Saturday, December 31, 2011

Holiday Season

Here we are, New Years eve.  We had a good Christmas.  Marshall make it out for Christmas eve and stayed for Christmas dinner.. The weather is unusually warm and mild.  No snow ,but we can see snow on Terry Peak.  The skiiers can keep it there.  Brooke really enjoyed this her fourth Christmas.  Grand ma put a water tank in the living room and put 100 lbs. of corn in it.  Just like a sand box.  The kids had fun.


    Ran out of cake for the cows here so we started feeding hay every other day.  The cows at Ryan's have been enjoying hay for several weeks now.  We truned the bucks out with the last bunch of ewes so they lamb May 20.  Got the heifers number branded yesterday.  Windy today.  Predicted to blow 50 MPH but it is not that strong.  Been a while since it has been this nice for both Christmas and New Year.  Next week some time we should get a call to eye the ewes.  Eyeing ewes is shearing the wool from around their eyes so they can see.  If snow and ice gets in the wool it covers the eyes and they get blind and can't see.

A few pictures of eyeing.


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

early winter

Well the winter has been extremely mild. Snowed a little maybe twice.  Temperatures have been close to 60 degrees some days.  Feeding the cows here just 2 lbs. of cake.  The sheep got their last feed of cake yesterday.  They are through the first cycle with the bucks so most of them are bred.  With the mild weather should be lots of twins.  Getting ready to turn bucks out with the bunch on the ridge about next Monday.  They young cows looked a little on the thin side a month ago, but the mild weather and cake have picked them up and they look good.  We will run out of cake for the cows here at the end of the week so will start feeding hay. Only four months of feeding hay, that should be economical.  We have been working on a pole barn type calf shelter in the corral at the ridge.  It will be used for the heifers calves in March.  A place for calves to be warm and dry.  Will try to get tin to finish the building project next week.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

First snow and cold

By the time it was through snowing Saturday we had about four inches of snow. Then it got coldSaturday night , fluctuating between -8 to 0 . Then back down to -8 where it stayed.  Good thing we had treated the diesel fuel in the tractors.  Number #2 diesel can get cold and jell up in cold usually below 0 degrees.  We treat the fuel with a fuel additive that breaks up the wax in the fuel and allows it to flow in cold weather.  We are filling 26, 5 gallon pails with cake to cake the sheep. 26 is the magic number because 26 pails is all we can find.  Cold weather always makes chores go slower.  You wear more clothes and things just don't work as easy.  Monday we went to the ridge and got the cows in and sorted off the bulls and three old cows that we will sell later and took the rest of the cows to winter quarters for them. They will have some fresh grazing for a while.  we hope we won't have to feed them hay till after Dec. 1.  Christmas time would be better yet to begin feeding hay.  Then we hurried back and got  the sheep in and sorted off a group to keep open for beeding later for May/June lambing and turned bucks out with the rest ,for late April lambing somewhere in these groups are 250 that are already bred for march lambing.  They will be ultrasounded and sorted out next week. It got really nice today 48 degrees , but still have good snow cover.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Late Fall

A truck load of cake arrived last Tuesday. Cake is a grain pressed into a cube with minerals and vitamins added for the sheep.  We have been feeding the sheep about 2 pounds per day of hay along with a half pound of the cake. The cows are still gazing out on the pastures.  We have lic barrels out for a protein supplement for them. Next week we will move some cows to their winter pasture and some fresh grazing.  They are ready to go. The first snow fell this morning.  makes one think of winter coming.  It is cold about10 degrees. 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

First week of November

tore the shingles off of the north addition to the house. About four squares.  Ryan did most of the work as I don't like high places very well.  I moved hay stacks a couple of days and finally finished.  Put the stackmover away for the winter.  We got the bred heifers in Wednesday and sorted off the ones we will keep and loaded the rest on a truck Thursday morning and sent them to Philip.  Finished the roof on Friday and went to the Heifer Sale in Philip on Saturday.  Heifers sold good at $1525 but some bunches of AI heifers brought $1800 per head.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Fall work.

Been working hard. Got all the haystacks finally moved.  The New Holland tractor had to spend two weeks in town at the shop.  Had to use the smaller slower Case/IH tractor , but got done.  The bred heifers have been sorted and the ones for sale have been hauled to the sale barn for tomorrows sale in Philip.  The weather has gotten colder so we have started supplementing the ewes with corn.  The coop can't get a load of cake to us till Nov. 15, may start feeding hay to flush the ewes.  Will be turning the bucks out later in the month.  Got the north side of the house shingled this week.  Ryan did most of the work.

Friday, September 30, 2011

stackmoving

Been moving hay stacks off of the fields and into the stackyards.  The stacks will be close to the feeding areas for the livestock.  Broke a hub on the stackmover yesterday and had to make a trip to Rapid City to get one ordered. Moved some easy stacks this afternoon with 7 wheels under the mover instead of 8.  Hope to get the new hub sometime next week.