by Texas Homesteader ~
Most of you already know that due to health issues I wasn’t able to raise my beloved batch of bottle baby calves this year as I usually do.
And as a result RancherMan purchased bottle-fed calves that had already been weaned to pasture so that I could still enjoy their cuteness.
(Oh how I love him for that)
by Texas Homesteader~
Tough days. I love raising bottle babies each spring but my health prevented it this year. So RancherMan found someone selling a set of bottle babies. They had already been weaned to pasture so that I could still get a dose of that bottle-baby sweetness.
When they were purchased this spring they were brought to our Homestead. Not only to allow me to scratch their cute heads every day but also for us to monitor them to make sure they would all do well in our program.
As they grew larger we began moving them to our offsite pasture to finish growing.
by Texas Homesteader~
As I’ve mentioned many times before, our area of NE Texas is currently suffering through a third consecutive year of drought.
Like many of our neighbors we’ve been forced to feed hay to our cattle for months due to the pasture grasses burning & dying in the below-normal moisture coupled cruelly with the above-normal heat.
While nervously eyeballing the amount of hay remaining that we’ve been able to put back for those lean winter months, we’re trying to look forward in making sure we have plenty to feed our cows until spring.
Even after being hit with these hard knocks we’re still optimistic about the small amount of moisture promised in the next few days.
Continue reading by Texas Homesteader
This year has been a year of firsts for us here at the homestead. I enjoy raising bottle baby calves each spring. But due to an illness I wasn’t physically able to raise them this year.
RancherMan sensing my sadness bought me baby chicks. We had always known we would raise chickens one day, he thought this year would be a good year to start. He was right! Raising those cute little baby chicks pacified the ‘raising farm babies’ urge in me.
But when the chickens grew I once again began to miss those bottle babies, so RancherMan bought me WEANED bottle babies. Awwww… all of the cute lovable neck-scratching cuteness with none of the work!
I’m very much enjoying both the chickens and calves, and I love RancherMan so much for realizing this need in me. But he wasn’t through yet – RancherMan decided he would spoil me with yet another small yet lovable animal – GOATS!
by Texas Homesteader
When we’re weaning calves we like to fenceline them when at all possible. This allows mama and baby to see each other and eases their anxiety during the weaning transition.
We typically bring the calves into the barn pen where we have pretty heavily-fortified fences to allow the mama and baby to see each other. But the fences are strong enough to keep baby separated.
by Texas Homesteader
When we obtained our remote-pasture property last year I knew there was once an old homestead on the property years ago – the house long gone now.
I love that this property also has an old 1880’s barn. That’s my favorite barn era and I’m so blessed to have two of these beautiful old barns now! I’m ready to roll up my sleeves & restore this beautiful structure to its previous glory much like we did years ago with the 1880’s barn here on our homestead.
by Texas Homesteader ~
We were forced to reduce our herd in 2011 and 2012 due to the gripping drought that held us captive those years. We have maintained a lower stocking rate and use temporary stocker cows of different breeds during times when the grass was plentiful, selling them when the grass waned. It was a painful decision but that flexibility allowed us to continue our ranching operation and emerge strong.
Guest post by Ashley
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I have always lived in the city. My parents bought a beautiful stretch of country when I was just a young girl, but we still lived in the city. They didn’t sustain themselves on the wealth of the land until I was grown and already moved across the United States, so this is all still relatively new to me.
Since I moved to North Carolina I only get to come out and visit about once a year and even then my time is stretched across Texas to try and visit all of my old friends and family. However this trip I was able to sit back and relax a little more, smell the country air, look at the little details and actually appreciate the things that my parents see every day. Things that are new, wondrous, and amazing to me is nothing but an old piece of equipment to them. So allow me to take you on a tour of the Homestead with what wondrous things these city eyes see.
