In other news, my cattle schedule is a little off too. January is about the worst month of the year for calves to be born outdoors in Sask.. but one of mine showed up yesterday morning. A little early and unexpected but very lucky that the weather was not too cold or miserable. The cow was still a little stunned and not paying too much attention to the calf. Fortunately the calf was strong and knew where to find it's first meal. Today she is a little more interested and I have confined them with panels in the shelter which will be a more comfortable environment for them to spend some quality time bonding .
Well, I guess congratulations is in order! ;-)
ReplyDeletea cow and calf in the barn in a pen full of fresh straw on a cold winter's day seems like the picture of contentment.
ReplyDeleteI try to remember our cattle raising days as a warm barn full of happy cows, all chewing on hay, and the smell of molasses.
I don't want to remember broken fences in the pouring rain, or floods, or treating six cows in the rain, or four foot of manure in the rain, or more rain, or chasing escaped cows in the middle of the night, or shoveling poop in the rain.
We always had a rule never to farm anything bigger than yourself but I always fancied keeping a few cows. I guess they're like sheep with some great mothers and some than run at the sight of what they gave birth to.
ReplyDeleteIts a great life when everything goes right but theres times when retirement looks pretty good. Most of the cows know what to do but some need a little help and persuading in the right direction. I've saved a few calves from neglect over the years.
ReplyDeleteSome of the food waste in that statistic may include grocery stores, which often throw out a lot of "unacceptable" produce. Therefore some of the waste is caused by consumer standards being so high compared to other places.
ReplyDelete(Where urban chickens are allowed, the grocery store waste should be available for chicken feed)
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