Merry Christmas to all!

[simplynaturalfarm]

I have been procrastinating milking as I have no way to run a machine in the new place so I'm hand milking and it is -29 with wind chill right now. Normally I don't care about wind chill, but I milk in an open pen with no sides or roof or protection of any kind (I used to think three sided was cold...).
I kept calves on cows knowing we were moving and I couldn't move and milk. Which means now I have cows refusing to let down. My one girl won't even let down for her calf if she knows I'm going to milk. Calves have figured out how to reach through the gate and nurse - the only spot their fat six month heads fit. So in morning I go and find lopsided uddersand cows with slimey teats... yesterday up went a welded wire panels to stop that ridiculous habit - all during the day the cows will line up at the gate to let their calves nurse!!

Itook an entire four week break so now I have huge calves who fight me and the halter tooth and nail as they try to nurse and I try to pull them off.

Yesterday I swore was the last day I would fight them (it is dangerous in a pen to have a five hundred pound monster running back and forth trying to nurse while I try to pull him off!) But with a necessary trip back home to drain water lines and such I'll have to put it off as I need them to keep cows empty one last time.

But the blessing I find is a fridge full of milk that is worth almost any amount of fuss to me.

normally I can't hand milk because my hands and elbows and shoulders bother me so much, but this year there is no pain, just a bit of numbness if I sleep the wrong way, but it disappears immediately when I move.

I have two heifers that come marching into the pen when I call and I love halter breaking and working with youngsters. Watching them change from skittish into friendly is so rewarding!

My Tildy is finally due with a heifer to replace herself and that makes me so happy.

On my birthday I will find out if I am expecting another replacement heifer from Toonie.

I have three gorgeous bull calves I'm watching that are the nicest I have raised in the last 18 years. I'm picky and rarely sell bull calves or heifers as I keep them if they are nice and choose to butcher most bull calves. I tested them and for the first time in forever all are A2a2 - yes you guys know I am not a fan of the whole thing, but I like knowing these guys have a fair chance in the world I sell to which seems to be demanding all A2. And two are polled which never happens to me .

But most of all, I am still enjoying it,(we know how hard it is to enjoy doing these things all the time), my kids love their animals and doing chores, we were able to purchase enough land to let them explore different directions as they grow, and spring is almost here....right?

Thanks to this wonderful community for the opportunity to grow and learn new things and vent and share when we need to!
Merry christmas

[trina b]

You have so much going on! My hat is off to you, milking in that temp - wow!
I chose not to milk this morning, I let the calves have it all. Merry Christmas to them, lol! They both had such fat bellies before they were done, haha. Made them happy! And my family as well, since “Dad’s Christmas breakfast” was done & waiting for me to come in after chores so we could eat together.
I don’t have many more Christmases to enjoy having the boys at home on Christmas morning, so it was worth missing today’s milk.
Merry Christmas to you! 🎄

[trina b]

[rileycows]

Merry Cristmas!!

[simplynaturalfarm]

Trina, I hauled my stuff out and in about five minutes stopped because the wind on my wet hands was killing me and arthritis from constant frozen hands was not worth it!

So my calves had a very merry Christmas too *g*

[farmergirl02]

Merry Christmas!!! you have a lot on your plate, simplynaturalfarm. It's funny but farm chores, don't really seem like work..... more like a privilege

[susaq]

And I was groaning about milking in the pasture at 39 degree F. today. You are one tough cookie simplynaturalfarm. I'm so happy for you and your family being able to enjoy the new home place. 

[marseydoats]

You ladies are a lot tougher than I am! 18 degrees this morning and I didn't think I was going to get thru feeding... Had to run warm water on my hands when I got in and I'm sitting here with a cup of hot tea trying to warm up. The wood stove has it a nice toasty 75 inside and I had no idea it was so cold.

[grassfed]

My hat is off to you! I thought it was cold here. It was 3 at milking time. Huddled up to the cow it wasn’t too bad. I hear you on the pain in the butt calves. Butch the steer calf is 3 months old and somewhere around 300 pounds. He is definitely getting harder to pull off of Penny. I sure hope Penny is pregnant, and with a heifer! A second milk cow would definitely be nice! Glad to hear that Tildy and Toony both are giving you heifers.

[Applelonia]

Dec 26, 2017 7:43:59 GMT -5 marseydoats said:

You ladies are a lot tougher than I am! 18 degrees this morning and I didn't think I was going to get thru feeding... Had to run warm water on my hands when I got in and I'm sitting here with a cup of hot tea trying to warm up. The wood stove has it a nice toasty 75 inside and I had no idea it was so cold.

  I wish it was 18 here! Feels like close to -30 this morning and it’s supposed to be getting colder as the week progresses!! Was outside working on chores and such for a total of about five hours yesterday. It did get a little cold on the nose and face....

[brenda]

Well, I am inspired to suck it up and head out in the -15. Not much wind so that is good. But I have a nice enclosed barn so any whining from me is far from justified! But I bet the waterers will need ice broke and trudging through the deep snow checking them is a workout. Don't you feel sorry for me. ;-)
I bet I won't get a ton of milk today when so cold but since we had a break both Christmas Eve and Day, I need to re supply the fridges so I will get what I can.
One thing, it is a beautiful winter morning with clear blue skies and we can see for miles. I do actually love winter. Definitely no flies! :-)

[Applelonia]

I could not milk outside in this weather! I can have my hands out of gloves for a very short while but to sit down and milk OUTSIDE...no possible way! I milked out one quarter (half gallon) from France the other day and that was inside the barn and took just a couple minutes and my hand was red and ice cold. I’m so thankful for the calves! Yesterday we were out of milk...husband went to an open convenient store and got a gallon of organic milk...not like France’s sweet yummy milk, but it sure beats milking in this weather 😀

My mom always told a story about a friend her family had growing up, he’d go out trapping in this kind of weather and he didn’t wear gloves. He’d walk around checking traps, carrying his gun and setting his steel traps without gloves. I just can’t comprehend how someone hands could stay warm in this weather but his did...what a blessing to have!

[trina b]

Applelonia, I don’t wear gloves much either. Ironically, they make my hands colder. I’ve found that if I keep working, using my hands through the pain of the cold (blowing on them frequently bc they hurt, lol) they actually warm up. The flood of blood flow into them hurts like crazy, but then they’re warm - and not just comparatively warm, but REALLY warm. If I stop using them though, they get cold again. It takes about 20 minutes to cycle through the cold/painful, so that’s not pleasant.
My daughter has the same issue with gloves. I think the problem is that the gloves separate my fingers so they can’t get heat from each other. Maybe mittens would be better, but since I also can’t grip things well with gloves/mittens, I’m constantly taking them off anyway...
This makes for chapped hands, as well.

[simplynaturalfarm]

Gloves simply suck for chores so we make everybody use mittens. Dh has home felted wool under army elbow length overmitts as do the girls and I use wool mittens also.

I got an early bday present as dh ultrasounded early and told me toonie is bred with a heifer. I used two different breeds in straws 12 hours apart (normande and jersey) so won't know what she was bred to til she calves! Regardless I'm keeping the heifer!

[elia]

Dec 28, 2017 23:31:01 GMT -5 simplynaturalfarm said:

Gloves simply suck for chores so we make everybody use mittens. Dh has home felted wool under army elbow length overmitts as do the girls and I use wool mittens also.

I got an early bday present as dh ultrasounded early and told me toonie is bred with a heifer. I used two different breeds in straws 12 hours apart (normande and jersey) so won't know what she was bred to til she calves! Regardless I'm keeping the heifer!

Gloves do suck for chores... where do you buy the wool mittens?

[simplynaturalfarm]

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V5G2SS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are thick which means they take a while to dry if they get wet. But I have several pairs for cool weater. They run small.

www.amazon.com/Fox-River-Ragg-Mitt-Small/dp/B0033C9M88/ref=pd_bxgy_468_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HNEYYC04PX2SS5YTPMGR

These are cheaper and I have about 10 pairs in different sizes. They last, are warm and can get cold if they get wet, but if it is bad I stick an over mitt on top. I keep extras so I can dry them in between uses. Fleece mittens work over top, but I like them a lot.

[brenda]

I love those rag mittens, but for chores I really love the rag gloves which actually DO keep my fingers warmer than any ski gloves and I can use my hands(mostly) without taking them off. But it is SO hard to find them in womens sizes and I need a small. Gloves with fingers that are too big are the pits. Ha
I may have to put the rag mittens in my closet.
I, too, just love wool and how it feels...so much so that we have a wool mattress, wool blanket and wool pillows! lol



Well, I just did another check and found my gloves with the leather grippers...so I lied. ;-)

[simplynaturalfarm]

I love wool too - I'm obsessed. . . I have enough wool to felt the blankets and things I'm wanting, but moving set me back time wise

[brigitte]

My problem with gloves is where I leave them all. Right, you put them down in 100 places for a task that requires nimble fingers and then they're just not there. Every once in a while I'll find a pair I thought I'd lost. I now buy those cheap ones by the many in the dollar store, and insert them in a bigger glove on cold days
I have to wear them though, the pinky and finger next to it on my left hand were amputated in a chop saw accident about 10 years ago- and reattached (well, you begin to learn how many farmers have lost digits). they are there, but not fully functional. When it gets cold, they lose circulation and turn white, then hurt like heck when the circulation returns.