Busy Wednesday - Outdoor Gardening at Last!

I decided to milk this morning so I could make more cottage cheese....that went as normal.

Eight eggs today, 9 yesterday and 12 the day before. We have decided they like the egg pellets better than egg krumbles....its is probably just the nice weather

FARMING

I have to get involved now and then when we work the cattle or ear tag them. That is not DH's thing. His thing is to corral them when necessary. I wanted to ear tag the two babies and then turn the young bull out with the breeding age heifers and the mature bull. We are hoping he will be young enough he won't be a threat to the older one and they will learn to get along.

Here is a piece of equipment that no one should be without if they are going to keep cattle. We didn't have one for years and years....now we don't know why, other than the high cost, of course. We just used an alley and a headgate but decided to finally do it right. What a delightful thing. I can work the cattle without any help once they are corralled. It consists of a hold pen, a half circle working pen with a crowding gate and a 20 foot alley ending in a squeeze chute. Here is what I did this morning while DH was checking cows.

Here they are both trying to crowd in together.

From Cattle and other animals

and this is Ferdinand

From Cattle and other animals

He tossed his head around too much so I put the 'squeeze' to him,

From Cattle and other animals

and here he is now identified,the wet down his face is a pour-on permectrin to control face flies and lice.

From Cattle and other animals

and this is Miss Ginger who was much more docile. She is Willow's 2009 baby, Half milking shorthorn and black angus.

From Cattle and other animals

She has deepened in color until she looks almost black. She is a sweetie.

I worked in the yard for 3 hours but will post about that tomorrow.

DH just told me he saw the bluebirds going into one of the nest boxes out by the cellar. Still no martins.