Bran's New Friends

Rainy December Day

Main herd came back over to the West side of the barn this morning since the valley pasture is thawing.

Bran Keeping Warm

Bran is very good at snuggling up to his mom to stay warm.

What to Wear on a Cold Day

2 degrees this morning

Almost missed a beautiful sunset

Bran Made It!

Bran

Yesterday afternoon, I gave Bran a shot of vitamins and selenium, along with some yogurt and Lycopodium. Later though, Bran looked really bad, totally unresponsive. Blodeuwedd was acting desperate, calling mournfully. His cord seemed like it might be swollen, and his eyes started to look injected to me, so I gave him some penicillin. I thought he would surely not make it through the night, but I called the vet anyway to come the next day. I felt very bad for Blodeuweed. I brought three bales of straw out for him to lie in with the hand cart.

But this morning he was still alive. Either the penicillin worked really fast or he is one tough fellow. The ground was frozen, so I could take the pickup truck out back and bring Bran and Blodeuwedd back to the farmstead. I put him in the back and he stood there while she trotted behind. I made a straw bed for him up by the house, and gave his Blodeuwedd some second cut hay nearby.

I've not been well myself for several days so I slept most of the morning until the vet came in the early afternoon. In the meantime Bran had got up and nursed, quite a bit I think from feeling his belly. He wandered away from his straw though and laid down right on the ground, which is cold and damp.

Blodeuwedd has been calm with me, and let me pick up the calf this morning to put him in the truck, but when the vet came she became really aggressive. They are very different when people they don't know are nearby. She was not just annoyed, but out for blood. With some difficulty I got a pen around Blodeuwedd.

The vet said Bram was dehydrated, and his body temperature was way below normal. We brought him into the house to warm him up and gave him 3 liters of IV dextrose through the jugular vein. She got the vein on the first try which was impressive with a dehydrated animal. We had to hold his body above his head so the vein would fill. He also got a shot of Banamine, which is a non steroidal anti inflammatory.

Now he's warming up by my desk. When his feet are warm and he stands up he can go back outside with his mom. I have a heat lamp for him out there to lie under. I was going to put them in the barn but it is so musty in there. I think might be better off outside as long as he and his mom are confined where there is lots of straw and he has the lamp to keep him warm.

Otherwise, the vet said he did not look like he was infected. Tomorrow he should start a supplemental feeding of electrolytes to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated again.

So much for non intervention. I think the thing that got to me was her calling him when he was unresponsive.

Bran

Bran showed some encouraging signs this morning - first, his ears are warm (yesterday they were cold). Blodeuwedd looked like her front two quarters had been nursed out. And he pooped.

He's still somewhat listless, and he holds his breath slightly at each resipiration. I'm going to the vet to get a selenium shot for him in case that is a problem.

Bran

Blodeuwedd's calf Bran didn't nurse today. There are several thresholds a calf must pass to survive -

1. Being born without getting stuck or injured
2. Breathing without aspirating fluids
3. Getting dried off before hypothermia sets in
   
4. Nursing a belly full of colostrum before intestinal wall become impermeable to antibodies
   
5. Pooping the meconium
   
6. Getting the GI tract in gear without enteritis

Bran went through the first five without any problems, but today he didn't nurse which indicates he might have either constipation or enteritis. Other possibilities which seem less likely are:

1. Pneumonia - lungs are clear
2. Rhinitis - breathing through nose easily
3. Cord infection - the umbilical vein is not enlarged
4. Septicemia - eyes and gums are not inflamed

This threshold is just as critical as the others, as there is little reserve to carry him through not feeding, and enteritis can rapidly overwhelm him with toxins. When I left him this evening, he was not worse than this morning, and he is alert and able to walk, but he's clearly not feeling well. He gritted his teeth a couple of times which is a sign of pain, he is not in the usual curled position when lying down, and when you stroke him he stretches his neck out on the ground instead of lifting his head up. He should be nursing aggressively and running on his fourth day. I milked Blodeuwedd into a bottle (what a great disposition she has!) but couldn't entice him to take any.

Possible interventions are antibiotics, Banamine, mineral oil, and tube feedings, but I feel that perhaps I will let nature take its course with him. He got a good dose of colostrum which is nature's defense against infection, and it's possible that treatment might just intensify and prolong his suffering - the best intentions also have risks. By tomorrow we will know one way or the other. At least the weather is mild for him.

When the young ones suffer I especially reflect on my actions and responsibility to them, as I have caused them to come into this world. Aside from the pragmatic questions of what preventative husbandry and interventions are best, there is the deeper mystery of the suffering of any sentient being, and of animals which have limited knowledge and control over their fate. We all live on the edge between our longing for a just and kind world, and the reality of nature which may dictate otherwise. I know that these animals are closer to nature than I, for better or worse. I have learned not to force my desire to avoid grief and my nonacceptance of nature onto them by prolonged intervention which may only prolong suffering. Nonetheless, the immediate suffering of the mother and calf, and the grief of the mother on it's loss are profound, and cut with a knife edge the illusion that there are degrees of sentience when it comes to suffering.

The healthy ones running and playing in freedom just down the hill - Noisy and Arianhrod - show also that there are no degrees of sentience with respect to joy either:


What a sterile world it would be without these creatures, but what profound questions their lives raise for us. Let us not let the ubiquity of their suffering diminish our reverence for their lives, each and every one.

Blodeuwedd Had Her Calf

Blodeuwedd had a little bull calf at dawn. He nursed vigorously right off the bat. She was very calm and not aggressive at all. Looks like a good candidate for a breeding bull.
Nice sunny day for them today after the blizzard yesterday.

Sunset

Recently the sunsets have been striking due to the breadth of the evenly illuminated area across the horizon. I'm not sure if suns orientation or the weather that produces this effect.

Friends

Finished SW Corner Fence

Yesterday I finished the perimeter fence in the SW corner. It was a beautiful day to be outside. As I laid out this fence, I tried to understand the different parts of this corner, which has a complex topography. In addition to the main draw shown on the map below, there are two other draws that converge at the bend in the lane. The area south of the draw has mixed hardwoods with ash, maple, and white oak trees. Many are of moderate size; they may have been just a little too small to cut when the woods was logged but have grown vigorously since. They are big enough now to provide deep shade and a thick leaf litter. The soil here seems fragile due to the steep grades and the draws which make for many places were water flows can concentrate. But the leaf litter and fallen wood seem to be absorbing and slowing the rains so that there is little erosion so long an nothing disturbs the area. The narrow zone north of the draw and along the east boundary of the woods on the top side is very different. It's less steep, and is dominated by several very large white oaks which escaped the logging, perhaps because they were too branched or hollow. The oaks are widely spaced and in the intervening areas there is a lot of prickly ash and small elms which have not reached the stage where they succumb to Dutch elm disease, along with the trunks of many dead elms that have. There is less leaf litter here, and there is some erosion under and downhill from the prickly ash.

I envisioned that this area could could become like the original oak openings if the cattle ate the prickly ash allowing grass to grow under the mature oaks. The grass would also hold the soil. In return, the cattle would have shade. It would be good to find and protect any small oaks that might have managed to get started in spite of the prickly ash. As the prickly ash is cleared out, this would be a place to plant bluegrass and more white oaks.

The fence, a single wire strung mostly from one dead elm to the next, is 3-4 rods in from the original fence. The prime morel areas with the larger dead elms are protected. I believe the original fence was intended to keep the cows in the woods when the they had the run of the woods years ago.

Full Moon Rising And Sun Setting

Heaven

Gracie

Favorite Sunset From Winter 2005

Arianhrod Day 2

What a beautiful calf.

Arewen is a great mother.

Even colder last night than the night before, as you can see from the frost on Noisy's back.

Arianhrod

Last night was unseasonably cold, and the weather turned really sharp at dawn as it often does. When I checked on her in the night, I thought I could hear her nursing, although I didn't risk getting close. This morning I saw her get a good breakfast and I could tell it wasn't her first time nursing by the way she latched on. Then she tucked herself in a dead furrow out of the wind. I was able to approach Arwen and curry her. She's much more relaxed than Nora but she is very formidable with her horns.

Arwen and Arianhrod

Arwen had a little heifer calf late this afternoon.

This Land I

Measure this land and you will learn only how small it is.
Loose your bearings and you will find it's secret places.

Try to lift it, and it's weight will crush you.
Let it go and it will carry you.

Be silent and it will sing to you.
Look up from your business and you will see it's beauty.

Live here and a part of you will never leave it.
Leave here and a part of it will always go with you.

Hay Tally

Bakke Farm	94
Nustad	101
Total	195
Tons @ 1250 pounds per bale	120
Fed So Far	8
Remaining	187
Days until June 1st	212

Sharing The Land I

This is a start of a list which can never be complete of the beings we share these acres of land with. It is intended to be a foundation for meditation on:

Exchanging of self with others (each of these beings has an experience of living here with suffering and joy concurrent with our own)
Impermanence (the list changes continually with birth and death on the farm)
Non Possession (all of the beings have a desire for life here)
Attachment (we care deeply for some and not for others in an arbitrary way)
Our current ignorance (the exercise of enumerating and counting reveals how little we know - even the full extent of the kinds of beings is unknown let alone the number)
Responsibility (the health of the farm is entrusted to us as caretakers)
Beauty (all of the beings reflect in a different way the beauty of creation)

How many are there? How are they known? Which do we love and which to we revile? Who is named and who goes unnamed? Who is counted and who is uncounted?

1 Dog: Rosie
2 House Cats: Scout and Maude
A Feral cat in the back 40

35 Bovines:
Hippie
Bodo
Lisa
Heaven
Athena
Gracie
Beatrice
Loki
Heidi
Mr. Man
Liam
Angel
Fion
Nakey Man
Blodeuwedd
Rachel
Arwen
Nora
Samantha
Ellie
Llew LLaw
Wheezer
Alf
Newla
Sam
Enya
Hans
Hals
Basil
Brigita
Gretl
Elisa
Leo
Pebbles
Noisy

2 Pigs
7 Guineas
Aged Oaks
Aged White Pines
Aged Apple Trees
A Plum Tree
Ash Trees
Prickly Ash
Mutli Flora Rose
Wildflowers
Pigweed
Nightshade
Thistles
Burdocks
Grass!
10 Pigeons
A flock of Turkeys
A Pileated Woodpecker
7 Red Headed Woodpeckers
Visiting Hawks and Bald Eagles
A Barred Owl
A Whippoorwill
A Virgina Rail
3 Pair Brown Thrashers
No Hermit Thrush this year
Quail - where are they?
Dozens of swallows
A dozen pheasants
Deer
An itinerant Bear
Rabbits
Possums
Raccoons
Skunks
Squirrels
Flying squirrels
Brown Bats
Big Brown Bats
Scores of Bobolinks
Dozens of Meadowlarks
Crows
Jays
Several Bluebirds
A flock of Cedar Waxwings
Chickadees
Nuthatches
Swallows
Hundreds of finches and sparrows
Moles
Tree Frogs
Toads
Black Snakes
Garter Snakes
Thousands of mice and voles
Earthworms
Tapeworms
Box Elder Bugs
Crickets
Earwigs
Sowbugs
Wolf Spiders
Wooly Worms
Monarchs
Moths
Flies!
Wood ticks
Deer ticks
Asian Beetles

Halloween Sunset

Still waiting on Arwen. Alf is back in the herd. Chilly and breezy today. Made one bale on the little piece over by Bruce this afternoon - it hadn't all blown away after all.

Preliminary Fence Map

Well, this map needs a quite a bit of work, but it's a start. It's overlaid on a 1960's aerial photo that shows the contours well.

1. Blue is the new barbless wire fence we put in this summer and fall. It was a big project with many helpers.
   
2. Yellow is barbed wire in place now that I would like to replace with smooth wire.
3. Green is new smooth wire fence yet to be done, usually where there is an old fence or around trees
   
4. Red is barbed wire to be taken out - often where Lawrence did not have a fence. Red and and another color together show a fence to be moved back where it was years ago.
5. Purple is semi permanent fence using twine or light wire like temporary fence so it can be taken up or moved, but with more t posts or screw in insulators than temporary fence. It's currenly used around the orchard, the white pines down by the old foundation, buildings, etc. Dashed purple is interior barbed wire fence I would like to replace with semi permanent fence.
   
6. Thin dashed purple is temporary fence (at the top of the bowl).
   

Here are the practices I try to follow:

1. I've found that the most significant attribute of a fence is how tight it is. A tight barbless fence is respected by the cows more that a loose barbed wire fence. Same goes for a tight cold fence versus a loose hot one - they'll jump over or slip under a loose fence even when it's hot.
   
2. Use smooth wire over barbed.
3. Run two or more strands where crops are on the other side.
   
4. When possible, use the same fence lines that Lawrence did. Otherwise, follow contours of the land. Avoid traffic where land is vulnerable to erosion.
   
5. Leave existing fence in place unless it is a hazard. Remove down wire and posts.
6. When the existing fence is good, run the electric wire across the tops of the posts with toppers, for example on the east side of the sheep pasture.
7. Manage trees: protect trees from cattle, especially from foraging and traffic. Fence off vulnerable trees, especially fruit trees and conifers. Leave trees accessible for shade at edges of fields. Let cows clear out prickly ash and multiflora rose in gullies so grass can grow reducing erosion.
   
8. Use high quality material & lots of Gripples so fence can be kept really tight.
   
9. Use screw in insulators on dead, damaged, or overtopped trees only, in that order.
   
10. Make gates double handled.
11. Use semi permanent and temporary fence where possible. Set up temporary fence in a regular pattern with secure ends so it is tight.

Smooth wire pros:

1. Less hazardous to the animals. Highland cattle especially like to rub on barbed wire in the winter and can get entangled. Less likely to cause severe electric shock.
   
2. Easier to keep tight - stretches easily with a fencing tool without catching on insulators.
   
3. Easier to install.
4. Lighter so posts can be set up to 70 feet apart where ground is flat.
   

Cons:

1. A loose smooth wire fence may be less effective than a loose barbed wire fence. Of course a loose barbed wire fence is especially hazardous.
2. Barbed wire is more visible. Fence flags can help make smooth wire more visible. More a hazard to humans than cows as the cows know where the fences are.

Semi permanent and temporary fence pros:

1. Traffic can be managed to eliminate cow paths, either by preventing them or rerouting traffic to allow paths to grow back.
2. Keeps the landscape open.
3. Can fine tune rotational grazing by moving fence more or less often.
4. Time spent moving fence is a good opportunity to observe herd.
5. Fence can be moved so that refused or over mature forage can be mowed easily in late summer.

Cons:

1. It takes more time to set up temporary fence. This can be minimized by planing ahead and having secure endpoints so temporary fences are tight, reducing the number of step ins required.
   

Tonight's Sunset

Beautiful warm, windy day today. The main part of the herd came back in the bowl today to eat hay over there. Hippie, Athena, and Lisa are in the potato field south of the orchard. Hippie seemed less distraught today.

Still waiting on Arwen - should be a nice week for her to have her calf. They came over to the North side of the valley this morning but I didn't have a chance to move Alf and Newla. Didn't have time to move the hay in the oak planting either so I put temporary fence around it. They really tore up one bale, but they can eat that one out there. So far, so good with the trees. That grass is so nice in there for them I'll set up lanes with temporary fence if I have to, but I hope I don't.

Arwen Is Due Anytime

As you can see from this picture, Arwen is really bulging out on the right side where her calf is. Her due date was Saturday, so the calf should be born anytime.

I let Nora, Arwen, and Blodeuwedd in the oak planting on Saturday. There is lots of nice bluegrass in there for them. The oak leaves are all brown and so far they are being good and leaving the trees alone. I am keeping a close eye on the trees and on their behaviour. Can't say the same for the hay bales in there, I'll have to move them out.

Newla and Alf are in there too, but now that the calves are being born I'll try to take those two out. I had Alf out on Saturday but he sneaked back in to be near his mom Arwen.

We weaned the two bulls on Saturday. Hippie has been calling for them mournfully. the bulls don't seem to mind at all. We wanted to dry her off before winter.

Made the last hay on Sunday, 4 big bales over on the southernmost strips of the 30 acres. That brings us to 187 bales. I cut the little piece over by Bruce also but it might have all blown away.

Hay Feeding Begins In Earnest

Looks like the sheep pasture is about eaten up so I fed two brome/alfalfa round bales out in the sheep pasture today. The countdown of bales begins, we plan on one bale a day through May. I'm thinking of ways to make sure the smaller animals get enough hay without overfeeding the larger ones. I could divide the herd, but that complicates feeding and watering and disrupts the social structure. If can make a creep feeder I would rather do that. Last year I used some of the portable corral panels, but it was difficult to set the gap between them. Something that would attach to a round bale feeder would be appealing

Before that I took the blade to neaten up the compost piles so they won't freeze before we're ready to spread them. We will spread compost after the ground has frozen. There are compost piles east and west of the barn.

Noisy's Third Day

Noisy and Nora went back to the south side of the valley this morning. She lead me right to where he was sleeping. There is a chill wind blowing but he's snug in his his fur coat. Even his little ears are warm. Back in the distance you can see where I left the pickup on Friday night. I waited till after the ground froze last night after yesterday's rain so I wouldn't tear up the field.



Even a little guy appreciates a scratch


This is what happens when you leave the truck door open on a chilly day