Big Heifers and Baby Calf Feeders

I FINALLY got my internet up and running!! Thanks to DSI Systems and Exede Satellite internet! They are amazing and if you need internet service and you are in my area, for my money, they are the best.

A lot has been happening on the farm – more baby calves born, we got baby chicks, as always feeding and hay, and ice storm!

Today, we are home missing our wonderful church family.  My sweet girl is a little under the weather and my hubby is trying to repair the chicken house drives. The rains and the ice have made a complete mess of them.

I am hanging out on the couch right now writing and catching up on the Olympics (GO USA), with the boy playing cows under my feet!

We are still in the middle of our busiest time of the year still feeding cows, waiting on the last few calves, starting our spring breeding, and chickens. As well as everyone being in and out of town several times over the next couple of months.

We spent Thursday, the first warm and pretty day in a while, putting the finishing touches on the fall breeding season by pregnancy checking the cows and turning them out. Then catching and grouping our spring breeding cows. We now have a new group of cows in the trap; this includes a few heifers that have been enjoying the big calf feeders in the big pasture. They can get in and out of these feeders pretty well. In the traps we have smaller baby calf feeders and the big heifers are not supposed to get in them!

This was taken with my iPhone, the other day. This is one of the heifers that is NOT supposed to be in this feeder.

Friday morning, while I was getting ready for the internet installers to be here, I heard a crazy noise outside. When I first looked I could not find the source of the noise, but finally I saw it. This baby calf feeder was moving across the trap with a heifer half in and half out. Not the heifer in the picture, but a bigger one. Unfortunately, I was worried about the heifer so I did not get the chance to snap a picture or video. I wish I could say that I did something amazing to get her unstuck, but all I could do was watch. The heifer finally got herself out. Then she turned around and was going to fight the feeder, but I guess she figured it was not worth it.

This is a picture that Andy snapped yesterday afternoon of another heifer in the feeder. She was able to get out on her own. Andy lowered the bar on the feeder in hopes we can keep the big girls out!