Category ArchiveIntern Diaries
Dairy Cattle &Intern Diaries saboranch on 21 Dec 2009
Sabo Ranch Intern Diary – Rebecca Kurnick
October 18, 2009
Lena has been showing signs of limping. Her left hind foot seems to be the problem. Vet Will Oliver came by to doctor her toe, which is a lot longer than it should be to begin with. It seems she has a genetic crack on the inside of her right toe. An infection was begining to make a home. Will Oliver filed down the dead material and used Bovibond to apply a plastic cap to cover the toe. Jenny puts great effort into keeping the herd as chemical free as possible, however Will used a local antibiotic in the fat pad to assist with the healing. After the visit we continued treating Lena by fasting her and giving her a dose of crushed garlic (approximately 2 oz) in the morning and evening based on Newman Turner’s (1950′s English organic farmer) philosophies, (“Cure Your Own Cattle”, Newman Turner, republished by Acres U.S.A, 2009).
Bad weather setting in October 18, 2009. Dairy Cows still on green grass
One characteristic of the Sabos is their commitment to the overall health of their animals, despite resistance met towards alternative methods of healing. Lena is a Jersey cow bred for her milk production and butter fat content. Naturally very thin and hard to keep weight on, she is not an “easy keeping” cow. Easy keeping is one of the biggest traits I have been looking at the past few months. Jenny said what you want to look at in a good cow is the “belly, bag, and boots”. With Lena I am seeing the negative effects of having poor feet.
Cupcake is maintaining about two and a quarter gallons a day. This week Cora had a snotty nose and was looking a little down so we fasted her for a day, giving us a spike in milk from Cupcake.
Intern Diaries saboranch on 14 Dec 2009
Sabo Ranch Intern Diary – Rebecca Kurnick
October 12,
Snow on 9/30. Early winter caught everyone off guard. There was a scramble to get the property in order so when the snow comes in drifts we are ‘ready’. Daily chores come in a whole new fashion when winter sets in. Planning where ice will build up, where snow will drift, how animals will access food and water, making sure to prevent hoses from freezing.
The two weeks between September and October were a busy couple of weeks. While we were waiting to see when Jersey cows Lila and Cupcake would go into heat we thought we missed both of their cycles. By missing the heats and not getting both of these cows bred this time around, the dates at which these cows calved would be three to six weeks later than hoped. The later calving would affect the time of lactation with each cow.
With a swift change in weather and many preparations for winter taking priority, other tasks were put on the back burner. This busy time reinforced the concept of wearing many hats; constantly observing many parts to the whole operation. Balancing daily chores, making sure there will be another generation of calves in the spring, in both Jersey and Devon herds, and maintaining the property for each season are just a few of the big picture ideas occupying ones time.
The first weekend of October we branded calves. Branding later in the season than typical yielded very solid fullblood Rotokawa Devon and Devon/Angus cross calves on the branding table. Later afternoon activities included moving the herd of mother cows to the winter pasture. The dairy cows are in the pasture above the house with access to what grass they can find and winter shelter. Milk production has gone down slightly with the move off of fresh grass and onto second cutting alfalfa and grass hay making up the majority of their diet. However, Jersey cow Cupcake, whose production I have been following as consistently as possible, has given a full gallon more over the last few days. This increase from one and a half gallons to two and a half gallons is because we have been putting Jersey/Dutch Belted calf Cora away earlier in the evening as she is now about three months old. Sunny and warm today. Will we have a few more weeks of fall??
Intern Diaries saboranch on 07 Dec 2009
Sabo Ranch Intern Diary – Rebecca Kurnick
Rebecca Kurnick preparing a lunch for locavores
October 4, 2009
My name is Rebecca Kurnick, I am originally from rural Lovell, Maine. I came to Montana to study Soil and Water Science at MSU in Bozeman. I have been fortunate enough to work with the Sabos part time over the summer and full time through this fall. Nutrition and whole body health plays a large role in my interest in spending time at the Sabo Ranch. In the past few months I have learned more than I have in any similar amount of time in a conventional school experience. Of course many variables go into that fact including the type of learner I am and the subject matter. Many humbling experiences have acted as a catalyst, fueling my desire to develop the widest base of knowledge, absorbing as much information as I can. This is the first of a number of logs that chronicle the next two months of my involvement at the ranch. Over the last couple of weeks I have been keeping a record of milk production in Cupcake, a full blood Jersey cow. This record will influence each log along with other thoughts on my day-to-day work on the ranch.