The way We detect heat; and the day I chased my cows

A lot goes into getting a cow pregnant. Sure, you can have a bull and take the "easy" way out (j/k, that doesn't always work either) but if you want to pick the breed of the pending calf you must do a little AI. Also known as artificial insemination. If you do AI you must be able to know exactly when your cow is in heat. Some are more difficult than others. We have young heifers and they're all due to come into heat for the first time about now. We've definitely been on heat watch.

There has been the normal mounting, rubbing and bellowing. Honey lost her appetite one day and was kind of getting pushed around by our other cows. Honey is our BOSS so it was definitely out of the ordinary. We thought she was getting sick. What happened yesterday told us otherwise.

Amazing pasture

It was a normal naptime afternoon. We just had a goat kid, and A1 was snuggling with that sweet babe so momma goat could go graze. I had big plans to finish our 4th garden plot. We have a big back pasture that isn't all the way fenced in yet. Mr. Smash just mowed some weeds down and there was beautiful lush green underneath. Very appetizing to those who eat grass. We've let our 3 heifers out there before when we were out doing work. They go to the middle of this pasture and chow down. We ring the bell and shake the feed bucket, and they come back in to the fenced area. Today was different.




I let them out and they stayed next to the current fence eating around our fruit trees. The made their way over to where Mr. Smash is building the new fence. Cassie, who is just a big goober, ducked under the posts and level string that was up, and starting grazing around the driveway. I CALMLY pushed her back into the pasture. When I walked off she went back out towards the driveway. This time, when I walked back over to her, she started bucking and running away from me.

That is when the other 2 noticed where she was. They decided to join her. I was pushing them all back in. They were reluctant. Our farm dog, Thor, came over and decided he wanted to play with me. Bad timing bud. I attempted to encourage his inner herding abilities to get all 3 cows back in the big giant pasture with lush green areas and tall dried grass that they seemed to enjoy in the past.

Let's just say Thor is demoted.

Like little children. Cassie, Bella, and Honey ran around our driveway bucking and turning in circles. Ears as high as they could be, prancing out into the street. I chase them for a while, and quickly realize they run much faster than me. Obvious, I know. They get there and stop. Staring down the road. I'm screaming at A1 to get some cattle cubes, and I'm running to get the cow bell. I give her the bell and she is ringing her little tail off. I get the 3 escapees' attention and they're now staring me down. I have the bright yellow bucket filled with solid gold.

And here they come. A stampede. Now I've taken a deep breath because they're no longer out on the road that cars tend to drive 50mph down. But my stomach drops again as I realize I have a collective 1500lbs running towards me. A1 opens the gate to the backyard and hops up onto it. I'm back pedaling (this is where my former athlete really came into play) shoving treats into their mouths and trying not to get trampled. A1 closes the gate behind them and runs to open the gate to the FENCED pasture. Luckily Cassie stopped to eat a pumpkin rind left behind by our chickens, so we're down to 1,000 lbs.

We get them out of the yard and back into the pasture and I throw the cattle cubes on the ground. They're sniffing around, and I go back into the yard and just about collapse onto the ground from being out of breath (I said FORMER athlete). A1 closes and locks the gate. Mission completed.

After they finished scrounging for the treats that I threw on the ground. They stared me down and moo'd in frustration and "but it was so fun Mom!". Then Honey and Cassie spent 15 minutes staring back out at the street.






Why on earth would they do that? Well, here is the view from the street.

There! Right in the middle. That is a 2,000lb Angus bull.

Case closed.

How I grocery shop with 4 young children

This is how I do it. Others may do it differently but this is my way.

I go to the grocery store every 2 weeks. And I take every one of my children. All 4 of them. From 18 months to 6 years old. Some have the option of going to buy groceries alone. Like, with no children or significant other. I include significant other like I include children because I'm including Mr. Smash. We have made the occasional family trip to Target. We always come home with extra stuff, courtesy of Dad (aka "Sucker"). It's very similar to when your kids put candy in the cart without you knowing.

So anyway, I do not grocery shop by myself. 

"I don't know how you do it" they say. "You're crazy" they say. Well, you can do it. It's a mind-set momma! A mind-set!

You are creating adults. And right now you are starting from scratch. Going to the grocery store is a teaching opportunity. I'm not just talking about learning their fruits and veggies or figuring out what's cheaper. I'm talking about how to interact with people. How to say no to what's not on the list. How to organize a trunk/backseat/truck bed full of groceries. And how to push through those last 20 minutes at the store without losing it. L-O-S-I-N-G   I-T. We all need to work on that.

I don't make my children sit in the cart the entire time. It's a 35 minute drive to the nearest Kroger. I'm not going to make them sit in the car, sit in the cart, and sit back in the car to go home. Not making them sit in the cart while at the store helps them learn to walk with mommy. Okay, seriously, A4 (18 months) does not walk beside me; or even in the same aisle as me for that matter. Actually, she runs the complete opposite way. The great thing is that A1, A2, and A3 walk with me when needed and come back to me when I tell them to. Each one of them ran away from me at 18 months. So, I keep pressing on.

If A4 deliberately disobeys then she must sit back in the cart for a few minutes. Then she gets another chance. I know it's gonna get better because her sisters act great now. Teaching opportunity! There are times when they will all run down an aisle or start playing with the sprinkles in the baking section. During those times of disobedience they must sit. This is torture! We get those big boat carts that can hold multiple children. I like them because it's a great time-out spot and I can still keep shopping.

All 4 of them will take the groceries from the cart to the shelf. They often get paired together to get produce. I've tried to teach them the correct way to pick out an apple, pepper, bananas, etc. Sometimes they nail it. Other times, not so much. I don't mess with it too much because I'm still not okay with a 4 hour grocery trip during nap time. I'll remind them of the wrong fruit choice when we get home and they want to eat it. Life consequence.

Note: We always get the free kids cookie at the bakery. We get it before we do the frozen aisles. It helps with the "I'm ready to go home" fit throwing. And keeps everyone happy just a little bit longer.

The 3 bigger girls must unload the cart at checkout. This is NOT an option. I have to remind them not to throw, and I do get heavy stuff and glass stuff. Once there is space in the basket I'll put A4 in and let her help. I've got to be on my game though and get the glass stuff out before she can see it.

And when that bagger at Kroger asks me if I want help out today, I look at my 2 full carts and 4 tired children and smile and say "sure!". When we get to the car I put A4 in her car seat, and A1 helps me load up. Sometimes the others help and sometimes they get a pass. By this time I'm tired, irritated, happy, and a ton of other emotions because not only did we make it another trip, I still have to unload the groceries when we get home.

That's how we grocery shop. I take all of them with me, 99% of the time. I enjoy having done it on the days I don't have to go. Why I say having done it? Because it's not fun at the time. Seriously. But I'm glad I get the opportunity to teach my girls how to live life.

So you want to dehorn your yearling?

Ah, horns. Most cows have them. There is a common assumption that only bulls have horns. Let me squash that my city friends.

Honey With Horns about 9 months old

The truth is all male and female bovines have horns except:
- Angus
- Red Angus
- Brangus
- Red Brangus
- Galloway
- Belted Galloway
- Red Poll
- Black Maximizers
- Speckle Parks
- British Whites
- Amerifax
- Senepol
- American White Park (though 3 to 5% are horned)
- Murray Grey
- Jamaica Black
- Jamaica Red

These breeds are naturally polled. They were not bred that way, they are created that way. That's a lot of breeds you say? Well,many more are horned. The only somewhat common dairy breed on this list is the Belted Galloway, which is more of a dual purpose breed. We have dairy cows, they were born with growing horns.

When we got our heifers we had every intention of letting those God-given horns stay. They were just little nubs at the time. No harm.

As the horns continued to grow we loved them even more. They gave Honey such character and personality. The decision to dehorn them was last minute and not really thought out. But, it's one such decision where there is not a right way or a wrong way, and it really depends on your way of life with cows. These are family cows. Things may look a bit different if we were running several hundred head.

A lot of my mommy friends would say "the horns gotta go". It's a safety issue. I haven't met someone yet who has dehorned for any other reason than safety. Of course there is always the fact that they sell better... because the person buying them feels safer without the horns. And we have children and cows are big and yes, the horns gotta go.

If you happen to be like us and waited until your heifer or bull was nearing the 1 year mark, this post is for you. Here's how it went:



Go to a vet! When horns get this developed the dehorning paste doesn't work well, and disbudding requires surgery because they're not really buds anymore. Plus, this hurts. You don't want her to associate you with this kind of pain. If this is your family cow, go to a vet.

 The vet puts your 500+lb cow in a headlock/chute. He then puts nose tongs on and ties her head up to one side. She can't move but she can see, so I would suggest that you (as the owner) stand behind her. Doc will shave around the horns to make sure the cut is good. He takes a tool that looks like giant hedge clippers and puts it directly over the horn. Chop. There are nerve endings in horns and when they're this developed blood spews everywhere. Your cow may scream at this point. I'd imagine it hurts.

dehorning clippers

nose tongs

Be aware that she'll now have a giant hole in both sides of her head. And she'll be bleeding down the side of her face. The once precious cow you loved will now look very different. It'll take some time getting used to, and if she is a family cow like ours, it'll take a bit longer.

It sprays black

So, now what? Some will say to just leave them. I will NOT say that. Sure, they could probably heal fine on their own. Everything will eventually close up, scab over, and be good as new. If it rains and your cow is outside; however, she will get water in those giant holes. That will cause infection. That will not be pleasant. The way we did it? Pack the holes with a cotton ball. Keep her tied up and have a helper, she won't like this part any more than she liked her time with the vet. Once you have a cotton ball over the hole enough where it won't fall out, spray the area with auto undercoating. You can find it at most autopart stores. This will keep the cotton ball in place and the holes covered, but it will still be able to be removed or dislodged when the area is almost done healing.

Bella's Ooziness

After the cotton was removed

After 3 weeks we noticed Bella had some puss oozing from under the cotton ball. We went ahead a pulled off the cotton ball to discover a bit of drainage. We left it uncovered and sprayed with Vetricyn to keep away any infection that may develop from flies or other bugs. Notice it looked bad with the cotton still on, but once we uncovered it we saw it wasn't bad at all. It did smell a bit but wasn't even cause for antibiotics.






NOTE: DO THIS IN THE WINTER. FLIES WILL LAY EGGS IN THE WOUNDS DURING THE HOTTER MONTHS AND YOU'LL HAVE A WHOLE NEW PROBLEM ON YOUR HANDs.

Cassie Perfectly Healing

At 4 weeks we removed all cotton from the 3 cows. Bella had the shortest horns so naturally the holes were pretty much completely closed. Cassie and Honey were still a bit hollow but were definitely healing. You can choose to leave the cotton balls in until they come out on their own, but we noticed Cassie had some draining too so we just took them out. We kept Vetricyn on the day we removed the cotton to help with the healing. If you use essential oils then a blend of frankincense and melaleuca sprayed would do great as well. I don't have a glass spray bottle so I took the easier route.





And that's it. I would recommend not waiting until they are older if you can help it. If you get a family cow older than this then leave those horns. The stress from becoming a new family member is enough for her. And if she's in milk, I think the adrenaline and stress from dehorning would definitely affect milk production. Get those horns when they're young. Ideally 2-4 weeks old is key.

Good luck~

The New Honey sans horns. 1 year old.

A Message to Michelle Duggar, from A Mom with Littles

Michelle Duggar is the mom who lives in a shoe and has so many children who has 20 kids now I believe. She birthed all of them (none adopted) and she has a reality show. From what I understand, the proceeds from the show go to charity. Her and her husband are completely debt-free and that's how they are able to afford the things they have. THIS IS WHAT I'VE HEARD. Anyway, they are raising fabulous children. The ones that are adults are really good people, and that's what matters. All of us who have children are in the business of creating adults and she's doing a fantastic job!

But Dear Michelle Duggar, I don't want to hear anymore on how to raise 20 kids! Or 10 kids! Or even 5 kids! I'm sure you have your difficult days, but I want to know how you raised your oldest 3 when the oldest was a preschooler. I want to know how you did it when you had no sibling helpers. When you didn't quite have a decent chore plan in place. When they were just learning to obey. When your house was a complete disaster and you tried to homeschool your reluctant kindergartener while cleaning up toddler potty taining woes and holding a flailing baby on your hip cause you don't know what's wrong with her!

Some days I want to go tell all the parenting books, blogs, and columnists to go jump in a lions den. Today started as one of those days.

Time change. Well, we all must deal with it. It doesn't bother me. My kids don't get it, and they are early risers anyway. I know this. I roll with it. This morning was grand. They woke up at 5am new time. I was up at 4:30am new time because I did, in fact, forget about DST when I set my alarm. I had my quiet time and got what I needed to get done before they woke up, so all was good. I even decided to sit and watch a Sunday morning movie with them. Mostly I "get crap done" when the tv is on.

Baby woke up early. Even for her. That's where the fun really began. She woke up fussy, snotty, hungry, and indecisive. She wanted mommy to hold her and let her down all at the same time. We snuggled for a bit more of the movie when I noticed the sun was coming up. We rearranged the chickens and their coops last night, so it was important we get out there first thing or the roosters would have a giant brawl. Think Anchorman news team brawl.

Problem, I have a hip baby. I'm 99% positive she will want down if I walk outside. She's got pj's on still, and the others aren't dressed either. And there's poop. And she likes to put the little raisinettes from our goats in her mouth and squish the gifts from the chickens. Bleh.

I blow it off. Mr. Smash will be up soon and he'll run out there and take care of it.

My plan was to make biscuits this morning. It is nearly impossible to make biscuits from scratch with 1 hand. Especially when the other 2  hands that have been added have decided they want to grab everything. So, forget breakfast. I'm gonna go play with my kids. <--- Experienced moms tell you to do that ya know.

I'm always in the kitchen, so I figured I was going to listen to what these mom-encouraging bloggers and speakers say. I'm sitting in the playroom playing. It lasted about 5 minutes when I smell something. A3 has let out a tinkle in her britches which is becoming quite common for her. I now stop playing to go get her changed and encourage her to get all of her tinkles in the potty. BUT, I don't ever do this without baby on my hip so why would I stop now. All 3 of us head to the potty. A3 is crying because she needs "help" while A4 is aggressively trying to play in the toilet that another A forgot to flush. I hear, MOOOOOOOOMMMMM, this dress won't go on my puppy! Yes, I'll help you when I'm done helping your sisters.

We get back to the playroom and I'm attempting to put a barbie dress on a beanie baby. I smell something. Hard to miss because she is climbing all over me. I get back up and truck it to A4's room to change that lovely dipe. She decides this morning that she wants to leave it on and rolls ALL OVER THE FREAKING PLACE while screaming. Pardon me daughter while I remove the poop from your butt! A little "old mc donald" gets her still. I can't just chunk this diaper in the trash (or leave it in her room until I go back in later) because it's cloth. I must take care of it now. So I head to the laundry room to clean off this diaper, with a baby on my hip. She likes to "help".

So, 20 minutes have passed since I was going to play with my kids. Before I even make it out of the laundry room A2 comes out and says that A3 is taking things from her and will I please come play. Trying to "spend time with my kids" I go back to sit and play again. A1 asks when breakfast is because she's getting kind of hungry. Makes sense, they've been up for 2 hours. Nope, no breakfast, we're playing! A3 hops up and says she has to go potty. GREAT! Go! She gets to the bathroom and says she needs help because it's too dark. I tell her to turn the light on. She starts crying and says she can't and she needs help and she has to go real bad. I get up and run quickly. Baby is now crying and following me. On my hip she goes.

I give up on playing, and with a guilt filled heart go to the kitchen to make breakfast. I put A4 on the floor. She hang on my pant leg and cries while I mix biscuit dough and crack eggs. She then gets between me and the counter and pushes me away. So, my arsenal for the morning? A giant cup of cheerios. She eats a few. I finish the dough and pop them in the oven just about the time she spills a few cheerios. Clean-up clean-up I say in my sweet encouraging voice. She realizes that pouring out the entire cup would be cool. So, she proceeds to do that.

A3 comes in, "Mommy, will you PLEASE come play with me!". A1 pops in a says, "Mom, I'm soooo hungry". A2 walks in crying and says nothing. After many attempts to find out what's wrong with my sweet 4 year old, she finally says "I don't know why I'm crying". I give her a hug and contemplate snuggling with her on the couch to help her emotional stress and let her know I'm always there for her. Because.... when shes 16 and she's dealing with some adult issues I want her to be able to open up to me. It all starts now folks!

I'm quickly reminded why sitting on the couch with my crying 4 year old isn't a good idea. My skillet is smoking, the biscuit timer is going off, A3 is pulling out granola bars, A4 is flailing because she sees the granola bars and wants one, and A1 is frustrated because she wants me to re-do her ponytail. Kiss kiss, it'll be okay sweetie.

At this point I'm not quite certain if the tears that are about to fall down my face will salt the eggs enough.

I wrote this several days ago. I can still feel the frustration and the guilt from that morning. It happened again 5 days ago. Same story, different chapter.

Why oh why is there an overbearing need to follow the encouragement of moms that have been there? They know what they're talking about I'm sure! But, I want to hear from a mom who IS there! I noticed about 2 years ago that I couldn't find a blog from a mom with 3 kids under 4. I was the only one of my close friends who was in this life stage at the time. I had a close mom friend who had been there and she was fantastic encouragement. But, it wasn't the same.

Then I realized why I couldn't find a blog from a mom in the same life stage as me. WHO THE HECK HAS TIME TO WRITE A BLOG?!

Meet the Flock

The first animal we owned when we moved here were 5 Buff Orpington hens. 1 got mauled by a dog down the street before we moved in. 1 got mauled by our very own dog. (In his defense, he was in training and didn't know any better). She did survive the "play time" but was paralyzed, so we had to put her down.

We learned more about chickens in the first 2 months than we've learned about chickens our entire lives, combined! They're awesome. We've had many die. Want to know why? Read my post The Reality of Farm Chickens. But, the ones that are going strong now are definitely fun to have around. They each have their own personalities, and there are definitely cliques in our flock. One day Mr. Smash and I will do a fantastic youtube video with voice overs starring our chickens, but for now here is our flock (most of them).

Sunshine.
Old English Bantam.
We bought him thinking he was going to be full size. We were told wrong and paid way too much money for him. He thinks he's huge. He attempts to mount our full size hens and they fight him. I don't blame them. His poor excuse for a crow is not attractive.
The guy has his own set of Bantam hens we bought specifically for him. I guess he's just a bit picky. He prefers the big girls.

The red hens.
That is their name. We have 4 of them that look exactly alike. They are a mix of brahma/wyandotte/jersey giant. They hang out together most of the time. There is 1 that tends to flock towards our head rooster, Blaze. But they kind of keep to themselves.

 Lilly.
Easter Egger
Poor Lilly. She has been through a lot. She was in the batch we bought with Blaze so they naturally "hang out". But she's like a sister to him so there's no hanky panky. She had a growth on her eye that we constantly watched. One day her eye was bubbly and she was very lethargic. She went to ICU. She got a little pep in her step but her eye still looked horrible. A few weeks after the antibiotic A1 noticed a white thing in her eye. We attempted to wipe it away assuming it was puss. She didn't like us messing with it so we left it. It's gone now and the growth is smaller. She's super sweet and mainly hangs in the barn.

Whitey
Brahma X
The A's named her because of obvious reasons.She hangs with Anna (a BrahmaX) and is like her little shadow. BFF!

The Girl Thunder
Barred Rock X
Again, the A's named her. She doesn't like roosting in the coop. So, every night we have to pry her claws from around a post immediately outside of the coop. Maybe she wasn't accepted in the flock at the time. She's proven herself worthy of a roosting spot. She likes to hang with Bardy.

 Larry
Guinea Fowl
The captain of team Ugly! He's our lone guinea and desperately needs a lady friend. He's a big bully to everyone but his buddy Bardy. They have a weird bromance thing going that I can't even explain. He chases everyone out of his 3 foot circle. He's a fantastic flyer with beautiful white feathers under his wings. He doesn't make that much noise because he was raised with chickens. I don't think he really knows that he's a guinea.

 The Pretty Black and White ones
Brahma X
Her and her friend look pretty much alike. The difference? One now hangs out with Butter and one hangs out with Blaze. I guess sisters don't always have the same taste in boys.

 Ruby
Barred Rock/Jersey Giant
What an in your face sweet heart! Ruby will perch right next to you and just hang out. She does think amber necklaces are food, so watch out crunchy mamas! A4 has gotten several pecks from Miss Ruby. She likes Bardy. Maybe it's because they have so much in common. Ruby is a big girl and she's going to get a lot bigger.

 Blaze
Easter Egger
Blaze is our head rooster. A natural leader. He has been seen searching for food and calling for his hens to come enjoy his finds. He does well at mounting and is not very aggressive towards the other roosters. He doesn't like to be pet and prefers chickens over people. So, we keep our distance from Blaze. We will be trying out the process of removing spurs when his get big enough.




Maisy
Ameracauna
Maisy was in the batch of 6 chicks we bought right after we moved here. Her 5 brothers were dinner. She is very sweet and soft spoken. She just started laying beautiful blue eggs. And, they're fertilized. This is Blaze's sugar momma. If you see Maisy, Blaze is close by. Those fertilized eggs are going to hatch out some pretty babies one day.

 Lucy
Australorp
We bought Lucy super cheap because she was in the middle of a hard molt. She had no tail feathers at all and looked very sick. But, she wasn't. She got the name Lucy because she "loosed"all her feathers. The goofiest chicken we have. She will walk around the coop just because. She will fly up next to your head and just stare at you and cluck at you. Then get down. She does this when there is food on the ground. I think she has the "chicken version" ADHD. She is a great layer and is well liked by all the roosters... very well liked.

 Fancy
Mutt
Her name says it all. Beautiful colors all over her. She's not very photogenic. She loves to be pet, but on her own terms. She likes Blaze as well, but can occasionally be seen with Butter. No strings attached.

 Butter
Brahma/Barred Rock
This guy came out of nowhere. He was on the list to be culled then all of a sudden got taller, thicker, and started crowing. He has moments of greatness, and in those moments the hens really respect him. But his moments are few and far between and he doesn't have the best timing. Blaze will knock him off a hen in a split second.

 Elsa
Buff Brahma
This is Mr. Smash's hen. She is the friendliest of all our flock. She hangs out with a buff orpington. The only Rooster she ever followed was the late Thunder. The poor girl is in a molt right now. But when she's not, she's beautiful. Her top feathers are very white and full. She's a very faithful layer.

 One of the Buffs
We have 3 of these Buff Orpingtons. They are great layers and great mommas! 2 of them have hatched chicks out for us. We've learned something about these hens. They become a lot nicer once they have babies. These girls are a favorite among all the roosters.

Bertha
Australorp
This picture doesn't do Big Bertha justice. She is big! She's got that swinging skin on her breast that makes her even more "bertha-y". She's not very friendly, and she's not a very good layer (end of a molt). BUT, the roosters love her.

 Bardy
Barred RockX
The best picture I could get of this big guy. He's big. Really. He doesn't pose for pictures very well so I caught him at bedtime in between hens. He has a strong crow for how young he is. He isn't very efficient at mounting hens but he gets an A for effort! Such a sweetie. Will let you pet him for a little while and then goes on his way. Mostly to walk around with Larry or something. He is getting quite the assortment of female groupies though.




There you have it. A basic introduction of our chickens. A few that were missing; there are 4 hens that run in the same general direction. 1 can be seen with Blaze some. They are Jersey Giants. They all are black. They are named "one of the black chickens). We have 5 young roosters that will be dinner in a few months. And of course we have our ducks. Chickens are a fantastic dual purpose animal to have. And here the chickens aren't primarily pets, they have a purpose. If you don't lay an egg or protect the ones that do, winner winner!

Change, Milk Cows, and some Tears

It was an extremely traumatic day for our 3 babies. Cows, I mean. There's more "why" to the story, and if you'll read to the end I will answer that question. Honey, Cassie and Bella (our jersey/holstein and pure holsteins) had their first trailer ride. A good friend of ours brought his 20ft cattle trailer over to help us load. We put the leads on them and his words were "they're some gentle cows. Way easier to load than any cows I've had." Made us feel good.  We've spent a lot of time with them.

We traveled to a vet that I had used once before for a wormy goat. We backed the trailer up to the chute. It was a giant maze that sent them right to a head stall. In they go. They pretty much can't move. It's important that they're immobile during a vet check. The are huge animals. Safety first. Doc did a cervical check, also called palpating. He checked all of their girly parts to make sure they're not only ready to breed but CAN breed. Normally a vet would do this to check for pregnancy, but this was the best thing we could do

because...

Not all heifers are fertile, and we have no birth information on these cows. When boy/girl twin calves are born, the hormones and reproductive tract growth of the female is disrupted. This is called freemartinism, and the poor baby girl bovine can't have babies. Here is where you can learn more. So sadly, a heifer born sterile can only be sent to the freezer once she is grown. Unless you'd like to spend a substantial amount of money on hay to feed her and keep her as a pet, of course. But, doc said they checked out great! There is a blood test that we could've sent for, but we decided to take our chances with the free-martin traits that are present the majority of the time.

While we were there we decided to dehorn them. This was probably the worst part of this visit. Now, before you get all PETA on me, listen. I will say that we should've done this when they were younger. When we got them we had the thought that we wanted them to keep their horns so they can protect themselves against predators, i.e. mountain lions and bobcats that run this area.
We also didn't want to mess with God's divine design. <- I still struggle with this though.

Honey with horns

But, we have now learned that dairy cattle especially can seriously hurt each other with their horns. Even if they're just playing with one another, there can be a huge vet bill to fix a cow that has been gauged by another cow. Reading that, do you know what's coming next? Yup, hard and sharp horns behind a 1,000 lb animal can KILL a person! Our cows are very gentle and tame. VERY! But they are animals, and if those horns go through one of my human babies I will wish I had gotten those horns cut off. These 3 sweeties will nudge me for 30 minutes to tell me they want attention. Sometimes it gets a bit too much, and I'm an adult and they're only 500lbs.We needed to get this done.

Snotty Honey with horns

This process of dehoring was rough. Doc used a "hedgeclipper" type tool. He shaved the hair around their horns and popped those suckers right off. There are nerve endings in their horns, so it bled. A lot. A2 and A3 couldn't handle watching so they went back to the car. A1 was okay. She understood why it had to be done. After we got back to the house we put cotton balls in the holes where the horns used to be. We sprayed some rubber underlining on top. There needed to be a way to cover them while they grew back. If water or any kind of junk found it's way in there we could have an infection on our hands. Once the area has healed we'll take the cotton balls off or they'll fall off on their own. This was not just an idea we came up with. The guy who helped us has been running cattle for 30 years, we'll take his advice.

Taking these horns off didn't feel good to them. They're sore and a little bitter towards us. Hopefully once they heal up they'll forget about the pain. Much like childbirth. Honey's horns gave her so much character, so I do miss them. I have to keep reminding myself that our safety comes first. Why is that so difficult?

Honey No Horns

So, it was a very long day for Honey, Cassie, and Bella. The changes? Other than the obvious? Well, Cassie and Bella are in the market for a new home. I love them dearly, but we don't need them. Cows eat a lot and we aren't going to keep ones we don't NEED. Holsteins don't have enough butter fat in their milk to make the quality butter, cheese, and creamed "stuff" that we want. Honey, being 1/2 Jersey has a better chance. Holsteins also give extremely more milk than other dairy breeds. This is why Holsteins are the primary milk cow for dairy companies. We don't need that much milk. We could use them as nurse cows for beef calves, but we don't need that many cows at one time. Plus, we don't want to/can't feed that many cows at one time.

When Mr. Smash and I made the decision to list them for sale, I cried. No lie. Cried. I bottle fed those 2. (FYI, that's why we won't "just" butcher them). But, that's best for our farmstead. Once we sell them we will be looking for a cow currently in milk or due to calve in the spring.

As for Honey, we have sent off to do some genetic testing on her. We have done much research and have decided to proactively try to get milk for our family from a cow who carries the A2 beta casein protein gene. WHAT THE WHAT???? I could write all about it, but I'm not. If you are interested on what A2 is click here.<--- This link will take you to a fantastic website that explains all about it. And, FYI, the few dairies I've talked to around my area have no clue if their cows have the A2 gene. Check your farm!

So anyway, we will make decisions on Honey when we get the results back. But even then, Honey won't be due to calve til 2016, so waiting for her to freshen (have a baby and give milk) isn't something we want to do. Bring on the milk cow!

There's so much more information out there that we have found and are continuing to find. But, for my city friends who've been asking, that's what's up. That's the change. It's a big thing for us. All of it. I will update when I know.

The Smash Systems (per request)

I've had some friends and family ask how I do certain things. They want to know our system. We are still experimenting and searching out ways to manage our home in certain areas, but a few things we've got working well at the moment. So, I share with you, The Smash Systems.

1. Mrs Smash's Start to the Day: I wake up at 5am. After I start the coffee pot, I make Mr. Smash's lunch. He is my 1st priority in this household, so I take care of him 1st. I do make his lunch every day. What makes it worth it? He thanks me EVERY DAY!
After that I'll have my quiet time, blog time, pay bills time, or cook something time. Then I'll make a breakfast for Mr. Smash and help him out the door. He thanks me!

2. Indoor Chores: Here are the main ones I require from my A's. I'm at the point where I don't unload the dishwasher anymore. My A's do it. A1 loads all glass and silverware back into the dishwasher as well. A1 and A2 put away clean clothes and they clean the bathroom. This has all taken my help and supervision several times. They don't do it perfectly every time. I will rearrange the dishes in the dishwasher without A1 knowing because it takes practice to get them all in there; however, I'll give her tips some days.
If they do the bathroom every week it gets clean enough. I don't require perfection from that either.
Laundry, well, I've been known to push back bedtime so they can redo the clothes they decided to throw them all on the closet floor or push them under the bed. I've only had to do that twice.

Do they complain? Yep. I tell them that we have to do dishes because we are blessed with food to put on them. We have to clean the bathroom because it smells. You don't want to put away your clothes? Okay, I'll put them in the donation box. That always puts some pep in their step. Chores must be done before bed. If it's not done by meal time then they come eat with the family (it's family time) and, instead of going to play, they go finish their chore.

3. "That's Not Fair": Here in the Smash home we have Princess of the Day. The 3 bigger A's rotate days of being the princess. The princess gets choice of show during t.v. times. She gets 1st dibs at a toy or outfit. She also gets to sit by the faucet during baths, open the chicken coop and other things like that. This alleviates a lot of arguments because they know.

The Princess of the Day also gets to help with dinner. <--This has been fantastic! We do a TON of baking and cooking.  When you have 3 that want to help and a baby on your hip, it is sometimes a bit too chaotic for sharp knives and stove burners. So, the princess of the day gets to help with dinner. The only catch is that it's NOT a choice. So, if you're playing outside you must come in and help. It's perfect because I can actually focus a bit more on the teaching part, AND it's one on one time.

4. Farm Chores: Everyone but A4 goes out in the morning. I will delegate some tasks, but most of the time they end up playing with a chicken while I muck stalls. It's fine. They do learn. A1 could actually go out and take care of the feathers and paws by herself because she's watched me and been with me most of the time. They do get a pass every Sunday and when it's raining. And sometimes when I don't feel like having help :)

5. Me Time: I am a morning person. I get up early and have time to myself. The rest of the day is a toss-up.I always give A1 a choice during the week. She naps with her sisters or she does school work. I WILL NOT take away the option of a nap from a kid whose tired. Not worth it for anyone. So, those days they all nap at the same time, I get a lot done! No, I do not nap. I have before, but 95% of the time I work. Clean house, projects, blog, bills, prep dinner are to name a few. If I nap I'll need coffee and me time when I wake up. It's like starting my day over. It sucks.

When I only had 1 kid I believed that I needed to nap when she napped. Same with #2. Then I figured out that didn't work for me. I also figured out that "me-time" would be few and far between and that's just how it is. I accepted it. I do know when I need it, so I do make it work; but I don't try to fit in a weekly MNO or pedicure. That's just not how I work. This is another post.

So, there you have it. Those are the things I get asked about most.All farm related stuff will be in another post because it's in a category of it's own. But for now.

Farmstead Mornings with Littles.

My children wake up and get their clothes on and come out to the living room. They give me a big hug and proceed to put their overalls and jackets on. We all head outside with smiling faces. We stop to notice the smell of fresh air and the beautiful sunrise. They all skip to the barn and immediately start on their chores that I have previously delegated to them. Sometimes we sing Old MacDonald.

HA! Totally kidding!

They wake up and come out to the living room and someone is crying because "she got the blue cup with the blue lid and I'm princess of the day". I tell them to SHHHHH! because A4 is sleeping. A1 goes to get dressed and has a small meltdown because she wants the Elsa shirt and it's dirty because she wore it yesterday. She has to settle for purple. A3 decides to pull the string hanging from a sock and now cries because there is a string on her sock. A2 lays on the couch and whines because she needs help picking out her clothes.

Fast forward 20 minutes and we are all ready to go. Overalls on. Jackets on. We walk outside and A1 takes off to the chicken coop. A2 starts crying because "she didn't wait on me". A3 is playing with bugs in the dog water. A2 also can't get her boots on. I'm bending over as to get to child height, and our big monster of a dog is licking me in the face. He's a poop eater so his breath is absolutely fabulous. Boots on! MOMMY! There's something in my boot! Now we are frantically kicking our boot off because there is a piece of straw in her boot. Ok, boots on. I have to go potty. What? Seriously? Back inside. Back outside. "She didn't wait on me!" Bleh. Head to the barn.

Crap, I forgot to feed the dog. He really needs to get fed before we let out the chickens because those little birds will come eat his food. And dog food is expensive and chickens can eat bugs. This is A2's job, but I will NOT be taking off her boots to have her go back inside to do dog food. There are some things that just aren't worth it.When he's done eating he gets to go out to the pasture and chase the donkey. It keeps them both young.

Then we feed Julie. The 2nd easiest animal we have right after Shorty. But she's sweeter so she wins.

Chickens are next. They all get a small scoop of food. We feed and water any chickens in ICU before the others so they don't try to squeeze into the sick ward. Then we open the big coop door. The plan is to sprinkle the food on the ground; however, there is always someone who holds on to their scoop and a chicken is flying up around their face and perching on their arms to try and eat. This causes a bit of chaos, and some crying. Then some, "Obey mommy and that won't happen." Then it's mommy's job to scrape nightly droppings into a dish a bin to take to compost. Mommy also fills water with the help of an apple cider vinegar "pourer". The waterer is too difficult for my kids to maneuver at this point, but they can pour. ACV is great for animal gut health! Then we put more straw in the laying boxes. not sure why because our Australorp, Lucy, goes to every box and kicks it all out. It's a great job for the girls! Except the straw hurts their fingers. Not every day, just some days.

Then we take care of hoofed animals. This is tricky because they're all ready. Bleating and moo'ing for someone to come give them a treat. Really it's just a treat. 9 goats and 3 heifers share about 4 quarts of show developer. It's smothered in molasses and has corn and types of grain in it. They LOVE it! We originally got it for our calves as a starter feed. We bottle fed them, and their momma wasn't their to let them nurse whenever or teach them out to eat grass and such. Now we keep it as a treat. They are mainly grass fed. Eventually they will be purely grass fed, but for now, we do this.

I squeeze in the run where they have set up camp to wait on me. I usually get bombarded by goats running around my legs. Prayerfully the cows just stand there and don't do as the goats do. As I pour that scoop of yummy into the feeder I must quickly move. They're fast and strong. The sound of munching fills the air. I let in A1 to help scoop the gifts the cows left in the stall overnight. Yes, GIFTS! It's fantastic compost. We put it into a cart. Once the cart is full, we dump it into our compost pile. The chickens go nuts over fresh poo. MMMM, eggs. We don't fill up water troughs often because we have a pond that our hoofed animals drink out of. We do fill them up every 10 days or so. We also mix ACV in their water also.

Once a month we spend about 4-5 days on lead work. We put rope halters on all 3 of our calves. Tie 2 up and lead one around the run. This is good for learning how to be tied up and stand when we start milking. It's also good for them to learn to trust us and walk with us. Then repeat. A1 likes to ride our oldest calf, Honey. When she did it every morning, Honey cooperated. We slacked off and she's become as stubborn as our donkey.




Recently we decided to start working with some of our unruly goats. We have 3 that are as sweet as can be. The others will eat out of our hand, but run when we try to pet them. So, the name of the game is catch the goat and hold her in my lap while A's feed yummy leaves and we all give her a nice back scratch. There is kicking and bleating and head butting. Fun stuff.

We dump any more compost. Open the gate for the ducks to go out to the pond. And I get trampled by a big monster of a dog who wants some lovin. The A's play with the animals for about 10 minutes, and then we go inside. Well, I say, "Come on, let's go inside". And I get responses like, "I don't want to", "Wait for me" (followed by sitting on the ground and crying while the dog proceeds to lick the face of said cryer), "Moos" sounding off for more food, and then the always fun "I CAN'T GET MY BOOTS OFF!".

Today, I was a Farmer

So, today I felt like a farmer. We have this old mound of hay in one of our pastures that is now becoming a mound of bermuda. It would be great except we aren't really wanting a mound of bermuda. Cows could climb on it, trip, break their leg, and then it would be bad. So, out to the mound I go. I got my heavy duty wheel barrow, my trusty overalls on, and a pitch fork. I figured pitch fork would be the proper way to go about removing hay from an area. Just like a farmer.

Yeah, not so much. I mean, it worked great with some of it. However most of it had already started to become blended in with the actual ground. So, the pitch fork flew across the pasture because it wasn't doing what I was telling it to. I used my hands and was ripping this hay from the grips of finely woven grass. Then my triceps were telling me, HOLY CRAP WHAT ARE YOU DOING! It felt nice. I quickly realized that this was, in fact, a workout! The term workout (a verb, also known as exercise) was pretty much eliminated from my life around the year 2011. Funny, that's when A3 was born. Anyway, this was a workout! My back, my abs, my triceps and even lats were on fire. I switched gears from feeling like a farmer to feeling like an athlete!

Any former athlete turned mom-of-many will tell you that you turn any activity into a workout when you get the chance. As I dumped my cart full of old hay I get a giant whiff of the, um, compost we collect in that same cart. As I wipe the dust off my face I also get a big whiff of the, um, chicken compost that was on my glove. Yes! Back to farmer.

And when one of our chickens that doesn't like anyone comes and sits next to me I feel like the chicken whisperer. When our big baby of a heifer walks behind me a stares at company, I feel like a livestock protector. Kind of like a donkey. I totally just called myself an ass.

When I hang clothes up on the line or knead a loaf of bread because my bread machine is broken, I feel like Caroline Ingalls. And when I read my girls something new and they get really into it, I feel like Sally Clarkson. When I cook something completely from scratch and Mr. Smash comes in from a day of working outside and raves about it, yep, Pioneer Woman!

There are days that I feel like I really can do this farming and homesteading thing. The days that each hat fits perfectly during that moment in time. Then there are days that I question what I got myself into. My city friends ask if I ever get lonely out here. The answer, yes. I got lonely in the burbs too. It was a different kind of lonely. I had many friends in the neighborhood that I could go visit in attempt to break that loneliness. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. It's not that I was really lonely, it was more like I was having a mommy overload moment and I needed to talk to someone, in person, other than a preschooler.

That feeling happens here too. I can't walk down to a friend's house and have a chat and some coffee. It's unfortunate really because I could definitely use that some days. I miss my neighbor friends and my play group friends. Here, whenever I get overwhelmed, I go outside. I take care of these animals and this dirt that God has blessed us with. It's a mommy instinct to take care of things. It's FREAKING AWESOME to go out and take care of a living thing that doesn't whine or complain or say "I hate this dinner".

So, yes I get lonely. I just have to change the way I handle it. Instead of running to more noise, I tend to run to the quiet.

Sick Kid-Big Family

 Your best made plans get all jacked up when your 3yr old wakes up puking. On Fridays we go to a homeschool co-op in the area. My kids and I love it! So, it especially sucks when something like this happens on a day we look forward to.

Having a sick kid sucks. Having a sick kid when you have other children to care for sucks even more. Having a sick kid when you have other LITTLE children... you get the idea. I think the only thing worse would be if I was sick, or my husband was home sick. So, how do you care for a sick kid when you have other littles at home to care for that are very well? Here is what I've learned on this topic over the last 4 years of having more than 1 kid.

1. Your plans are now obsolete. Do not deny it. Do not try and go on with regularly scheduled programming.

2. Turn on the T.V.  Now, there are some who have kids who won't watch t.v. so I'm obviously not talking to you. But the "only let them watch t.v. for 30 minutes a day" concept is also obsolete. Turn that thing on! For everyone! It occupies the poor sickling and gets her mind off of how incredibly crappy she feels. The other children are also happy because they get to watch t.v. and aren't focused on how mom isn't paying them any attention. It gives mom a break. You can still do dishes and laundry and play with or nurse your baby. Because even though someone is sick, your domestic responsibilities are still there awaiting. And if there is puke, there is laundry.

3. Be prepared. Pull out your towels. Cover your non-leather couch and an area of your carpet and keep the puker in that area. Dust off  pull out your cleaning supplies. Empty your washing machine to have room for soiled items. Have your oils, fever reducers, and Popsicles close by.

4. If you have a puker, now is the time to explain what it feels like to need to throw up. Give them a bowl for starters. Don't try to teach littles to run to the toilet. You'll end up with a mess. Little sips of peppermint water, lemon water, Pedialyte, or vitamin water helps keep stuff down while staying hydrated. No matter what they tell you, LITTLE SIPS. Like every 10-15 minutes. If a puker doesn't want to drink, popsicles do great! Pedialyte makes popsicles, but even the sugar ones still have water in them and will work if that's all you have on hand. This is great stuff to always have on hand for times like this. You can't run to the store for items with all your helpers when one of them is down. If you already have it, it will save you time and sanity. So go ahead and put your sick-prep on your next grocery list.

5. Upper respiratory problems? Let me preface this by saying I'm not talking about asthma or allergy related respiratory stuff. That's in a league of it's own. I'm talking about RSV, extreme colds and sinus infections that affect normal breathing. If your child is gasping for air, please call 9-1-1! If they have a ton of drainage and even sound like a coffee pot, this is what has helped me.
First, get a stethoscope! It is great to be able to know if you have clogged lungs or a snotty esophagus. Even better is to take it to your pedi next time, and let her/him teach you how to use it and what to listen for.
Second, get a breathing machine! We were able to get a hefty script for albuterol last year. It's fantastic to be able to drop that steroid in and give a breathing treatment to a child who sounds funny breathing. We've delt with croup and RSV too many times to not have one. It has saved us from that initial trip to the doc and the middle of the night ER visit. That little machine completely relaxes their breathing muscles. Obviously talk to your pedi first. Ours is pretty awesome!
Third, oils! I can't say enough awesome things about essential oils. Pure Eucalyptus in a diffuser will open up those sinus cavities and they sleep like a husband! Morning diffuser of peppermint is great to wake up too. I'm a baby oiler, so I'm still learning.

6. Get them outside! Not only does fresh air and breaking the cabin fever do wonders for the body, the sun carries that crucial vitamin that boosts an immune system. That's why we don't get as sick in the warmer months. We get more Vitamin D. We sat outside today to help fight off this tummy bug, and prayerfully prevent it in everyone else. A3 sat in my lap and munched on saltines. The other 3 played. Win-win!

7. Dinner needs to be easy! You've planned a 5-course meal? Tell your man he's getting cereal tonight. Your other kids will remember that your the cool mom who lets them have popcorn for dinner. You can continue to care for your sick one. And your sick one won't sick all over you cause you smell up the house with the same things that they've been upchucking all day.

8.  Snuggle. That's sounds like a no-brainer, but seriously. I'm one who won't sit and watch a show with my kids outside of family movie-night. But on these days, I do it. I sit and snuggle and watch whatever. I remember when we had the flu a few years ago. Everyone got it, but it was staggered. My kids loved the show Horseland at the time. I'm pretty sure I have now seen every episode 3 times because I sat down and snuggled. Since all I did was dishes and laundry, I had the time.

9. Your 1st priority is your sicko. Then the younger ones. Then the older ones. Then you. Normally I would say you need to take care of yourself first. Not this time. It doesn't work when you are well and you are caring for one that isn't. You take that backseat and know that the Lord is pleased with your service. He will give you the strength and energy to care for your children when they need you most. And when they're sleeping, spend some time praying that no one else gets it. Cause that's probably the suckiest!

Got Ealry Morning Risers?

I'm writing this at 5:52am. The smell of peppermint boiling on the stove and granola in the oven fills the air in my home. I'm also listening to A1, A2, and A3 talk and be silly all in 1 bed. They've been up for about 30 minutes. That's late. Most would agree that this is super early! I've even gotten comments like "I don't ever let my kids get up that early". Okay, last time I checked, you can't MAKE someone fall asleep. You can make them stay in their bed, but not stay asleep.

A good friend of mine has 3 kids, and 1 is a newborn so I'm not really gonna count him. Her other 2 have been known to wake up at 4:30am on a regular basis. I have been there! They start yelling "I"M AWAKE" through the monitor, or they walk ever-so-sweetly into your room and tell you they're ready to wake up. Her oldest has now gotten to where she'll go straight to the living room and turn on the t.v. without waking up mom. That's good parenting right there!  Her kids also go to bed at 7pm; sometimes even 6:30. There's the trade-off. But I also remember trying to keep mine up later so they'd sleep later. Yeah, that doesn't work with littles.

I do remember waking up before I intended to snuggle on the couch and watch t.v. with my babes. It was frustrating at times. All I wanted to do was sleep! I looked at every possible reason why they were waking up early. Did they need to go pee and just couldn't fall back asleep? Maybe they were hungry. I should feed them a snack before bed! Move bedtime later? No, we already went over that. I've always been a morning person, not 4:30 in the morning, but nonetheless. <---Maybe it's genetic. I looked at our days. Was there anything I could change to make them sleep later?

Most of the children I know who wake up super early have moms who stay home with them all day. MOST, not ALL. Most of the moms I know who stay home all day are extremely active with their kids. They do crafts, play games, go on field trips, and get messy. They have a lot of fun!

So, the prognosis? LISTEN UP MOMMAS! You make the days so fun for your sweet ones that they just can't wait to get up and get started! That's it! It's because of you, and they absolutely LOVE it! My almost 7 year old still comes out to the living room at 5am and is dressed and ready to go out to start farm chores. She loves it! She can't wait to get started! Even before dawn! YOUR kids are the same way. If they are little they may have a hard time telling you why they're up so early, but now you know. Keep making their days memorable by continuing to do what you do. But now, know that those early mornings are creating memories too.

And just a tip from someone whose been there: if you can get up earlier than your kids, it may not take you so long to get going. Not to mention they LOVE being greeted by a mommy lap awaiting.

Keep on mommas!

Dear God, What is this QUIET time you speak of?

Have you ever had a pastor or friend tell you to listen to God's voice? I mean, obviously early on in my walk it was something I struggled with. Only biblical prophets heard God's voice. Surely I'm not the only one. Even later in my walk, though, I had a hard time understanding the concept of "hearing" what the Lord was telling me. I had this vision of God using signs to tell me things. Like, billboards. Quit giggling. God does work that way in some circumstances, and I figured I was always working multiple jobs so a billboard would be perfect. I was always in the car.  

Fast forward to my early mommy days (I'm still in my early mommy days, but earlIER). I loved it when I attended women's bible studies. You know what I didn't love? When these seasoned mommas would say, "we MUST have quiet time with the Lord". These women were nuts! I have babies! They wake up early, that means I must wake up early! You want me to get up at 4:30am and have some quiet time? 1 is nursing in the middle of the night, so I'm already sleep deprived anyway. In the evenings before bed? Sha! I can barely hold my eyes open to spend "time" with Mr. Smash much less read my bible.

In the book of Samuel we learn that this boy whose momma gave him to the Lord as she promised, starts to really mature as an upcoming leader in the temple. The Lord speaks to Samuel in chapter 3, and it takes him a good while to figure it out. He's actually laying in bed and runs to His mentor thinking he's being summoned. Samuel does it several times before he realizes that it's the Lord summoning him. What I realized... Samuel was laying down. Like, getting ready to go to sleep. He was still. Probably quiet.

EEEEE GADS! That's it! I need to be still and quiet! Wait, what? A SAHM of littles to be still and quiet. I mean, I'm still and quiet when I go to bed, but as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out. Maybe if God spoke to me in dreams. That wouldn't work because I'd want to sleep all the time so I could hear him, and my children will NOT have that nonsense.

For the past 2 years or so I've yearned to simplify my life. When we moved to our farm it was a great opportunity because I knew I would be so busy with animal and land maintenance that I would need to get rid of the unnecessary. So, I have. I have simplified. We still have too much "stuff", but I'm talking simplifying more of my mind. What is really important? I want to be able to "the dishes can wait", rather than "I'll sit down when the kitchen is all clean and the floor is swept and mopped". It's not easy though. It seems everything must get done before I have quiet time. That's ridiculous!

Jesus gave up His life for me and I can't find 10 minutes in 24 hours to sit and read my bible??!!! A lady said that in a bible study class once and the guilt hovered over me. That wasn't her intention, and I knew her heart. But still.

This is what I've discovered. Because I've been able to simplify a bit and re-prioritize my lists, I find time for my Jesus. Not every morning I sit in my chair and read my bible, BUT I sure do it before I blog. Some days I'm in constant time with my Jesus because prayers are flowing off my lips all day (it may or may not be directly correlated to the amount of whining my kids are doing). There are some days I fall asleep to praise music because I'm so exhausted, and my Jesus knows that.

Whatever your season or stage of life, find time to be with our amazing Father. He loves it no matter how much or what kind of time. However, I encourage you to find QUIET time with our amazing Father. It's in those moments you can hear His voice. The noises of every day life will easily drown out His words. Whether it's in your bathroom closet and just you, the Lord, and a candy bar; or the stairwell at work for 3 minutes. That quiet and still will open your heart and your ears to what He's been trying to tell you.   

Rooster for Hire

We've had 7 roosters come through our farmstead so far. And by that I mean they came and left. We are now interviewing for a new head Roo. We are planning to hire internally because each of them know how we operate.

Every animal here has a job. For roosters, they either do their job alive or they do their job dead and become a meal for our family. We don't have a specific number we are looking for; it all depends on the applicants. You must fit somewhere in the job description to stay alive. You don't have to have all of the qualifications but you definitely have to have atleast 1. Some are more crucial than other.

Rooster Job Description on RBG Ranch:

1. All roosters must have a protective instinct. The hens are of the utmost important to protect. This means you must follow them around and keep a good distance as to be sure you can observe all of your surroundings. You must protect them from predators including, but not limited to, coyotes, hawks, mountain lions, dogs and cats and fiesty goats. They do NOT need protection from people. (Please read number 2)

2. You must NEVER attack a person. It doesn't matter who the person is, do NOT attack. We have a guardian dog for that.

3. Friendliness to the ones that feed you will earn you extra points in the interview process. However, this is not necessary. If friendliness is not something that comes easy to you, that is okay. You are better off avoiding people at all cost rather than attack (see #2.).

4. Part of a rooster's job here is to make babies. You must be efficient at this process. Quick, to the point, and accurate. If you doddle or have trouble with balance or aim, you will adversely effect our hens. If our hens stop laying because you can't effectively breed, you are no use to us.

5. Since the hens here are your #1 priority, they must come before you. You must allow them to eat any scraps first before you jump in and join them. It is appropriate to help them hunt for the creepy crawly protein in the pastures and yards. Please be a gentleman.

6. If more than 1 rooster is hired you must share the role. This role can be shared effectively. You will both know which group of hens you will be "running" with and you will understand this is a team effort. Roosters who share the role in a flock will have squabbles. Make it short where no one gets hurt. If your squabbles effect the hens, you will be removed from your position promptly.

7. You must be pretty to look at.



Our top applicants are as follows:

Blaze.
Easter Egger
*Doesn't like to be pet
*A fast "doer" with no resistance from hens
*Good forager
*Isn't scared of dog
*isn't a fighter
-unfortunately tends to forage at the neighbor's

 Red
Rhode Island Red

*Will allow petting and eats out of human hands
*Isn't scared of dog
*Good forager (likes our pasture)


hasn't made any attempts with the hens

-doesn't seem scared of us. point deduction
-seems to be a bit of a bully with roos AND hens

 Bardie
Barred Rock/Wyandotte

*good forager (stays in the yard mostly)
*isn't scared of dog
*VERY thick. lots of meat
*will allow petting during feed times, but runs from humans any other time
*not a fighter

hasn't made any attempts with hens

-has an unusual relationship with our male guinea





Because the last 2 prospects are a good month younger than the 1st, we will wait to make a final decision. There are other applicants, but these were the best. We DO love the English bantam but he will have to be happy just being here. No head job for him, and the dinner table isn't a possibility either. We have 20+ hens and planning on more, so this guy will have a big job.

My fellow rooster lovers. What are your top qualifications for a roo?