prairiegirl...ramblings from our little farm

[prairiegirl]

I would love to hear about your Dexters If we get cows, we are thinking those sure seem to be the ones for us. We "only" have 5 acres. It's enough to us, but in terms of cow world it's not much

We currently have 1 bull, 5 bred cows, 1 bull calf and 2 heifer calves. We're trying to sell the calves. We put that we'd be willing to do some trading for hay with the calves.

We have found Dexters to be people friendly for the most part. They each have their own personality and we have had a couple of cows that were the bossy type. Not mean, just not the friendliest. We have a couple that are real sweet. They have been easy breeding, easy calving and good mothers.
We have about 6 acres fenced (divided into 3 areas), but we do have to supplement with hay when the pastures are down. They also get grain, mostly in the winter - bad weather months.
They think they have to eat every time they see us, but they do well on just pasture when it's at it's best.

The Dexter meat is awesome. Nice size cuts. Not the oversized "super" pieces that restaurants tell us we should eat. Very tender and lean. Some tell us that the ground beef is too lean.LOL

The Dexter milk is the best. We get a nice amount of cream, especially from our little short-legged milker. She's probably my favorite. Easy to milk, the best cream line out of all of them, and she's so easy going. While I milk, she shares her grain with the chickens. The cat usually is trying to play with her, too.

Hope I helped.

 

[keljonma]

I still have beans to be canned starring at me each time I pass through the kitchen. Maybe I'll get them soaking tonight. Stay warm!

This year I was going through a busy time and beans were waiting to be canned. I waited until I hear them calling my name as I walked past before I put them in the schedule.

 

[FarmerChick]

sorry you lost a calf.
I know how it is and we farmers don't like that happening at all.

your winter sounds so rough. We were 8 this morning and already up into the 20s thank goodness. It is killing us here, we are southern wimps..HA HA

prarie how much land are you on? just wondering. you have to buy hay? One thing I love is tons of hay in the barn...makes me feel all comfy inside. A stocked hay barn is one of most important chores come spring cutting. We didn't get a fall cutting the year before so it hurt in our supply. Drought. I can only hope this spring cutting is great! I get the feeling we will be very dry this summer again. The cows sure plow thru lots of hay don't they and in your winter conditions it must be brutual. Our cattle still have green in the pasture thank goodness. Goats too...I walked my pasture the other day checking around and more green is there than I thought. So that helps alot.

just chatting away here...LOL

hope you are doing good today!!!

 

[Okiemommy]

Yes, that pretty much sells me on them. Are there any downsides to them?

Edited for spelling

 

[prairiegirl]

Yes, that pretty much sells me on them. Are there any downsides to them?

Edited for spelling

There's not a thing we could complain about with our Dexters. Well, other than they are big babies, but then that's probably our fault.LOL

 

[FarmerChick]

Okie
one thing to remember, an animal with power, even if "mini" can be very dangerous.

Just keep that in mind all the time when working with livestock, no matter how small! A mini version doesn't mean less danger from a bull....

just chatting....

 

[Okiemommy]

FC,

Prairie, do you raise your Dexters to feed your family with beef, Milk, or do you only sell them?

 

[Beekissed]

prairiegirl, I've always wondered and thought maybe you could tell me....why do people schedule their calving in the coldest part of the year? Especially in northern climes?

They do it around here also and they seem to lose more calves than the folks who calf in the spring. I've read its about finishing them off in the fall at the right time....but if the calf never lives to make it to the fall because of the cold temps and such, how is that beneficial?

 

[prairiegirl]

keljonma, I still haven't got to those beans.LOL

FarmerChick, we have 13 acres. It's an old farmstead that was sold and let go to die a slow death. We've been here almost 3 years. We are determined to bring it back to life as it was meant to be. It's a lot of work, but we're doing it - even with some success.LOL And............you are very correct in that one must treat all animals with care, even the miniatures. A bull is always a bull.

Okiemommy, we raise Dexters for milk and meat and they provide for us very well. Yes, we do sell - we can't keep them all.

Beekissed, we did not schedule our cows being bred last year. Things got away from us and add in that we're still learning and well, they just got bred. We are expecting 5 calves this Spring with the first due the end of February. I think the animals know better what they are doing sometimes than we do. We don't buy into the "feed them out" at a certain time thing. When they are ready, it's time.
Now, the calf that we lost we bought from a dairy farm. Seems they breed all year.

 

[prairiegirl]

Good morning. I'm still around, just not much these last days.
Last week, was the mad dash to get the house clean. I also had my grandsons 4 days.
This week, I've decided that the only way I'm going to get things done is to limit my time on the computer. As always, so little time.....so much to do. Story of my life.
I needed to get back to crocheting and quilting. I do miss doing those type of things. I've really needed a new pair of slippers and I got those done. They are just a bit big, but I can wear them - and they do the intended job - keep my feet warm. I'm still learning, but each time I get better.
I've also been working on some new quilted pillow covers. I should be able to finish the second one today. They bring a new fresh look to the living room. I'm glad I got the bug to get them done.
I'm staying on track with the menu plans. We are eating better and I'm cleaning out the freezer and pantry. I tried a new method for soup bones. I filled the 18 qt. Nesco roaster with beef soup bones. Added some other ingredients and let them slow simmer for 24 hours. Last night we had Beef Vegetable Barley soup. YUM! I'm going to attempt to pressure can a few quarts today.
I was also inspired to try bagel making. There's a thread on BYC that gave me the push to just try it. Oh, are they good. We won't be buying bagels anymore.
Just staying busy with all the regular chores around here. It's been nice to have my husband home to share in the chores more. A job and paycheck would be good, but it's nice having him home, too.LOL
Still no eggs. We bought a different laying mash for them last week. I wasn't sure if they liked it, but it was gone yesterday.
We need to find a day to gather up the roosters and take them to my Dad's. There's about 5-6 from the last hatch. They sure are handsome and look nice strutting around the farm, but we don't need all those roosters.

I'm off - grandsons will be here soon.