Weaning time at the Farm...
It's a wet day today but chores still have to be done. My little helper and I put on heavy coats and spent some time in the rain.

We weaned off calves this weekend and it is very noisy here. It will be for several days. The Scottish Highland cattle are great mothers and do not want to be away from their calves. We put them on the opposite sides of a fence but so they can still see each other. This seems to help with the stress that goes on during this time.

 I am trying to post a video of about 30 seconds of the vocals being heard around here every hour of every day. It is quite the cacophony of sound.

Once all these cattle have calmed down I will get some pictures of the weanlings up. I will have about a dozen up for sale. I always try to keep a few and the kids have their fair calves that usually stay here on the farm for the rest of their lives. The Highlands are a much enjoyed adventure.

Three yearling heifers for sale. I am asking $450 each for them. Here are some photos of them. It was wet here today but i guess you can see their shape better with wet hair.

#94 yearling heifer

#107 yearling heifer

#98 yearling heifer

I will have three yearling heifers for sale, asking $450, as soon as another buyer takes their choice. I will try and get pictures up soon.  I already have a two year old bull for sale. He will go for $550. He won second place last year amongst all breeds ,with his brother, under pair of bulls.  They were cookie cutters of each other and looked great.  We were shocked that they placed with all the other 'normal' and more popular breeds that were competing.  This guy was put with a two year old heifer, so we will see what he produces in the spring.

Once the already sold heifers are picked up this week I will have my corral back and then will wean off this year's babies.  I haven't taken the time to look to closely but there will be several that will be up for sale after they adjust to eating on their own. I like to keep a few to keep the age range.


Bluto is a great animal but may have to offer him for sale also to keep the blood lines not so close. I would have to ask $900 for him. He has been to many fairs over the years. He was born 03-27-2007, the same year as my daughter who is helping her Dad show Bluto in the ring. Notice that we don't even own a 'show stick'. Still haven't found them of any use with the calm Highlands, they must be just for show and I don't feel the need to just blindly follow what is the expected normal without a purpose.

I am still looking for another potential herd bull. We went to the Regional Highland show in Austin Minnesota and looked at a few.  They had a piper play at the opening of the show. He was really good.  I was surprised to find nothing older than a three year old bull could be shown. This was shocking to me. Why would a Highland show limit their animals in this way? I have absolutely no qualms about showing our 'almost six' year old bull and I love to look at the mature animals. They are true show pieces.  It seems like there are few Highland breeders who do not use grain (and some ...alot). I like my grass fed animals and would like to stay true to that thinking.  We found one grass fed bull calf for sale. Still thinking....

top two 3 year old bulls

lined up for grand champion bull judging

costume class - rodeo clown and his bucking bull, complete with (doll) rider and bucking strap/bell

  The show had a costume class that was fun to watch. The best I thought was this buck'n bull and his clown. They were the hit of the show. The little bull calf didn't play his part very well, he was too calm, but the detail was terrific.  The cowboy doll was in place and the bell clanged all the while, dangling on the (not tight) buck'n strap. This was the peak of my day.

What a busy Summer

What a busy summer. The weather was hot and we got rain in all the right times. The hay was good this year.  We finally bit the bullet and had finally had enough of tinkering with equipment. We bought an almost new round baler that was quite the upgrade for us. This baler has a computer and does it all. All you have to do is dump out the finished bale when it tells you to. It is a vast difference. The other new purchase was a new 5083E limited john deere tractor. This new tractor is making life much easier and almost fun to use. Haying is not so much  of the chore it has been up until now.

new growth and hay down and ready to bale

the new tractor and almost new baler

My oldest daughter has been busy with college and work and taking care of her many piglets. She has two red wattle sows and has two litters a year. In August she had a litter of fifteen and a litter of seven. One of these newborns tried to wallow in the mudpuddle like his mother and got a bit stuck. He had to be lifted out and was brought in to be washed off. My daughter also has potbelly pigs that had babies too. She brought the potbelly piglets to the fair to show in the children's barn. Three of the potbelly piglets are now looking for homes. Two of the older red wattles were butchered this weekend and three more will move to the freezer shortly. Then it will be time to fill the big feeder pen with new weanlings. It's hard to believe these little piglets will be old enough to wean shortly.

too young to wallow...I need a bath.

maybe I can sneak away and nap without the 'kids'

pot belly piglets at the fair

 

 

 

 

.We took animals to two fairs this summer, the St. Louis county fair and the Itasca county fair. At the St. Louis fair they had Canadian bagpipers playing and this group found out we were there with our Scottish Highland cattle and requested that we be in the ring while they played outside the ring. I didn't get any pictures because we were all in the ring with animals but we did make the fair's webpage and it was an unique experience. This fair also had professional bull riders that we watched. Then the kids came back to our area and rode Bluto, our bull. It wasn't quite the same ( thank goodness).  My youngest daughter showed her bull calf, Sonny Blonde and had a great time. Her calf also won a gift certificate for cutest calf.  It was a fun time.

Beretta and Sonny Blonde

bull riding on Bluto

bull riding on Bluto, Scottish Highland calm....

Beretta and Sonny Blonde

 

The Itasca county fair is closer to home and not quite the adventure ( or the premium payouts) the St. Louis one was. Beretta is still our motivating factor and she help makes everything fun. She are her calf are so much fun to watch. She had the calf wearing her cowboy hat at one point. She helps alot and wants to be in the middle of everything. 

milk break

I'll just sit here a minute

Bluto, the bull and Keith and Beretta in the ring

Bluto, the bull and Keith and Beretta in the ring

cowgirl and 'cow' boy?

bull calves in the ring

nice heifer

Beretta and Sonny Blonde

lots of junior novice showmen

Lily riding the bull

Beretta with her trophy and Sonny Blonde

There is much being done to ready the farm for the cooler seasons to come. There is never a lack of things to do. I have more news but will save it for the next time and it shouldn't be very long away this time.  Keeping up to date is a constant struggle.  Enjoy the last rays of warmth.

Lambs for Sale

I am trying this venue as a way to post pictures and information on animals and future product we may have for sale on the farm. I hope it helps to have this information on a place like this to easily access.

I have four lambs from last spring that are up for sale. There is a all black ram lamb that I did not get a good picture of, and these three.  There is one ewe lamb in the bunch who might be bred, as my old ram has been following her around the last couple days.  The other two whites are ram lambs.  They were all born after Christmas and the younger ones just after New Year's Day.  They are growing well and are a bit dirty from laying in the mud we have had around here.The sheep are crosses of Corriedale and Dorset and grade which I suspect must have some Jacob too. I have seen some lambs much smaller and spotted like the Jacob, also a little blackface, that you can see crop out in the lambs too.  They are a motley cross but are not too big and are good family sheep for both meat and wool. I will accept market value for the lambs, (I will have to go online and check just what that is right now).  I will attempt to answer any question that you may have.

grey faced ram lamb

grey on face and feet  but mostly white (believe it or not) ewe lamb with ram lamb in tow

cute smaller ram lamb with small skurs (horn buds that will probably not be real horns)

New (potential) herd bull

There is a new little bull at our farm.  He was bought at an exotic auction, so he will bring in some new blood lines to our herd.  He is red but has the black nose and will most likely turn brindle as he ages.  The cute little guy is only about four or five months old. He is already a favorite of my youngest daughter and leads alright for a young animal.

Indian Summer

Here it is October already and the weather is terrific! Second crop hay was wonderful and very plentiful. We were planning on doing much more small square bales but the baler had different thoughts and broke down, so we had to roll it up in large round bales.  They will get used just the same but not as easy to store as long term buffer for other not so good years. We could have gotten third crop this year if all the equipment was working with us.

third crop growing and second crop down and raked

all raked and ready to bale

The animals are all enjoying the dry and warm weather.  The young turkeys are  doing fine. They are a cross breed but look like local wild ones, all but the one poult.  One that hatched out here is showing the royal palm lineage and is white with dark markings.

odd hatchling

Mama turkey and her babies

 Ruby, the sow likes to root in the mud with her babies and mine too. The swine are also enjoying the warmth and putting the feed to extra meat and some fat. I hope the old farmer's tales are incorrect about a cold and snowy winter.

My 'Piggies'

 

a warm spot to enjoy the day

The calves are all weaned off their mothers and now quiet and happy in the corral. A few have gone to new homes and a couple more will spend the winter at other new homes soon.  We are trying to make time to get the 'boys' castrated. This will make keeping them in the big fenced in pasture with all the other Scottish Highlanders much easier. They will fight with each other less and use their feed to grow rather than compete and chase one another. This will make for faster growing steers for future meat.  It will still take three years to make a large beef steer, good thing we have patience.

 


I awoke to excited kids a couple mornings ago.  My sheep usually lamb in January but we now have a fresh little ewe lamb named Jill.  Still trying to figure out why so early but the lamb doesn't appear 'early' so I guess we just had strange cycles this year. The sheep are enjoying the warm weather and fattening up too. Now I will have to watch and look closer as we might have not just fat sheep but more babies coming at unusual times. It will make for a strange lambing year.  

I have changed some settings on this blog and was wondering if anyone can now make comments. I had a few people say they tried and couldn't.  I hope this is now working. It is nice to have all the options this page has, but I now have to learn how to use them all and that will take me some time.  'Till next time.....