Hay & Rotating Critters

We have had some beautiful hay weather and have gotten quite a bit done. Rob stayed back from all of the 4th of July family gatherings we had, to do hay again this year. It's always beautiful hay weather on the 4th weekend!

We did all the dry hay last week (we do mostly balage... hay baled that we wrap and it ensiles or ferments in it's wrapper) and always do a happy dance when it went well and didn't get rained on. Rob held off on cutting some second cutting hay because we didn't want it to burn off if we didn't get rain. Now that we have we'll be taking it off, leaving 4 inches of grass behind. 

That's Dean in the blue tractor, me in the skid-steer and Rob is the one baling, while my dad Eric raked, and mom Ann watched the girls, made dinner, and snapped some pictures.

Cows are going through their field rotations beautifully and for the most part, they are all staying on the correct sides of the fences. We purchased another solar fencer to help with keeping the single-strand fences up on voltage. Sometimes tall grass will short out or reduce the voltage and the fence isn't as powerful...so they walk through it. We are super proud of our calf crop this year and love the way they are growing.

We moved the pigs over into a new section as well and they have more woods available to them... which they LOVE! We hose them down when it gets really hot and dry. It's a mob of pigs and a great way to get plowed over they are a little obsessed with water and love getting sprayed!

Chickens are getting big as well! We send the second batch out to the processor on the 17th so if you are looking forward to more thighs and other cuts, we'll have them soon! Astra (the dog) has gotten to be such a great chicken guardian and she howls when we separate them (I know, it's kinda sad). We have to keep her separated from them while we gather them all because she gets a little upset at us. But she is always happy to see the young batch come in and live with her! She definitely knows and loves her job. By the way- it's hard finding them all in this tall grass. I feel like I'm on a great chicken hunt.

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