Happenings at the Wanch the past weeks

We have at long last been able to build a quality, heavy duty water gap fence.

I hired a neighbor to put in bigger steel posts on each bank to hold a stronger fence than we used to have, so we won't have to go pull the fence back across the stream after massive rain storms when it would break.

K8 got a new bee nuc for his empty hive. We ordered it through one of our local feed stores back in November. The cardboard box sitting in front of him came with a queen and 5 frames already started with comb built and eggs laid.

All he had to do was transfer each frame to his wooden hive, and add 5 more clean frames on which the worker bees will build comb for the queen to lay eggs. He added two small boxes on top for his honey harvest later this summer. 

Time for sea kelp and Redmond salt for their mineral intake. As you can see, some of the sheep have lost all of their winter hair, but a few are still shedding.

We sold this Jersey/Swiss cross dairy girl on Craigslist a week ago Monday, and she gave birth to a red bull calf later that day. I delivered them to their new owner Thursday. 

I also sold and delivered some sheep last week - first time we used our new portable loading ramp. It has been a good month for animal sales. I left the carrier cage on the truck for a few extra days, because we had to take calves to the Vet clinic.

This is Maggie, our newest heifer. She is keeping her horns.

But she needed her shots and an ear tattoo - you can just see some green ink near the inside tip of her ear.

This is Sir Loin, a Dexter/Jersey cross bull calf. After getting his shots, he was castrated, so now he is a steer, and will be sold for meat after 18 months of fattening up on grass and hay. We sold 3 steers the past few months, and didn't keep any for our own freezer. Not to worry, we won't starve - we have several young rams fattening up in the pasture.