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.