812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 26,1988 On being . a farm wife -And other hazards Joyce Bnpp There should be combat pay given for this job. Or just pay. Period. Still, even as I wiggle my saliva-spotted jeans through the narrow gap between a pair of two by-eights, a feeling of satisfaction - even minus any financial incen tive - can’t be denied. Another penful finished. One group yet to go. Registration of our calves is one of those jobs sometimes put off until tomorrow, especially during the busy outside-work season of the year. Preparing a registration application for each of our Hols- Have Your Water Lines And Electric Lines In Place Before The Frost... Model 2300, Trench-1 Ft., 2 Ft., 3 Ft. Or 4 Ft. Deep For Custom Trenching Call Wayne At: GAP 4 POWER f EQUIPMENTS Rt. 30, Gap, PA (717) 442-8970 <3^ "tein” babies entails submitting a form with the appropriate names and numbers, birth date, ancestry names and numbers, and breeding dates. That’s the easy part. Then com es the fun section of the registry application: drawing a diagram of the markings for visual identification. Even that isn’t too difficult with some calves. My favorite are those marked ninety-five percent black, with a tall that is white down near the switch, four clearly-marked white feet, and maybe a little blaze of white on the head Sketching a calf like that is a piece of cake. Unfortunately, some of the recently popular breeding blood lines turn out bizarre blends of black and white reminiscent of a paint store explosion. Add to this the need to capture for posterity all these jagged, jumbled splotches and spots while traveling at about 25 mph. That’s at least the speed the subject calf will be galloping in circles around the pen. She’ll also be the one to manage to shove her way in between two hulking big brutes, in order to hide her hide from your frantic little pencil. Come this time of year, of course, the hair on that hide is long and luxuriant, tending to attract and hold extra barnyard matter. That further obscures the details of where those lines may exactly run. Tails and legs are especially prone to this camouflage. The younger the better, should be our motto. Smaller calves I can handle better, to halter and tie in one spot for the sketching. Haltering offers several bene fits. She becomes familiar with the feel of a halter, usually becoming £i<j Putdiman. ROOSTER BOOSTER FEED SYST FOR SE FEEDING OF MALE BREEDERS The benefits of separate feeding programs for male and female breeders are well documented Allows for specific feed formulations and decreases foot and leg problems Hens show increased hatchability and have access to feed without competition from males Valuable feed savings result Only the Big Dutchman Rooster Booster feeding system simultaneously delivers feed to each feed pan without raising and lowering lines or programming individual feed tubes The Rooster Booster's feeder lines are "pre-charged" ’ with feed (33 lb /ft, 36 kg/m) so that all feed pans * are filled simultaneously at system start-up The feed ration, pre-weighed into a 200 lb (65 kg) capacity feed hopper, is distributed as required with CONTRACTS AVAILABLE _ ill SYCAMORE INO. PARK IppaJl | 255 PLANE TREE *t*$HEY EQUIPMENT uncast d e T E pa 17503 II I COMPANY, INC. (717)393 5807 S £\ Diiignars of Quility Syttimt fir Puiftry, Swim and Grain Hiiulliij so stubborn that you can quickly sketch the markings while she plants her feet in stiff-legged defiance of moving anywhere. Plus, she doesn’t go running up behind the bam somewhere, mak ing it necessary for you to spend the next 15 minutes playing tag, which you will undoubtedly lose unless you go find help. Calves weaned and moved into groups provide the fun mentioned earlier, like dizzying circular chases around the pen and prying apart clusters of stubborn ones which have “circled the wagons” against your invasion. Taming our baby calves has always been important to us. Once tamed as youngsters, they’re easier to handle for the rest of then lives. A fine line exists, though, between tame and pesty. Tame calves stand reasonably well, eye ing you curiously, while you hasti ly draw delineations of black and white. You can get close enough to read their eartag information, and not get a hoof in the face when you kneel to check how the mark ings on the inside of a leg connect with those on the belly. A penful of pests leaves the sketcher kissed and caressed, bat- the high-speed conveyor chain When the hopper is empty a low level switch stops the feeder and the lines are pre-charged for the next feeding Most feedings are accomplished in 10 minutes or less Only Big Dutchman's Link Cham has the speed and flexibility for pre-charging feed lines while going up and over aisles to keep ends of the house clear Big Dutchman’s rugged all-steel and light weight link chain allows running speeds of 105 ft/mmute (32m/min ) Feed is carried between round discs and is moved uphill, downhill, and around ball bearing corners with virtually no ingredient separation With a capacity of over 2000 lbs (650 kg) per hour feed is delivered faster than roosters can eat, keeping the chain full at all times —the key is a pre-charged feeder tered, banged and bruised. One over-friendly group chewed the soggy spots in my jeans, tugged at my pockets, gnawed my elbows, nibbled my boots, knocked the sketch clipboard folder into the straw, and planted a dainty hoof mark on the folder’s cover. Pesticst of the pests grabbed the back of my sweatshirt and yanked mightily backward. Had the fabric possessed more “spring,” I might have gone sailing right over the gate - slingshot style - when she released it. Sketches of all the weaned claves are complete, making two hours of trampled toes and frozen fingers seem all worthwhile. Especially now that it’s finished. And while the memory of being chewed alive is still vivid, I vow anew to sketch calves before they graduate into pesty groups. Maybe I can negotiate a bonus for getting the job done early. THINKING BUILDING READ LANCASTER FARMING'S ADVERTISING TO FIND ALL YOUR NEEDSI Route 30 West at the Centerville Exit.
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