February/March Farm Update
Over the last couple of weeks it certainly seems like winter is starting to come to an end. Although the calendar shows that it is a little early to truly know if winter is giving into spring or just taking a little break. Either way, we are starting to get things around the farm ready for spring time.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.3″][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.19.3″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.3″]A few weeks ago, we started weaning our calves off of their mothers. This process take a few weeks. We start by running all the calves through our squeeze chute and placing weaning rings in their noses. Weaning rings go into the calves’ noses and hang down over their mouths. The rings have little bumps on them so that when the calf tries to suck on its mother, the bumps irritate the cow and she stops letting the calf drink milk. The calves wear the rings for about 10 to 14 days at which time we remove the rings. The rings still allow the calves to eat hay and drink water. This system greatly reduces stress during the weaning process because the calves get to stay with the herd during weaning. Without using the rings, you have to separate all the calves from the herd to wean them. This causes stress which can lead to sickness and can even cause death.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.19.3″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://www.pettitpastures.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/feb-march-farm-update.jpg” _builder_version=”3.19.3″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.3″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.19.3″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.3″]Last month, during one of the freeze thaw cycles we had been going through, our Aubrac bull slipped on the ice. The bull hurt his back left leg when he fell. He layed around for the first few days without moving much and we were worried that he may have been seriously hurt. We checked the leg for any swelling but couldn’t find any. We talked with our vet. He told us to keep hay and water close to him and monitor him to see if things got worse. After a few days, we could tell he was getting better. Although he still has a slight limp now, we think he will recover just fine.
We expect that a few of our first calf heifers will calve towards the end of the month. The rest of the cows should begin calving around the middle of April. We will be updating our Facebook page as calves are being born, so make sure to check it out as calving season progresses.
Beef sales have been picking up over the last month. Our spring butcher date will be the end of June with delivery the beginning of July. I know it seems like that is still a ways off, but we have already sold about half of our beef available. To make sure you don’t miss out on your spring beef, go to pettitpastures.com and place your order before we are all sold out.
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