Sunday, January 4, 2009
- Mucked Coco the goat’s pen
Friday, January 16, 2009
- Bought 20 bags of grain
Saturday, January 17, 2009
- Put the last of the first 20 bags of grain in the grain can (150 lbs of first 20 went to laying hens)
Monday, January 19, 2009
- The black and white buck I bought this past spring is shooting blanks, so I reunited the goats. They are now all together in Coco’s pen across the street. Silkie bred Brown Goat as soon as the goats were reunited. Brown Goat’s little buck mounted Buzi while everyone was distracted. Hopefully Buzi wasn’t really in heat; I thought she was already bred
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
- Izzy the Goat died from rumen acidosis, the result of a stupid management mistake
Thursday, January 22, 2009
- Four new pigs arrived. I put them behind the barn where the goats were
Friday, January 23, 2009
- Buried Izzy the Goat in the compost pile, which, to my surprise was still cooking very nicely a couple inches below the surface, so she should be well composted by the time I start turning the piles again in the late spring
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
- Eight new pigs arrived. They came out of a warmish barn, so I kept them separated from the other four so that I could keep them a bit warmer for the next couple of days while they acclimate to the cold
Thursday, January 29, 2009
- Took three Large Black/Landrace pigs to the slaughterhouse (Steiner’s, 50 miles one way). The gilt measured out at 235 lbs. The two barrows looked about twenty-five pounds heavier, but were too skittish to get a weight on them. Fed them 21 sixty pound bags of grain from November 23 to January 29 (420 lbs each). They were fifteen weeks when I picked them up.
- Opened a new bag of grain for the pigs
- Filled the layer feeder
Saturday, January 31, 2009
- Moved the four bigger pigs over to the neighbors’
- Learned today that I will be returning Coco the Goat to her home farm and will be taking her daughter Irene with her. I am happy to know that they will be going to a great place
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs
Friday, February 6, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for both groups of pigs (lunch)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage (lunch). Moisture content is very high. There was a bit of black on the outside. I peeled away until the black was gone and the hay smelled nice. Nervous. I’ll know if I made a mistake in six to eight days
- Locked the old girl and one of the Dorsets in a pasture lambing shed because the old girl is bagged up and ligaments pretty loose. Surprise, surprise. Luckily it has warmed up substantially
Sunday, February 8, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
Monday, February 9, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (am)
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs (lunch)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (am)
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs (lunch)
- Received six bales of second cutting baleage; opened one bale (pm)
Friday, February 13, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (am)
- Picked up 20 bags of feed
- Opened two new bags of feed for the home farm pigs (pm)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage. Dark color (black stems) and lack of strong fermenty smell made me nervous. Queried the small-ruminant listserve to see if I can/should feed it. Waiting to hear back.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (lunch)
Monday, February 16, 2009
- Removed the hay chaff from the barn where the roof had come off with friend Zach
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (pm)
- Picked up 250 gallons of whey
Thursday, February 19, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs (am)
Friday, February 20, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (am) — I think there was another bag somewhere between Tuesday and today
- One of the Cheviot ewes had a single ewe lamb
- Opened a new bale of baleage
Saturday, February 21, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs (am)
- One of the Dorset-cross ewes had twin ewe lambs
Sunday, February 22, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs (am)
Monday, February 23, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the home farm pigs (pm)
- Opened a new bale of baleage (pm)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
- Opened a new bag of feed for the lease farm pigs
Thursday, February 26, 2009
- Moved the eight home farm pigs over with the four lease farm pigs
- Opened three bags of feed
- Opened a new bale of baleage (lunch)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
- The Old Girl (finally!) had her lamb, a big ram with kangaroo legs
Sunday, March 1, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage (am)
Monday, March 2, 2009
- Opened three bags of grain for the pigs (am)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
- Picked up three pigs from Steiners — not pleased; won’t use them again
- Delivered Coco and Irene the goats to Zoar Farms
- Opened a new bale of baleage (pm)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
- The other Dorset ewe (Top Knot) had twin ram lambs. They lacked vigor and after an hour and a half still had no interest in sucking. It was cold out and they were getting chilled, so I bottle fed them colostrum replacer. They perked up and started nursing on their own. However, Top Knot only has half an udder, so I am supplementing the twins with lamb milk replacer.
- Opened three bags of grain for the pigs (am)
Friday, March 6, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage (lunch)
Monday, March 9, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage (pm)
- Opened two new bags of feed for the pigs (1/2 of one went to chickens)
- One sheep had a ram lamb — he was huge and needed to be started for the ewe
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
- One sheep had twins — one ram and one ewe
- Another sheep had a single ram lamb — huge again, needed to be pulled
- Had the whey tank filled
- Bought five more bags of local grain
- Opened one bag of feed for the pigs
Wednesday, March 11, 209
- One sheep (one of the yearling looking ewes) had a single ram lamb
- One sheep had a single ewe lamb
- The ram lamb that needed to be pulled on Tuesday wasn’t getting any milk from its mother, so I started bottle feeding it. I gave it some colostrum replacer, first, and switched over to milk replacer later in the day. I hope it got some of the ewe’s colostrum the night before.
- Opened two bags of feed for the pigs
Thursday, March 12, 2009
- Purchased 10 bags of Blue Seal Pork Maker Mash. Opened two of them. I am introducing it slowly as I use the last of the bags of local grain. Once the grain bin is up, I will be getting a custom mix delivered in bulk from Blue Seal.
- The older looking ewe with the long face had a single ewe lamb
- The lamb count is now at fourteen, from eleven ewes. I need to check to see how many rams and how many ewes. I lost track yesterday
- Opened a new bale of baleage
Saturday, March 15, 2009
- Opened the last two bags of local grain
- Started to muck the goat pen, but I have a cold and it kicked my ass, so I quit about halfway through
Sunday, March 16, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
- Sold seven goats. Only two remain
- Opened one bag of grain for the pigs
Monday, March 17, 2009
- Took Brown Goat to the slaughterhouse to be made into dog food for a neighbor
- A ewe had twin lambs, one ram and one ewe
Sunday, March 22, 2009
- Silkie, Izzy’s buck, left the farm to go live with my neighbor. The goats are now all gone
- Opened the last bag of the first 10 bags of Pork Maker mash. Mixed in most of the last of the remaining local grain mix to make the Pork Maker last until Monday when I can get to the feed store
- Opened a new bale of baleage (pm)
- Ten bales of baleage were delivered
Monday, March 23, 2009
- Bought ten bags of Pork Maker
- Opened three bags of Pork Maker
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
- Opened two bags of Pork Maker
- A ewe had a single ram lamb
- The lamb count is now seventeen from thirteen ewes, ten ram lambs and seven ewe lambs, I think
Thursday, March 26, 2009
- Bought five bags of Pork maker
- Bought five bags of piglet crumbles because I am getting a batch of pigs that are only four weeks old
Sunday, March 29, 2009
- Received seven pigs, six four week olds and one nine week old
- Opened a new bale of baleage. A lot of white mold on the top and bottom edges. Not happy.
Monday, March 30, 2009
- Lamb number eighteen was born, a single ram — eleven ram lambs, seven ewe lambs. Only two ewes to go in that flock. Too many singles.
- Went and had the whey tank filled.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
- Noticed the all white and one of the black badger faced Icelandics ewes are bagged up
- Bought ten bags of hog mash
Saturday, April 04, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage — moldy throughout
- Opened another new bale — no mold
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
- The white Icelandic ewe had twin ram lambs, both all white
- Twenty lambs — thirteen rams and seven ewes
- Sent seven pigs back to the guy I got them from because I wasn’t happy with their quality. Five of the seven were hunched, scouring, and generally unhealthy, but I didn’t want to keep just two because introducing just two pigs into a herd of twelve would just mean that those two would get their asses kicked for a week or more
Thursday, April 09, 2009
- Bought twenty bags of hog mash
- Sold seventeen hens. We’re now down to five. Definitely out of the egg business. That was a costly little adventure!
- Might have worked out a deal with a neighboring farmer where he will brood my meat chicks in exchange for cash and/or slaughter labor
Friday, April 10, 2009
- Opened a new bale of baleage
Monday, April 13, 2009
- One of the black badger-faced Icelandic ewes had a single white ram lamb
- Started re-introducing the horses to grass
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
- Opened up a section of pasture to the Icelandic sheep
- Finally cleaned up the last of the limbs that fell during the ice storm
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
- Took four pigs to the slaughterhouse
Thursday, April 16, 2009
- One of the moorit badger face Icelandic ewes had a single ewe lamb
- The other moorit badger face ewe (the fat one) had twin lambs, one ewe and one ram
- Lamb count is 24: Nine ewe lambs and fifteen ram lambs
Saturday, April 18, 2009
- Bought fifteen pigs at the Eastern NY Feeder Pig sale at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
- 10 mid-to-late Feb farrowed
- 5 early Feb farrowed
Sunday, April 19, 2009
- Sheared the commercial flock, plus the Icelandic ram. The Icelandic ewes will be sheared in a few weeks
- It took about two hours. We had a crew of five, including the shearer: shearer (Dave Gessert), hoof trimmer (me), catcher (brother-in-law Joe), catcher’s assistant (friend Zach), and sweeper/fleece handler (brother-in-law Tom)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
- Moved the Texel-Cheviots out to pasture
- Noticed the new pigs are exhibiting symptoms of “dippity,” but with no pain. According to an expert I spoke with, it should pass in a couple of days with no intervention
Friday, April 24, 2009
- Bought 20 bags of pig feed
Friday, May 1, 2009
- Moved the bigger pigs onto pasture
- The weird neurological thing in the smaller pigs has passed
Saturday, May 2, 2009
- The last Icelandic ewe had a single ram lamb
- Lambing is over. Twenty-eight lambs from twenty one ewes, with no losses to date
Monday, May 4, 2009
- Planted two acres to Albert Lea Seed House “Laught and Grow Fat” hog pasture mix
- Moved the sheep (I have been forgetting to record movements)
- Bought ten bags of pig food
Thursday, May 7, 2009
- Moved the sheep
- Added a section of electronet to the bigger pigs’ pasture
Friday, May 8, 2009
- Moved the smaller pigs out to pasture
Sunday, May 10, 2009
- Moved the sheep
Monday, May 11, 2009
- Bought twenty bags of pig food
- The last Texel-Cheviot had a single ewe lamb
- It looks like I’ve gotten pretty good germination in the “Laugh and Grow Fat” pig pasture
Sunday, May 17, 2009
- Bought ten bags of pig food
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
- Mowed the compost field
- Mowed the Lyons’s side pig field
- Mowed part of the southwest portion of the big pasture
- Mowed the middle pasture
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
- Moved the sheep
- Mowed the east half of the big pasture
Thursday, May 21, 2009
- Moved the sheep
- Towed the trailer into the sheep paddock for shade. Set up tarp awnings on the trailer. Recorded high was 87 degrees
Saturday, May 23, 2009
- Bought twenty bags of pig food
Sunday, May 24, 2009
- Moved the sheep (am)
Monday, May 25, 2009
- Mowed the middle pasture
- Duke, our second to last boarded horse, left. One to go.
