Mid-summer heat

After having 3 calves born in the spring, our herd had 4 more born in the heat of summer. Holly, polled and on the right, and her Momma Heidi, horned and on the left, both had bull calves on the same day - July 2nd. The old table you see on the far edge of pond in the background is used as a shooting target.

After several attempts at sitting on eggs, this persistent momma was finally successful in getting some baby chicks.

We put a new gate in the northern fence line...

...after which we had to dig out the water ditch and install a...

...a tinhorn water pipe covered with rock. Need to finish painting the steel fence piping.

This week I took advantage of the older boy's slow week at their construction jobs to get their help with some farm work. I rented a portable cattle shute/squeeze from our local MFA feed store and ran all 23 cows though it, so we could put new ear tags on every animal except our bull. We thought we would have to delay the job because of severe thunderstorms the night before and the morning of, but the rain stopped and clouds moved on by 9:00 AM. We worked in the mud at first, but dried out as time went on. Toward end on line we tagged #21, Holly's new born boy, and found a long, deep gash in his back (from running thru a barbed wire fence). Immediately took him to the Vet for stitches and antibiotics.

And since we were already there, had him castrated as well.

After returning from Vet, we pulled all male lambs out of flock, so we could send them to the sale barn next day. Need to get their mouths off the grass as we don't have enough to feed herd and flock. The recent heavy rainfall will help get the grass growing again. 

And we tagged all girls without ear tags. We now have 54 ewes and one baby ram lamb not weaned yet. Will be buying two new rams in late October to put into flock, which should result in over 100 lambs being born next April.