Cutting tree branches at Donna's

Saturday afternoon Donna asked me to come over to cut some of her tree branches.  She had some dead and broken branches on her willow tree.

I planned on using my chainsaw but I could not get it started.   Once must mix some oil with the gas and I think I got the mixture wrong.  So I brought some of my handsaws and some of my pole saws.  I may have to take my chainsaw to a repair shop this week as I have a downed tree in my middle pasture I want to cut up to make harrowing easier.

I had to stand on a stepladder to reach some of the willow branches with either of my saws.   Once the willow tree was done, Donna wanted me to cut some of the bottom branches on an evergreen tree that appears to be ill and dying.  She plans to place some tree spikes under the tree to fertilize and help the ill tree.   As the trees next to the ill tree had dead branches near their bottom, I trimmed those branches also.  A number of branches were cut and then went on her burn pile, which she burnt today.

The tree on the very right is a tree I didn't trim any branches from.  That shows how all the rest of the trees in the photo looked before I trimmed their branches.   The tree in the middle is the ill tree.  The branches were all the way to the ground.

Donna's dog, Rusty, wanted to 'help' us.  Here are a few photos of Rusty from today when I stopped to get my sunglasses which I had forgotten at Donna's place.  Rusty finally stayed still long enough for me to take a photo of him.

2023 Calf 11 - 8's

This morning I found a new calf in the loafing shed laying next to his mother.  A male calf.  The mother is large so the calf is a big calf.  A long calf.   This afternoon Donna came over and helped me band and ear tag the new calf.

Everyone else hanging around and checking things outside after Donna and I banded and ear tagged the new calf.

Barn break-in

Last night, just at dark, I noticed Haynes and a steer standing at the south end of the barn, near where the south door is located.  Odd. I checked.  I found the south door partly open and Haynes reaching inside to try to eat hay from the bales inside.   It isn't like he is hungry as I had put another large hay bale in the feeder and there is plenty of hay for him to eat.

I chased Haynes and the steer away from the door and closed it.  Haynes and the steer had figured out how to unhook the hook and then also removed a small chain through a catch.  I looked around the corral for the other steer and couldn't find him.  I opened the west barn door and looked in the barn and found the second steer inside the barn.  He had threaded his way through the south door and into the barn.  Before anyone else could get into the barn one stack of hay bales tipped over blocking further access from the south door into the barn.

I herded the second steer out of the barn.  Initially he wanted go out of the barn through the south door as he knew that was how he got into the barn, but the tipped stack of bales blocked his way.  I got him turned around and then out the west door.

I removed some of the tipped bales so I could reach the south door and then set a door catch inside the barn.  I didn't trust that Haynes and the steers wouldn't unlock the door from the outside.  When I rechecked the south door outside the other steer had already unhooked the hook.  He hadn't undone the small chain yet.

This morning I checked.  The barn doors were all closed.  Inside the barn I fixed the tipped stack of bales.  I swept up the loose hay Haynes and the steer had pulled from a few bales.   I also had to remove two areas of manure the second steer had left inside the barn.   One the two areas of manure was where I had a lawn chair and several towels.  Manure was on these items also.  Of course.

I also found another type of hook and placed it in the catch where the chain is located.  This hook should stop the cattle from unhooking it and opening the door.  This way I don't have to set the catch inside the barn door.

After I had fixed the tipped stack of bales and cleaned things up.  You can see how the steer could turn and get inside the barn.  I'm not sure if Haynes is too big to turn and get inside.

I use this to haul a small bale. This also had manure on it.  Of course the steers had to check out how I cleaned it.

The lawn chair is mesh.  So I had to use water and a brush to clean the manure off the chair.  Of course everyone had to check out the chair after I cleaned it.

You can see two of the towels with manure on them. The blue towel is a towel I found in the middle of the highway when I rode my bicycle this afternoon.   This is the second or third towel I found on the roads this year.

Broken corral fence board

Haynes would like to join the cows in the main corral.  I discovered he had broken one board in the dividing corral fence in an effort to get through the fence.

I didn't want to look for a similar board to replace the broken board.  So I nailed the board a little then pounded a few old and shorter fence posts into the ground.  That should hold if Haynes decides to push on the board again.  Once I was done with the fence a calf had to come over and check out my work.

Still ice

The weather forecast is predicting for us to finally warm up later this week.  I can't wait.  I still have ice in places.  These photos are from a few days ago.  As you can see I have to chip and break the ice to get the wooden pallets out of the ice.

2023 Calf 10 62-3's

Cow 62-3 had her calf Saturday afternoon.  A little early?   Last year she was one of the replacement heifers who had their calves early.   62-3 had her calf June 22 last year.  Now, cows can have their calves around a month early.  9 months of pregnancy plus 50 to 60 days (usually) before the cow comes into heat after giving birth means almost 11 months before they can give birth again.  But 62-3 gave birth after 10 months.  Oh well.  The calf is a normal heathy calf.

Last year 62-3 gave birth to a boy.  This year her calf is a girl. That makes 7 girls and 3 boys so far this year.   The calf is close to a normal sized calf.  Maybe a plus few pounds larger.

This morning I put the ear tag on the calf.   Momma is a protective cow and had been with her calf all day.

The momma five days before she gave birth.

Saturday afternoon late.  At 2 pm there was no calf.  After 6 pm I found the calf.

The mother's after-birth.

Calf photos

Here are some photos of the other calves after Donna and I banded and ear tagged the new calf yesterday.

This is the replacement heifer who was checking out my boots as I watched and waited for the new calf to be born.

Little, Little Beulah.

Donna and a furry replacement heifer.

2023 Calf 9 - Lightning Picasso's

Exactly at noon calf 9 for the year was born.  15-20 minutes before the birth started I saw Lightning Picasso laying in the corral and thought, oh, she may have a calf in the next day or two.   I happened to walk by the corral a short time later and saw Lightning Picasso standing up and a fluid bag hanging out her back end, and also the start of the calf's hooves coming out.

Lighting Picasso never had a calf before.  She was the only replacement heifer last year not to have an early calf.  So I waited and watched.  I was concerned since Haines is throwing large calves.  The birth was going slow.  Normal for a first-time mother usually.  Lightning wasn't in any more stress than is normal for a birth.  Still I wanted to help her.   So, when she was 'pushing' the calf I crawled on the ground up behind her so she couldn't see me approaching her.  Then when she was 'pushing' I held onto the calf's legs above its hooves and pulled. But not too hard.  I did this over and over a handful of times.  I thought I saw the calf's tongue coming out.  Then the calf's nose.  Once the head came out the rest of the calf came out quickly.

The birth was in the dirt.  I brushed some dirt off the calf and watched it as it began to breathe.  Lightning got up to check on her calf.  She spent her time sniffing the calf and not licking it clean.  And the calf began to shiver a little.  I got a towel and rubbed some of the goo and dirt off the calf.  The calf tried a few times to stand up, but it would flop back down.  Sometimes hard.  I was worried it may hurt his neck.

The calf then decided to lay.  Occasionally I saw it open its mouth and flick the tongue out. The calf knew it should drink some milk.   Where is the milk?   Once Lightning began to lick to clean the calf I gave them room.  Other cows and calves came over to check the new calf out.  Let the Momma and calf be alone for now!

I went to have breakfast.  Afterwards I checked on the calf.  It was standing and mostly clean.  I watched as it worked at figuring out how to drink.  The calf was in the right area of Lightning.  Lightning has big nipples and finally the calf figured out how to get a nipple in its mouth and that it should suck on it.

Yay.  Mission accomplished.   The calf is a male.  Lightning is a normal sized cow, and fortunately the calf is a normal sized calf and not a large calf.

Late afternoon Donna came over and helped me band and ear tag the calf.

Being a male the calf sleeps a lot and Lightning lays right next to the calf.  If the calf walks a bit to check things out, Lightning is constantly softly mooing at the calf.

Newborn calf, and some cows and calves then had to check the new calf out while Lightning was trying to lick the calf clean.

Cleaned.  Laying together.  And resting.

Newly banded and ear tagged.

While I initially watched and waited for the calf to be born, I laid on the ground in the corral.  Naturally one of the replacement heifers had to check me out.

I have five cows left to have a calf.  At least all of these have had a calf already last year.