A tribute, to the greatest-great grandma I ever had the honor to know

A Tribute, to the greatest great-gram I ever knew:   (Composed Thursday evening,  8-17-17 by Terri E.)

She was born the eldest of four children and the only daughter on November 28, 1924, to Russell & Pearl (Moffett) Larimer.  As a girl and the oldest, she learned early about keeping a household and working for the family right beside her Mother.  As an older adult, she reminisced about simpler times.  She and her brothers were allowed to bicycle from Bronson, MI,  to Orland, IN, to visit their Grandma & Grandpa Moffett.  She still remembered the smell & taste of her Grandma Moffett's soft sugar cookies.  A certain store bought brand was close (today), and they have been a favorite right up to the end.  She remembered the drives in the family car, coming out to visit Grandpa James & Anna Larimer at the farm in Greenfield Mills.  One winter, when the bridge was out and the need was urgent, her father drove the car across the ice on the mill pond.  They made it safely, but the intensity of the moment stayed with her over the years.  She shared how her first visit to church was with the encouragement of a teacher from school.  She attended church for the rest of her life, developing a faith that was rock solid, passing that heritage on to future generations.

Fast forwarding a few years, it was 1941, the war years and she was 16.  She and three other girlfriends decided to go to Dally's ice cream shop in Sturgis.  She drove her girlfriend's car, brand new and a manual, it was a grand adventure.  There was no incident other than this was the first time Vern Donley laid eyes on her.  He was six years older, and he had just enlisted in the Army.  He was at the ice cream shop with three of his buddies, they paired off with the girls.  A smitten Vern made sure he was partnered with her.  He soon became a regular visitor at the Larimer home and by July 1942, they were married.  They only had a short time together before he was shipped to the European & African theatre the following month for the next four years (inconsistent letters were their only source of contact).  Soon after, she learned she was pregnant, she continued to live with her parents and brothers.  Their daughter Connie was born the following May.  Their marriage did not truly "begin" until after Vern returned from the war, and then it was a time of readjustment and healing for all.  A few years later, Russell Larimer approached them asking if they would consider farming together on the family farm in Greenfield Mills.  It would require more adjustments and changes, but it was agreed.  Connie continued to grow & thrive, Roger was brought into the family, farm life had it share of curses and blessings, but then what doesn't?  In 1962, Connie married Dave Easterday and the family grew with the addition of Grandchildren, Terri & Ron.  In the mid-70's, her mother, Pearl, passed.  Roger married Betsy Yarbrough, after a few more years, Grandsons, Vincent & Drake were added.  In 1980, her father, Russell passed in his sleep.  Vern and she had been married for 40 years now.  There was talk of traveling more, of slowing the pace, of having time for "just them".  In August, 1982, an unexpected tractor accident took Vern from her.  A shock.  A blow that was difficult to recover from...  This chapter in her life came to an end.

The next chapter begins around 1988 with the arrival of a new Great-granddaughter, with family moving in right next door.  She began to feel life again, she was no longer just going through the motions.  She helped to care for that Granddaughter at age 63 and the other Great-grandchildren as they arrived, four in all by 1996.  The children loved going to Gram's house and she loved having them -- and they knew it.  But she loved her entire family, not just these later ones.  She said once that each generation was that much more precious to her.  God graced her to be able to see two Great-great-Grandsons before her body began to fail her.

Over the years, she has been a refuge, a rock.  Her faith never wavered even during difficult times.  She used her faith to teach the next generations, sometimes in her stories, oftentimes in her quiet example, her dignity, her servant's heart.  It is this heritage that I celebrate this evening.  That hope that tells us that this world is not the end.  That we KNOW we will see her again as she is being cared for by Hospice and her loved ones now.  Thirty-five years, almost to the day, she has waited to see Vern.  My Grandmother, Marian Donley, is who I write of, as I'm sure many already may know.  She is 92 and will be taken soon.  What a blessing to be able to call myself her Granddaughter...   We love you, Gram.  You will be missed when you go, but we will see you soon.  Thank you for a life well lived.                      

"Love is patient ,love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast it is not proud, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always trusts, always hopes, always persevered, love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-9"

Gram passed this morning, Sunday 8-20-17 at 3:00 a.m.

[Composed by my sister. Words fail me.... So I will use my mom's, & sisters words.]

Great-Grandma does not look like the picture on the left anymore, I know in my heart she looks like the woman on the right.  She is with Jesus, and all her loved ones waiting, and I can't even imagine how amazing she must feel now!

I loved having her as my Grandma and I can't believe just how blessed I was to have her in my life! She will always be in my heart.   I love you, Grandma! 💕

Marian Annabelle Larimer Donley
November 28, 1924  - August 20, 2017

Onward & upward!

After finding out that my Sassy cow wasn't pregnant, it was necessary to reevaluate the situation after the disappointment wore off.

So, as I usually do when I need to make a bigger decision that will effect more than just me, I bounced the decision off those around me. Family, friends, even complete strangers through the cattle related groups on Facebook.

After putting it up in the forum on Facebook that I had this issue, I received a lot of advice & insight from the cattle people. In fact if I hadn't posted my questions and asked for recommendations, I would never have found the owner of this bull! The Lord is good. He is guiding & providing!

Through Facebook, once it became known that Sassafras was not cycling correctly, a woman who is into the mini Jersey world suggested trying a different loose mineral powder for her to try, stating that since putting her cows on this particular brand, that their cows have been healthier, able to produce stronger calves, & more able to maintain their weight. I figured heck I've got nothing to lose, & if it works, this will be one of the best $20 bills I've ever spent.  So I looked up the mineral brand, found a dealer & got some!

I then thought back to my own pregnancies, & thought a batch of probiotics wouldn't hurt. That maybe she's having digestive issues & the rumen in her gut may be a little weak or her cells are struggling to absorb the nutrients. So I got a small tube of that as well as the minerals, but not the brand the bovine nutrition lady at the feed store suggested. I didn't want to spend $68 on something that may not even help, so I bought a 4 dose syringe at Rural King. 

It worked. It worked so well in fact that she is cycling right now! I'm ecstatic! I never thought I would be so happy over a cow coming into season, and the risk of her attempting to mount me, or some other object in her hormone driven state... But I am! I am happy over a cow! Lol

I eventually decided that it was time to organize my thoughts, so I could think clearer, and some of the things I was trying to decide were:

What do I need to do to get her ready to be bred?
* Vet check
* Vaccinations
* Blood tests to prove she doesn't have a disease or a REASON she can't hang onto her pregnancy
* Hormone shot?
* CIDR (extremely strong hormone insert, similar to the T shaped human birth control, but for the opposite of what humans do, since cows do it TO GET PREGNANT instead AVOID pregnancy.
* Locate a transportation trailer

Do I want to attempt another artificial insemination? [I decided against it as it would most likely prove to be a failure. This option is not of the table for future years, just not going to do it this year.]

Do I want to locate a bull & haul her somewhere to let her visit & become acquainted with him? [This is the choice I made. I believe she will be more likely to actually conceive if I allow nature to take it's course the way God intended. At least for this breeding season.]

What are the cost comparisons? 
[* $30-$120 for AI depending on the breed we choose to breed her to (jersey, Dexter, & a couple meat breeds to choose from. Elmer has several straws in storage at Great Lakes Sire Service, which will keep indefinitely till he sells / uses them)
* Mini Jersey bull: $100 stud fee + $1/day unless I haul my own hay over for her to eat.
* Waygu bull: $0 stud fee + 1 hay bale per month I plan to leave her there with him. But this is the last breed I want to cross with, next to Dexter's, because although they are the Japanese beef cattle breed, they take twice as long to mature to a butcherable age. The steaks are supposed to be too die for, but after what cost? 3 years of feed, into one mini cow, who would barely fill the freezer? I don't think so!
* Scottish Highland bull: unknown. Never became necessary to find out.

What am I willing to settle for if I can not find what i want?

(Locating a bull of the right breeding and temperament can sometimes prove to be a problem, so if push came to shove & I could find no other options what breed would I be willing to cross with?).

My order of preference is Jersey, Scottish Highland, Waygu, Irish Dexter. My girl has just enough Dexter in her genetic profile to not have the customary white ring around her nose... I do not want to strengthen that particular trait in her offspring, regardless that Dexter's are reputable as being docile

Disappointing news

Today marks the 14th day past due on Sassafras.  I'm a basket case with this waiting game, & have decided to call the vet to see if he could come palpate rectally to determine if she's "late" or is in fact "open" & I've just been mistaken all this time.

Update 1: Vet is out of town till the 17th. Have called the man who did the AI for me back in October to see if he's available to do it.

Update 2: He is available, & will be here shortly. I have to clean the cow pen, but feel as though I should remain available as well... Who knows when he'll be here. He said he had to go AI a cow in the next town over, so it could be 45-min, it could be 3-hours. I think poop scooping is gonna win out till he gets here.

Update 3: Elmer showed up at the house around an hour & a half after I talked to him, just as I was finishing with spreading the clean stuff.

After palpating, he determined that she is inactive (no eggs moving around in the ovaries), & open, & has heat bag. Which means she's been out of season so long that her body has created a false bag.

I am really bummed but such is life... I guess.

He's advised that I replace the free choice mineral(Perhaps it's gotten old or something), & add a mineral block to make sure she's getting her vitamins. She's always struggled to have normal heat cycles so she's been on minerals for a long time, but I guess he thinks they aren't working or she's not getting enough...

Then he advised a shot of lutalyse & an attempt to rebreed using one of the straws he has stored up at Great Lakes Sire Service. (3 mini Jersey bulls, 2 beef, & 2 Dexter.)

If it doesn't work the 2nd time, coming from a high yield dairy operation mindset, he's advised that she may be a dud & to dispose of her. But I think before I turn her into hamburger (😢) I'm going to find a bull to let her visit with because... She's my pet... & I really don't want to ship her off...

I have had animals all my life. It's a fact of life that dead weight cannot remain, but I have become attached because I believed she was going to be a keeper who would earn her keep... 😭

Please pray for my cow... That she feels better & gets pregnant...

The waiting game

I think I can honestly say that I am having a harder time with the waiting, for Sassafras to have her calf, than I did with birthing my own children! (Laughing but I'm serious).

With the birthing process of my own offspring, there were ultrasounds, doctors input, opinions & helpful advice from other moms, support groups, videos to be watched... Ways of KNOWING what would happen, & that ultimately my baby & I would be alright, even if the birthing process didn't go as well or in the manner that I planned.

With my silly pet cow, it's anyone's guess how long her gestation period is. There is literally a 20-day window  which this birth could fall in, (cows have been 272 - 292 days gestation) & we are in that "donut hole" right now. The vet said one date (7/12/2017), & the AI, who is an expert on miniature cattle, said a different date. (6/24/2017). Well, the 24th was here & gone, & we're still waiting.

Jill, from Prairie Homestead, studied her cow & documented in photos as well as a blog post, the changes & so forth that her standard size Jersey went through in the 2-weeks leading up to the birth. Things like the vulva swelling/becoming engorged, the udder becoming so full that she didn't know how there could be ANY MORE added or the poor thing might burst, then more being added still. She even made note of how the teets themselves resemble coke bottles in shape until just a few weeks ahead of calving, at which point they fill out to what one thinks of when thinking of a healthy udder. This observation was also made by another cattle owner I'm not familiar with, who also described them as resembling coke bottles, & stated that the wrinkles would fill out the closer she got to calving.

★ This theory was confirmed through personal observations of a friend's cow. The friend is new to cows & #2 heifer was freshening for the first time. She was going crazy not knowing how far away the birth would be, so due to the experiences gleaned from the milk route & interactions with the Amish dairy world, she called us. She was just SURE something was wrong, because the heifer was over her due date & wanted a second opinion on if everything was OK or if she was over reacting, so I was able to visualize these pre-calving signs in #2 before needing to recognize them in Sassy.

★ Going over the approximate due date isn't uncommon. Just like humans, the first time around the body is just trying to get the hang of things, so it will go over the due date sometimes.

Yet another owner, who's apparently had quite a few cows to watch this in, had observed that just prior to calving, (24 to 48 hours) the cow will begin to arch, or kink her tail in preparation for the calf to make passage. The person stated that this is a sure shot way of knowing you'll have a new calf shortly, & was confirmed by several others in the forum.

I find this all very interesting, but what I find even more interesting, is there are really not THAT many people who have been watching their cows that closely, so there isn't a ton of info out there on this. In today's day & age... It just hits me as interesting. So I've been trying to observe & take photos. The photos haven't turned out well because she's a dark brown/black, but I have good intentions.

When I bought Sassy, I intended to have a family milk cow. Nothing more. I never actually thought I would grow to love her like a pet, or that I would enjoy her as much as I do. I mean what can you do with a cow? You can't exactly play fetch with it, or cuddle up with it on your lap to read a good book... But ... Despite that, she has been very good for my battered & bruised soul. She behaves like an overgrown puppy. A 500lb, exuberant, genuinely affectionate puppy, who wants nothing more than to be petted,  brushed &/or scratched. She sometimes gets so thrilled to see me coming that she dances. Literally, dances a jig. Other times getting so happy that she rubs her head & face on me. So, I can honestly say that it's kind of nice to be so loved by an animal that she dances for you...

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday, and the cat decided to have her kittens last night!  Happy Birthday to me!

Old friends, new changes, better life

Several months ago when I first bought Sassy, an old friend reconnected with the family and although many things have changed since we went back & forth consistently, there are just some things about the friendship that have not changed despite having not seen her or her family in a long time.  Funny how that works!

Years ago, she was the person who would fix our computers when we screwed up this or that.  She taught me a lot about the computer world as well as helping me to get through some tough stuff that I had going on at the time.  She was married to a serious creep of an idiot, had two sons by a prior marriage, and had one daughter from the idiot.

Mom & Dad got tired of constantly needing to fix this or that, and bought a new system.  Since we no longer needed her to fix our broken down fix-r-uppers, we lost touch for a long time.

Since losing touch over the last 12-years, she was able to get away from the abusive idiot of a pedafile she was married to.  Her two sons have gone off the deep end, with one believing that he is a girl and the other being such a chronic liar that nothing is trustworthy from his mouth.  Her daughter on the other hand, is doing "OK", because our friend was able to retain custody of her and she has remarried a really decent man who has a daughter of his own from a prior marriage as well.  He supports and loves her the way she deserves to be loved, and through his support & due to some serious health issues, she has chosen to begin hobby farming in an effort to get healthier and improve the quality of life she has left to live.

Fast forward to today.  Here we are, both of us having lived through our abusive ex's, both of us deciding that we can feed and care for our families, better, through growing our own food than by buying it in a store.

She now has chickens, ducks, rabbits, cows, and dogs, and is loving the country life!!  She's smiling and laughing, has stopped smoking (due to the health issues) and seems to be genuinely happy!

[In comparison:  I have horses, cows, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats & toddlers (ha ha).]

She raises the rabbits as pets for the local feed store, the chickens lay eggs which she uses to feed her family then sells the extra to the public who may stop into her home, and raises the cattle for the milk they might produce, for her family to drink, but mainly for the meat they will produce once they come of age/weight.

Yesterday she called asking if I could come down and look at her heifer who is overdue to give birth.  I went down, and what could have been a 3-hour run, turned into 6-hours.  I looked at her cow, and I guestimate that she should give birth any time between now & tomorrow.

Because of dad being a milkman for over 24-years, I was raised around dairy cows.  Cows are, dare I say, part of who I am?  Although the cows were never my own until now, I still learned a great deal from the producers along the way.

After owning their own business for that long, my parents saw so many crazy animal drama's, equipment failures, life or death emergencies & FDA dramas... that we used to joke about how we should write a book of memoirs, and call it "As The Milk Churns" (haha).

One example of such drama's: when I was around 7-years old, we pull into a producers yard and he rushes out to the truck as we pull in, begging Dad to come help him pull a holstein calf.  They didn't have the proper equipment, the farmer wasn't properly prepared, despite it being a heifer on her first calf.  They pulled and worked to get that calf out for over 3-hours, and when they finally got it, it was dead.  The mother died shortly after from exhaustion. A sad story for sure, but an example of how although Dad wasn't properly "trained" in farm husbandry, he would always get pulled into it anyway.  It would seem that the Amish producers we served, thought that Dad would just know the answers to whatever problems they had.

Now, years later those unexpected experiences have helped me.  Have given me confidence to go on and begin my own hobby farm, and because of how calm dad was in these emergency situations, it laid the groundwork for some of my choices and how to handle emergencies better.

Today's many adventures

Interesting happenings around here today!

When I went down to check on Sassafras this morning she was feeling pretty uncomfortable because the calf was crosswise. I walked in to put her halter on for the day, & she just walks over & plants her face against my stomach & leans on me & moans.

She does this when she's uncomfortable, in pain etc.

I can't do very much about the calf being in the wrong position. So I just try to help her be as comfortable as possible. Walking her around a bit, then tied her out in the yard. Kind of figure if it works for humans maybe it will help her to...

Anticipation is building!

Although there was some doubt initially as to whether I had actually gauged the heat cycles in my mini Jersey cow correctly, I believe it is safe to announce that she is pregnant & her little bundle of joy is set to arrive sometime in late June, or early July.

If her little one is born on 7/4 it will be named Freedom, which can be either a male or female name. If it isn't born exactly on the day I'd like, it's ok. I still may be name it Freedom, but another name that's optional if it's a girl, is Honey, because Dad's honeybees paid for the some of the expenses necessary to pull this off.

I wanted to sit down & "record" some of the information I learned from the second inseminator, (Elmer Detwieler) but I didn't have time at that point, because I was trying to do to much. I thought I would have the opportunity to come back to it, but one thing led to another, as it always does, & here we are.

We've come through 7/9 months, she has approximately 60 days to go, a little less, & I have forgotten a lot of what he shared with me.

Elmer is a very unique, information rich individual. While observing her during the initial heat, that we missed** he revealed just how much information he had in his brain concerning artificial insemination, & cows in general. 30+ years, living in multiple countries as an AI, using the AI training to be a missionary... Working with lots of different breeds of cattle, & how each breed is different... The entire conversation was highly educational.

** (Elmer said it was OK, he'd rather we miss a half hearted heat & KNOW the cycle, than to guess & waste the semen straw)

Along the way, prior to beginning the process of getting her bred, I had her checked & dehorned by the vet. While he was out, the vet shared how exciting it was for him that I had gotten a mini in the first place, because it gave him a reason to go learn more about them since they're so rare. More than that though, I learned through that conversation that Rick Ultz... Yes THAT Rick Ultz, is this areas leading expert on jerseys! I was flabbergasted! Imagine the chances of that happening! All these years I've known, looked up to & respected this man, who has quietly been an expert on something that I love but never had the money to get into till last year!

As Sassy was 15-months when I got her, & of course being that young has never had a calf before, & I have never been responsible for a cow who's been bred before... We're both calving virgins so to speak. So I'm praying it all goes smoothly... Praying hard actually! ☺

I've grown to love that little cow. ❤ She's become like another child to me... & It would break my heart if something were to happen to her because of my stupidity in this matter.

But, the Lord has a plan. If he didn't, she wouldn't have fallen in my lap back when I saw the ad sin the paper. The semen shipment wouldn't have come together like it did, & nothing would have gone as smoothly as it has​...

The newest addition to our little hobby farm: Sassafras

It's been quite a while since I posted, but I had a good reason! After having my second son, my world kind of "blew up" and I got very busy.  The saying "With one child you are a parent, with two you are a referee" rings true for me and my husband as our children seem to be best friends, but also their own worst enemies, sometimes in the blink of an eye. 

In all of the hustle and bustle of parenthood, we still have to live, and in "living" we've had several livestock related adventures.  Specifically due to having a 3-year old and a 1-year 5-month year old, who both find great enjoyment in our animals. 

On June 30, 2016 I purchased a 15-month old miniature-midsize jersey and named her Sassafras.

Her lineage is of miniature stock, but she grew to be 1" too tall to suit the prior owner (he was seeking to have an entirely miniature herd), and so chose to sell her to me for $1,600.   She is a dark brown, nearly black color, with lighter colored "socks" on her legs, and lighter colored "stripes" down her spine.  (Photo shows what I mean)

She had horns when I purchased her, so those had to come off immediately, and let me tell you what... I hope I never have to de-horn another cow for as long as I live! 

After spending every day outside in the sunshine on her 50-foot tie-out rope, the jersey color pattern is a little bit more noticeable through her back and legs, but she will never be accepted into some of the more prestigious miniature jersey registries as I had planned.

Some of the registries require immense amounts of information; correct coloring in specific areas, conformation, head shape, etc. and because she is such a dark color, and lacks the prominent white ring around her nose, the woman running the main registry wouldn't accept her.  

The backstory I was given on her and who her sires & dam's are cannot be verified any further than they already have so I can't really "fight" the refusal to allow registry. 

I intend to keep highly detailed records, and to register her calf/calves but without having her full lineage confirming that she is the grandsire of Riverview Bobby (among other names), the lineage records starts with me.  Perhaps if I stick with this, I will end up having a whole herd of miniature jersey's; who knows.  Perhaps some day.

Through a neighbor we purchased some huge bales of straw to use as her bedding.  2 sections of that is more than enough to toss down on the floor of her pen, so I'll be doing well for bedding for a very very long time.   She is so partial to the straw though that she has chosen to keep her "bed" separate from her other activities in the pen such as eating and discharging waste.  This photo is of her laying down on her bed when she got bored of my presence in her pen.   I guess she decided that if I wasn't going to give her anything to eat, and wasn't going to brush her, that I was no longer "useful" and so it was time to tell me to go away by laying down.

 
When I made the choice to purchase a miniature jersey cow, I was also making the decision to allow the chickens to become less prominent in our livestock ownership ventures for the time being. 

I need the income from the eggs, but one of the main contributing factors on the decision to ease off on the chickens, was concerning my oldest son's fear of the birds because they have pecked his hands a few times thinking that he had food. The second factor was that I had a big old swamp coon that was eating any bird he could get his talons into, and it was just not good business to continue purchasing chicks only to have them eaten by the swamp coon.

When Sassy first came home my son was even a little uneasy around her, because of not knowing if she would hurt him or what she would do when he would come around but he has warmed up to her a lot, and even goes to the barn to scratch her and brush her without me now.  He has been over-heard telling his grandmother that "Mommy's cow is pretty good!  She is my favorite pet!" Which I enjoyed of course because I've been wanting a pet cow for about 8-years now.

One adventure which I was concerned would scare him, was the fact that during "standing heat", I was careless about watching my back, and she mounted me, pinning me against the fence until she was finished humping.  My son watched the whole thing, and even though it hurt (she weighs in around 500lbs) I knew I had to talk to him about what he had just seen otherwise he would be fearful of her.  But how do you explain to a 3-year old, why the cow had just mounted mommy and was humping her?  It was quite comical I suppose, the way I was stumbling around trying to explain it in a way that he could understand, yet wouldn't scare him... yes I pulled it off.  I basically just told him "Mommy is OK.  Sassy is lonely. She wants Mommy to find a daddy cow for her to have a baby with."  He looked at me very solemnly and said "OK Mommy".  Later, he was talking to my sister and he said "Mommy got humped by the cow".  Meg said "What!?"  He repeated it, and she asked "Did you see this happen??"  He nodded and repeated "I saw it!", then when he thought she didn't believe him he told her very emphatically "I'm not lying!  I saw it Aunt Megan!  I saw Mommy get humped by the cow!  Sassy is lonely!  She wants Mommy to find her a bull so she can have a baby!"  My sister's jaw just hit the floor I guess... which kind of made the whole situation all the more hilarious than before because how many other people can say that they got humped by a cow in heat?  And that their 3-year old has given his 20-year old aunt a bovine biology lesson!  lol!

All in all I would say that Sassafras has been a good addition to our little farm.  She has proven herself to be a sweet tempered little girl, and if all goes as planned, I will have her bred to a miniature jersey bull of the Dexter Corners lineage, by the end of the month.  The bull resides in Texas at this point in time, but of course artificial insemination is always an option, and one which we are going to attempt this time around.  DC Ebenezer is supposed to be within the size range I would like to see but is heterozygous polled, which means we have a 50% chance of horns. 

** Sassy is 100% horned, I had her DNA tested during the registry negotiations so I would know exactly how likely we would be to having a horned calf, as well as if she had any DNA issues that I should be concerned with such as having the bull dog gene (a gene malformation in Dexter cattle; some people will cross dexters with jerseys in an effort to accomplish size requirements.  It's a method of cutting corners instead of actually doing the breeding correctly.

Updates on the cattle breeding adventures to follow! 

Butchered 4 roosters; unexpected adventures

So, had some pretty interesting although catastrophic adventures yesterday.

It was a nice day, I thought "OK this one reader person has asked for photos of the butcher process, I'm feeling OK, & I need to stop putting this off... let's get this done."  Got all the stuff around for it, started boiling the water, and headed for the barn to catch the intended "victims".  I think they must have sensed that their time had come because although I was able to catch 2 of the 4, the other 2 evaded me to the very end, even after using my pistol to try to take them out.  Finally, I thought "Fine, I'll just do these two, maybe I can catch the other two later after I've gotten these done...", however in the meantime I handed my dad my pistol (because I got frustrated and fed up chasing birds..) and even my dad got fed up. 

While Dad was chasing down the other two, I got my gloves and went for the kill cage (an old dog crate used to isolate them until they are ready for death) to catch a roo.  There were two in there, both were larger than I normally like to butcher, both with long long spurs, but I thought this would be to my advantage for an easier time cleaning them.  It was not.  These two big roosters ganged up on me and rushed me at the door as I went for them, both flapping their wings, attacking my head and face.  I got spurred in the arms, chest and back as I ducked from their barrage attack.

After that, I was 100% done with messing around on a humane kill business.  And of course by not doing a humane kill it wouldn't be clean either, so I knew I wouldn't be able to get photos.  But regardless, I needed these birds gone, so I turned my husband, dad & brother loose on them.  Told them to take them out however they wanted as long as they were dead.  The three men thought this was an awesome idea, since they all hate my chickens, but specifically my roosters with a passion.

After locating them all, they were successful, but there was one rooster in particular that was very good at evading us, even though we shot at him he would keep running.  Once we finally did take him out and I took all his feathers off I realized that we had all hit him when we were shooting him, he just had like... 9 lives. lol  The other three roosters went down a lot easier.

However, interesting facts (to me anyway) was that when I tried to shoot the escape artist rooster several months ago, I thought I missed him, I did not.  I did indeed hit him, and not only that but I hit him exactly where I was supposed to to take him out.  I had just missed his internal organs by mere millimeters. When I finally opened him up, he had 5 bullet holes, (4, 9mm & 1, .22) plus the healed hole from my original 9mm several months back.  Tough old bird was way too good at staying alive!! 

After all of that, I ended up only getting one bird that was usable out of the 4, mainly because I was just so tired I couldn't finish.  My hands were shaking and I was close to collapsing, ended up nicking the gall bladder on the last one I attempted which means I had to throw it away.  Asked my brother to take care of all of the guts, feathers, carcasses etc. which he did, while I showered, then colapsed.  Mom even texted me that she needed me to help her, with my kids, and I didn't even hear my phone.  THAT showed me this morning just how utterly exhausted I was.  

As The Egg Turns

Good morning blogger world!

My husband says I need to share a story with you about the personalities my hens have developed. There are a few details necessary to describe the comical behaviors that have transpired.

Sometime during the winter months, I got sick of feeding the birds.  I had just had a baby in April of 2015, & felt like I was running around with my hair on fire trying to get everything done for my children, let alone the birds.  I asked for some help from my sister, who did help for a time but got bored of it, stopped feeding them & didn't tell me.  The chickens went for about a week without food, and as most animals will do when they are being starved, they will try to escape their confinement.  Mine succeeded.

They succeeded so well in fact, that they ripped the chicken wire up from the floor boards in specific areas & created new nesting areas for themselves between the wire & the exterior walls. So even though they escaped, they would return to these areas and lay their eggs behind the wire where humans and most animals couldn't get to them.  I was actually quite impressed, after I got over the irritation of realizing they had ruined the coop and that I couldn't reach their eggs.

Over the last several months I have slowly re-trained them where I want them to lay.  The birds & I have come to a compromise after several go rounds of them vandalizing the chicken coops.  I won't lock them up, as long as they lay their eggs where I want them to.  This compromise works well for us, the birds are able to go forage for themselves & I don't have to feed them on such a concrete schedule.  In exchange for their freedoms, I have trained them to lay their eggs in 1 of 2 places, and of course there is always that 1 bird that must be contrary and still tries to lay her eggs where she wants and not where I would like. 1 out of 14 is not too bad though so I let her slide.

The places I have coached them into laying in are:

• An old water tank that no longer does it's intended job correctly.  I have filled this tank approximately 1/2 full with hay and "seeded" the nests with fake eggs to guide the birds towards laying there.  
• The tank is large enough for all of my hens to fit in side without touching while laying at the same time if they chose 
• The walls of the tank are tall enough that our German shepherd cannot reach the eggs to hand them down to the yellow mutt.
• I've placed boards over the top of the tank except in key places to discourage scavengers such as raccoons, opossums, skunks & other chickens from raiding the nests.

• An old white plastic milk house sink, stuffed with hay about half-way up & fake eggs seeding the nest.  This location has been placed inside of the second hen house with the door closed and the walls re-secured on the first hen house that they all destroyed so they had to find new spots to lay. 

Both locations work really well. Both locations are too tall for the yellow mutt to get at the eggs (she is my egg sucker) and although the shepherd could reach the eggs in the 2nd hen house, he doesn't because he and I have had a few "talks" about such behavior, including some not so veiled threads of life on a rope if he doesn't behave.

What I have actually found interestingly enough, is that I have 7 who prefer the white sink, and will lay all of their eggs at the same time.  4 of them will sit down facing each other so their butts are in the corners, and chitter chat at each other.  It's almost like they are sitting there gossiping and talking about each other.  "Oh my GOSH!!! Did you see how ruffled Stella was after Foghorn got done with her?  Oh!  He's such an animal!  I wish Heidi would butcher him and get it over with!  The way he uses those spurs on us while breeding is just INHUMANE!"  bahaha.

Then you have the other half of the flock, who prefers to do their laying in private.  And I mean as private as it gets.  They all lay their eggs separately, under cover of darkness (under the boards) & no one talks to each other.  They will wait in line to use the water tank, but no one jumps up early to watch, and if I happen to walk in during one of them laying, it offends her so much she will not lay her egg that day, or if she does, it isn't until LONG after I've gone.  If someone starts pinching, they will fall back on the 55-gallon trash barrels I have throughout the barn.  Their preferred ones are those with paper feed sacks in the bottom, but really it just comes down to whether they need the extra over-flow nests or not.

When I chose to purchase chickens, I had no idea there would be so many personalities and temperaments involved!!  It's like a tiny soap opera down there in the barn!  A friend of the family laughed and suggested I call the chicken drama "As the egg turns", and it probably isn't a bad idea, but I'm not sure anyone would actually get as much of a kick out of the chicken drama as I do.

Duckies

On the Saturday between Easter & Good Friday, I bought my son's 5 peking ducklings from TSC.  I thought "My sons are 2-years 6-months & 1-year; they're old enough to begin learning about animal husbandry & the responsibilities of owning and caring for animals" knowing full well that M, my youngest, wouldn't do anything of any consequence with them other than possibly petting them or something.  I wasn't certain that A would be able to handle it, so it was a small gamble, but I figured that if he couldn't deal with them, they got to be "old hat" or he stopped caring for them, I just butcher them and we have roast duck for supper or some such.  However, my gamble seems to be paying off. Because A is doing very well with his new adventure.  M, thinks the ducks are toys, so I can't let him touch them without supervision, but A has taken his job very seriously.  I told him he must feed them every day, change their water, clean their brooder etc. and every morning so far except yesterday (because he had outpatient surgery yesterday) he has asked when it's time to feed & water the animals (chickens, ducks & horses), & helps me get the eggs from the chickens (both boys have been doing this for quite awhile now).  Both boys are doing very well with all of this.  I couldn't be prouder of them!

I also was recently informed by A that it is "Time to eat the roosters Mommy".  LOL!!  I didn't realize he understood when I was butchering the chickens last year!  My husband & I had been sure to keep him back & away during the killing stage, but I had let him play in his sand box during all the other phases so apparently it sunk in more than I realized, and as he is completely chill about the whole thing I'd say it doesn't bother him all that much. 

When he told me it was time to butcher the roosters, I told him "OK we'll butcher them once Mommy catches them", not realizing just how serious he was about doing it right then and there in that moment... so he proceeded to chase my roosters all over the barn for the next 10 minutes.  I told him he shouldn't chase them, because they could hurt him, but he listens about as well as any normal, active 2.5-year old, so it took a little bit to corral him and get him to stop chasing the roosters.  I did end up catching 2/4 & stuck them in the kill cage (I pen them up overnight so I don't have to worry about having a full crop to work with), but then the weather changed overnight.  It got cooler than I really wanted to deal with for butchering so I let them go again.  Their days are most definitely numbered though because I have chicks from last year which are potentially being bred with their father...

Also, I've been asked by a reader to post photos of my unorthodox way of butchering, so although my husband is squeamish about the thought, I may have to enlist his help in taking photos, because once I begin butchering, I tend to get rather covered in blood and feathers.  Not the sort of thing that you want to be picking up a camera all the time, and perhaps if my husband or someone else helps me take photos, I can get some better ones than if I were to do it myself.

Heritage breed laying problems

When I purchased my flock, I bought pure blood heritage breeds because I had heard that they would live longer, have longer laying cycles etc. but what I didn't know was that they don't lay every single day if something happens!   Sure when it's warm out, have LOTS of water, LOTS of food, and very clean nesting boxes they lay regularly, but if it gets a bit snappy in the air, they run out of water, food or some poo gets into their nests... those girls, they stop laying till they darn well feel like it! 

I thought perhaps if I let them free range 100% that they might improve their laying, and they do, but then we run into the problems of them hiding their eggs!  Ugh!  So I started "baiting" nests around the barn and that helps improve our eggs laid to eggs found ratio.

What I have discovered is that they prefer LOTS of privacy, LOTS of hay, and lots of easter eggs filled with sand to tell them where to lay.  Some of their favorite places to lay are:

• An old stock tank that has a bunch of old hay in it that is too moldy for the horses to eat.  
• An old 55-gallon barrel full of old feed sacks, feathers, and other odds and ends.  I've found more than a few clutches laid in that barrel.  
• An old fruit crate that I stuffed full of old hay and baited, then moved into their chicken coop after removing all other nests. 
• Random dust bathing holes.  One hen will even go around the barn picking up the feathers that have been shed by the other birds and gather them up in these holes instead of plucking the feathers off her own body.  After she has "feathered the nest" the other hens will follow suit and lay eggs in her nests too.  These random nests are the most difficult to find because she will create them all over the barn. Once I find one, I try to mark it so I know where it is and so no one else in the family will bother it or disturb it. 

One of the most challenging things about them hiding their eggs though, isn't the birds themselves but the other members of my family!  Grrrr!! lol!  I prefer to leave things alone and let the birds rule the barn, another person in the family likes to clean and organize, even though cleaning and organizing the barn really doesn't do much other than moving something from one spot to another and messing up the chickens laying cycles.  

One last challenge to their laying, is if the roosters become a bit too "interested" in propagating their species.  The hens will stop laying regularly if the roosters harass them too much.

So, all in all, would I have bought heritage breeds again?  Yeah probably, but I would have bought more ISA Browns or some other sort of hybrid to balance out their weird laying habits. 

EAA Witness Pavona & Alien Gear Holster Review

I have been looking for a more suitable firearm to carry with me on a daily basis for approximately 6-months, and believe I found what I've been looking for. I had specific ideas about what I wanted in my personal carry weapon, and my husband had his ideas, so we had to find a compromise.

We have two children, so we wanted a firearm that would be safe for me to carry on my body, while chasing a toddler & nursing an infant. My husband wanted a lot of the same attributes as I did in my new gun, but said if I was going to spend money on another gun, I needed to spend it on something that he knew would allow me to protect our children.

We decided that we wanted my daily carry to have these attributes:

• Quick to hand
• Easy to conceal
• Comfortable to handle with a good balance
• Not too much kick
• Look attractive
• Smaller than sub-compact
• A thumb safety
• Manageable slide strength
• Magazine: 8 - 13 rounds
• Double/Single action
• 9mm or .380, preferably 9mm
• Reliability
• An external hammer

Some of the guns I considered in my quest for the "perfect gun for me", were:

• EAA Witness Pavona (9mm)
• Sig Sauer P938-Ambi (9mm)
• Kimber Solo Carry (9mm)
• S&W M&P Shield (9mm)
• Ruger LC9 (9mm)
• Taurus 709 Slim (9mm)
• S&W M&P Bodyguard (.380)
• Sig Sauer P238 (.380)
• Walther PK380 (.380)

After comparing all of the various aspects of each weapon, I landed on the EAA Witness Pavona in 9mm Sapphire, and am extremely satisfied thus far. The balance is very good, trigger & slide extremely manageable, beautiful appearance, very reliable.

Between my husband & I, we've put nearly 300 rounds through it in the last 2 weeks, and it eats them up no problem, no matter what type of casing or load. I had one instance of almost failing to feed with 115 FMJ on the first round out of the mag, but it pulled through it very smoothly after the slide was pulled back just a tad to allow it to feed better.

The only aspect I am less thrilled with, which has nothing to do with the gun handling itself, is the lack of holsters available for it. There are two holster options available, one is made by the manufacturer intended for purse carry called the "Pavona D'wedge" and you have the option of a purse with the holster as well. The other option, is an IWB available through Alien Gear Holsters. There is also the option of using a Thunderwear holster or something similar to it on this gun, but it's new enough that it isn't listed in most holster companies gun listings.

I've seen both positive & negative opinions floating around the internet about the Alien Gear Holsters, however my husband, brother & I are all real satisfied with their newest holster. It's extremely comfortable, although one should probably wear a breathable undershirt with it if you're more prone to sweating.

What I really like about Alien Gear, is their lifetime warranty, lifetime (free) shell exchange, and the overall price of their holsters in general, not to mention the speed with which they kick out their orders. 

They put neoprene on the back of their new 3.0 that was advertised as being helpful in wicking away sweat and helping make it more comfortable... they weren't lying! It truly is an extremely comfortable holster!

I've sent in shells for 3 different guns to trade out so far, the most recent being the one for my newly purchased Pavona, and all of them have been very well made, fit the gun well and are most certainly worth the money to purchase the holster itself, and the shipping back & forth ($3). I haven't received the shell to the Pavona yet, I just sent it out over the weekend, but it should arrive soon. The last exchange I did, the exchange was made in less than one week.

** Entire holsters take between 4 & 6 weeks depending on the order volume at the time you order, however if you are simply making a shell exchange, it has a very quick turn around.

Overall, if you are considering purchasing this firearm, or one of these holsters, it has been well worth the money for us!

The Lost Has Been Found!!

My sister was finally able to locate the hidding guinea nest.  It had 60+ eggs in it, and out of those 60+ only 6 of them were bad.  I didn't know how old the eggs were, and since they were too heavy to float properly, I had no idea which ones weren't good any longer, so I gave them all to my chickens.  I had some very very happy hens lemme tell you what!!! LOL

The guineas are most displeased, and Ms. Bunny didn't steal all the eggs, leaving about 5 so they would potentially still lay their eggs there, but the nest was kind of really gross.  I went in to look at it and they had obviously been laying their eggs here for a good LONG time.  You could SMELL the nest long before you saw it... and it makes me really wonder how in the world I ever missed it!!  However, in my defense, they DID choose to lay their eggs underneath a large mulberry tree that drooped down to the ground and created a natural "cave" of sorts.  I think it even ended up "protecting" them from most of the rain, which is kind of neat.

Ever since the summer warmth kicked in I stopped bothering to pen them up, so they've been "on their own" without me feeding them at all for probably close to 4-months. 

We had 4 guineas to start with, thought we had at least 1 roo, but have not seen any keets out of them, so if we do have a roo, the hens are just too stupid to properly raise the chicks and keep walking away from them & they all die... OR we don't have a roo at all.  Either way... I'm not very impressed with guineas.  Thinking of butchering them out when I butcher out the roosters... but we'll see.

New chicken pen, & other goings on lately

Our homestead has been busy!!!  Goodness gracious!! 

• Ms. Bunny has been building and painting me a sign to put by the side of the road to advertise the chicks, eggs, etc. I have for sale.

• Mr. Massey Ferguson has been employed by an elderly woman to help maintain her property, as well as his normal everyday work around here.

• My husband & dad worked together & built me another chicken pen (second one thus far, both have same dimensions, but one has lots of roosters and the other doesn't.) which I am currently using to contain the roosters destined for the stew pot.  The new pen is entirely too good for them, but my hens don't like the new pen because it is too "clean" they say, so they keep parading right back into their hen house and making nasty clucking noises in my direction for even making such a suggestion as to MOVE!  lol

•  Mom, Ms. Bunny & I are preparing to begin the corn preservation push (we put up between 30 & 60 quarts of sweet corn per year).  That corn is a very much enjoyed food during those long cold winter months.

• Our garden was a fail on almost all fronts this year.  Except for the raspberries, everything failed to produce anything, which was a disappointment but it's just how the world works sometimes.  Unfortunately we'll just have to end up buying broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and onions this next year... We've never been allowed to grow our own corn, if we were to grow corn it would mess up the seed corn grown by the farmers who rent our land, so the corn we get is grown for us and the other land owners by the farmers who've signed our contracts.  However the raccoons have found the corn patch, so I don't know how that has been handled thus far but live traps & poison were on the list of possible ways to resolve the issue.

• Little Frog is busy as a little bee!!!  He's crawling full throttle now, into everything, pulling himself up on furniture and walking along it.  Even though he is 9-months, he is registering in the 92nd percentile on development and abilities.  We suspect it is due to having 6 adults in the house and all of the non-electronic stimulation he receives from being in a large household. (I do not allow him to play on or watch any electronics).

• Dad is busy busy busy with his honey bee "ladies" as mom calls them.  His bee hives are doing fantastic, he's had to add several extra boxes because his "ladies" are working so hard that they are just filling everything up to the brim.  If their behavior is any indication, this coming winter is going to be a very very hard one.  Dad is making plans to move the hives into a storage shed nearby to protect them from the winter winds, also contemplating providing some sort of a heating system in the event that the interior temperatures drop below 40*F.  He is ecstatic that they are doing as well as they are since this is his first year keeping bees.
• He has realized that he knows as much, if not more than most "experts" because he has spent SO MUCH TIME researching, reading, watching videos, talking to people in the area, looking at various set-ups...  My dad & I are both the type of people who do a lot of research about things we get into.  Total immersion and all that stuff.

• I was "given" 11 chickens last night.  10 chicks that are 2-weeks old of various "mutt" breeds because they are 50% white leghorn, but the other half of their breeding is:  welsummer/brahma cross, white leghorn (not a mutt of course), buff brahma, rhode island red & australorp) in various numbers.  Also 1 barred rock (adult) rooster, that has been dubbed Coronal Sanders because he is most definitely going to be eaten.  He scared little frog by crowing in his face, already has spurs, is too pompous and struts around like he's gonna attack anything that comes too close to him.  It hasn't helped his temperament that he has been 100% free range for his entire life, but I am currently counting the days before these boys are getting tossed in the pot.
  

  

  Coronal Sanders

  
  

  

  Over-all look at 1/3 of the rooster house.

   
  

  

  Rusty (EE)

  

  No-name EE 2

  

  No-name EE 1

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• The three below are NOT being put in the pot, but while I'm posting rooster photos I thought these boys needed some recognition too! lol
  
  

  

  Rodney

  
  

  

  Lightning

  

  Roger

Butchering issues

I have done a headcount, and have 7 roosters. (1 Silver lace wyandotte, 1 jersey giant, 3 easter egger, 2 buff orpington) so such decisions... I decided the buffs and 1 easter were going out the door for sure, looked up how to butcher them and on a whim looked up WHEN to butcher them... and have realized I'm 10-weeks early! Gah!! I thought they were kinda "thin" when I picked them up but thought it was just because they're roosters... I guess if I let them live awhile longer, keep them penned up away from the rest of the flock and feed them meat food they will fatten up a lot more?? Perhaps this is worth considering... I don't really like how thin they are... it seems as though it isn't worth all the work... but they are fighting amongst themselves... and my hens are getting over-bred by the not-quite totally mature roos...

I really don't know what to do... do I let them keep growing, keeping them separated out from each other?  Do I butcher them now and be done with it?? *humph...* I don't know.  I think its time to ask my mother..

Rodney - Jersey Giant - probably keeping him

Rusty - EE - Keeping him or Roger, probably not both

Roger - EE - Keeping him or Rusty, not both

Lightning - Silver Lacey Wyandotte - probably keeping him

Buff orpington roo 1 of 2; not named; plan to butcher

 Then there is a non-named EE that is also planned to be butchered out

New dog - finally have another german shepherd

On July 11 our family lost one of our long time pets, Hannah the dog.  This was also the day my sister turned 18, and the day before Melody & Steven got married.  At that time, everyone knew that it would be only a matter of time before we got a new dog.  That new dog was found and purchased on 7/17/2014 via the classified ad paper.

He is a good addition to our "ranks".   His name is Kirby, he is 9-months old, and he is of german shepherd leanings in his breeding although the previous owner wasn't 100% what exactly he has in him because of some random crap he may or may not have made up on the spot about a dog stealing ring sting and Kirby being part of it.  (( The guy was a real douche bag, so he could have very well stolen him himself to turn some coin. ))

Either way, he's better off here on our farm, seems happy with his new home, and loves to play.  Someone has worked with him to teach him commands like sit, stay, roll over, back up, lay down, fetching a ball either thrown or hit with a bat, tug of war etc.  He's a bit thin and I believe the previous owners to have been limiting his food in an effort to keep the feed bill down, combined with the overall stress of being part of a stolen dog ring sting (so the guy claimed) then getting a new owner, then another new owner... stuff like that can really put some stress on dogs ya know?

Goings on around here lately

**  Purchase offer for bantams, husband wanting to become breeder for hire, and possible lost chicken

It looks as if one of my laying hens has either gone missing, or was attacked last night.

When I put them all away last night I did a general glancing headcount, but didn't check-list count them each and every one...  Guess perhaps I should have.  We had 5 eggs this morning just like normal, since one hen hasn't been laying.  Not sure which one it is, but I have my guesses. 

On another note, I found somewhere that I can technically purchase my husbands breeding stock, if he so chose, however he says they are charging too much.  I agree, but it is what it is.  I guess he would rather by 20 birds and spend $100 than buy 5 birds and spend $50, because then he can decide and choose which ones he likes best for his breeding stock rather than picking the cast-offs from someone else's flock.  And Amish flock to boot... which for those who are unfamiliar, Amish livestock are generally less than desirable when it concerns the english buying them.  Generally anything purchased must go through extensive TLC and isolation, above and beyond normal regiments because they've been so poorly cared for.

And on another topic still, one of our barns partially collapsed in the recent storms we've had, thankfully no one was hurt including our animals but some of dads collectors grade antiques were at risk, so in the collapsing and so forth, it's become very evident that it's time to move out some.   My father has accumulated several of these over the 2 decades that he's hauled milk, and although in some ways I suppose he feels as if he is selling off part of "himself", it is literally money sitting in the barn waiting to be made.

Mom and I know their approximate value.  The lack of rust, the stamping on the cans identifying them to their original creameries, and the dates in the stamps raises the value to $150 per can.  We're selling them for $100.

Weapon Concealment thoughts

Just jotting down a few thoughts as I look around for alternative ways to conceal carry. 

**  On a side note, I love my firearm.  I love the lines, the form, the way she handles, the way the grip fits my hand as if it were made just for me... the gushing could continue but I digress...

Can Can Concealment:  These ladies have several holsters that I would love to try out.  I love this whole concept, love the idea, the colors, the extra pockets, however both my husband & I are concerned about several points.   The safety factor of only a piece of elastic, albeit a snug piece, holding my weapon to my body whilst I care for our son is a major concern.  If it contained a way to "hold" the weapon into the pocket, such as a loop or piece of velcro, I might be less leery of the safety factor here, but... as it does not, I am being very cautious.  So keeping with the thought path of "absolute most safety possible", I am considering using a secondary form along with it, that will help to fully cover the trigger.   There are several brands of holster available that use kydex that has been formed to your specific weapon, and these are quite appealing to me, although I am not overly thrilled with the lack of a "loop" in this instance either.

Back to my original topic though, the main belly band holster I would like to try from this company is the Big Shebang. But all in all, I would also love to test out all three. (The corset, belly band & the garter).... but with prices starting at $69 on up from there... this is just something that will need to wait for a later time!  They are truly works of art though.

Foxx Holsters:  Again there are several holsters I would like to try from this company, but the main two are "In the waistband hybrid" (two clip) & "In the waistband little foxx hybrid" (one clip).  This company offers lots of different colors for the kydex portion and THAT part will be a really difficult decision.  However I can deal with the price of these a lot better than some of the others I've found. :-)