Around the farm 2014 was a crazy year. We have decided it was a learning year for everything we experienced. It was our second summer at our new location that was lacking in a lot of ways. We took for granted the buildings and pastures that were at our previous farm. So here is a list of improvements we started in 2014 around the farm:
Leveling the yard out. The first thing that was absolutely necessary was raising the yard and leveling it out. The house is up on a mound and everything drains away from it, which is great, except that the yard dipped. We had such a rainy, wet year that the back yard resembled a swamp. Not only would we track mud in, but so did the dogs and cats. At one point in early spring we had to dig a trench in the cow pen to get some water to drain off. The cow pasture is still in need of some work, but at least now we can walk across the back yard without our rubber boots on.
We obtained a pole barn. Yes, I use the word obtain and for good reason. The deal was if we took down the pole barn we could have it. A great deal, a lot of work. At its original location the posts were not cemented in, so it was fairly easy to tear down and load into our trailer. We kept the A-frames together, but everything else was in pieces. It took a few weekends to accomplish the tear down. Then after the ground dried up some, several loads of sand and several debates about where it should go we started reconstructing the building. In the end we had to purchase half a dozen two by fours and a couple strips of clear siding to let in some light. We now have a larger shelter for our cattle and dry location for our straw.
We extended the cow pen. Twice. The whole spring and summer was so wet that our cattle were in muddy conditions. So in the spring we extended it back toward the field with t-posts. Then in the summer we extended it forward with four by four posts and combination fencing. This is still a work in progress, but it succeeded in getting the cattle to drier land. Plus they love their spacious pole barn.
Now for the animal husbandry learning experiences. There were many, some good, some very rough, but all are experiences that we have walked away saying don't forget this.
Kidding in April. Our five year old Nigerian Dwarf Shilo gave birth to twins in early April. The kids were healthy and active. We learned to tattoo not long after, which will come in handy in the future. We had kidded before on the farm, but what was new was having a doe that miscarried somewhere in her five months gestation period. Aphrodite was angry and she was depressed. It was like she was angry with Shilo for having a successful pregnancy. We also learned how challenging it is to milk a doe that has never been milked before. Lots of patience is required.
Puppies in June. This was an entirely new experience for us. From the ultra sound to delivering ten days early we learned something along every step of the way. Tails had to be docked, shots every couple of weeks, and nails needed to be clipped. The adorable striped new born pups went from sleeping all day to climbing over, under, around any structure we had them in. What we did not expect was how well our male dog took to being a father. Gunny helped out with the pups just as much as Belle did, minus the nursing of course. |
Calf in August. Our heifer delivered her calf the Friday before labor day after an anxious nine months of waiting. We did not have an exact due date, but we had guessed fairly accurately. We were blessed with a bull calf that was healthy and a delivery that went without complications. Late in the year we also learned how to band the calf.
Our goats had parasites. This was a new struggle for us when we moved our goats to a new location that was wet like the rest of the yard. After a lot of reading we decided that the wet conditions of their pen added to our problem. We hope to move them in the coming summer to minimize the breeding grounds for the parasites. Each goat was given several doses of dewormer throughout the fall to kill off the strongyles and coccidia that was present in their system.
Shilo got sick. This was the toughest experience of 2014 on the farm. It started with signs of anemia, we did learn a lot about the FAMANCHA test, and suspected heavy loads of parasites. We had struggled with strongyles most of the fall and figured we had not gotten rid of them. Dewormer did not help, she only got worse. In fact somewhere around this time is when she went down; she could not support her own weight. Just before Thanksgiving her blood was drawn and showed an extremely low percentage of red blood cells. At that we pulled her to quarantine, because we still did not know a cause for the anemia. We also supplemented her usual diet with daily molasses water, spinach, raisins, a drench of cayenne pepper, molasses, ginger, garlic, lemon zest and herbal mix from Land of Havilah. The doctor did not know what to give her, so we were filling her with natural vitamins and minerals. The second week of December more blood work showed that she had a bacterial infection. We felt better knowing that she was not contagious to her herd, but wondered how she got a bacterial infection. The vet gave us iron injections for her to add to all the natural iron she was getting from us. We also dusted her with Diatomaceous Earth to eliminate nits that had taken up residence on her weakened body. Within a week Shilo had gone from having thin fur and dry skin to a healthy fur coat and pink skin, but she still was not able to stand and her red blood cell count had barely increased. On Christmas Eve, Shilo waited for her morning visits, then passed on to greener pastures. She put up a grand fight. We had tried so hard to get her healthy, but her body had gone almost two months without being able to stand. We gained an incredible amount of knowledge from Shilo throughout her years with us.
We have since started on herbal parasite control as a preventative measure and daily herbs along with their grain for natural vitamins. We are not going to fully do away with vaccinations and yearly dewormer injections, but hope that the natural measures with supplement the chemical measures. We learned that even with all the life entering the farm there will still be death. We look forward to what 2015 has in store for ELM Farms and hope that we can accomplish our growing to do lists.