Worked On Getting Pasture Ready For The Cows

Yesterday I opened up the barn doors at the farm to let the breeze through again. I got some bands from the farmer I worked for a few years back. I came home with them and dad went up to the farm with me and we separated the bull calves from the rest of the cows. I got the elastrator from the milk house and put one of the bands on it. This tool opens up the band so you can put it around the bull's balls. The band is about the size of a cheerio, so when it gets put on, it cuts off blood circulation to the reproductive organ. Dad held the calves in place while I put the band on them before returning them with the others. I fed the cows a bag of mineral with fly control in it which will help stop flies from multiplying. Later I got a box of insulators for wire and nails and began going around the pasture with them. I put an insulator on every post but the corner ones on the bottom. Right now the pasture has a hot wire on top and then barbed wire in the middle with white flexible horse fencing on either side of them. Now that I have calves that are going out to pasture, they most likely in some spots won't touch the electric fence which would allow for them to just slip out under the fence. I went around and pounded in two nails with every insulator and put out around 70 all together. I put 10 pieces of wood on the fire for tonight and closed up the barns. I fed the cows some hay for the night and decided to move heifer 104 over to the small pen because she is getting close to calving. I got her separated from the others and moved into the pen which went easy. I gave her hay and made sure everything was good for the night

Today I went up to the farm and checked on the cows. I tossed their hay back in and I opened up the doors. I put some green goop in the old sap wagons tire because it went flat again and then I aired it up. I got the 584 hooked up to it and I drove it up to the house where I began to fill it with water. While the wagon filled, I drove back to the woods with the side by side and hooked up to the log wagon back there. I brought it up from the woods and drove it into the pasture where I stopped right in front of the lean-to. This lean-to was for putting hay in for the horses and a water tank, but we haven't had horses in a long time, and the cows have broken some boards on it, so it had to come down before it leaned back farther onto the fence. The plan was to tilt it over onto the wagon, but when I did, it kind of fell apart. I ended up unscrewing all the roofing screws and pulling lots of nails out of the metal roofing and siding. After that was done, I put all the wood onto the wagon and brought over by the big burn pile where I unhooked it. I picked up all the broken boards and pieces of wood in the pasture and then I came up to the farm with the 584 and water. I filled the water tanks and then I put a bottle jack under the side of the sap wagon that might go flat, just so it does not sit on the rim if it does. I put away the 584 and then I came home and put 10 pieces of wood on the fire. We are getting close to shutting down the wood burner for the summer with these warmer temps we are getting. I went up to the farm later and closed up the doors because it started to rain. I bucketed in some water for the heifer to drink inside because I shut her door. At home dad cleaned out the creosote from the wood burner. The rain stopped later before dark, so I opened the heifer's door back open for her and then I tossed in hay for them.