Post by dragonflyblue on Aug 24, 2011 23:50:16 GMT -5
Tuesday I took my little girl to the auction with me. We went looking for some good looking calves to purchase. (Livia will be 8 in 2.5 weeks)
She brought her purse with her tooth fairy money and promptly bought us drinks and treats so that "We would have something to snack on while we shop." She's worked hard for the money she had to go towards the calves.
We wandered about looking at all the animals. The dairy cows were a sad lot. Def. being culled for health issues. Same with some of the bulls. There are always tons of sheep and goats. There was a huge pig that made her exclaim "I want HIM for BACON!" When we hit the little calves there were some that looked poorly and quite a few that looked really good. We have a lot of dairys here and the guys tend to send the bull calves right to auction rather than mess with them much. You can get some nice calves if you are looking for newborns.
We picked a few we liked and then waited for them to go. She was so excited as she was going to do the bidding. When the first calf we were interested in came through she raised her hand and the auctioneer stammered and quickly asked if she was bidding. I said she was and he smiled and winked at her and was off with the auctioning. We ended up missing out on him as he went for more than I wanted to spend. (Found out later dh would not have been upset at the price as it was a dairy beef cross. Of course, he tells me AFTER! lolol)
The second one came through and she was off bidding again. We had wisely discussed prices and she knew when to stop. We missed that one two. The third one came and she got him. A healthy looking holstien bull calf. She got him and the auctioneer congratulated her on her very first calf purchase. She was all grins!
We got the other one we were interested in and then waited for the ticket to go up front. She had the money in her purse, told the lady her name and paid for her calves. We went to get the burb and trailer to load them. We drove around to the side, she grabbed the lead ropes and went to the guy who handled the pickups. She gave him his copy, folded hers and put it in her purse and waited while he got them out. She slipped the leads on and then I helped her get them into the trailer.
Once we were off she called daddy from my cell and told him about the calves. She was just so pleased with herself! She was so grown up about it all and handled herself like an oldtimer.
Once home we got them to the barn and fed them. She named the holstien Eddie and the jersey Diablo because of the way his hair swirls on his head, they look like little devil horns.
She is just so happy with her little calves! She has called her grandparents and told them, her aunts and uncles, told the neighbors and brought one over to meet her babies.
She is caring for them with a bit of help from mom but these are her babies to raise. She's deciding on raising them to eat or to sell for money for a milk cow for her mommy. *cue melting heart*
Livia has quickly adapted to farm life and loves all the animals we have. She understands well the difference between, as she calls them, the pets and the eaters.
I was so proud of her yesterday. You'd think she'd done this many times!
We've worked out the feedings once she goes back to school. I'll do am's she'll do the pm feeds. She knows its her job to keep their area clean and why it's so important for them to have a clean area. Watching her with her boys is just so fun!
I think we've all gone crazy here!
She brought her purse with her tooth fairy money and promptly bought us drinks and treats so that "We would have something to snack on while we shop." She's worked hard for the money she had to go towards the calves.
We wandered about looking at all the animals. The dairy cows were a sad lot. Def. being culled for health issues. Same with some of the bulls. There are always tons of sheep and goats. There was a huge pig that made her exclaim "I want HIM for BACON!" When we hit the little calves there were some that looked poorly and quite a few that looked really good. We have a lot of dairys here and the guys tend to send the bull calves right to auction rather than mess with them much. You can get some nice calves if you are looking for newborns.
We picked a few we liked and then waited for them to go. She was so excited as she was going to do the bidding. When the first calf we were interested in came through she raised her hand and the auctioneer stammered and quickly asked if she was bidding. I said she was and he smiled and winked at her and was off with the auctioning. We ended up missing out on him as he went for more than I wanted to spend. (Found out later dh would not have been upset at the price as it was a dairy beef cross. Of course, he tells me AFTER! lolol)
The second one came through and she was off bidding again. We had wisely discussed prices and she knew when to stop. We missed that one two. The third one came and she got him. A healthy looking holstien bull calf. She got him and the auctioneer congratulated her on her very first calf purchase. She was all grins!
We got the other one we were interested in and then waited for the ticket to go up front. She had the money in her purse, told the lady her name and paid for her calves. We went to get the burb and trailer to load them. We drove around to the side, she grabbed the lead ropes and went to the guy who handled the pickups. She gave him his copy, folded hers and put it in her purse and waited while he got them out. She slipped the leads on and then I helped her get them into the trailer.
Once we were off she called daddy from my cell and told him about the calves. She was just so pleased with herself! She was so grown up about it all and handled herself like an oldtimer.
Once home we got them to the barn and fed them. She named the holstien Eddie and the jersey Diablo because of the way his hair swirls on his head, they look like little devil horns.
She is just so happy with her little calves! She has called her grandparents and told them, her aunts and uncles, told the neighbors and brought one over to meet her babies.
She is caring for them with a bit of help from mom but these are her babies to raise. She's deciding on raising them to eat or to sell for money for a milk cow for her mommy. *cue melting heart*
Livia has quickly adapted to farm life and loves all the animals we have. She understands well the difference between, as she calls them, the pets and the eaters.
I was so proud of her yesterday. You'd think she'd done this many times!
We've worked out the feedings once she goes back to school. I'll do am's she'll do the pm feeds. She knows its her job to keep their area clean and why it's so important for them to have a clean area. Watching her with her boys is just so fun!
I think we've all gone crazy here!