Calf Taggin’, Reproduction Talk, New Bull
Thankfully no more breakdowns getting hay up last Friday. I got along good raking and baling the hay that was down. Carter helped me move cows and chickens while Amy and the rest were at the Abingdon Farmers Market on Saturday.
We try to do little farm work on Sundays aside from chores, but Sunday evening we set the cattle working pens up and got the momma cows and baby calves into the lot for working on Monday.
On Monday after moving chickens we worked 60 some baby calves. A task that led the kids to tears with the fall calves last year turned to all smiles this spring. They did great. Working together pushing the calves up to the head gate for Amy to catch for tagging and banding of the bull calves. Amy said the kids displayed a good balance of being “cautious and brave.” (Except for Carter who knows little caution.) When the calves were all worked and turned back out with their mommas, the kids response was, “Can we work more calves? I wish we could do this everyday.” Great to hear them say, especially after an unfavorable experience months back.
Thankful for some showers on Tuesday, making for a good day to run some errands. We caught chickens that evening for processing on Wednesday. Then caught chicks in the brooder to fill the emptied shelters in the field.
By the time chores were done and everything was set up and ready Wednesday morning, it ended up being a little after 9:00 before we started killing. All 240 birds were chilling on ice by 10:50. We cut up 150 of them that afternoon. Again, this crew is the best.
Yesterday we got another batch of newly hatched chicks settled in the brooder. We also welcomed a new bull to the farm. He wasn’t quite as settled as the chicks, but hopefully after being introduced with some new lady friends, he’ll get calmed down and acclimated.
I finally got around to getting the hay bales carried off the field. Then Amy and I spent 4-5 hours yesterday evening filling pork herd shares and coolers and orders for the upcoming market and deliveries. As I’ve often said, freezer work is not my favorite, but yesterday’s heat made working in and out of the freezers feel somewhat refreshing.
Banding the bull calves for castration led the kids to some good dinnertime questions. “Why do we band the boys? What are testicles? Why don’t we want them to be bulls?” Of course that led to more reproductive discussion with the purchase of a new bull to turn out with the cows. Hasten left the dinner table to fetch some of his toy bulls and cows to give his siblings a visual showing of how bovine reproduction works.
Living on the farm gives us and them a chance to continually witness and participate with the miracle of new life. New life truly is a miraculous thing. By design. We want them to not only understand the mechanics and biology of new life but that the reproduction of humans is more sacred and special. God made all living things, giving them the miraculous ability to reproduce. But cows don’t understand family. Our bulls breed lots of cows and then have nothing to do with the raising of the calves. Same with deer and other animals in the wild. But us, he made different. He made us in his own image. He made us to be a part of his family and thus we reproduce not as animals indulging our natural instincts, but as a family and with the well being of the whole family in mind.
Speaking of witnessing God’s miraculous design on the farm, I have been fascinated by lightning bugs my whole life. But never in my life have I seen such an impressive display of their wonder while sitting on the porch after dark early in the week. I don’t know what was different about seeing them this week as opposed to years past. Maybe something with the moon, maybe… I don’t know what. But Amy also agreed is was unlike anything she’d seen. Maybe I was just paying more attention. Or maybe it was God saying, “Hey guys, I’m still here.”
This spring’s drought has carried over into my audiobook listening. I’m going through a dry patch. I’ve started a few lately, but can’t get locked in or excited about any of them. I’m ready for some recommendations if you have any.
Have a good week.
Will