Westwell Journal
Ebony @ 2This is another photo of Ebony (almost two weeks old), who is growing rapidly and is a very confident lamb.
Twins AgainOn 26 August our last ewe to lamb, Cross, gave birth to another set of twins. The photo shows what a sheep can do to keep her lambs from wandering off.
TwinsOn 25 August we were greeted in the morning by three new arrivals. The ewe we call Big Baby had two little girls (one is very fluffy and white and the other has brown boots and a brown face). The ewe we call Flystrike had a little boy (the photo below with Bobby was taken the day after he was born).
Lambing startsBoots #2This is a photo of Spotty Nose's lamb, born this morning or overnight.
EbonyThis is a photo of Ebony, she was born today. The mum is Original Mum and she's being such a good mother, protecting her lamb and licking her. I can't wait for her first clip. We're certainly not going to eat this lamb.
Shorn and PregnantOur sheep are now very shorn and very pregnant (and very cold). Five out of our six ewes are pregnant from our very short lived ram, 'Blackie'. I don't think our two girl lambs from last year are pregnant. In the background of the photo is 'Spotty Ram', our only wether, who is destined for the butcher later this year.
A new AlpacaMeet Bobbi (as in socks)
Bobbi meets Ninja
Talk about brass monkeysThere have been some cold days prior to the official start of winter, but only down to -4°C.
Linda was checking the troughs and found they were empty and on checking the tank found it had emptied as well because of TWO taps that had cracked.
They have been replaced, but really, they're only two years old!!!
Quite disappointing really.
Chickens reach 'use-by' dateI've been told two chickens have passed away while I've been away.
No sign of bird flu and Linda has it on good advice that Isa-Browns just have a short shelf life.
She's not that sad as it's an excuse to get some Australops.
(No photos of chickens included in this post. Go to KFC or Red Rooster for a likeness).
Sandy is in the difficult ageLast night I could hear cows mowing across the paddocks to each other. I hoped at the time it was someone elses problem, but I see tonight Sandy (one of our Murray Greys) is calling out to the bull across the road.
Fortunately she hasn't decided to test the fences yet.
Bloody teenagers ;)
Another fence finishedPaul finished the short section of fence and gate of the fence half way down the western slope paddock last weekend.
Where does the money goWe did a report from MYOB today and in the time we've been here, we have spent nearly $40,000 on animals, feed, fencing and other infrastructure.
That's where it goes.
Stupid SheepWell
Blackie has died.
The paddock the sheep are in at the moment connects to the fruit trees that line the western boundary.
To deny them access to this area, at the moment, we had a roll of netting, which would normally be electrified but is currently uncharged, to fence off the access to this area.
He'd got tangled in this netting at least twice before with Linda and myself both untangling him from it.
I opened the curtains this morning and say him next to it and assumed he'd got tangled again. So I got dressed and went out to free him, but he'd died. Don't know when he got tangled, but he's as stiff as a board and so has been shifted over to an area where Linda and Steven will bury him this arvo.
Poor stupid fellow.
Soils and animal healthAn interesting thing with the importance of balanced soil chemistry.
When
Lady returned from our neighbors she had a wart below one eye.
Warts are normally associated with low magnesium levels.
Since she's been back here with our soils, which have been tested and treated to try and balance soil mineral levels and she also has access to a mineral lick, the wart has now gone.
Our eastern neighbor has the same problem with one of his steers and he treated it using a mineral lick as described in Pat Colby's books about natural health care for animals.
So you are what you eat!
Cows as helpersI was digging for a fencepost yesterday and so the cows came to watch and inspect and lick any tools left loose. I felt like a council worker with all my helpers.
A new phaseWell, there are a lot of things we still want to do here at Westwell, but they're being held back by lack of MONEY.
We want to fence all the back half of the property into at least four paddocks as well establish a tree belt in the watercourse.
We want to install a set of cattle yards to help manage the cows with any future vet work and for loading cattle for sale.
We want to get more water storage sorted out for the shed by either repairing or replacing the tank connected to it.
I'd like some alternate power sources (solar or wind).
Linda would like to replace the kitchen since she lost her dream kitchen back in Sydney.
Basically there's lots we still want to do, but no finance.
The jobs we have currently allow us to be secure financially but no development is possible. And there is no way I'm going into any sort of debt.
So I've applied for and got a job programming again with
http://www.qmtechnologies.com/ in Brisbane who do bulk mail printing for various companies.
I'll be able to send back as much as I currently earn at least and with me not spending $50-$70/week on fuel we should be able to get (someone else) things done.
And this amount coming back should increase over time.
I figure I only have a few years employable status as a programmer anyway and so should take the opportunity to earn as much while I can.
And besides the work should be more interesting than my current job.
Welcome to BlackieWell, if we want future lamb meat supplies we need lambs and as we already have the girls we just needed a ram.
'Blackie' is a black faced Suffolk ram. We bought him at the Armidale monthly livestock markets for $110. Born in October 2005, he's already frisky according to the seller, but she did warn us after a journey of over 10Km, you could expect him to be infertile for 3 weeks with all the heat and excitement of travel.
So we'll expect lambs in October rather than September since we're late in the season introducing him to the girls.
He has already chased them around the paddock once, but now they are all resting in the shade of the Pine tree in their paddock.
Here he is in the trailer on arrival at home.
Here he is with the sheep after the first lap of the paddock.
Lady returnsToday Lady returned from our neighbours where she got acquainted with her bull.
Because it was so hard trying to separate her from the mob before, we walked the entire mob to our place and then they went on to another neighbours where they'll be agisting for a while.
The first time we separated Lady from the mob, she went into our own yard without a problem, but when she saw the others walking back up the hill she jumped a low point in the fence and ran after them.
So we matched them all back down to our place, separated her into our place again and this time guided her to a paddock where she could see our remaining cows. Then she ran to them so we left Steven behind to let her rejoin them and Linda and I went back to driving the mob to where they were agisting. We expect her calf in early November.
Now these photos show the kittens came to the shed to see what we were doing, prior to the mustering, and got inquisitive about the calves.
A shot with the mob on their way to agistment.
And here is Lady and our cows back together.
News and stuffWe went and choose a new Alpaca yesterday. He's not with us yet as we'll wait until he's been 'nutted' before we collect him to make sure we don't get our hearts broken again. His name is "Bobby' as he has white socks on his forelegs. As a fleece producer he's not perfect but will still do a fine job as the sheep guardian.
We'll have to start looking for a new ram soon also to ensure a new batch of lambs in the spring.
We ate a leg of (March) lamb last night and it was a fine meal.
Linda has harvested the last of the tomatoes and boiled them to use later in spaghetti. For all the trouble you don't get that many feeds of them.
We've still some potatoes to harvest still and the beans are producing well. Linda collected three double handfuls on Friday so they've been blanched and put away for the future.
Ericsonn got out on Friday as well and trying to herd chickens is challenging. Certainly can't do it by yourself. A neighbor suggested waiting till dusk and when he'd perched he'd be easier to catch. Trouble was we couldn't find him then. So he spent the night out and we were glad to hear him crowing the next morning. When we herded him to the path to the chicken run he recognised where he was and ran back to the others :)
Lady will return this week. We tagged her with her NLIS tag on Wednesday and then tried to bring her home, but she didn't want to leave the other cows so this coming week she'll be put in a truck and brought home that way.
The kittens and T.K. are getting along O.K. which is a plus since they'll all want to be inside once it starts getting cooler.
Can't see the trees for the cowsA reader asked the other day for a photo update on all the trees we planted in the spring of 2005.
It's not going to happen, because with my minimal fencing and usage of solar powered electric fencing, the cows decided it didn't hurt much or for long and so proceeded to eat or trample any trees that shared a paddock with them.
I have a vivid memory of Lady walking down the hill, and lifting off the milk cartons protecting the trees and tossing them aside.
There are surviving trees though. These are in the paddock containing the front dam (off limits to cows/sheep) and the trees planted on the ridge top (also off-limits).
Another neighbor asked about agisting their cattle in our back paddock but when we adjusted cattle before, the cows tended to sleep at the top of the hill and so I won't be placing the few remaining trees in jeopardy.
So, much more fencing needed.
And it appears the solar energizer doesn't have the same sort of kick as a mains powered one.
In other cow related news,
Lady is off at a neighbors getting friendly with their bull and so the patter of tiny hooves should be heard before Christmas 2006.
FYICalf - up to one year old.
Heifer - Female before her first calf.
Cow - Mother of calves.
Steer - a boy missing the bits that would make him a....
Bull - a fully equipped male.
More cute Kitten photosStill a slight blurring on this photo. Tried to catch them whilst busy with food and then Linda called out to raise their heads for a snap. Even had the camera set for "high-speed action" :)
Maybe when they're older it'll be easier to catch them for a still picture.
March Ram meets his maker.Well the mobile butcher came today from Moonbi and a few local sheep were
turned into carcasses (pre-chops).
A local neighbor had organised the visit and he had two sheep, my
southern neighbor had three Merinos and my eastern neighbor had 3 cross
breeds and I had March Ram.
They were shot in the head (.22) and their throats cut before they were
skinned. That process was much the same as skinning a rabbit, except
they're larger. The butchers trailer contains a cool room to chill them
down for a week and he'll return next weekend to carve them up. The
trailer also had a rail that the beasts were hoisted up on a gambrel to
skin. Once skinned and gutted they were weighed (23Kg for March Ram)
before they moved into the cool room. His live weight would have been
probably 50Kg.
The merinos were all under 15Kg dressed weight while the other sheep
were meat or cross breeds and were noticeably larger.
The cost will be $1.70/Kg and we divide the butchers fuel costs between
us. His weight once chopped up will be probably around 10Kg. So in the
end it will be a bit cheaper than buying it at the shops, but probably
not by much. But we know it's good meat and he had a peaceful life (of
11 months).
Waiting for tomorrow
Dressed to kill (actually afterwards).
P.S. Of course last night we had a fierce thunderstorm and the power was off for 4 hours. Hopefully they were all chilled down enough for it not to be a problem.
KittensI've been wanting to put another photo of Ninja and Tabby on the website just because they are so cute.
But whenever I try and go outside to take a photo they leap up and run to me for food or attention, who can tell, and so the moment is lost for the camera.
So this photo is taken through the front door flyscreen just prior to at least one of them trying to climb it. Most photos we take have at least one kitten blurred as they just don't stop unless you have one in each hand :)
Cats.Well, Powder has gone to live with a carer for the RSPCA.
Linda sent a photo and description of her to them at the weekend and this carer has a vacancy for Powder. So she'll be vaccinated, neutered and chipped and live with the carer until a permanent home is found for her.
Ninja and Tabby will stay with us, but will be vaccinated, neutered and chipped at a later date.
EggsEggs obviously aren't that easy to lay. This photo shows the variation between eggs in the same days laying, but some were obviously harder to lay than others with real extrusion markings. The variation in length is more pronounced when you place them in a carton and then can't close the lid properly.
Crutching time (again)Got to crutch the sheep to help prevent flystrike and and also to keep fleece clean.
Ten to do this time.
TattarsHere is the second crop of potatoes from our garden.
The first crop was a similar yield and we have a third crop in progress at the moment.
About 8Kg of spuds.
Free range KittensBefore Christmas, we noticed on the road in front of the property a cat had been skittled (there was a bunny on the other side of the road, but that's pretty common).
I moved the carcess off to protect innocent visitors and then later that day I saw several kittens near the shed. The next day we saw them in the sun alongside the woodshed. The day after that I caught three of them in the shed cleaning up milk froth after the calves breakfast.
At first I thought they might have to be drowned, but they've been given a reprieve and so it appears we now have three kittens to feed.
Here's a photo of two of them. Powder is the grey one (female) and Ninja is the male tabby.
'Patch' Pie.No we haven't used his byproducts in a pie (yet), but we have tried some Scotch Fillet steaks, a roast, mince for Spagetti and sausages which were enjoyed by all.
My brother decided to use the data I previously reported to show how Patch has been utilized and here is the result.
As you can see most sausages and mince meals, but that's what happens to off-cuts.
We weren't given the chance to try any offal portions and really don't have the experience to 'enjoy' them.
'Patch' redux'Patch' returned from the butchers today.
He's now resting in a 500L freezer.
He's disassembled as follows:
Blade Steak 800g x 11, 600g x 6
Round 1Kg x 10
Rump 600g x 12, 700g x 9
Topside 700g x 12
Scotch Fillet 500g x 12
Fillet 700g x 2
T-Bone 600g x 15
Roast 1.5Kg x 8
Mince 600g x 75
Sausages 900g x 28
Total ~143Kg
Obviously there was quite a bit of bone in the four quarters.
Also any 2nd class cuts return as mince or sausages.
People ask "How we could eat an animal we named?", but my response is,
"How could you eat an animal you don't know?"
We know he was well feed during his life, was never mistreated, in good
health, pleasant company and surroundings and friends to talk to,
4-legged and 2-legged. He was pasture feed, given oaten hay and barley
feed during the winter months to help keep him in good condition.
As opposed to feedlot cattle who live in a crowded bare earth
enclosure, feed some sort of meal to help them gain weight and given the close
living conditions probably need more health care to ensure they aren't
striken by communal diseases.
So unless your prepared to become vegan, which would you prefer?
P.S. They are bags of wool fleece behind the meat on a table-tennis
table.
Polo PatchesI was wandering around a paddock on Saturday with a mattock looking for
Scotch Thistles to decapitate.
Normally you can spot these by the different shade of green. At the moment, with the good rains we've had, it's like an Eskimos 100 different shades of white except they're green here.
However some patches I investigated had no thistles, but instead a pile of 'paca poo.
Alpacas tend to defecate in the one spot unlike sheep who scatter their shit all over the place. This spreading we're trying to control by using 'cell grazing' techniques using electric fencing to confine most of the sheep to an area for a week at a time. Unfortunately the solar powered energiser doesn't worry some lambs enough (wool being an insulator) and they wander a bit, but the majority of the sheep stay within their bounds.
The color difference isn't as vivid as reality, but here's an example.
The Patch.
The reason.
'Patch' returns as a jigsaw'Patch' has returned to Walcha Meats in four quarters.
His dressed weight is 250Kg, but that includes a bit of bone.
The photo below shows one side only, with the rear quarter in the foreground and the fore quarter behind that.
The meat will hang two weeks to age the meat. This helps tenderise the meat and improve it's flavor (see
http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm)
Vale 'Patch' (20 March 2004 - 29 Nov 2005)'Patch' is leaving the property tomorrow. He'll be picked up by the Walcha Meats butcher and transported to his yards, from where he'll go to Kempsey abattior.
We would have liked to keep his hide, but the abattior lowers the slaughter cost by selling the hide and we'd have to be on-site to retrieve the hide as it was removed. Which isn't practical currently.
Our eastern neighbour has some cattle yards and a loading ramp and so we organised to move him there this afternoon. He has electric fences around the property and we were shown how to disable the energiser and then use our own lines to make a corridor to help guide him to the yards.
Then we had a blackout from 2:20PM till 7PM.
But with the wire in place he took the hint and was no trouble at all.
'Lady' (our Jersey/Friesian heifer) has been with 'Patch' since birth and she's calling out to him from time to time, between mouthfulls.
Here is 'Patch' in profile and with myself to give a sense of scale. I'm 1.7M tall and 'Patch' is definitely heavier.
Storms and sunsets
Click for larger image
Welcome to Jemma and FriedaWe went to the monthly Sunday markets, originally to look for some Australorp chickens.
These are a good meat chicken, unlike our Isa-Browns which are great layers, but not a lot of meat on them.
Anyway, there weren't any on sale and so we went to have a look at the cattle and sheep for sale.
And that was in the idea of getting a steer or two to raise for future meat supplies. 'Patch' is booked to see the butcher on 28 November. There is a new chest freezer waiting in the shed for him.
There were quite a few calves for sale, but the others were a bit scrawny looking and so we decided to bid on these two female calves.
'Jemma' is a Jersey/Angus cross (the paler color), while 'Frieda' is a Freisan/Angus cross.
They are about 14 days old and so we're back to a routine of making milk for breakfast and dinner for the next 12 weeks.
Storms and stuffYesterday afternoon we had a heavy storm. 62mm in 2 hours.
Driving home at 6 P.M. I saw paddocks covered in water.
Turning off the highway to Kentucky, the Kentucky Creek had burst it's banks and water was flowing down the hills to it still.
I went out and got these shots as soon as I was home.
Westwell flows again, feed from overflow from the front dam.
A feeder to Kentucky Creek passes through our neighbours property. This normally flows under her driveway. Yesterday it was over the driveway.
There normally isn't water flowing down this courseway in the rear of our place.
Grass matted down during the storm.
The rain came down so quick, the rabbit warren holes were all filled with water. Hope the bunnies had their diving gear at the ready.
Another beautful sunset.
In sadder news, just two weeks after we lost Polo, one of our August born lambs, Boots, because of her blackfeet, was attacked and killed by something.
My neighbour suggested it might be a big feral cat he'd seen recently.
R.I.P. PoloPolo is dead.
Yesterday afternoon, Linda noticed Polo was staggering a bit and sitting down a lot.
This morning when I went up to feed the chickens, I didn't see any sign of him with the sheep. I found him lying down by himself. He was still alive but obviously very weak. I gave him some water to drink from a bottle and Linda rang the vet.
The vet came by 8:30AM and he was given some pain killer, antibiotics and a saline/glucose drip to help replace any lost body fluids. There was some clotted blood where his testes used to be and the vet got this out and disinfected him some more. I sat with him some more with a water bottle and gave him a drink from time to time. Whilst this was happening Lady and Patch stayed at the closest fence and were paying attention to him.
After about 30 to 40 minutes he would get up and stagger around a bit before sitting down again. I followed him around and it seemed like he was on the mend.
I decided to do some mowing around the fruit trees and saw him looking up every now and then, but still not very active.
I called the vet for an afternoon visit which he'd suggested if there was no improvement before the visit he planed for the next day with more antibiotics.
I went and gave him some water and then went back to my mowing.
When I next looked his way there was no movement, even when his name was called.
I went and checked and his neck was bent back further than usual, his teeth were bared and his eyes were hollow rather their usual black depth.
No breath although the body was still warm.
No response to my voice or handling him.
Polo is gone.
P.S. Linda told me that the vet commented before his visit that Alpacas are very stoic and hide any weakness until it's real serious.
