Growing Another Batch!

This morning started out like any other day recently, cold and frosty! Up for an early morning, we arrived at our farm in Church Hill. The cattle were demonstrating how well-insulated they are, with frost fully formed on their backs. Unfortunately, we were so busy we didn't take any pictures but I'm sure there are more cold mornings to come this winter that will provide another opportunity. We did catch a picture of #43 breathing in the cold air after our morning adventures. Looks cold - and it was!

The purpose of this morning's adventure at S&K Farm was to confirm whether Bull #45 is still doing his job. Our vet was onsite to perform pregnancy checks. Several of the heifers purchased in November 2014 were confirmed pregnant today! Three heifers are "open" - which means either they are not yet pregnant, or they are so newly pregnant the fetus can't be detected yet.

So this may lead you to ask - how do you tell if a cow is pregnant? Well, you certainly can't just ask her, so you have a few different options: rectal palpation, rectal ultrasound or chemical/blood test (drawn from under tail). The heifers worked today were checked using the palpation method. In short, this means the vet uses his/her arm to enter the rectal canal to feel through it's walls for signs of pregnancy, such as size of uterus, amount of fluid, size of "buttons" or cotyledons and size of uterine horns. The vet can determine a pregnancy from these signs as early as 45 days, and some experienced vets can tell even as early as 30 days if they are really good. Palpation also happens to be the cheapest method of pregnancy determination. Ultrasounds are becoming increasingly available and popular, but we went the old fashioned route this morning. Some breeders are using blood tests, but these are more expensive and require a wait period, instead of instant, onsite results.

You can see what this heifer thinks of the morning! Hopefully you've learned something, even it's just that we have another batch of babies growing.

Join us next time for another update on life at S&K Farm!

Cows Consuming Calories

Cows consuming calories...say that 3 times fast!

While the humans in the world are trying to stick to New Year's resolutions on how to work off all the extra Thanksgiving and Christmas pounds, the cattle of S&K Farm are eating calories like they are going out of style, trying to grow their calves. The weather may be playing tricks daily on the weatherman, but at least one thing is consistent here on the farm, the cattle have good appetites! This time of year, many fields are down to little grass so farmers are forced to feed their cattle hay. At S&K, we're lucky this year to have several fields which were not grazed all spring and summer, creating stockpiled grass. In other words, instead of feeding hay, our cattle are eating uncut, dried grass. Now you may be asking yourself, what's the big deal? Hay is just dried grass, right? Well, "sort of" is really the answer. Fresh grass is generally considered to be a better feed with the best nutrient value. The same grass, dried and uncut, is still full of nutrients, plus it saves the farmer the expense of having the harvest the grass by letting the cows harvest as they eat. Cut, dried grass, or hay, assuming it's been stored in the dry, theoretically should maintain the same nutrient value as fresh grass or uncut, dried grass. The downfall to hay is that it takes time, fuel and money to harvest the hay, and then takes more time, fuel and money to actually feed it to the cattle. So, here at S&K farm, for this winter season, we're letting the cows harvest the grass themselves. If old man winter shows up and covers the grass with snow, we'll tap into the hay supply to keep those cows consuming calories and then try out our sleds on the biggest hill we can find!

You Win Some...You Lose Some

Today was one of those days on the farm that was part success and part not so much success.

The Success
The herd moved into a new field today, well, most of the herd. Some stragglers were too busy with heads down eating to venture into the new field. Those that made the move were happy they had done so. A few discovered what an electric fence is and got their noses popped. They learn quickly! The hanging mineral feeder was discovered, as well as the lush grass that hadn't been mowed this fall. Everyone's belly is full tonight! Here are a couple of videos of Samuel tolling in the cattle into the new field.

The Not So Success
The new herd cows are not scheduled to give birth until March and April. However, #34 decided not to give birth on schedule. Between 2 and 3 PM today, #34 went into labor, trying to deliver the first S&K calf. Unfortunately, something was wrong with the calf and it was not fully developed so she aborted it instead of giving birth to a live calf. Unfortunately, loss of a calf if part of farm like. But let's all hope that our next birthing event turns out to be a success.

Brrrr It's Cold!!!

Have you ever wondered how cattle stay warm in frigid temperatures? Well, here's your chance to learn how! The secret involves three things: hair (called a "coat"), body condition and food intake. Cows are built to be outside animals, in other words, they have a coat that is designed to keep them warm in low temperatures. A thick coat does a great job of keeping a cow warm, especially if her coat is dry. In addition, a cow's body condition will determine if the extreme temperatures affect her. If a cow is in good shape, i.e. she's not too skinny or too fat, her stored fat will help to keep her warm. Food is also important to keeping a cow warm in extreme temperatures. When a cow's coat and body condition don't keep her warm enough on their own, she will begin to eat more and use the food consumed to create energy, which translates to warmth. Our cattle receive hay as necessary. This morning they were happy, healthy and hoping for some treats/feed, AKA they were friendly! This evening they were very curious and even licked my hand! Enjoy the pictures and the video of trying to convince them to perform on demand and lick my hand again.

Making new friends...

Sometimes it takes a little effort to make new friends. Samuel thought he was well on his way to having 43 new friends after some food motivation in the form of feed, that is until he found himself in the middle of a small stampede while rolling out a round bale of hay. Turns out, he's pretty nimble as are the cows! After a few more bags of feed invested in the cattle, they'll soon realize we are their friends and come willing to our call.

They're Heeere!!!

After all the waiting, the new cattle herd arrived Friday evening from outside Louisville, KY. What a show watching three trailers full of cattle roll onto the farm. The trucks all had enough lights to really be considered fancy! The cows were all very happy to jump off the trailers and into their new field. The evening was spent walking the fence lines learning their boundaries, discovering the watering tanks and generally being uneasy and restless - totally what was expected. Here's a short video of one of the trailers unloading. Enjoy!

They're Coming...

...and the field is ready! Much like other animals (and some people I know) cows need time to adjust to their surroundings when they are moved to a new location. Although they will be tired from their 5 hour journey, if history and cattle DNA holds true, they will immediately walk the fence line in their new field looking for escape routes and learning the general boundary. To prepare for the herd's tour of the fence line, today was spent mending fences. The herd will be given several days to adjust to their new home. The next step will be to get them used to coming to our voices and coming to the barn. Stay tuned!