WOW, Time is Flying - 9 Months old now

Chuck & Tbone turned 9 months old a couple of weeks ago.

 

They are growing so fast. They are becoming big boys!!!

 

Jamie feeding the boys.

 

See in the picture how big they are?  Feeding them makes me a little nervous because once they see you coming with the bucket they get excited and try to beat you to the trough.

We measured them on the 15th, when they turned 9 months old.

Chuck  630lbs
Tbone  530lbs

Chuck & Tbone eating breakfast

 

Tbone eating

Chuck eating

 

I was really hoping one of them would be ready by spring but i don't think so since Jamie wants them to be at least 1000lbs before we send one of them off to the butcher.

 

I guess we will just have to wait and see.  I will be measuring them again in April since that will be when they turn a year old.

 

 



Chuck & Tbone

Last weekend I was out taking some measurements of the goats so I decided to measure the cows too.

 

They are about 7 1/2 months old now and doing great.  Just plugging along with growing.  I don't think I realized how long it takes to grow a cow to full size.

 

To help with the feed bill we have decided to cut back a little on their grain.  Most people don't feed grain at all until a few months before the cows are going to be butchered. We thought that it couldn't hurt to continuously feed them grain over the winter to help with keeping them growing.

 

Tbone (back) & Chuck (front) eating some hay

 

I went ahead and measured them and they are currently at the approximate weights.

 

Chuck - 480lbs

Tbone - 415lbs

 

They are both growing nice and slowly and eating everything we give them.  Hopefully one of them will be ready to go to the butcher in spring.

A Few Barn Renovations

We decided that we needed a few barn renovations done to the goat barn.  One of the main reasons why was because Chuck and Tbone, our two 6 month old steer calves, are getting big.

 

The goat barn is a good size but the issue is half of the barn is on stilts.  Why would the barn be on stilts you say? Well our land is super hilly and has lots of slopes.  So instead of the original builders of the goat barn putting in some type of foundation to make the floor solid.  They just built the barn walls up from the flat ground they had available and then extended the barn by putting it on stilts and building the rest of the floor on top.  So yes half of the floor in the girl's goat barn is wood and the other half is dirt.  We actually have those big black padding mats on the dirt area to make cleaning easier.  The builders were smart though and put a drain in the middle of the dirt floor. It makes cleaning and hosing down the mats much easier.

 

You can see the back side of the barn on stilts

 

With that said, we needed to do something so the cows could no longer get in the barn so when they are even bigger than they are now they won't collapse the floor.

 

Months ago Jamie built a 1/2 door on the barn so we could either lock the goats in or out.  He came up with a great idea to build another half door but raise it up so the goats could come in and out of the barn but the cows couldn't come it.  Cows have trouble bending over and trying to get under things, where goats do not.  I have seen a full grown goat crawl across the ground.  Granted she was rubbing her belly on the grass because it must of felt good but with knowing that we knew they wouldn't have any problem going under the door.

 

New door

 

The above picture shows you the new door.  It's approximately 3 1/2 feet up from the ground, plenty of room for the goats to go under.  We still need to paint it though and Jamie is going to cut a square hole out of the door near the latch so I can open it from the outside and not have to crawl underneath it myself if it's still locked. The other half door that goes all the way to the bottom of the doorway opens from the outside.  We still have it up and use it everyday.  It is very helpful because once all the goats come into the barn waiting for their turn for feeding time we just close the other door so the goats can't get out and bother the cows while they are eating outside.

 

 Once everyone is done eating, goats and cows, we open the longer half door and secure it so it stays open and then we close this higher half door and lock it so the cows can't get in.  It's a very genius idea that Jamie came up with.  It will also be nice for winter time because it will block some of the wind that otherwise would come through the whole door if it was open.

 

This door will be wonderful for when it comes time for kidding.  The mama's and babies will have the barn to themselves and a place to go where they won't be bothered by the cows.

 

Chuck & Tbone on the other hand do NOT like it.  Not so much I think about being in the barn but being away from the goats.  They think of the goats as their herd and they want to stay with them all the time.

 

Chuck & Tbone saying "AAWWW come on, let us in!!

 

The other part Jamie renovated was the milking area.

 

New Wall

 

We decided to build a wall here which is the separation from the pasture to the milking area.  First the wall is nice because before we used to have a fence here, the goats would hang over the top trying to get more food because you know their starving.  All day they are starving, not really but they sure do act like it.  Even Bruschi, our biggest goat, got over the fence one day trying to get more food.

 

So this wall is nice to keep the goats out of my milking area unless I want them there.  The wall is 4 feet high so hopefully they won't be able to get over it.  With Jamie building this wall it actually increased the size of my milking area also, which is really nice.

 

New milking area

 

As you can see in the above picture,  I have plenty of room for both of my milking stands, grain buckets and room to move goats in and out or around if I need too.

 

Yes, I'm sure your asking why I have two milking stands.  I have two because I am not always milking all of my girls.  This way one girl can be milked while another who is not milked can have her grain at the same time.  It cuts down on chore time greatly.  Milking stands are great and since Jamie is so handy he builds them for me.  I'm sure one day, since Hailey is already a great milker, that if we decide to milk all the girls I will use both stands and Hailey can milk at the same time as I am.  I have all of my goats, even the boys, trained to the stand.  The milking stand is not just for milking. I use it to hold a goat while I am administering shots and also to do hoof trimmings.  You should see the boys.  I open the gate and they just run over and hop up onto the stand and start eating their grain while I go ahead and trim their hooves.  They know exactly where to go because remember they are starving and they know that grain is in that bucket.

 

The wall will also be nice to block out the wind in the winter time when milking starts up again in hopefully February.  The unfinished part of this area is the floor.  It is currently just dirt. I try very hard keeping it clean with raking it every other day.  I've talked to Jamie about it and hopefully in the spring we will be cementing this floor in.  That will make it even easier to keep the floor and everything else clean as I'll be able to sweep it everyday and wash it down when it's needed.

 

The other reason for this wall is because we needed an outside hay feeder.  We were going to build a separate structure but thought that was silly because I wanted the wall anyway and we still had enough room on the other side to build the feeder and it would be under the roof so they hay wouldn't get wet.

 

New outdoor hay feeder

 

The feeder works really well.  Right now we are using it for the cows but it will work great for the goats too once the cows are gone.  Actually the goats use it now too when they sneak over to steal some of the cows hay.  Remember they are always starving.

 

I've talked to Jamie about getting rid of the pallet creep feeder and building a permanent structure off of this wall to the side of the hay feeder.  We won't need that for months, not until the babies are born and starting to be weaned.

 

I think the renovations came out perfect.  Drew helped his dad with some of it.  It amazes me that I can explain an idea to Jamie and then watch him make it become real.  We are slowly but surely making the barn the best it can be functionally for us and the goats.  Still a few more things I would like to change but everything takes time and money.

 

Oh that reminds me, all of these renovations cost us under $150.  Not bad huh?

 

 



Chuck & Tbone turn 6 months old!!!

Chuck and Tbone our steers are now 6 months old and doing awesome!!!  They are super healthy and eating like champs.  If you guys don't remember, Tbone & Chuck are our beef cross steers (can't have babies) that we are growing for meat for our family.

 

Chuck scratching his head on Tbone

 

The boys have done a super job with keeping the pasture down this summer.  They have also been getting a daily ration of grain to help keep them in good condition.  Chuck and Tbone will be with us over the next 5 months for winter.  Once the spring arrives we will retape them to see how big they have grown and decide what will be done next with the boys.

 

Today I tape measured them to see how much they weigh.  This is where it gets tricky.  There is 2 ways to measure. The first way is just to measure the heart girth, which is around their body behind their front legs and then from their take that number to a chart I found online and convert it into pounds.  This chart is for beef cattle so I know that it will be a little off since my cows are beef crosses.

 

The chart shows the following weights:

 

Chuck (brown & white) 436 lbs

Tbone (black) 390 lbs

 

The second way to measure is suppose to be a little more accurate.  You still measure their heart girth, around their middle behind their front legs, but then you also need to measure from the front shoulder all the way back to the tailbone.  Once you have these figures you need to do a little math. 

 

Math is heart girth X heart girth X Length.  Once you have this figure you divide it by 300. You answer is how much they weigh in lbs.

 

Using this measuring method the following weights are:

 

Chuck (brown & white) 378 lbs

Tbone (black) 341 lbs

 

I measured them this morning before they had their grain and had been out in the pasture all day so I feel that it was a good measurement.  The only problem is the cows look big to me.  Now if you know me well, you know that I have NO perception when I look at something.  Meaning I can look at an animal and have NO idea what it weighs, same thing if I look at an empty room, I have NO idea if a certain piece of furniture will fit.  So with that said, I think the boys weight are somewhere in between both these measurements. 

 

Chuck (brown & white) approx 400 lbs

 

Tbone (black) approx. 370 lbs

 

Here is a pic of Hailey standing next to the boys so you can get and idea of how big they are now.

 

Chuck with Hailey

 

The top of the cows back comes up to Hailey's shoulder, (she is standing downhill next to them)  So that makes them approx. 3 1/2 ft tall right now.

 

With the cows getting so big we have done some renovations to the barn so they can't go into it anymore.  The reason for this is that 1/2 of the barn floor is on stilts, because the lay of the land, and we are afraid that once they get too big they will collapse the floor.  They do have another smaller shelter they can go into that is on the ground to help them stay warm and dry but they aren't happy about it because they want to be with the goats, who they consider as their herd.

 

Jamie has built a half door on the goat barn so the goats can still get in and out but the cows can't get in at all.

 

New door to keep the cows out

 

We still have a door that goes all the way to the bottom so the goats can't get out too.  The doors have been working out nicely.  I close the door that goes all the way to the bottom so the goats don't bother the cows while they are eating.  Once the cows are done eating I open up that door and close the half door so the goats can stay in the barn and not be bothered by the cows if they want.  This was also done so when kidding time comes for the goats the babies will have a safe place to go to get away from the cows.

 

Chuck & Tbone peeking under the door to see what's going on.

 

Jamie also built an outside feeder.  The feeder is for them for now but will be used by the goats too once the cows are gone.

 

New Outdoor Feeder

 

They still have their separate personalities too.  Tbone, the black one, is not very interested in people unless you have food for him,  He will run when he see's that red bucket and will stand by the hay feeder mooing for some hay.  He does like to have is head and chin scratched but most of the time he likes to just hang out and watch what everybody is doing.

 

Chuck on the other hand loves people,  he will be the first one to come up to you if your out in the pasture.  He loves to have his whole face rubbed, especially his cheeks.  He will stretch his head out really far so you can rub all of his cheeks and neck.  He loves the grain too but is a little more patient for his turn.  He also loves to moo.  He will greet you first thing in the morning to say hello and will moo for hay also.

 

I know that your not suppose to have favorites but I clearly do with these two boys.  I think I like Chuck so much because he is so laid back and relaxed, where Tbone is a little more hyper and unpredictable.  This makes me nervous.  I know that these boys are big and will get even bigger and for me it makes me nervous to have a hyper animal that big around.  For this reason I am trying to convince Jamie to have Tbone be the first to go even if he is a little smaller than Chuck.

 

We still haven't decided on what we are going to do.  We hope that once the spring arrives one of them will be big enough to send to the butcher.  I would like to send one in the spring and then keep the other one for another year, which will help with the pasture for the summer but then we would have to pay to feed it over the winter.  Jamie is still deciding.  He is thinking about maybe selling the second one after the summer to get some money back on what it cost us to raise them but I think we should keep it and butcher it since he has told me that one should feed our family for the year. This way we wouldn't have to worry about any beef we would eat for at least 2 years.

 

I will do an update on them in about 3 months just to show you all how well they are and how much more they have grown. 

 

Here are some other cute pictures of the boys.

 

Tbone peeking over Chuck's back trying to figure out what I'm doing

Chuck, my cutie -you can see he is missing a little piece of his ear, we are not sure what happened but it healed fine and doesn't bother him at all

Chuck scratching and yes their tongues feel like sandpaper

Tbone's sweet face



Calves -Week 10, 11 & 12

Chuck & TBone

The boys are doing excellent!!!  For the last 3 weeks we have been finishing up weaning the boys from their bottles.  They are now completely off the bottle and eating grain, hay and pasture.

The boys are both eating about 4lbs of grain each day. 2lbs in the morning and then 2lbs again in the evening.  They love it and eat it all gone.

We also had a friend of ours over and banded the boys.  This means that they will never be able to have babies.  Banding is when you take a really small tight rubber band and it is put onto a banding plier.  The pliers open up the small rubber band and then you put the scrotum through the band.  Once you are sure that both testicles are through the rubber band you release the banding pliers.

As the band is tight it slowly cuts of the blood circulation to that area.  Once circulation is completely cut off, usually within 2 weeks or so.  The scrotum along with the testicles will fall of making the bull now a steer.  Bull can produce babies.  A steer can not produce babies.

This will also help with the testosterone level and they will not become aggressive like a bull can.

Chuck

Chuck is still bigger than Tbone.  He eats really well and if he finishes his grain first he likes to go over to Tbone's bucket and try to push him around to steal his food.  We let Tbone push back but if Chuck gets his head in the grain bucket we intervene and hold the bucket so he can't get it.  Besides being a piggy he really is a great boy.  He likes to have pets and will say hello to you in the morning.  Other than that he hangs in the pasture and eats and relaxes.

Tbone a little bit wet from being out in the rain

Tbone is still littler than Chuck but is getting bigger every day.  He has finally gotten a taste for the grain we feed and loves it.  He loves to have pets and always try's to stand close to you when we are in the pasture.  He loves to be out in the rain and in the pasture eating and relaxing.

Chuck saying hello first thing in the morning

I can't get the video to turn for some reason but you can still hear him.

The boys have been here on our farm now for 3 months. Chuck weighs in at 205lbs and Tbone weighs in at 176lbs.

I will be doing monthly updates on them now.

Calves Week 9

Chuck & Tbone waiting for their bottles in the morning

Weaning is going great!! Much better than I expected.  This past week the boys received 1/2 bottle, 1 quart in the morning and then 1/2 bottle, 1 quart in the evening.  After they finish eating there bottles they get to eat grain.

Chuck is eating almost all of what we give him.  Tbone is not eating as much but that is expected because we really believe he is 1 week younger than Chuck.

They spend most of their day out in the pasture now.  If they aren't grazing on the grass they are relaxing laying in the shade.  I think they finally figured out that its nicer to be outside then to be laying in the barn all day, so now I don't need to lock them out of the barn anymore.

They also are drinking lots of water, which is great.  It's a true sign that they are ready to weaned and of course it's great because it has been so HOT here.

Here are some other cute pics of them.

Tbone & Chuck out in the pasture

Chuck eating some grain

Tbone looking good, FINALLY no ribs showing

Tbone - he's such a cute baby



Calves - Week 8

Tbone & Chuck eating their grain

The boys are doing GREAT!!!!  They are staying super healthy and growing really well.  Weaning is going alot easier than I thought.  This week they are still getting 1 full bottle in the morning which is a 1/2 gallon of milk. Then in the evening they are only getting 1/2 of a bottle which is 1 quart of milk.

After they finish their bottles they get to eat as much sweet feed grain as they would like.  At first it was just a little bit but now that they have a taste for it they are starting to eat more.

The first few days were hysterical.  I would put two of the goats on the milking stands for them to eat and then go into the pasture to feed the cows.  Well once the other goats that were still in the pasture got a smell of the sweet feed in the bucket they would not leave me alone and it was becoming a struggle to keep them away.

Well, I finally figured out what to do.  I put all the goats in the barn and locked the door that goes out to the pasture.  Chuck and Tbone are out in the pasture and I go and feed them their bottles and then they eat their feed from the buckets that I hang on the fence, shown in the picture above.  It works out great.  They can eat without being bothered and I don't have to stand their the whole time and can get the other goats fed.

Tbone eating some grain

Chuck posing for the picture, LOL

Hailey standing next to the calves to show you how much they have grown.

Next week we will be reducing the morning bottle to half, check back and see how they do.

Calves - Week 7

Tbone & Chuck hanging in the pasture

I am so happy to say that both of the calves are doing wonderful!!!  They have adjusted well with moving into the big pasture with the goats.

They still like to stay in the barn, so as long as the weather is good for the day I lock them all out of the barn.  They have plenty of fresh water outside and also other areas where they can find shade to cool off.

Since we didn't know the boys exact age when we got them we are just  guessing they were only 1 week old when we got them.  So know they are 8 weeks old and are eating great.  They both love their bottles and they are eating more grain at each feeding. They have also started drinking water which is a good sign that they are ready to start to wean.

Tbone finally looking good after putting some weight on

Chuck looking good, still needs more meat on his ribs

Tbone & Chuck are enjoying running in the pasture and just eating all the grass.

Check back next week. We are going to start weaning them from their bottles.



Calves - Week 6

Chuck & Tbone enjoying the big pasture for the first time

Well Chuck wasn't feeling any better by the end of the holiday weekend. So we went ahead and gave the vet a call.  She said he does sound like he has a cold.  The kids and I went to the vet on Tuesday and picked up some medication.

We got Banimine again and then also Nuflor which is a respiratory antibiotic medications.

I had to give shots for 4 days straight, which I really don't like to do but know it is for them to get better.  I am happy to say that Chuck is doing MUCH better now.  No more runny nose and just a little cough here and there that is still clearing up.  We also stopped doing the raw egg in his bottle as they medication said it could cause diarrhea.  Since finishing the round of meds they are only getting the milk replacer with the Probiotics once a day.

Chuck relaxing in the pasture

I also decided to move both of the calves into the large pasture area.  In there small enclosure they really didn't want to be outside much and wanted to lay down a lot.  I just thought that it wasn't very good for them.  Even though they have each other they are herd animals.  So on Wednesday I moved them.  It was pretty funny since Jamie wasn't here and I did it myself but I finally got them over there.

Matilda checking out Tbone

The goats didn't know what to do and where scared of them.  The cows just stood there looking at the goats not knowing what to make of them.

I'm so happy to say that they are doing very well.  I knew being with a herd, even though its goats, that they would learn quicker.  They now have learned to drink water from watching the goats. They also have started eating a little grain after their bottles. Both of the calves are also getting lots of pasture. 

Tbone resting in the pasture

The goats are still a little weary of them but are getting better each day.  Friday night we had lots of rain and goats HATE rain so they HAD to share the barn with the cows since the calves aren't scared of anything, they just go where they want to go.

The only thing I have to do right now, is after they finish feeding and the goats have too we make them get out of the barn and lock them out.  The calves will lay in the barn all day if we let them and I want them outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

I really hope they continue to do as well as they have done in the later part of the week.

Chuck loves to have his chin and cheeks rubbed



Calves - Week 5

Chuck & Tbone eating hay

Well this week is going good.  Both boys are doing great eating their bottles, grass and hay.

Chuck has started to have a little diarrhea again.  So we decided to try a suggestion to help get rid of it.  We are now adding a raw egg into his bottle for both feedings.  We also bought some ProBios which is a powder you mix into their bottles which helps with digestion.

Chuck has also developed a little bit of a cough.  So we went ahead and wormed both of the calves.  We are keeping a close on Chuck and if he is not doing any better we will call the vet after the holiday weekend to see what she suggests.

We still haven't tried anymore grain this week.  I did pick up a new type of grain that is called sweet feed and we will be trying it soon.  Keep your fingers crossed for us that they will at least taste it and want more.

Tbone smiling, not really I just caught him chewing

Chuck & Tbone coming for dinner time

Check back next week to see how they are doing and if Chuck is feeling any better.



Calves, Week 4

Chuck & Tbone

Well the week has gone by with no luck of getting the boys to learn how to eat grain.  They want nothing to do with.  So instead of leaving it out for them and letting the naughty meat chickens that keep getting out and eating it.  We have decided to wait a little while longer and try again when they get a little older.  Right now we believe Chuck is about 6 weeks and Tbone is about 5 weeks.

On a better note.  Both calves are having normal poops.  They also love their bottles and are standing at the gate mooing waiting for us in the mornings and evenings now.  It's too cute.  They are also eating grass and hay.

Tbone hungry

They are both way to skinny for my liking but I really can't do much about that since they won't eat the grain yet and if I increase their milk amount I risk the chance of them having diarrhea again.  So we are feeding them the correct amount and hoping to see some weight gain.

We have noticed that they are a little bigger but we need to put some more weight on them and fill them out a bit before I feel that they are doing great.

Tbone hanging outside

Chuck eating some hay

I know that most of this post is a repeat of last week's. Calves grow really slow compared to our goats.



Calves - Week 3

Tbone & Chuck

The beginning of the week didn't start off too well.  Tbone was still having diarrhea.  So off to the vet I went and got some more medication for him.  Thankfully it worked this time.  So now both Tbone & Chuck are having normal poops and hopefully will start gaining the much needed weight they need.

Chuck - Looking skinny

Tbone looking a little better

They have started eating some grass and hay also.

They have lots of energy and like to run around especially after they finish eating their bottles.

Our next step is to get them to eat a little grain.  We have been leaving a little out in 2 buckets with a little of the milk powder sprinkled on top to try to get them to eat it.  Once we get them to eat some grain and learn that it is yummy they will get to go out into the big pasture.

Cutie Tbone

Sweet Chuck, I just love those ears

Check back next week, hopefully they will be eating grain by then.