Cow Update

Thanks to YouTube I was envisioning the vet showing up with an ultrasound machine to do pregnancy checks on the cows. It turns out that's not how they do things Out In The Country, at least not around here. I'm not sure who was more surprised about this, me or the cows. The reality is that the vet shoves his arm in, feels around and says, 'Yep or Nope'. The results were as I expected, Lily is pregnant and Lucy is not. Of course Lucy is the more skittish and difficult cow to handle. Thankfully both went into the chute when the vet came though I had a moment of panic when they both took off for the back field with no signs of budging just as the vet was pulling into the driveway. But by some miracle I got them back into the holding area and eventually into the chute without too much drama. Then on Sunday Lucy had to go back in for another hormone shot and there was some kicking of heels and resistance but we got her in. She needs to go in one more time for the actual AI procedure and I'm a bit concerned. We've been feeding her in the holding area and yesterday she absolutely did not want to go in. Today she was better but still wary. Hopefully by Sunday she'll cooperate. How much does grass fed beef cost?

I also finally got somebody to haul the steer and heifer to the processor next month. This has been a long drawn out drama for me in many ways. Originally I was going to have somebody come out to the farm in October to do on farm processing primarily because this would cause the least amount of stress to the cows but also because I didn't have a pick up or trailer to haul them to a processor. Then the guy who was supposed to come out became too ill to do it and a friend recommended a processor and said she could haul them for me (and of course I'd pay her). The processor didn't have a date until February thanks to COVID but I signed up anyway so at least there would be an end in sight. The drought this summer was terrible and hay right now costs a fortune. Overwintering these cows has been a huge expense never mind the strain on the pastures. 

Then a couple of weeks ago the friend hauling thing fell through so I've been scrambling to find a solution. It turns out livestock trailers are the new toilet paper and very hard to come by. We did finally buy a pick-up to haul hay but it's too small to haul a big trailer. It can haul a small trailer but of course it's impossible to find one for sale that's small enough and not a horse trailer. Ordering one will take months and it's not a given that one will arrive at the dealer when promised. I called everyone I knew who could possibly help or know someone who could help then called those recommendations. I found two separate very good people to help but of course both were tied up on processing day. Ugh. Then a miracle happened and the original friend was once again able to help. Now I just have to hope the roads are o.k. because it's an hour's drive to the processor in Utah. How much does grass fed beef cost again?

I do love having the cows though. There's something very relaxing about hanging out with them, especially when they're munching on hay. They bring a lot of drama and work to my life but so far it's been worth it. Just.