I know lately all my posts have mostly been about the house, but as I've said before that doesn't mean that farm work doesn't continue. There is always work to be done on the farm, and well, lets be honest, even if there isn't anything urgent we can always find something to do!
Our latest mission has been to Drench and TB test the cattle which involves herding them to and from the cattle yards at the end of our driveway. Unfortunately with TB testing, the cattle have to be at the yards twice. The first time to be administered the test and the second three days later to check there is no reaction. Daryl managed the first time by himself, not sure the cattle knew what they were getting into but the second time I think they were clued up so weren't as cooperative, luckily though Daryl was able to utilise the help of Robert, on and off the quad bikes.
Coinciding with the drenching and testing, we also arranged to lease a bull for six weeks in order to impregnate our heifers. Unfortunately this involved a bit of hurry up and wait as the agent wasn't able to give an accurate delivery time for the bull. This was a bit frustrating as you can't really herd a bull by itself, well, not without agitating it so the plan was to move the heifers in with the bull then herd the heifers back up to their paddock with the bull going along too. Sound theory and it worked too, but without knowing exactly when the bull was going to arrive we were in a bit of a state of limbo with the heifers, do we keep them in the yards risking them being there for a couple of days, do we keep them in the lane or do we move them back to their paddock only to have to move them down again when the bull arrives.
Thankfully the heifers are relatively easy to move so it was only a matter of making sure they were somewhere secure overnight and keeping an eye out for the bull. So the bull arrived, the heifers met him and they are now together in a paddock hopefully doing the deed!!
Our latest mission has been to Drench and TB test the cattle which involves herding them to and from the cattle yards at the end of our driveway. Unfortunately with TB testing, the cattle have to be at the yards twice. The first time to be administered the test and the second three days later to check there is no reaction. Daryl managed the first time by himself, not sure the cattle knew what they were getting into but the second time I think they were clued up so weren't as cooperative, luckily though Daryl was able to utilise the help of Robert, on and off the quad bikes.
Coinciding with the drenching and testing, we also arranged to lease a bull for six weeks in order to impregnate our heifers. Unfortunately this involved a bit of hurry up and wait as the agent wasn't able to give an accurate delivery time for the bull. This was a bit frustrating as you can't really herd a bull by itself, well, not without agitating it so the plan was to move the heifers in with the bull then herd the heifers back up to their paddock with the bull going along too. Sound theory and it worked too, but without knowing exactly when the bull was going to arrive we were in a bit of a state of limbo with the heifers, do we keep them in the yards risking them being there for a couple of days, do we keep them in the lane or do we move them back to their paddock only to have to move them down again when the bull arrives.
Thankfully the heifers are relatively easy to move so it was only a matter of making sure they were somewhere secure overnight and keeping an eye out for the bull. So the bull arrived, the heifers met him and they are now together in a paddock hopefully doing the deed!!
In addition to all this we also managed to get a bit of fencing done, both temporary and permanent, move the calf shelter, level & clean out the watertroughs and connect up a hose to take water to the build site. Not bad for a few days work and Robert got a chance to operate the tractor.
One of the best things about the farm is seeing the enjoyment the kids get out of it. Shaun has always loved the farm and it's fantastic to see that his broken arm didn't slow him down at all. He avoided all his normal dirty activities, like climbing mountains of dirt but still managed to have a blast in puddles and running in the grass. As Jessica has got older and more mobile she has become much more confident on the farm, and much more independent. She will wander around for ages and if she can follow and play with Sadie, well, then she's happy for hours. It's fantastic to watch.