye to my pets.  We lost our beloved Abby last summer and last week, I had to say farewell to a part of my childhood. 

I was volunteering at my kids school when I received a call from The Dairy Farmer saying that my horse, Rocky had died.  It's bittersweet.  It's never easy to loose a friend, but he was 40 and we knew that, at some time, we would have to make a decision.  Heck, I've been "making THE decision" for the last 9 years!

In keeping with tradition, I will tell our story and it will help me heal.   I got this horse when I was 9.  He had to be hauled from upstate PA....I had never seen him nor ridden him and I was about to be terrified.  Apparently, he was trailer phobic and copious amounts of drugs were required to get him to our stable.  

   A friend of mine rode him for the first time and I watched, in wide eyed fear, as he had a temper tantrum....rearing up and flipping over backwards.  Needless to say, he was a young punk of a horse and I decided to stick with riding my pony, Ginger.  Who needed a full size horse anyway?

Time went on and he settled in.  He really was a great horse, a big sweetie who had a fondness for poptarts, french fries and drinking coke right from a can.  We enjoyed trail rides and the occasional horse show.   I do recall showing at the Franklin County Fair one year.  Rocky had a penchant for loading just fine at the barn, but once it was time to leave the show, that darn horse wouldn't get back on the trailer.  We spent many hours trying to blindfold and load him....until it was dark and we are loading by flashlight.   He had a mind of his own.   We moved a few times during my child hood and kept on dragging that horse along with us- due to the trailering issue, I found myself riding him to his new boarding facilities. 

When it was time for me to go to college, we decided it was time to sell him.  A few people came to look at him, but when it came down to it.....I just couldn't.  I contacted Wilson College and they came to get him to use as a lesson horse.  I thought....here we go.....this horse is gonna throw a fit when they show up with that trailer.  Much to my surprise, he walked on like he had been doing it this way forever.   I was happy to know where he was.....and when it was time for him to retire from lessons, I would be the first call to take him back! 

The day came, about 13 years later.   Wilson called and said he was ready to retire, his arthritis was just too bad for him to continue.  Did I want him back?  If not, they had a waiting list of people who were interested.   A little back story......The Dairy Farmer wanted a boat and wanted it bad.   I wanted to have a horse at some point and after a discussion, a note was written and hung on our refrigerator.  It stated that:  The Dairy Farmer, being of sound mind and body, hereby stated that his wife would have a horse before he had a boat.   Needless to say, we had a boat in our backyard and I had no horse.

When the call came, I was very excited to bring Rocky to our home.  The Dairy Farmer....was not.  He was wondering how much an ancient, arthritic hay burner was going to cost him.  We had 2 young children....and my time was devoted to them.  We had one in private school....so our money was devoted to that.  Was it really a wise choice to bring home an aging horse?  It was very hard to admit that he was right.    And I prepared myself to call Wilson and tell them to give my horse away.  

Then.....the DF walked in the house and said......call them, tell them to bring your horse home.  He knew how long I had been waiting to get him back.  This horse WAS my childhood.  Hours were spent at the barn:  cleaning, grooming, riding....kept me out of trouble.  How could we not bring him home?

He arrived the summer of 2003....and he looked great.  He did have arthritis, but it wasn't too bad.  We could hop on and ride for short periods of time and never in a million years, would I have thought my kids would be riding my childhood horse.

We never would've thought we'd be saying goodbye to him 9 years later.  He was old.  He had no teeth.  I made his food into mush so he could slurp it down.  He was thin.  I struggled every year with putting him down.  But, one look in his loving brown eyes which were still bright and clear.....and watching him gallop out through the field every morning....I knew he wasn't ready.  My hoof trimmer and vet always said, 4 good feet and a strong heart have taken him far.  When I would ask the vet how long?  She would say "shhh.....he doesn't know how old he is." 

I miss him. 

I miss his soft nose nibbling on my shirt, looking for snacks.  I miss him yelling at me when I would go in to let him outside (he HATED being inside), I miss him itching his head on my back.  But, I am thankful that I didn't have to make that awful decision and that he died on his own.  And I am thankful that we live on a farm and were able to bury him here.  He is beside our first mastiff, Nittany and our sweet girl, Abby.  It's a place of honor. 

Good Bye Rock Star......thank you for all the memories......

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Spring has Sprung

And you know what comes with spring.....new life.  Be it flowers blooming, trees budding, pollen filling the air and clogging our sinuses.....everything comes alive in the spring. 


And spring means.....babies.......

This is Orange.  She's a cute little kitten that befriended us last year.  I say befriended "us" but really she befriended Big Green....the milk truck.  When we show up at the parlor to unload and clean, she's there asking for a bit of milk.  Please Sir, may I have some more?  We should have named her Oliver....but we like to stick with the obvious.


We've mentioned before how we don't like welfare cats around here.  We like them lean and hungry so they help to keep down the mouse/rat population.  We don't feed them- maybe a bit of milk every now and again.  But, the cats on our farm are feral....when they see you....they take off.  No one hangs around for a scratch under the chin.....except Orange.  


Orange is a girl.  Which.....now we know why this guy showed up.  Guess he was looking for love.  And then.....he hit the bricks.  I do miss you Black Kitty.

Back to Orange.  A few weeks ago (and it was no surprise)....Orange showed up and was as wide as she is tall.   She was carry a sign that said -babies on board, show a mother some love.  So, of course, we had to give her milk .....and maybe some dry food. 

And now, Orange is once again, her sleek, trim self.  Which is more than this mother can say and her punks are 11 and 13. 

We can't wait to meet your babies, Orange.  I hope when they are a little bigger you'll bring them around.  And, as soon as they are big enough, you're cute little orange tushy is going to vet.   I know your type......and you'll be a baby spewing machine. 

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A Milestone

It seems like long ago and far away, but in the winter of 2009, I started working on the farm....after a nice long 10 year run as a stay at home mom. 

Here is the first calf I fed....we've talked about her before.  Good old 2829.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was cold and I was reluctant.

I had one calf to feed on my first day.....and I had trouble....and was frustrated.  She was a little bit premature and had trouble figuring it out.  I perserveered and.......

Now, we feed about 50-60 every day.  The ironic thing is that we are faster now, with more calves then when we first started and only had , like 10.....yeah...we are THAT good.

So, last month....we celebrated a milestone.......drum roll please.......................

TA-DAH!!!  Calf 3829!

 You know what this means right?   We have raised 1000 calves!!! 

 We rock.

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Motley Crue

It was a normal Thursday night for this farmin' family.  The Dairy Farmer in his kerchief and I in my cap, had just settled in for a long winter's nap....or, something along those lines.  More like we were just settling in to watch American Idol. 

I heard The DF open the front door and someone say "you have cows out."  Nothing...and I repeat nothing, can get that man moving faster than a speeding bullet like those three little words.....cows are out.   In farm terms, that is a code red, high level, emergency of the first degree.  You never know how many, which ones or where they are heading. 

Normally- if one or two get out, they tend to hang tight to the others still inside.  If big mommas get out, they tend to wander around aimlessly....looking for some good eats and every now and again, they may kick up their heals, but they don't really go too far.  It's hard to run when you have a ginormous udder swinging between your legs. 

If the heifers get out....well, look out.  It's like girls gone wild.  They are tricky, they are fast and they enjoy the wide open spaces. 

When the call is sounded-----years of experience have taught me to stay put until I am called into action.  I knew it wasn't good this time, because it was 7:30 at night, already dark and they are black and white...not the easiest to see in the dark, and they were already on the road.   We live on a fairly busy road here in the Ville.  The speed limit has been lowered to 45mph.....but darn near everyone still flies by at 55-60mph.  We also live on a straight stretch with a passing zone....so you can image that The DF's heart was racing a bit trying to get these cows back in.    We certainly pray that no one hits a cow at 55mph!  That is not good on all accounts.

As I was waiting to hear what was going on.....Farm Boy Jr. Edition came in and said "suit up, woman!  Get off your lazy beehind!  Your husband needs you!  We can't continue on without you and your cow expertise!"   Not really, he just said "c'mon mom."   Which in my head....I knew was not good.   That probably meant we had heifers out....and lots of em.

I tore open the shutters and threw up the sash and what to my wondering eyes should appear.......but this.......standing in my front yard:

Ok.....a couple things here.   I knew in this time of crisis, that grabbing my camera was not going to make The Dairy Farmer happy, so you are seeing pics "post emergency." 

And, I have been on this farm long enough to know.....these ain't our cows.   We have Holstein dairy cattle.....and this motley crue of fat, furry suckers are most certainly not dairy.  This here....is a couple thousand dollars worth of beef.  

Regardless of who they are.....they needed to be off the road and in a safe place until someone can claim them.  (I'm not gonna lie.....we did have thoughts of New York strip, fillet mignon and prime rib floating around in our heads.) Some of us may have been drooling. 

Together with my father in law, his wife, our employee from across the street, my 2 punks, The Dairy Farmer, myself and 2 dogs barking frantically out the window....we corralled these super slow, fairly friendly cows into our barn.  It was not an easy task. 

Our girls are not super friendly....while they are cool with being handled, they have a little skittish streak...so when you try to heard them somewhere- a wave of the hand and a "c'mon girls" gets them moving in the right direction.   These things...well they didn't move fast- they wanted petted and scratched and I am pretty sure that The DF pushed them by hand down our driveway.  He was a bit sweaty and out of breath when I arrived on the scene. 

Because we don't know them.  We can't have them co-mingling with our ladies.  We don't want to spread any disease and it's a huge disruption to the girls who love law and order (mostly criminal intent...not SVU....I don't let them watch it, it makes them have bad dreams).   Plus, we could see as we were pushing them into the barn, these guys weren't fixed.  So, we sure don't want them to have a sleepover with our lovely holsteins!  

After they were in the barn, we then loaded them on our stock trailer to spend the night until we could find their owner.   We gave them some food and water and tucked them in tight.   See you in the morning, travelers, we'll find your daddy soon.

  And then, we stood around in our driveway with my in laws- visiting.....and reliving our super exciting Thursday night.  Then we all dispersed and went in the house to finish watching American Idol.....speaking of which....how good is that Jessica Sanchez?  She did Whitney proud. 

 
I wondered how on earth we were going to find the owner.  I suggested contacting the radio station, but The Dairy Farmer always knows best.  He made one phone call, which lasted about 2 seconds....dairy farmers always keep it short and sweet.   About 15 minutes later, the phone rang, the owner was located and within 10 minutes, The DF returned the cows.....shattering our hopes and dreams of having a big neighborhood Bar B Que. 

So, that....my farm following friends....is what happened on Thursday night.  It's always nice to shake things up a bit.

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Sleeping Beauties

I was downloading pictures from Jr's camera the other day, and I found this.....

 He had just received it for Christmas and was anxious to take it to Grandma's house on Christmas day.  Here is the very first picture from his brand new camera....and I'm the one who took it.  As we were pulling out of the driveway, we looked to our right and saw that everyone was down for the count....this NEVER happens.  Usually, one remains on all four's to watch over the other ones.  It's usually Rocky, my 40 something buckskin. 

He has arthritis so bad, he doesn't usually lay down, because, it's hard on the old joints.   He doesn't have a Life Alert necklace.  He can't just push the button to tell me he's fallen and he can't get up. 

This day though, this beautiful PA Christmas Day was too much...the weather was perfect, the sun was a shining and he decided- if ya can't beat em, join em and they all took a nice nap.  

You would be surprised how many times people driving by stop to tell me my horse is dead.  I guess people just like to be the bearer of bad news, be the first to see me cry, be the first to break my heart.  At least a few times a year, some passerby stops to let me know.  Thanks....I appreciate it.  But, dude is like a Timex...takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.  He is 40...it will happen some day, but for future reference...horses do lay down.  They like to cat nap in the sun.....it doesn't always mean they are dead.   If he dies....you'll be the first to know.

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The Dairy Farmer Weighs In

We, at Brechland Farms, feel it is our responsibility to consumers to help you understand what we do and why we do it.  As you likely know, we, personally, do not support the raw milk "movement".  As most of you also know, our area has had an outbreak of sickness that many believe is from drinking local raw milk.  We pray that those that are ill will recover fully without any long term side effects.  In light of this outbreak....our industry will suffer negatively from this, so we wanted weigh in.  We have heard that the milk has tested positive and negative in varying reports, so we are not here to say that contaminated milk is the cause. 

It has long been our position that raw milk consumption has too many risks for the public.  Basically, raw milk is straight from the cow.  It is filtered (like through a thick coffee filter) and placed into a bulk tank where it's cooled.   That is all that is done to it.

Here on our farm, we do not drink our milk.  We don't even feed unpasteurized milk to our calves.  There is a very slight chance that it could contain E. Coli, Camplyobactor, Salmonella, Listeria etc.....all forms of bacteria.  Even though the milk is tested monthly and safe practices are used, there is always a slight chance and we choose not to take the risk with our kids or our calves.   We prefer not to have stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea.   

 Pasteurization of milk has been around for well over 100 years and has been a common practice in milk processing for 60-70 years.  Pasteurization kills bacteria and has made milk one of the safest foods to consume.  Less than 1% of food and waterborne illnesses are caused by milk and milk products. 

There are varying opinions on why raw milk is "better" or "healthier" .....during pasteurization, enzymes in milk that help aid in digestion are destroyed so people that have milk sensitivity or lactose intolerance may be able to digest raw milk better.  Many believe that raw is always better for you.....but from a safety aspect for the entire populace, this is not the best choice.   For the general public, drinking pasteurized milk is the safest.  As always, we are a country of choices and we do support every one's right to choose.   What we want is to inform you that when consuming raw milk....there is a chance of it containing a bacteria that can cause health issues.  Know your product. 

Farms that sell raw milk  are inspected and tested monthly to make sure that their sanitation and hygiene of the cows and facilities are kept up.  But this alone doesn't ensure safe milk 100% percent of the time.  A cow could develop a mastitis (a mammary gland infection) without the farmer knowing it.  A few infections are sub clinical meaning that the udder and milk don't show signs of infection.  Sometimes the cow can fight the infection on her own and the farmer never even knew that she had it.  So basically a cow could shed dangerous  bacteria in her milk one day and not the next.  My guess is that this is what happened to the farmer's cow in our area. 

I know the dairyman that is involved and trust me he is a good farmer.  So if it could happen on his farm it could happen on any farm that sells raw milk to the public.

We hope that this has helped enlighten you a bit on what is happening locally-  if these folks are ill because of milk...remember.....it is because it was raw milk.  Pasteurizing kills any trace of harmful bacteria....so don't let this turn you off of dairy.  You may rest assured that the milk you are purchasing in the store is 100% safe.

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Mani/Pedi

Today (ok...it got late...so really, it was yesterday) is hoof trimming day here on the farm.  Now, I am still a newbie when it comes to this farm stuff, but I have grown accustom to the familiar sound of the high pitched whine of the grinding tool.....I know exactly what that means.....yup.....the hoof trimmer is in da house!

He shows up around 5am...rain or shine....sleet, snow or hail....he's very similar to the mail man.....but not really, not at all.   I thought today was as good a day as any to annoy the heck out of the hoof trimmer.....The Dairy Farmer says I don't talk enough about farming and this is a really big part of our cow health, so I grabbed my camera and this roving reporter set out to learn the ropes. 

So....here is what I learned today:


These are cows.......that's the first thing they taught me in Cow 101...you all with me?  Ok...good......moooving on (get it "moo"ving on....see what I did there...cow/moo...hello? You guys? Where did you go?)

Oh good, you came back.  I have lots of knowledge to drop so try to stay with me.   I learned that three times a month, the hoof trimmer shows up on the farm.  Our herdsmen have determined who is in need of mani's and pedi's and they get them into the barn where they will patiently wait their turn.   There's always one....always a wise guy....some who just HAS to be different....see her there....everyone else has their head where it belongs, but no, not her......

I learned that The Dairy Farmer likes to make sure that our dry cows (remember that term from a previous post?  Dry cows are not currently in the milking herd because they are busy growing a baby).  So before they deliver, it's good practice to trim their hooves and make sure that their feet are in good shape.  Amen, sister.  I always had a nice pedicure before I headed into the delivery room.  If my toes are going to be near my throat....they sure better be pretty....know what I mean moms?  Wait....was that too much?  Sorry.....back to farming.....

I found out that we usually have 45 cows for him to trim each time.  Sometimes more....sometimes less.  The herdsmen watch our herd very carefully and will make sure that if anyone is limping or sore, has abscesses or inter digital dermatitis (which is a fancy pants name for...warts)  they are signed up for a trim and we also try to make sure that everyone gets at least a trim once or twice a year.  So, with 650 cows.....you can imagine that the hoof trimmer stays pretty busy. 


I followed a couple of the girls as they came down the alley way from their stall.  One at a time, they walk into the chute, which is actually a hoof trimming table. 

This is their view

Once they are in the chute, straps go under their belly to hold them steady while the table actually reclines them.   That way, the hoof trimmer can do his work without being bent over all day long.   And the cows aren't having to support their weight on three legs.  

 We have horses as well, and when the hoof trimmer comes for them, he has to do each foot one at a time, holding it between his knees and completely bent over.   Now, our horses are rude and decide that if he's going to do their feet, they are going to rest on him while he does.  I couldn't imagine doing 45 cows a day like that!

Here's one starting to "tip" on her side.  Now, I am not sure they are in  "love" with this idea.  It's not the most natural thing for their feet to leave the ground, but once they are on their side, they settle in and wait it out.   

I learned that it usually takes about 5-6 minutes per cow.  If they have some issues, it can be as long as 15 minutes.  The goal is to do as much as he can quickly, put her back on her feet and send her on her way.   The less stress on them the better.   We've said before....we like our ladies laying down and chewing their cud.....signs of a happy cow. 

 This is a cow foot....another lesson from Cow 101.  They have 2 claws or toes and 2 dewclaws.   All claws are trimmed with an angle grinder with a hoof trimming attachment.  It's like a dremmel tool and shaves small pieces of hoof off until it is the right length.   Think Austin Powers ...when they thawed him out and had to sand his nasty toenail....oh gosh...I just threw up a little.   My sister just informed me that that scene is from Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey.  Either way.....gross.   Ok, I guess this is precisely why The Dairy Farmer says I don't talk enough about farming. 

 

Ok, so here is where I really learned something interesting.   This cow had an abscess in her claw.  Without being too detailed, it's basically a pocket of infection that is working it's way out through the hoof.    The hoof trimmer opened it up, drained it out and pulled out some high heels from his box of tricks.   It's a wooden block that is placed onto the good claw.

To all my vet tech friends- or any of you sickos who enjoy a good pus story......it was an old abscess, a little blood but no pus.  Even if it was full of pus, I wouldn't have taken a picture.....cuz that's just tacky and this is a family blog......I mean seriously. 

Of course it's tacky to talk about pus....but I will continue to make birth references until the cows come home- ba dum cha.....get it?   Another cow reference....I am schmokin' today!

Back on track.  He added some epoxy that will keep the block on the good hoof.  It elevates the "good" side and takes the pressure off the abscess side.....allowing it to heal quicker.  Dang, he's tricky. 

He then puts some topical antibiotic on the abscesses and wraps it up.  The wrap and block will stay on for 1-2 weeks and will eventually fall off or wear off.   I did learn that abscesses are more common in the summer because the cows stand more...trying to keep cool.   Interesting. 

Once she's done, she's lowered to her feet, the front of the chute opens and off she goes, back to work (see her pretty colored toes?) 

There you have it.  A quick lesson in foot care here at Brechland Farms.   I did learn one other thing.....our cows are rude.   Every one of them walked away without so much as a "thankyouverymuch" or a "goodbye" and not one of them gave him a tip. 

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Snow......yay or nay?

Of course, the first snow fall occurs on our weekend to work.  Technically it's not the "first" snowfall since we were trick or treating in 8 inches of the white stuff, but this one came with ice.....and that's not as much fun.

The day starts when the dogs use our porch as a toilet since breaking through the ice covered snow hurts their widdle feet.  We did get a bit of a late start since A) I tried to let the punks sleep in for a little and 2) my clothes were not quite dry.   By the time my lovelies were awake and jumping for joy at the thought of putting on 4 layers of clothes and trekking outside, the rain/sleet had stopped....that is always a good thing.

Here's one reason we don't like snow- Big Green spent the night in the snow and now her (cars are always girls, right?)  windshield is covered, her wipers are iced over and my doors are frozen shut. 

My rear view mirrors.....this creates a problem.  I am a girl and as many girls, I am "back up" challenged.  That's right.....I can't back up a car, truck, bike....heck, I even have trouble walking backwards.  With the milk tank in the bed.....I can't do the look over my shoulder back up, my windows are frozen shut so I can't lean out and since I got this farm gig, I have learned that those mirrors on the side of your car.....they help you to back up!  Heck yeah....they totally do!  But, I was basically ice blocked this morning so I just backed up- and when I hit something, that's when I knew to stop.   Worked out ok.

Oh dear......next problem.   This is the back of Big Green.  The milk hose is under there somewhere and it is frozen shut.    Copious amounts of hot water will fix that.  The other problem is that after the hose is de-froze....the truck bed gets icy and I have to climb in and out of it.   I am careful, but I do have a vision of me slipping some day and knocking out my front teeth....then, I can't find my teeth because they are lost in the snow and I have to go through the rest of my life toothless.  I am sure that has some sort of deep rooted, psychological meaning...clearly, I have issues.   

Oh dear.......I know what this mean.  These buckets of warm water are defrosting bottles of colostrum.  The first milk that all new babies need.....which means....we have a pile of new babies.  Our Weekend Warrior is gonna be hopping today!   He mentioned that we have a lot of ladies due in the next month.  Guess we best get ready.  


Yup......just as I suspected:   babies galore!

bull

bull

heifer

a very new bull

a very new heifer

another very new heifer- she got new legs (said in a Forrest Gump voice....as in "Lieutenant Dan.....you got new legs")

Curious mommas in the house! 

Hungry mommas in the house!

We got all our calves fed- horses are fed and outside enjoying the snow.   The old man has new threads this year.  I think he likes them. 

Chickens have food and water and now........

It's time to PLAY!!!!!!

So- snow.....yay or nay?  Well, it certainly does throw a wrench into our day.  It makes farming a little tougher.  But, what is it about snow?  The punks are out sledding and riding 4 wheelers, the dogs and even the horses were playing this morning.  Snow just makes everything seem fresh and new......like a do over.  I say.....yay! 



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