Post by genebo on Jun 25, 2015 20:23:57 GMT
The AGM is over, Bradan is gone to a good home, I'm left with only five Dexters to keep me company.
BUT, five seems to be plenty for the moment. I have arranged to buy two new heifers this fall. Great Traditional pedigrees from outstanding lines. Windridge and others. By this time next year I should have 6 pregnant Dexters and be wondering if I'll have enough hay for the winter.
McBrenn has adopted me as his human, though Cathy seems to still be lonesome for Bradan. Bambi is still the herd boss and has grown into the role. Bambina is over her grief at losing Bradan. She no longer paces the fence line, calling for him. Today, when I walked into the pasture, the whole bunch of them ambled over to me. That tickled me.
Paradise Farm isn't all Dexters, though. I keep eight goats to browse with the cattle. It helps keep the worm load down on the pasture for both cattle and goats. It's mainly done for the Dexters benefit.
Muscovy ducks range the whole pasture, muddling through manure piles. This scatters the manure thin so it dries out. That keeps fly larva from hatching. Guineas keep the ticks cleaned up. Pekin ducks and chickens help keep the area around the barn clean.
Predators work on the poultry, so I'm constantly raising replacements. One industrious Muscovy duck sat on and hatched 16 ducklings. She attempted to raise them herself and watched as their numbers dwindled. Today, she has one duckling left. We have named him Junior and we watch for him every day. He's getting big.
During the spring I collected all the guinea eggs I could find and hatched them in the incubator. I sold the keets for a little extra farm income. Two nights ago, a guinea would not go into the henhouse at night, where she would be safe. I discovered that she had hatched and was mothering 4 keets. I took mama guinea and her 4 keets to the brooder, where they would be safe. Yesterday Babe was coming home and spotted 3 more keets wantering around. They went in the brooder, too. Some diligent searching turned up the hidden guinea nest. It was deep in my hay barn. I could hear keets. I moved a number of hay bales and uncovered the nest. Four keets and about 30 eggs! I put the keets in the brooder and the eggs in the incubator, where they continued hatching. I have a bunch of keets in the brooder, now. Craigslist, here I come.
Legacy Eve of Paradise is the most calm and peaceful cow! She never competes with the others for treats. She stands to the side and waits for me to come to her. She knows I'm coming.
Bambi has learned how to turn on the water. Inside the barn, in a corner, is a frost-free hydrant. She learned how to lift the handle, so I got a linch pin to keep her from turning the water on. She uses her horn to pick out the pin, then lift the handle. I started putting the pin in from the back, so she couldn't pull it. She learned to push it out. I'm currently using a pin with a latch wire on it and it seems to be working. I assume it's only a matter of time.
I have to run. I planted some corn in a corner of the garden and the stalks are lush and juicy. I'm going to cut them and take them to the Dexters. I expect a mob scene.
I have engaged in a lot of enterprises in my life, but none have drawn me the way these gentle little cattle have. I sure love Dexters.
