the incident....

after reading Sprout N Wings  post today...it made me remember a day not too long ago.
I had raised some meat birds with the intent to butcher them.  I have grown pretty soft about butchering and I always take my raised beef to a locker plant.  Its solely rests on me to decide how to and when to butcher my raised stock and while I wrestle with it for a bit, I always know its raised to feed the family and it has to be done.  Plus...if I hesitate too long...(with taking in a critter for processing)...it'll do something to teach me a lesson.   Much like the very first beef I raised that was large enough to process, but I just wasn't quite ready.  That first steer decided to fracture his hind leg and while he didn't die immediately, the only humane thing to do was to shoot him and try to salvage the meat.  It worked fine, and as I've actually helped skin quite a few beef, deer or even a buffalo or two...it was just mater of fact when I had to do it.

Which leads me to my chicken butchering story....
That first year I raised the Giant Cornish Cross.   Big birds and they ate continually.  I was warned about putting up the feed, as they eat themself to death.  I just didn't do it early enough.  I had lost a couple chickens as literally they would blow out their behinds.  Not pretty!!  I thought perhaps they were picking on each other and not getting enough to eat...wrong.   So, as I noticed one chicken who was looking pretty tough but still standing at the feed trough..I was determined not to waste another chicken that was going to feed me.   I went inside and started boiling a pot of water.   Then I got out the sharp knives.  I went back out the the pen and thought.."Come on Deb, you just wring that neck!"   Nope, that wasn't something I had in me.  So I go find the hatchet.   I grabbed a couple nails and a stump and hammered a holder for the head.  I still wasn't quite prepared.  So I go sharpen that hatchet, as - I - was - delaying the inevitable.  While I was walking away from the chicken coop.  I heard an awful racket and squawking.   I rushed in and found the chicken I had intended for the pot had tried to jump from the roost and hung himself between a crack in the roost and wall.  Weirdest thing and a freak accident!  It was dead as a doornail now and I quickly chopped off the head and dressed it outside by the garbage can.  Funniest part was the neighbor was just pulling into my yard to do some fencing for me.  He looked pretty bug eyed at me and said...."Ah, so your having chicken tonite?" 
"Yup, I said..just testing the size on the meat birds!"  He drove away with an entire new thought about me that day, but I never let him in on the real story.
 Sometimes things just have a way of working themselves out! 

Pre Mothers Day suprise..

And this was waiting for me after my lunch break...sitting neatly in the middle of my desk!
I'm saving that "chores promise".... as I've gotta hold him to it!

and they left without a Thank You!

the cattle that is..

of course I don't blame them.  After all, multiple shots and branding irons and squeeze chutes are not their idea of a good time.

This would be Rudy the bull...he didn't like it at all, but he sure filled up the chute!

and then the babies! 

  But they all went over to the gates to be let into the pasture they've been eyeing for the last month. 

I didn't have a problem at all letting them head over the hill...but I bet I won't be seeing them up close for a couple days.  Seems they forgot about the "unfortunate event" as they were headed out to pasture.  Not a one of them lifted their heads.  But I'll still ride down and check on each one of them tonight.  I'll have to give them their hugs.  My vet said, I needed one too actually and I had to laugh.  I'm thinking I do though...I'm thinking I do.

Tomorrow...

I'm serving these to the cowboys...

who are coming in the morning to help work cattle.  I am very excited as this is MY very first branding at my own house.  Branding my own cattle and along with that, they're getting some extra shots.  Anthrax is one of the extra shots I've requested along with the injectible wormer.  They'll have 5Way- & 7Way also, but here's the deal.
I have gotten to know a different feed supplier and he and his sons/grandsons go around to ranches with their branding pots and horses and ropes and do this sort of thing regularly.
I told him the other day that my 36 cattle all have names...they all like to be petted and have rarely ever or never been chased.  I lead them whereever I need them to go with a white bucket...
He said "Ah, maybe you best not be there!"
We laughed, but actually...it really is true.  The Vet that comes to do the Shots has a squeeze chute and while I have a fairly decent load chute area as of a year ago...I'm hoping for an easy time.  My girls are going to need an extra dose of back scratches after this.  A coworker of mine from the office suggested that the vet apply aloe to the brand sight.   I'm thinking I might bring it up.
They'll probably send me to town for some unnecessary item at that point..
My brand is registered to me and is a spinoff of my Fathers and my Grandfathers brand.  While I couldn't get the original, I had to come up with something pretty close.  I'll post a photo of the finished works after the ordeal. 

The E is flipped the other direction making a 3 on the right side of the D with the E riding on top the two.  It'll be cool because its mine.   I think what I'll be using this brand for most is marking my barn door and on chairs..tables...bar tops....a million and one ideas!  I am excited!!

Loading a Bobcat

While this is NOT me, I have to share something that makes my heart go pitter patter...
I was pretty full of myself yesterday as I was using the Bobcat to lift 8ft big round posts out of the ground and cleaning up two very large piles of manure and clearing a large area for my new hay lot.
I had been using the grapples on the bucket to lift large loads of manure an haul them down a fairly steep incline to the draw below.  I had an extra large and heavy bucket load of manure that I knew topped the load limit but drove it down the hill with the bucket low to the ground.  When I went to lift it up to the top of the manure pile, I was still pointed downhill a tad and while many times I've tipped it with a heavy load to lift my back tires off the ground for only seconds...this time...I went up up and up with those rear tires.

About then the heart kicked in and I finally thought to lower that bucket quick.  Which brought me down hard.  I've seen this video some years ago and always thought about that tipping feeling you feel when your balanced on your front tires precariously and remembered this video....
Man, I wouldn't purposely try this for anything...but....I think I coulda  done this accidentally yesterday.

It just reminds me to keep my cell phone in pocket, when I gotta call the son to come fish me back upright when I've tipped me over...

Storm came in hard...

 

It was 10:30 at night and I just crawled into bed.  Immediately thought about the two sets of twins that were born that day.  The Mothers would be beside them, but since its been lovely, they were born outside and the Mothers wouldn't have them quite trained to follow them everywhere...they were just too new.  I grabbed flashlight and hollered to Son to come help grab babies...I could hear big raindrops hitting faster and harder.  I found my Starbrite, a fainter doe and a seasoned Mother, standing stoically braced against hail wind and rain.  Not budging no way, no how!  Babies cowering underneath her.   I grabbed babies and raced them and her to the barn.  I went back out and find the other new Mom, also a seasoned Mother, standing over by the bale feeder and babies trying to squeeze underneath to avoid the weather.  I hadn't taken too many steps and was greeted with the new Mom running past me into the barn and as she passed me... (without her babies),  I swear I heard her tell me.." You got it, Go get those babies...I'm heading in".  No standing by her babies to keep them protected...Nope...She looked at me to just get it done!  Grabbed babies and brought them to her, while she murmured to me to hurry up from the safety of the doorway.  I had to laugh at the difference in Mothering styles, but isn't that the way it is...some Moms are just smart.  Now to wonder which one!

Spoiled Goat..

Here, my Granddaughter and I are trying to take a fun video of baby goats.  All we got was a pestering video of Carmel, my little bottle baby, LaMancha, who likes people......alot!


Next up we have the Trifectas'.  two does and one buckling.  They are growing like weeds.   I think they've tripled their size in just 3 days!

The very next day, I was tickled with April , my super nice Toggenburg doe, the sweetest goat ever...delivered a gorgeous doe and  buckling,  I think I'll name the doe...Ziggy!  Can you tell why? 

Then the creme'de la creme..Star Brite, my fainter doe, delivered right on schedule.  She is my oldest doe and also my first Fainting goat I've had.  I bought a new Fainter Buck this year, in anticipation of a doe coming from Star Brite this spring.  I've always sold her kids and she is such a gem, that this year I wanted to keep a doe.  Of course.....she kidded twin bucks this time.  Just to keep me grounded..

                                                 but too darn cute for words....

     I just love the ears and the markings on these little guys...and Blue eyes to boot!!

then their's Pearl, my other Fainter doe, and she didn't fail...as she always delivers fat

little penguins.  This time a boy and a girl. 

But the hard thing with her babies is catching them when they aren't eating..

                                                          they are always eating...

  Such fat little penguins...I'm thinking about milking Pearl...She is looking like one of my dairy goats in the milk factory department.