Frufru, Oreo2, and Lacey

Frufru, Lacey, and Oreo2
(A Polish Crested, Brown Lace Wyandote, and Silver Lace Wyandote)
These three hens are staying at home until they're older and it's safer for them at the ranch.
I held onto my "Ricardo" money and used it to purchase these hens.

Coyotes

We suffered some predation by coyotes the other night. Suffice to say it was gruesome and we are short some hens. So, I have made some changes to protect the birds. They go (unwillingly) into a coop every night to keep them from nesting by the fencelines or in trees. One of the ducks survived but has a nasty bite on its neck. Looks like he will make it, but he needs to heal. For now he keeps his head tucked in to hide the scabs. I'm pretty sure it was coyotes as they left behind some poo as if to add insult to injury. For the record, all the birds were in pens. But when they sleep close to the fence, they can be grabbed and literally pulled through it.

Winter

This morning when I showed up, Winter had been to the land. Not only were there little bitty snowflakes fluttering to the ground, but there was this:

Frost on the wood pile.

Ice in the muddy road.

And frozen hoses.

New Chicks

A few days ago, a couple of the workers stopped by from next door wanting to know if I had any jobs for them. Although I didn't, I figured I'd take down their information in case I did in the future. The man who gave me his phone number said his name was Ricardo. At which point I began to get upset. I told them what had happened to my little rooster and pointed out his grave.

We talked some more and I offered them the huge pile of wood at the front of the property. Ricardo was grateful and said he would come by Saturday and not only take away all that dead wood (which I have been trying to get rid of for some time) but bring me a hen as well to replace my Ricardo.

Instead, he brought me two hens! He said he has about 200 chickens and has too many. I figured I had too much wood so this was a good deal for the both of us. I'm not exactly sure what breed these hens are. I asked him and he said they were a black Mc-something or other. I'll have to do some research to see. They're shaped like a Dark Cornish, long and lean. Nothing like the hens I have.

The buff hen is very friendly and tolerates being held. The black one has to be captured in order to be petted. I never know where they'll be when I show up as both can fly and sneak from pen to pen.

A Giant Concrete E

There's a giant E in the goat pen. Are you wondering why? Could it be that I want to write a concrete message visible from the sky? Possibly. I've done odder things.

Going back to my list a few days ago, this is the beginning of concrete goathouses. Concrete that horns, bodies, and hooves can't knock down. This one is in the main pen and consists of two large rooms. There is a one room unit going in behind the chicken area which will likely become the buck yard. And the sheep are getting a two room unit in their area though I'm not sure sheep care if they get wet or not.

They will also get roofs made of something virtually indestructible, like metal. Now, if only I had a little house out there...

Rain!

It's been drizzling and raining off and on all last night and today, so I didn't stay very long at the ranch this morning. Too much mud and too chilly. The recent fence repair has caused me some finger cuts that hurt if I try to do more. Good excuse not to, right?

Anyway, here is what the steer looked like this morning... He eats beneath Gucci. She likes to rip the alfalfa out of the feeder and shake it around until it's um, dead.

The Moral: Don't stand under the bigger cow when she's eating.

How to Make a Calf Crate

Three pallets tied together in the back of my truck.
Alfalfa is strategically located in the corner to give
the calf something to munch on during the trip home.

Today, we drove to Marana to see about a steer calf. He's mostly, if not all, Black Angus, a breed that originated in Scotland. Angus cattle are naturally polled, or hornless. I'm thankful for that after having been bumped by Gucci when I didn't let her out for her walk soon enough for her time standards. I can only imagine what that would have felt like with horns. Ouch.

Back to the calf. He's six months old and weighs close to three hundred pounds. He was a feedlot calf that was bottle raised by the woman who owned him. What this means for me is that he isn't terrified of me when I go into the corral to tend to him.

For anyone interested in transporting a calf in the back of a truck, this post may be helpful. We do not yet own a livestock trailer. We have a friend who does, but this was one of those situations where I felt like we could handle it ourselves. I was originally going to use an extra-large dog crate. And in this case, it probably would have worked being that this calf is very docile. But my friend Angelica was worried about my general safety. She knows I have very little experience with BIG farm animals. She also knows that I do crazy things that I might not have done if I knew better.

Old neighbor gate added and simply fastened with knotted
hay bale twine to serve as a door. Worked like a charm!

So I erred on the side of caution and built a proper crate for the calf using what I had onhand. Pallets. Baling twine, some nails, spare pieces of wood, and a recently taken down chain link gate. In the back of my truck I assembled three heavy wood pallets in a C shape, lashing them together at the junctions with the twine. I nailed on a few braces (salvage bits from another pallet) across the top to keep the pallets stable. Then I placed a large 'roof' atop the pallets which was scrap wood a friend had given me. After affixing that, I had the base structure completed and it was sturdy.

All I needed was a door. The new wall construction meant my neighbor gate had come down. It was exactly the right size for the pallet crate. I lashed it on with more bale twine and we were ready to get a calf. To keep the little guy happy on his journey, I wedged a leaf of alfalfa inside and brought along a container of sweet feed.

I also taught myself how to make a calf halter from rope, but that's another post for another day...