An Almanac of Farming – A Series

This is a continuation of a series of notes to myself on farming that I would like to share with those who are interesting in the subject.

• When placing bale rings back onto a bale, make sure a calf is not caught on the back side of the ring.
• When dumping bales into a ring with a partially eaten bale, make sure young calves are not hiding in the hay.
• Moldy bales or ones full of foxtail grass are hard on cattle, especially calves. If you have to feed one, push it around so that the mold will fly out before the cows get into it too much.

• Occasionally, cattle will experience a prolapsed rectum or uterus due to a variety of causes. The ailment needs swift attention or the animal will die either of blood loss or infection. The animal should be treated in a chute to contain their movement. Movement should happen sooner than later or they may become too lethargic. Treatment consists of a freezing shot in the tail head to prevent further pushing, then thorough washing of the exposed tissue. Once the freezing has taken effect, attempt to re-invert the rectum/uterus within the animal. This is apparent once it occurs. Then the anus needs sewing with very heavy stitching around the outside circumference, then tied off. The opening needs to be sufficient for excrement to pass but hopefully small enough to keep the tissue within the animal. Of course, the animal needs treating with a good dose of antibiotics and monitored until the stitching can be removed. Hopefully, the tissue remains inside the animal. One note, even though it may be severely cold outside, your hand and arm will stay warm enough when it is up inside the animal’s ass.
• If a cattle beast is moving slow and not up with the rest of the herd, there’ is something wrong with it. The drooping of their ears is a dead give-away. Take a look at their demeanor, look how they move, compare their girth to the others to see if they’ are losing weight. They could be huffing or short of breath. Further along into the sickness, snot and blood will be in their nostrils. Antibiotics can be a life saver and will turn the animal around if you get them onboard quick enough. If the animal has been suspected of ingesting metal that is irritating their internal organs, a magnet can be given orally. The magnet will hopefully attract the piece of metal and keep it from damaging the animal further. When working with the animal, they will easily drop due to exhaustion. You might have to give them a minute or two to rest or you might have to motivate them to get moving again. Also, as they are probably disoriented and out of sorts, they will not react normally. An animal can turn on you and could take a run at you for no reason, so it is best to be on your guard.
• If a cow is starting to act weird and aggressive when nearing calving season, they are probably starting to calve. It will be a premature birth and will end up with a ‘slipped calf. There are any number of reasons for aborted fetuses such as carrying twins, sustaining an injury, or there was something wrong with calf. There is not much you can do with the situation but determine which cow it was and probably just sell her as a cull cow.
• Never trust that an animal that has been snared is actually dead unless it is really obvious. They could be playing possum and a little poke with a stick could save you from being nipped by a coyote.
• When the weather gets particularly cold, make sure to keep up on the bedding for your bulls. Their testicles can freeze and result in infertility.
• One extra sign of a calving cow, look for a telltale kink in their tail.
• Cattle can get fooled into thinking they are going to give birth. If the calf is moving around a lot or if the animal is having strong false labour pains, they may exhibit the signs of calving. 

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

An Almanac of Farming – A Series

Spending time with your animals and out in the wild is invaluable experience. Today’s youth are too caught up with swiping their tablets or blowing out their eardrums to loud music. Even their parents have trapped themselves indoors and rely on directed information instead of gathering their own first hand knowledge. My recommendation and hope is to have some of these bon mots be an inspiration to a person or two to get out and see and understand real living for themselves.

• When you are herding cattle out to pasture, plan for frequent stops for the animals to catch their breath. Cattle that have been in pens all winter will have low stamina and their calves will tire easily. You also need to keep ahead of the lead cows to slow down the herd. Quite often they are so excited, the animals will run themselves to exhaustion. Also, once they are in the destination pasture, hold the herd for a bit just so the calves do not lose their mothers.
• Cattle are not smart enough to keep moving through a pasture from new to old grass. They will tend to keep eating the new growth and overgraze an area. They need to be periodically shifted from spot to spot.
• Animals can have all sorts of ailments affecting their internal organs. If they have stomach issues, the catch all phrase is colic. Symptoms include confusion, agitation, distention of the abdomen, throwing themselves to the ground, random kicking at their midsection with their hide legs, listlessness, and death. Treatment includes tubing with Bloat-Eze, mineral oil and other medicines. But unfortunately, if the animal has bloated for too long or there is a serious issue with their stomach, often they will die within hours. Bloat In Young Calves & Other Pre-ruminant Livestock
• Bulls will act like jerks to other bulls to exert dominance. They will even attempt to drown their opponent if that means winning the fight. A much smaller bull pushed a rival with a sore leg into a dugout and kept pushing him back in and under until his opponent made it to the far end and made his way out.
• Be careful when feeding corn, stalks and all to horses. If they get too much they can get grain overload which can cause stomach bloating and death. You do not have to be as careful with cattle because they’ are too stupid to know they should be eating it. They are just as liable to play or trample the feed instead of eating it. Cows are dumb!
• It is unfortunate and somewhat stupid that when an animal has to be destroyed for an illness such as a bad foot, that the carcass cannot be used for any purpose including cat or dog food. It seems the height of idiocy that a literal ton of meat must be buried instead of being put to good use.

• The neonicotinoids used on seeds such as canola are only effective for about three weeks once the seed is in the ground. Therefore, bees cannot be affected by gathering pollen off of treated canola plants.
• Porcupines always spin their back to you. They are slow moving and easily killed with a stick. Be careful of the quills and skin them from the belly out.
• Ok, stop believing Disney and thinking animals are all cute and friendly. Everything eats everything in the wild. Chickadees and squirrels eat beaver meat, Fishers love the taste of cat, coyotes will eat each other and Martins hunt squirrels. One animal can be dead in a conibear trap and its buddy will push it aside to finish eating the bait. Plenty of times if the animal is dead for a time, other animals will chow down on it.
• When you are out checking the cattle, look for groupings of magpies or crows. They are probably eating something like a stillborn calf that a cow has slipped.
• During winter, frozen cow turds can turn into knee-high missiles when a tractor tire occasionally squirts them out sideways. Beware!
• Deer are mean to each other. If there is a supply of feed, a senior doe will chase calves and other does away even when she is finished eating. During rutting season, bucks will herd a doe into a small bush area and will keep her penned in until he breeds her. If you see calves that seem to be wandering aimlessly, their mother was probably chased off by an amorous buck.

• If you need to put down a cow by shooting it, there’s a sweet spot in the middle of the forehead. Make an ‘X’ from the base of the ears to the eyes and try to shoot straight in from about a foot away. It should kill the animal quickly as you have hit the brain. Even a small calibre .22 will kill a large cow this way.
• If you have put an larger animal down and intend to just use it for coyote bait, partially skin the underbelly so animals can get to the innards easier. If an animal freezes without the skinning, it is too difficult for a coyote to break it open.

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Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.