Ugh!

Apparently I spoke too soon last week about how well my calves are doing. That or I should have done some serious knocking on wood after I wrote it. This past weekend I lost not 1, but 2 heifer calves. I'm just disgusted. I hate losing calves, and heifer calves even more so. Especially since we've been really low on heifers. We had something like 8 bulls in a row and finally got a string of 3 of heifers and lost 2 of them. Not good odds.

At any rate, I still don't know what happened. One went off feed Saturday morning, but she seemed fine. Sometimes when we have a cold snap and I increase the energy supplement, the younger calves go off feed. It just gets to be too filling and they aren't hungry. As long as they eat something, I'll let them go without treatment for a feeding or two (and if it's not horribly cold). She did the same thing Saturday night, but she was still getting up. Her ears were still perky (sick calves tend to have droopy ears), and her eyes were still bright. Sunday morning she was dead. Sunday morning I had another one start the same thing. She'd get up and eat, but wouldn't finish her milk. I figured I'd wait her out and see how she would do that night. Same thing. So I treated her. She was a little smelly, which is a sign of scours, but her pen was dry and her butt wasn't too messy, but rather than let her go, I gave her some antibiotic and an electrolyte treatment. Pat and his Dad moved her into the warming hut for the night. We have one enclosed pen that we used to use for newborns until they added on to the maternity barn. Pat had to call to find out which calf was sick because she looked perfectly healthy. Monday morning, she was dead. I spent a good chunk of time on the phone with our vet and our nutritionist Monday morning trying to figure out what was going on and how to fix it. Everyone is pretty stumped. They gave me ideas of things to try. Our nutritionist thinks that because of the mild temps, there may be some bugs going around that normally wouldn't appear because of the cold. I'm just hoping I don't have to experiment with anything.

I once read somewhere that when losing an animal stops bugging you, it's time to get out. All of our animals matter. I may not cry about it, but I spend a lot of time thinking about what I could have missed or done differently and what I can do to keep it from happening again. Death is a part of life, but I still don't like it!

Farm Kids vs. City Kids

It's no secret I was a city kid. While I like to claim home as a small, rural town, it doesn't even compare to the area I live in now.

At any rate, it is certainly an adventure raising farm kids. While I spent my summers riding bikes all over town, swimming at the pool, and claiming boredom, my kids spend their summers working. Not that we don't make time for fun, but if given the option, Cole will always choose work over play. I don't expect that to last forever.

While other kids will draw pictures of people, houses, cars, flowers, and far off places, my son likes to draw water lines, drainage fields, and his latest obsession: barns with cameras and the wires to connect them to the TV. He was very upset with me when I didn't buy a camera from Menards the other day (why are wireless cameras in the same aisle as phone jacks anyway?).

As a kid I dreamed of becoming a doctor. My kid dreams of being a fireman or policeman. He doesn't dream of being a farmer because he already does that. At this point, I would bet good money that he'll stay being a farmer too.

I wouldn't want to raise them any other way. They may choose someday to leave the farm, but it will never be gone completely. Being farm kids is a big part of who they are and no matter which career path they choose, I doubt agriculture will ever be too far removed from it.

It's Here.

January that is. The snow has blown in along with sub zero temps. Our cows don't mind the cold. They actually stay pretty warm in the barns. This week was the first time the manure in the barns froze solid. The calves are usually the ones with problems. So far our calves have dealt with the cold pretty well. We've had a few newborns in the last week, but our new maternity barn gives us a nice place to let them dry off before we have to move them outside. We've had one staying in the maternity barn the last few days since it's been so cold.

A few years ago we had a lot of trouble with calves. It seemed like they were fine, then they'd go off feed, we'd try everything, and they'd die. What was happening was they were actually starving to death and we didn't know it. They just weren't getting enough calories from the milk replacer they were on. Adding more milk replacer added more protein, but that just gave them scours (diarrhea). When we finally figured it out, we started adding an energy supplement when the temps dipped below freezing. We haven't had a problem since. Working with animals is kind of like working with babies. They can't tell you what is wrong. The difference is there are a lot more diagnostic tools for humans than animals. But we don't give up even when we are stumped.

Side Effect Central

The curse of red hair has struck again. I've been told that red heads have a different chemistry than the "normal" population and we react differently to things. That has certainly been true for me. Anesthesia, cold medicine, you name it, I have side effects. My pregnancy has been going well. The progesterone shots seem to be doing the trick and keeping baby inside. However, the last few weeks of shots have given me a horrible itching welt the size of a softball. Each week is a little worse. Turns out, I'm reacting to the shot and if it keeps getting worse, I will have to stop them. I only have 7 more to go, but my doctor is afraid it could affect my breathing. Fantastic! As much as I *enjoy* them, if they keep this kid in longer, I'll deal with the itching. I am so not

ready for this baby to come. We are in the process of remodeling the boys's bedroom. We tore down plaster and lath on Monday, rewired on Tuesday, insulated yesterday, and started sheet rock today. We are now at a stand still until the wiring inspector shows up. This is creating a problem as our sheet rock/mudding/taping guy is heading back south on Tuesday. I can't do anything in Baby Girl's room until the boys are back in their room and that will require trimming, carpet cleaning, and painting (not necessarily in that order) first. I did finally break down and order some new pump parts. I figure if baby does come early at least I will have that ready to go (providing I can find my pump). Although, I think after 6 years insurance may buy

me another one. The one perk of having a preemie! I've been tempted to dig out the changing table so I can figure out what gear I have and what gear we'll need to replace. We did get a new car seat for Christmas (it's PINK!) and I have a handful of clothes. Pat and I are heading to a grain convention early in Feb. which means meetings for him and shopping for me. I probably need to know what we are missing by then. Aaack! I'm overwhelming myself. Must be time for a nap. I will leave you with these:

The blob over her mouth is the umbilical cord. She is holding her foot up on her forehead. She certainly didn't get her flexibility from me.

January???

Sorry for the bloggy hiatus. I can't guarantee this is the end of it, but I'll try harder!

We had a brown Christmas. To be honest, I would've liked some snow, and so would the boys. However, highs in the upper 50s in January? I'll take it! Yesterday was gorgeous. Normally this time of year it is miserable out, but there are still things that have to get done. Yesterday, Pat and I spent the morning moving and vaccinating heifers. Normally that job would have waited for a rare 20 degree day in January. Instead we were out there without coats, hats, and gloves. It was wonderful! We also weaned some of my baby calves out of their huts and into group housing. I was glad to be rid of them. Our calf huts have seen better days, but are still functional. The fronts slide on and off being held on with joist brackets. Over time, the wood fronts have worn down the the brackets have bent with use. A couple of years ago I replaced a bunch of the brackets, which helped, but because the wood is worn down so much, it still didn't solve the problem. When the calves get bigger, they can lift up the fronts and push them out. We've lost calves a couple of times when they've made their escape (they always come back). One of the huts was so bad that the calf could just push on the front and it would come free. He got his legs and head caught a couple of times and did some somersaults. If you've never seen calf acrobatics, it's pretty amusing. With the weather being as gorgeous as it was yesterday, Pat spent the afternoon fixing my huts! Almost all of them are fixed now, except for 5 that are currently in use.

Which brings me to my next point. I am down to 6 calves! This is the lowest I have been in a long time. Normally this time of year we seem to have about 20 or so. The reason is that we calved heavy in November and only had 4 in the month of December. Weather plays a huge role in reproduction. If you go back 9-10 months, I would guess that February was cold and miserable and January, not quite as bad. I expect our spring calving (April/May) to be light also due to the miserable heat in July. It always seems to go in spurts, but we never seem to run out of calves, or chores to do!