More Cattle Bloat Info

Since having a cow that had bloat earlier this week I have done quite a bit more research on the topic and thought I would share the information.  That said, I am NOT a vet and you can decide to use this information or not.  If in doubt, I ALWAYS opt for calling the vet.

Cattle bloat is basically just indigestion that leads to excessive gas being built up.  When this happens, burping is unable to relieve all the gas.  There are certain feeds which are more prone to causing bloat such as: legumes, alfalfa, too much grain or finely chopped hay.

As the cow bloats, the left side (where the rumen is located) of the belly gets larger than the right side making the cow appear lop-sided.  As it worsens, both sides will get larger.  When this happens, there is more and more pressure being put on the lungs and heart.  This makes it very hard for the cow to breath and can quickly cause death if not relieved.

While there are feed supplements to help prevent bloat there are some things that can be done other than that.  Don't put cows on wet legume pasture as this ferments easily and don't rush them when moving them in or out of pasture.  Movement irritates the rumen and can make bloat worse. Also, the time they spend in lush spring pastures may have to be limited.  Also, there are cows who are just more prone to getting bloat than others.  In this case, the question arises whether or not to sell them or not.  The risk with keeping them is that if they bloated and you didn't notice,  they could die.

Treatment for mild to moderate bloat includes a tube passed through the left side of the mouth or nose, through the esophagus and into the rumen.  This can require a tube many feet long depending on the size of the cow.  Through this tube mineral oil can be given to break up the foam.  Also, using a bite block works well to prevent the cow from biting the tube.  

If the cow is having difficulty breathing, this may require more immediate emergency actions involving a needle or trocar inserted through the belly into the rumen to immediately relieve the gas.  If the cow is in dire need and taking it's last gasping breaths, a pocket knife can be used to make a hole which can be stitched by the vet after the emergency is over.  One may need to use their fingers in order to spread the opening larger if the foam is too thick to allow the gas to escape.  I also read that the vet can insert a permanent valve for cows that bloat often. I don't know any details on that, but it is something we will keep in mind for our heifer.

All of the information I found has been helpful to us in dealing with our young lady.  We tried her out on grass this morning and it appeared that her belly was growing again so I put her in the barn again where I believe she will remain until the calf is born.  I am not sure what the problem is, but suspect it may be either the positioning of her calf or the size of it.  Either way, I will be keeping a close eye on her in the barn due to my suspicion of problems with labor and delivery!

I hope this information is helpful, but please also remember that I AM NOT A VET! I am publishing this information as just that- information period.  It is not meant as medical advice or as a replacement for contacting a professional!

Our Cow's Labor Stages

Yesterday as I was driving past the pasture I noticed our cow, Mabel, standing with her tail straight out and looking like she was straining with nothing coming out (or so I thought from that far away).  Also, she was in the corner of the pasture away from the herd.  This was about 2:30pm.  I rushed right down with her in time to catch all of this:

 This is what she looked like when I first saw her.

When she turned I could see this discharge from her vaginal area.

After a few pushes like above it seemed she was pushing harder and her tail would curl.  This went on for a few pushes. 

Finally I was able to see just a little of the bag starting to appear.

More and more bag appeared with each push.  She seemed to be progressing just fine.

Finally she laid down to push.  Even more bag was visible.

A few more hard pushes and it is hard to see with the weeds, but the baby is being delivered in this photo. (Unluckily she moved behind these weeds just before this) This was around 3:30pm.  This all was right at or just over an hour after I noticed labor had begun. (Not exact on times due to watching cow not my watch!)

It took momma a minute or so to get up after delivery and I was starting to get a little nervous because I couldn't see the baby moving.  A couple licks from mom and I could see movement!

Baby is all black and is still being cleaned off just minutes after birth.  Already seems very alert.

And baby calf stands!  This was the first full stand after a few failed attempts.  This was roughly 10 minutes after birth.

Later that evening we went to check on the calf and found out he is a boy!  He is 7/8 angus and 1/8 maine anjou.  

Today we were able to check out the black white-faced calf born earlier yesterday and she is a girl!  I am so excited about that because she will be retained for breeding.  Both calves are great looking babies and we are so happy with them.  I feel privileged to have witnessed such an event.  I did stay back a ways so that momma could have her room to do her thing, but she is a wonderful gentle and tolerant cow so she lets us touch and pet the calf anytime.  She is also very protective and rarely leaves his side.

We feel so blessed this year already and have a few more to go!  

Spring Has Finally Arrived

Just two short weeks ago we experienced yet another night of -25 degrees with windchill.  Two weeks later we hit 65 degrees today!  I have said time and time again how much I detest winter, snow and cold.  It makes chores an unpleasant job that I hurry through as quickly as I can and that I enjoy so much in nicer weather.  I love to spend time with my animals and I believe they like it too.

Today I let some of the larger goats out of the barn for the first time in what seems like forever.  They loved the warm sunshine and so did I! I spent a couple hours outside with them.

We have had 6 baby goat kids survive being born in our worst winter in years and only 1 didn't make it.  Pretty good record considering that it has felt like the arctic tundra.  All but the new twins are eating hay and grain. We are still bottle feeding the triplets but they are growing like weeds!  I am finally working on names for both girls.  

Baby cows are due to begin arriving April 9th.  This is an event I anticipate all year long.  The most we have had in a season is 2 and this year we are expecting 5 possibly 6!!  Wow! Hopefully everything will go well for all of them as we have lots of first time mommas.  The cows are also starting to spend time in the pasture.  

We are beginning a new chapter in the meat goat raising saga.  Our first two wethers are ready to butcher.  While it is a little bit saddening, it is the reason we started this adventure.  Our meat sales license is ready to send, the locker is lined up and all we have left is to purchase a new freezer exclusive to the business.  We are then ready to start selling goat meat, or chevon.  I will post more detail to the process later for those interested.

We are continuously brainstorming ideas to make money with our acreage.  I have a few more ideas on the table and we will see where they lead.  My ultimate goal would be to sustain our family life with farm income!

As always have a great day!!

"Don't forget to pray today. God didn't forget to wake you up this morning." 

(unknown)

Feeding Meat Goats



We decided to start raising some boer goats last year and have had a great time doing it.  There has been a ton of learning that has gone into it and thank heavens for internet for research.  There is, however, an abundance of information out there and depending on what type of goats you are raising some may or may not apply.

We had decided to keep pasture fed goats as our cows are because we believe this is the healthier way to go for us.  Since getting our first three goats last year and many more this year all have done well on pasture with supplemental corn based feed.  We also keep a mineral block with them that they eat on as needed. 

We did get a bit of a shock when taking our goats to the county fair this year (our first time).  All the goats there were bigger and more muscular than ours.  In talking with everyone there it seems that no one pasture feeds -they all grain their goats from birth to sale and mostly with show feed.  Since returning from fair we have changed our feeding program a little.  They are still out on pasture, but they also get a daily ration of goat feed.  This supplements them in protein and nutrients.  

After doing my own research on the different feeds on the market and available locally, we decided to go with Kent goat feeds.  We have been using the 18% kid developer since the fair and wow!  What a difference it has made in only 6 weeks.  I highly recommend their feeds.  It is costing a little more than pasture with the corn based feed, but well worth it!  The goats look more muscular, have more energy and just act healthier overall.  Next year a couple months before the fair the goats that will be shown will switch to Kent Show Goat feed.  

We don't raise "show" goats and have every intention of someday having enough goats to sell goat meat.  We firmly believe in having happy, healthy goats no matter what their purpose.  We believe the Kent goat feed is assisting us in our endeavor to produce quality goats whether showing or butchering them. 

    Each day is what you make it out to be. . .Have a great one!!

Baby Goat Kids Updates

Mystery, our first goat kid born on our farm is growing like a weed!  She is doing amazing.  She received her first CD &T vaccination last week, which she was not so fond of.  She stays close by her mama but is willing to venture out and explore.  For now they are being kept in the baby goat pen probably until the fair.  She will be shown at our county fair by my daughter who loves her immensely!  After the fair she will be weaned and go out to the pasture while her mama, Dazzle, goes straight out to pasture with the billy.

We also have had a set of twin boys to report.  The are both doing great and for now are in the barn with mom.  The day they were born mom was especially friendly that morning, which made me a little curious as to whether it would be that day or not.  She did not, however, have any of the signs our first time doe had, no hind end swelling or drainage. She was as wide as she was long -almost. We had been gone for a few hours and went to check her when we got back in the afternoon.  The goats were in our old barn in the back pasture.  When my daughter got close she said " uh, mom, there is something white outside the barn".  Well, it was a newborn goat.  He had slid under the door and when we looked inside his brother was with mama. The other big goats were with her while she had them and even Billy was standing near with a kind of watchful fatherly eye.  We hauled mom and babies up to the "good" barn in a large stall (actually one whole side of the barn).  We had been kind of hoping for girls to increase our herd.  They have done well there and love to run, jump and climb on our junk in the barn.  Some days Billy and the others lay just outside the barn gate as though they miss her and want her to come play. 

Last week the boys were vaccinated and banded.  I always feel sorry for the animals that get banded, but it looks so funny the way they walk just after.  They cried for mama when they got their shots!  They will eventually be butchered and sold as meat.  I have to keep myself from thinking about it for now, as they are so adorable and I love to play with them, but that is why we started raising goats!

I do think the other 2 girls with Billy have bellies that are looking a little pudgy and hopefully they are pregnant as well.  The more, the merrier!  All the bottle babies in the baby pen are about ready to go out to pasture and hopefully be bred. I am a little nervous that they will attempt escaping the different fencing, but all our goats will go anywhere following a bucket of grain, which makes it easy to get them coralled.  We will then move the newest mama and boys to the baby pen with mystery and her mama.  Our little billy is also ready to get to work!  

I would like to build one more nursery pen, but haven't decided where it will be yet.  It has been so busy around here that I find it hard to find time to write, but after the county fair I will have more time!  Hopefully anyway!

As always HAVE A GREAT DAY!   

Parmak Solar Fencer



We have now had our Parmak Solar Pak 6 fencer installed for a few weeks and what a SUPER BUY!  We couldn't be happier with it.  Every day I check it and it's so easy to check with the charge gauge on the front.  All I have to do is look at it to know if there is a problem!

The installation was super easy too.  It took minutes to do it.  We did already have a ground rod in, but it would have only taken a few more minutes to put in a straight copper 6-8 foot ground rod with the fence pounder.  All we had to do was mount it and hook in the wires and turn it on.  Immediately the charge gauge went up to the green and a little beyond.  We even ran the fence about twice as far as we had planned due to the cows kept getting on another part of the fence in the pen they were in to eat lucious grass on the other side.  We figured this way any animal in there would stay off it.

The cows have been out pasture grazing once again (saving my hay for when its really needed) and staying away from that terrible south fence.  We used the electric tape with the fencer and that works great.  It is easily visible so the kids, or I, don't forget it's there.   Kudos to Parmak for making a fencer that works tremendously well, is easy to see if there is a problem and is pretty affordable!  Thank you also to jefferslivestock.com for selling it at a great price and shipping in a reasonable amount of time.  (I did see today that horse.com has it on sale right now for $157.)

Solar Fencers

After much time spent researching solar fencers I finally decided on one.  I didn't know much about them at all in the beginning.  Now, I feel a little better versed in solar fencers!  I had no idea when I began that there were so many brands and so many differences between them -it was a bit overwhelming.  I read tons of reviews and looked at the specs of many.  I do believe in knowing which item will give me the most for my $$$.  All the local guys told me Parmak was the best.  Only one of our local stores, however, carries Parmak.  I ended up ordering the Parmak Solar Pak 6 from www.jefferslivestock.com with a savings of nearly $40 even after shipping!  (I usually try to buy local but the savings was just too much to pass up this time)  I did buy all the fencing and stakes local, though.  This Parmak fencer says it will do 25 miles of fence.  There was only 1 bad review I came across when researching it, all the others were highly praising.  It really made the choice easy. 

The Parmak fencers seem to have a high range capability compared to some other brands.  This was a factor in our choice.  It also seems to be a quality built product that should last for years with minimal problems.  Some of the other brands I researched are Gallagher and Zareba.  I'm not at all saying these aren't good fencers, it just seemed to me that the Parmak would work better for us.

It took only a few days to get here and I was so excited to get it out there so the cows could go into the big pasture that still has much to eat and we could stop feeding hay so soon this season.  I unpacked it and saw a tag on the front "must charge outside 5 days in off position before using".  My excitement turned to "wish I would have known that" very quickly.  So, here I sit with the fencer outside charging and still feeding hay to the cows.

We will be able to put it up on Tuesday.  I also thought that we could get all the 1/2" electric fence tape up early so it would be ready to go, but got quashed on that idea as I was informed by my husband that the deer would probably tear it up jumping the fence and would make a mess of it.  I will be more than ready on Tuesday to get it all up and turn the thing on!  The cows will be so excited to go out there and eat like, well, like cows! 

Each day I have thrown around the idea that if we just put the cows out there they would have so much to eat that they wouldn't care about the almost non-existent fence at the south side of our property.  Then pictures of me chasing cows out of the neighbors corn field would fill my head and I just didn't want to risk it. 

When all of our pastures are reseeded and the south fence done this fencer will be used to run each of our paddocks.  Hopefully we chose wisely and it will work like a charm!

Fences are My Nemesis!

Fences are my nemesis!  We have been battling old hedge post fences from day 1.  The fences weren't something we gave much consideration to when we bought this place since we had no animals at first, but we knew they weren't in top condition.  They have contained our animals for the most part for the past few years.  As the interior and property fences get worse, we have been replacing them as fast as we can afford but FENCES ARE EXPENSIVE!

Our dilemma now is that our whole south fence is pretty much barely a fence anymore.  The horses stay in there and we're not sure why.  They could easily walk right over it.  Our problem is that we have the cows in the small pasture that is almost out of vegetation for them and the large still lush pasture is the one with that awful fence and a corn field on the other side.  Much too inviting for the cows!!  It is roughly 1325 feet long so it will be an expensive venture.  The cows need to eat so we either will have to replace it quickly or buy electric fence. It is too far out to run electricity, though so we will have to use solar.

After pricing the solar electric fencer from Parmak, which I am told is the best, our decision is clear for now.  For about $350 we will have electric running the whole fence with maybe a day for installation.  The new fence would cost at least $2000 and take lots more time to install.  Eventually that will have to be done, but hopefully the electric will hold them until the pastures are reseeded.  

It always seems as though if it's not one thing, it's another around here.  Someday I am hoping that we will have all new fences that will last the rest of my lifetime!  Too bad I don't have a secret fence fund just to get them all done!  Lesson learned this time that maybe we should have looked into fence cost a little more closely when we bought this place and replaced them before we got any animals.  That would be my sound advice to anyone thinking of buying an old farm that needs updating.   



Update: Pasture Reseeding

 

The field has been sprayed.  It has taken a long time for it to die, probably due to the cooler weather we have had.  But it is dying.  We used a combo spray of roundup and 2-4-d to kill everything.  It didn't take long to spray the 10.5 acres we are doing this year.  It took longer to find a day that wasn't windy so they could do it without killing our yard or the corn field next door.  By the time we had a day the corn field was no longer an issue.

 

 

The next step was that we had lime spread on the whole field.  The big truck came and spread a ton of lime on each acre.  Not a real pricey event, but one more step completed. 

 

After conflicting recommendations on when to plant the field, I talked extensively with pretty much whoever I could get to give me an opinion on this.  We have decided to wait until it gets cold to plant it.  Hopefully this will give it a good start to come up in the spring. 

 

We also have waited a little while to disk it due to it's slow dying process and still no rain, which makes it very hard ground to work.  This pasture hasn't been worked in at least 50 years!  Well, last weekend we had 2 inches of rain here and a few sprinkles today.  That should make the ground a little more workable as soon as it dries a bit.  I am looking forward to getting that part done.  The only things left will be the seeding and fertilizing in November!

 

I have learned a lot this year about seeding and the whole process and what is recommended.  The NRCS office is very helpful as long as I know to ask the questions.  We have already started the tree clearing on the next section which is much larger than this one.  Next spring we will have the fields ready to be sprayed as soon as this one is grazable.  When it is all completed they have told us that we will be able to take at least a cutting of hay off of it and have plenty to graze all year.  The hay would save us a ton in the winter and maybe have enough to sell some?

 

This all has been a ton of work, especially the daily cutting of hedge trees for my husband as I am no chainsaw user.  I have covered all the phone calls, setting up the guys to come do the various stages and research into each step of the process.  It will all be worth it in the end and we will have beautiful pastures that sustain our small operation!

 

An Adventure in Pasture Reseeding

As anyone can see, our pasture is greatly lacking in superbness.  It is covered with weeds that no animal will eat and spotted with millions of those nasty, thorny hedge trees.  It works for the amount of animals that we have now, but will not support the animals we hope to have someday.  We were told of a program with the USDA that would assist us to improve our pastures by reseeding them.  Our main goal when this all began was to have great pastures for the animals without costing us a fortune.

We are a very small farm with no "farm operating" account to do all of this out of, so some help with the cost would be greatly appreciated.  The USDA people came out to take a look at what we wanted to do and give their advice on what we should do.  There was, of course, an application to fill out and some other paperwork and then we waited.  After a few weeks, we were very excited when we were approved for the money to do all of this.  We, then, received our contract that told generally what was to be done and what they would pay for each item.  There are, however, certain stipulations in how you go about doing all of the work and exactly, I mean exactly, what has to be planted, what type of fertilizer to be used and how much of each. 

It has been very dry in Iowa this year and we have been putting off doing this until this fall hoping the rain would pick up.  It is no use spending all that money if the seed doesn't grow! 

As time has gotten a little bit away from us being busy with everything else going on in our lives, I am now trying to get everything lined up for this to happen.  The ladies at the USDA office are very nice and helpful; the problem is knowing the right questions to ask.  The lady at the seed store has been indispensable to me!  I have spent countless hours on this project trying to figure out who is going to do each part, how much it will cost and when can they do it.  I am also "dumb" at this since until now I had no idea what to expect with any of those questions!  I am learning, though, and hopefully within the next week we will have the first 10 acres planted.  At least with the next round in 2013 I will know what I am doing! 

Hopefully everything goes as expected and everyone shows up when they are supposed to.  For a day or so I was ready to give up and just deal with what we have after talking with some unpleasant folks, but that wouldn't do anyone any good.  I do have a newly gained appreciation for the people that have to deal with all of this all the time and the ones who were very pleasant on the phone with me after finding out I didn't know anything about this kind of stuff and took the time to explain it.  Also, there were a couple people that were not that pleasant that will not be gaining our business!