AFRICA - the sheep, not the continent

Africa came to us as an orphan ewe lamb in March of 2005. She was already a month old, and never has really liked us. In March of 2006 she had a huge, darling ewe lamb that we called Kenya. My daughter later changed the name to Satania when she showed her at the Jr.Livestock Show. But the Satania brought her a couple of red ribbons and $450. In March of 2007 she had twins that each weighed about 15 lbs. (big lambs). We named them Zambia and Zimbabwe. They weren't overly tame either (a fact with dam raised lambs) but they both won blue ribbons at the Jr. Livestock Show and Zambia was 12th out of almost 200 in the carcass class (judged with ultrasound, not butchering). Last year I sold Africa, but she came back and lambed with twins again the end of May when I was not home. These twins are Zulu and Botswana - and I am trying to sell the whole family again. Zulu and Botswana are pretty tame because I had bottle babies in the same pen with them and they are so full of curiosity that they came to watch the bottle babies drink their milk twice a day and I can walk up and touch them. But alas, my daughter is now too old for 4-H and they didn't get to go to the Jr. Livestock Show.

SORE HEADS

I own two registered Alpine bucks. The two cannot live together in rutting season, because one has to be dominant and that means they will fight. So one recent dark morning when went outside to do chores, the young buck comes walking up to me. I put him back in his pen and used a pallet to make it more secure. Young buck is a jumper. One side of his pen is the state road yard with an eight foot high chain link fence topped with three strands of barbed wire that tip toward his pen. The south side has a feeder that young buck was using for a launching pad, and now has an eight foot high fence made of livestock panels and pine poles. The other two sides of the pen are five feet high with corner covers. We will see how that all works. Old buck didn't get up for grain that recent morning. When daylight came, I surveyed the damage of the rampage. Young buck had gone visiting to old buck. There was a four by four foot area outside of the west of old buck's pen that had been plowed almost a foot deep. Old buck's heavy duty livestock panel had been pushed out almost three feet. And the heads of both bucks were bloody. That is what I call real sore heads.

LORD, help me not to act like a sore head, but rather trust in you, not push on the fences of security you put around me.

Konrad, Olga and Ole

Last month I came across a lady that said that all cows were autistic. I challenged her - that she never had had personal experience with cows then, because cows are intelligent and react with each other and their caretakers. Konrad, Olga and Ole are my current calves. Konrad is 3 1/2 months old and ready to wean, but he sure does like his big bottle. I feed him last of the three bottle calves, and he patiently waits over by the hay and grain until his turn. Olga is impatient, but a few slaps and she will not try to steal the nipple away from Ole. Olga likes to suck on the other calves' ears and I am working on teaching her to NOT suck on ears. Ole is the youngest, just over one month old now. He is one month old and on the shy side. All three calves are aware of the world around them and interact with it- not autistic. Their favorite play time is dusk and they play tag or roll the big black plastic tube around the pen.
This evening I fed garden debris to the critters. Konrad has a good healthy boy appetite, and is willing to at least try anything. Beets and carrot tops were great with him. It took Ole some time to get going on the beets. Little Olga is the finicky little girl. I was down to the next to the last beet before I could persuade her to put one in her mouth - and then she wanted more, but I soon ran out. Sorry Olga.

ANOTHER CHICKEN STORY

Those little chicks that hatched back in the beginning of July are growing up. I guess they could be called teenagers now. Like teenagers, they make a lot of noise and run around a lot. The roosters are learning to crow and it sure is funny. The first time I heard one, it was dark outside and I was on the opposite side of the shed from where the chickens huddle for the night. I was not able to identify what is was that I heard, but in tuning my ears that direction, and it sounded like something (not identifiable) was being strangled. I checked to make sure there were no dogs in that area. All dogs were secure. Then I realized what it was - a rooster learning to crow. It is so funny to hear them at this stage. They still mostly peep even though they are fully feathered out and 3/4 of adult size.

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord" Go chickens! and may we obey that directive also.