Can you recognize Opportunity?

We are trying to be optimistic. Mike the man we have bought our Jerseys from delivered a bull this morning.

He is bred in the blue, his sire a National Champion who has sired daughters par excellence, his dam is from a long line of outstanding producers, a cow going back to one of Mike's most notable champions.

Mike was able to get this young bull from a farm in Virginia, a farm that had hit very hard times, from a terminal illness to the trends of mega dairies hurting small dairies.

We have had difficulties getting Katie in calf, AI has not worked. We talked to Mike about leasing a bull. He was sure he could find one but he felt his main sire, a 5 year old, would be too dangerous for us and our small herd.

He called last week to say he had found us a bull. This morning he delivered him.

He told us the bulls back story. " The farm was in trouble and the animals were in rough shape, but the genetics...oh man ...the genetics. Some of the very best Jersey cattle in the country."

We looked at this thin, filthy calf, he has been badly dehorned, he is covered with manure tags and we looked at each other. We have seen Mike's herd. We have Katie, Lassie and the boys. They are beautiful cattle.

Applejack was unsure getting out of the trailer but when he felt grass under his hooves he perked right up and went bucking into the corral. He saw the steers and went to sniff noses through the gate. Our pampered beasts bellowed and snorted as this scruffy stranger tried to introduce himself.

Standing next to our well cared for steers the condition of this bull became even more obvious. They are in good flesh, clean and haired up for winter. They have no bare patches where the hair has been rubbed off.

So now we have the bull....I think its a real opportunity for us to have some superior calves from our Cows. We admit though, it's mighty hard to look through condition to see this particular opportunity.

Mischief is just at the right age to breed. 

We held off AI'ing Lassie so she would be dry in late summer to calve in the fall. She needs that time to build up. Lassie will come in heat next weekend.

Katie.....well Katie is 10. We hope to get her in calf so very much. She has been on a diet as we had got her too fat and now Mike said she was in great shape to breed. She is due to cycle in 17 days.

As for Applejack...I have a hunch Mike thought of us for more than just we needed to lease a bull. He isn't charging us to use this yearling bull. I think he knows we feed well and take excellent care of our cows. He has sent Applejack to the bovine version of a Fat farm.

So now we resort to lots of good hay, a growing calf ration which will be easier on his rumen, a rumen that has been neglected.

We will keep him in a clean well bedded stall at night and see just how he does. Mike had wormed him and treated him for lice. He had held him in his quarantine barn on his farm so he poses no risk to infest our stock.

So continues our adventure. To be honest I was expecting to post lovely photos of a top quality bull, instead I am planning a feed regimen for a bovine refugee. Genetics......oh the genetics will be our battle cry.

God bless and keep you well.

Chicken Tractors?

Its  a crisp sunny day. Our chicken are out plowing up the manure we have been dumping on the gardens. They are our version of Chicken Tractors. They are glad to have help when Ralph spreads the piles they have almost leveled and turns up new bits for them to rumage through.

The relationship between the cows, the chickens, the gardens and us is interesting. We all put things into it and we certainly all benefit. 

We feed the cows and provide shelter and water and scratching when needed. The cows give us milk and eventually beef. They also give us physical activity and entertainment in ways too few people get to enjoy. Its a bit like playing with your food.

The chickens give us eggs and meat, they are bug and small rodent control and then they are our mini-tractors in the gardens. We give them shelter and basic food....not as much as if they were in a coop, they do an amazing amount of foraging and have the cow manure spread everywhere they see it.

From patties in the fields to the piles of barn cleanings in the gardens, they are the hardest working of all our animals.

The relationships between all creatures on a farm are intertwined, what too many people do not get to see is the way each farm is a bit different. 

Our young hens catching bugs on a load of wood. Pest control thats fun to watch and non-toxic to us.

The cows grazing along a fence and keeping the pastures healthy.

I think we all need to pay attention to the way our animals, gardens and families work. 

Do you have your own version of a symbiotic farm?

I'm heading out to get some of my chores done. I have to get some more manure piles for the 'crew' to plow.

Take care and God Keep you safe.