July

July 6, 2013

Happy Birthday, USA!

After I lost--upon their family's decison to move--my young charges who were working with cattle, I was blessed to find another family whose two 14-year-old granddaughters wanted to try their hand with learning to gentle and work with and show my Dexters.  We began our push for the Braymer Livestock Show immediately as I had learned that the entrants could be anyone under 21, whether or not they were in 4-H or FFA.  We decided to show sheep too.

We are just back from that show!  I will post a bunch of pictures. As some of the pictures show, OTHER kids had significant family help and backing.  Katy and Sarah did amazingly well, considering that I am new to showing and their grandparents attended their first show at this Braymer one!!!  We adults helped out as we could but the girls were doing so much on their own.  Another nice thing is that E.P. (of first sheep-showing last Labor Day!) and his sister picked up the slack when Sarah took a break from the cattle-showing work.  So, many thanks to them as well!  And for our preparation, thanks to Philip Martin (a lesson on showing given by phone) and Kimberly B and son who came over and gave a hands-on lesson also!

Waiting for 1st time in ring...

Lookin' good!--you seem to know what you're doing!

Champion Bull drive--Sarah & ZeMizjEF are at the far right

 

E.P. helps out with heifers--I hope not embarrassed because he had no practice or information.

Champion Heifer drive--Katy with Xangwen, red Dexter

Again, in the ring with teens experienced in showing and adults helping youngsters, the girls held their own and "carried it off."

Waiting was a big part of the day.  Showmanship ended the species competitions, so we waited for that part and the teens in our team could choose which animal to go in the ring with.  Katy chose ZeMizjEF and E.P. showed Xangwen.  I thought both showed a good bit of presence and had learned a great deal in their few times in the ring and observations of other showmen!

After waiting through goats, Katy showed Xen, Babydoll ram.

Champion Ram drive

Sweet girls with sweet little ewe lambs--more relaxed by the end of the day?

Spring to Summer

June 3, 2013.  Alas, a lot of time (really?) has passed since my last blog post.  (I even found my January blogspot in drafts, unpublished, waiting for me to add a couple pictures.)  A bunch of cuties have been born this spring.  Here are a few pictures of babies, happenings, animals for sale:

Sheep first!
I had my first lamb triplets this year!

Surprising event--We had a snow in MAY! I titled this "I ain't dumb!"  for the lambs found a spot to get in out of the weather.

What I have available now is 2 rams and 6 females to sell.  I would like to keep a couple lambs and sell the yearlings out of the same ewes instead.  I am interested in having fewer lambs next year but I want to keep my adults so this is a way that I can give a buyer a boost and keep my production lower, I think.  I have a ram or two to go with some of the females.  Both black rams I would sell are ones I would keep and use, but I would like to have a white ram to breed my original white dam before she is too old and only prefer to have two rams at a time.  So I'm looking for a particular kind of white one.  My little ewe lambs this year are so cute and so shapely!  Next possible show, early July, is only for under-21, though, and my kids who have been working with the cattle may not be able to go, much less add sheep to their efforts--but I would really like these ewe lambs to be shown!

Lots of cute calves too.  And plenty of bulls and heifers to sell, breeding pairs and breeding triplets.  Have found that my milking stanchion is often very helpful and have brought several heifers in to eat in it and be more easily trained.  Have a good bit of A2 genes in my herd so those wanting a milk cow might be able to get one, but I am not testing everything at once--too costly!!!!!!

I have "some of everything" to sell.  I have a traditional bull, Legacy-approved.

Gladhour HH Tyde Cluny

This bull is by Trillium Cluny by AI and out of Zodiac's P-Bar Ida.  Around 2004 I was seeking heavily Woodmagic animals to try to build a "mini-Woodmagic" on this side of the Atlantic.  I bought several old line Woodmagic females and one bull.  Alas, "Clunyson"  is my only offspring from all those buys and all that effort.  I finally have one heifer by Clunyson out of a Colorado cow that I bought from the Davises in DE during that time as well.  Now I want to extend out to some other old-line bulls with my two females, so am ready to let Clunyson go.  He is PHA and chondro-free, dun and good-looking. Not so many of these traditional animals to be had, so if that is your interest, please contact me about him.  [Update 6-24-13:  Clunyson is SOLD.  Thank you to the new owners, who intend to use him to produce Legacy-approved animals--Yay!!!]


I have a black polled 2009 bull, WeeMustRayt, for sale.
[Update 6-24-13: He is UNDER CONTRACT.]

WeeMustRayt

I also have a homozygous polled black bull available to sell.  He carries neither red nor dun.  Is PHA and chondro-free. 

Homozygous polled black

Also available is the homozygous polled red Kaelan shown in earlier posts (who looks better now since he's been on pasture for some months).

Kaelan

I have Xugar and X-Rall red polled bulls available for sale from 2010.  Both have been sire-confirmed to Preference and X-Rall confirmed to both parents, meaning that he must be A2/A2.  Xugar's dam is not yet tested for A2, but both boys are chondro and PHA-free. 

Gladhour X-Rall O'Pref

Gladhour Xugar O'Pref

The little guy I really intended to take to the national ADCA show this year is from sire and dam that are chondro and PHA-free, but he is quite short.  I believe that he is homozygous dun and homyzygous red, so that would mean that whichever color of cow he was bred to would have that color calf if/even if she didn't carry the other color.  His half sister was the Mature Cow Division winner in the 2007 ADCA national video show and his dam came in just behind his sister in a good-sized class.  His name is Gladhour Xtubhen O'Rol, another 2010 polled bull. Such a cutie!

Gladhour Xtubhen O'Rol

And I have available for sale young 2012 black or red polled bulls that are very sweet, similar in laidback temperament to their sire, SF Preference, and some from Gladhour Raymore or  SGF ANT Kaelan, other desirable sires. 

There are plenty (and I do mean SEVERAL) red polled boys to choose from that have just been born this year.  As buyers are told, if you choose one and put down a deposit before they are weaned I will do the training, up to haltering, to the level you choose for no extra charge.  If they pass weaning, then you get the kind of training I prefer for myself or manage within the pasture.  Most of my bulls are pettable but not moved by halter.  The ones we will be training for show, though, will be halter-trained.

January Blogspot

January Blogspot

Almost missed January, huh?  Well, to update...the Thanksgiving homestays happened and were a blessing to families and students.  The Christmas holidays came and went with many activities.  Winter is HERE, but other than needing hay and having the extra efforts that winter brings, it hasn't been too bad a winter here so far.

Right now, I have some appointments for meat.  The processors have been completely swamped for many weeks in this area, it seems.  Do you suppose it is because people think meat prices will go up so they are stocking up?  It is not the best time for harvest, but I have some ready and some meat buyers who have spoken for some.  So things are set up with two different processors.  The veal calves will go to USDA processor so that I can sell the ones that are not currently ordered.  The buyers of my larger animals decided to buy the large animals on the hoof so they will get "custom" work on their orders.  Handy for them (and less expensive) and easier for me too.

But now to my greater love:  matching buyers and animals for breeding stock.  From my Dexters, both Raymore and Wrrayence went to new homes since my last blog.  Raymore was a wonderful bull for me and great-looking.  Wrrayence has so much potential and a sweet personality.  Here are pictures of both of them, and a thank you to their new owners!

Raymore

Wrrayence

I have several bulls for sale right now including  Xugar O'Pref, a red polled;
WeeMustRayt, a black polled by Raymore; 

WeeMustRayt

and both horned and polled younger boys.  I also have some proven herd sires that I would let go to the right home.


Another piece of news is the homozygous polled test that has just come out, available at UC-Davis.  This will make it possible for people who want to deal with only polled calves to have their wish in Dexters without experimenting so.  However, I personally intend to keep a polled herd and a horned herd as I want to retain the traditional Dexters along with having the polled that I originally thought were best, keeping the individual animals that I love most.

Small Farm Today Trade Show

Back from the Small Farm Today Trade Show in Columbia, Missouri.  Took 2 Babydoll rams, a bag of wool, brochures about beef & veal to sell, and so on.  When we arrived at the Fairgrounds, the panels were already set up with farm name attached.  So I put up my banner, brought in my rams, covered my table and added the brochures, cards, wool, and left the booth in the capable hands of my friends who had kindly offered to help me load animals in the morning and to drive down and alternate manning my booth and attending seminars.  This Trade Show is a wonderful show with many interesting speakers and vendors every year.  Ron Macher put so much effort into setting up the affair over the years and I go now mostly out of loyalty, since I don't get to attend seminars much and rarely sell an animal, though I enjoy talking with folks interested in Babydoll sheep and Dexter cattle.  Many kinds of viable money-making projects are presented over the course of the show by capable farmers who are "making it happen."  After preparing the booth, I made my way to the Intensive English Program office and met with students interested in "mini-cultural exchanges" with north Missouri families over the Thanksgiving break.  These homestays are a wonderful opportunity for both families and International students to learn from each other and become friends, and I am blessed to have a part in bringing them together.  I interviewed students over Thursday and Friday, and then was able to man my Farm Show booth myself on Saturday.  E.P. is a young budding entrepreneur who called ahead to offer his services/request a booth for making balloon animals and visited with the Machers.  E.P. and his family's Japanese foreign exchange house guest this summer came over to my place to practice with my rams for sale

and then E.P. and I attended the Bethel World Sheep Festival show and sale on Labor Day weekend (after the Japanese young man had had to return home).  It was E.P.'s first showing experience.  We both had a good time at that.  

Labor Day weekend Bethel World Sheep Fest Champion Drive

I still have some black rams available for sale.  Two are unrelated so that a buyer could get both and begin separate flocks to be able to sell unrelated pairs after the lambs are born next year.

E.P. impressed me with his entrepreneurial spirit...calling to arrange his own booth at the Trade Show.  I think he amazed some folks with his creations as well.  If possible, I will add a picture of one of his originals.

MDBA Show

Ah--we're back from the show!  FIVE of the kids from here showed heifers in the showmanship arena!

 

A thank you to the Wyoming Joneses who lent their heifer, 

Lucky Girl, for these pix and for walking in the showmanship circle.

Fortunately the photographer sent this, as it is my heifer:

I think the young showmen were pleased to receive the MDBA T-shirts (I personally think they are very cute--especially the backs) and training halters they were given by the very well-organized MDBA show-putter-onners.  It was fun for me to see old friends and acquaintances, even if I was too focused to get in much enjoyable chatting.  I saw again that show-feeding and conditioning of the animals make a big difference in a judge's, and a buyer's, eye.  And I saw the good look that experienced grooming can give.  I became a little interested myself in learning clipping.  And there were some very nice Dexters exhibited in both the show and sale, and some awfully cute "short legs" really "stole the show" several times.  Some sales were good but unfortunately some sellers were obviously so stressed they sold much below value.  And even a grand champion bull in the sale went home again as the offered price was so below value and expectation.  So the sale was disappointing for many who brought animals, I think.  A few others did really well.  Though one might cite "quality," the successes were often those who had put in a good bit of "homework" and many good cattle did not sell.  But some times are like that.  Overall, it was still an enjoyable weekend...I believe for all of us.  Many kudos should be handed out.  Chris and Vicki Jones from Wyoming lent us their booth-space clean-up tools, for which I was very grateful.  The Joneses from Texas did more than their share of aisle clean-up.  Ted and Vicki Anderson, as MDBA officers and just fellow exhibitors, were helpful in multiple ways.  Michelle Burns, who was in charge of the youth effort, was so warm and friendly, and efficiently provided help and heifers to lead when needed.  Jim Smith was organized and helpful with the bookwork and money-recording.  Dick Clark, who presented much of the information about the animals in the sale, did a nice job, as did the auctioneer--I thought both those efforts were unusually helpful.  The food-providers, especially Friday night, were absolutely GREAT!  The check-in and barns were efficiently set up.  I don't even know the names of everyone to include in the thanks.  Overall, the folks who did the work to put it all together have my high respect and regard!  I imagine that they are all "resting up" at this point, but they did an admirable job, including keeping their cool whenever small problems to solve arose.

I was pleased with Kaelan.  I led him for the first time (and think it likely was also his first in his LIFE to be on halter) a week ago Thursday, and he was not difficult at all to load or to walk in the show and sale.

(Even if he and his owner are not "set up" properly, I appreciate how willingly he cooperated!)

I almost shed a tear at the sale, realizing that no one else really knows his nice personality well enough to appreciate him.  Xangwen, his daughter and the heifer shown by Brittany, became a much more halter-TRAINED and -accepting girl over the course of her many times through the ring and into the trailer.  The young trainers from here got a good amount of time to curry and pet the animals we took and to lead others as well as to observe experienced showmen/women/boys/girls.  And the parents of those very kids did a wonderful job of not only taking care of their own kids' clothing and appearances but also stretching to include the others, taking pictures, and keeping track of and packing up my paraphernalia too.  The experience did us all good and we are ready to set some goals for June, I think.  I am eager to learn more about clipping and foot-trimming.  While I'm still not eager to feed for show, I intend to pick ahead some animals that we will plan to work with and perhaps consider giving them BETTER hay and making sure they get good pasture in spring. 

First blog post!

A blog is a new adventure!

A little about Gladhour Farm and the ongoing thought lines going through my head:

1.  Irish Dexter Cattle--LOVE 'EM!  However, we had a droughty summer.  Hay is hard to find and, when findable, not affordable for a person who relies on Dexter cattle for significant portion of survival income!  So a major issue has been how to sell some and feed the rest....

2.  Babydoll Southdown Sheep--also love THEM, at least my favorites, and like them all.  Have several rams I need to sell and find great homes for.  These rams are all black and QR, and all of them are nice-tempered so that I am not afraid to turn my back or go into their pen at night.  I can't say that I have always felt that way about all rams. 

3.  Passing down the history of this land and love of it.  This is such a long-ranger that it runs the risk of getting lost in the "urgent" even while it is for me most "important."

And biggest CURRENT thought lines:

BIG #1 for focus NOW:   Getting ready for the MDBA (Missouri Dexter) show and sale near Springfield.

Blessed this fall, after several years of throwing out the idea and having no takers, to have SIX kids out of three families coming here after school and training with the cattle, we are all working hard and trying to learn everything we need to know.

My favorite way to train calves is to start before they are weaned, bring mothers and babies into barnlot together and overnight them, send mothers to pasture and babies to "school" during the day, re-uniting them in the evenings and overnight, and continue this for several weeks.  This way the babies in "school" have "human time" and learn from me and the young people in the program that such humans don't hurt them and indeed can be trusted to provide good leadership (or other goodies like the best hay at the end of our sessions) and pleasant grooming.



This year the kids took on the project around the second weekend of September and we have been pushing to get ready to show on October 20.  We started with some calves so that the kids got to know the program a little, but I could not take unweaned calves and their nutrition sources so far for a show.  And we had to be on a faster-paced schedule.  So we haven't been able to do, fully, the slowest, most gentle-training techniques that I like the best for this time period, and definitely not for the animals going to show.  In fact we did a very shortened version for a couple heifers I took to exhibit at the nearby "Old Time Harvest Days."

The kids got to say a lot about what they knew about Dexters to other kids, and we walked behind the tractors in the "Parade of Power," the highlight for me...after all, Dexters HAVE BEEN oxen at times!

When the various costs associated with the decisions to go so far and participate in a show that is only connected with ADCA have finally boiled down, I have decided to take only two animals.  We have been working with a red heifer to show AND sell, and my gentle bull that came from Spruce Grove Farms/John Potter.  John has been a master at imprinting on his calves.

I expect to be leading the bull.  He walked with me with very little effort from the very first try.  But since he knows me mostly and he IS a bull, I think the leading falls to me.  The bull is wonderful to work with and produces nice calves, all polled which are most in demand.  But since he is a PHA carrier and I have a LARGE herd, I have to restrict his access to pasture to be sure that I also restrict his access to only the females I want him to breed.  That means that he only gets nutrients from hay rather than fresh grass, and his exercise is also limited.  So to think of kindness for this good-tempered bull means that I will take him and hope to find him a happy home where he will be the ONLY bull in a pasture and where he has a harem made up of all non-PHA-carrying cows.  That way, there will not be any negative consequences for his owner except the cost of testing whatever calves s/he might want to sell or use as additions/replacements, and s/he will have the positive (for many people) result of being able to have polled calves out of any cow.  Unfortunately for showing, his condition will reflect the fact that his diet is hay.  I hope a judge can look somewhat past condition to true structure as he is really a nice bull with good length and nice straight lines.

The heifer is a pretty thing but STUBBORN.  Though she walks well on halter for the girl who has been working steadily with her, I wanted to make it easier for the younger kids to show her in showmanship too, so tried to get her more universally "broke to lead" while there was another adult here to help.  We tried and she planted her feet!  So now she is a bit sore.  She also did her feet angle no good in the process.  I hope she feels comfortable by the time of the show! 

In trying to get ready, I called an ag teacher of nearby high school who set up for us a chance to watch a family preparing to show their animals at the American Royal.  So we (kids, parents, and I) observed the walking and the use of show stick and the washing of those two animals yesterday.  Now I wish I could get my heifer's feet trimmed.  I know that body clipping might also be good for her in the show, as well as show feeding.  Show-feeding goes against my principles as I think animals are better served for THEIR sakes with a normal diet, and I also think that the new owners are better served with a natural diet.  But show feed certainly puts on condition that judges like.  Clipping is still a possibility, but I have to weigh cost against possible benefit.  Wish we were back in the days (when I started with Dexters) when they were a no-fit breed and were shown in shows with natural hair, just bathed.  And when video shows showed the animals in their own home environment in motion under their own steam with no exposure to other cattle and no vet exams/costs!