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?!