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Numbers vs. Names

11/22/2015

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As you meet the rest of our herd, you will notice that most of their ‘names’ are actually numbers. This is for many reasons, the quantity of cows that I have worked with in the past, ease of identification and record keeping are all factors but the most RESOUNDING reason that we know our cows by numbers is that early on in my agricultural career, I was told, “Don’t name them. The ones that get names are always the first to die.” It might be superstitious but that has always stuck with me. It reverberates through me every time the topic of naming livestock comes up. Now, that sounds extreme and it is, but the underlying message was important. Don’t get too emotionally attached to any one animal. They aren’t pets and sometimes we have to make difficult decisions about culling, some animals we care for, knowing that they will ultimately end up on our (and/or others) dinner plates, and sometimes animals DO get sick and despite our best efforts, we can’t always save them.

With that said, every dairy farm has a handful of cows that have earned names. If a farmer tells you otherwise, they are lying. Every farmer and farm worker has a favorite cow. I have one but I’ll never tell you which one it is!

Over time, despite my reservations, those around me have named a few of our critters anyway. Currently, we have an Abby, an AJ, a Jersey (yes, that’s her name) and most recently, a Lily. I am beginning to ease up on my stance because let’s be honest, I get attached to them regardless of the status of their name. However, I don’t know that I will ever fully embrace the practice!

Enjoy,
Brun Ko Farm

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Meet our Herd: 26154

11/17/2015

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Two weeks ago you met Abby, our founder cow. This week, I want to introduce you to 26154, affectionately known as 54. 
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54 is 4 months shy of 2 years old. She is rather short in stature compared to her herd mates which surprises me a little because her mother was rather tall for a Jersey.  Being short doesn’t hold her back though! She is a sturdy little heifer and hopefully that will translate into a healthy sturdy cow!

54 will be the first of our six heifers to calve. She is due mid January and she can’t wait. She is already rather large with calf and when she lays on her side her feet kind of stick out from her body. When I come across her laying like this she generally twists her head around to look at me as if to say “Get this thing out of me!”  
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​Thus far, 54 has been one of our easiest keepers but she can have some attitude. 54 is a very dominant member of the herd. When grouped with the other heifers, it is easy to see that she is the boss of the group! NP and I have even suspected her of bossing Abby around on occasion. She is currently Abby’s only roommate and a lesser heifer might find herself pretty henpecked living with ‘ol Abby but 54 holds her own!
54 is the short one in the middle!
54 & Abby get along well!
54 gazing into the distance ;)
Enjoy!
Brun Ko Farm
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Accommodations at Brun Ko Farm

11/9/2015

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Every creature on our farm needs a place to live. A shelter.  A place to get in out of inclement weather.  A place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to hang out.  And each animal has varying needs depending on size and age and ability to handle different weather conditions.  The horse, the cow, and the older heifers are all on pasture and have free will access to the barn. They can choose where they want to be and when they want to be there. Interestingly, the horse most often chooses to spend his time outside in the open pasture. The rain and snow don’t bother him. In fact, I think he rather enjoys the bath the rain provides. The cattle on the other hand aren’t quite as tough as ‘ol Rusty the Horse.  They love the great outdoors when the sun is shining, but if it’s raining you can almost certainly find them hiding out in the barn.  And you don’t have to spend all day watching them to know this either. The extra piles of fertilizer left behind in the barn are evidence enough of the extra time spent indoors on the not so nice days!
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The bottle calves on the farm also need housing but their needs are a little more particular. They are small, have more delicate immune systems and are more susceptible to changing weather conditions. Because of their special needs, we house them in these strange looking looking box like things called ‘calf hutches.’  :)
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Lily is the only calf we have right now but hopefully in a few days all of our hutches will be full with bottle calves!
Now, there are many variations of calf hutches. There are bigger ones and littler ones, homemade, manufactured, plastic, wood, fancy, plain … you get the idea. Despite a variety of makes and styles available, the concept behind all calf hutches is to keep calves clean and dry, warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and all around healthy. 

We have chosen to use calf hutches for a variety of reasons. They really provide an ideal environment for each calf.
The ability to give each calf its own individual little house helps prevent the spread of disease. If a calf DOES get sick, the sickness is more likely to be isolated to just that one calf and we can give it extra care to help it recover as quickly as possible.  On the other hand, if the calves were all housed in a group pen, any sickness would spread quickly throughout the group. When calves get sick they have very few reserves to help them recover. Not only is it heartbreaking to watch a little calf suffer, but sickness in ‘calfhood’ can have a huge impact on their adult lives too. Cows that were sick as a calf oftentimes produce less milk throughout their lifetime and can have recurring illnesses later in life due to things like decreased lung capacity or adhesions in the body cavity. And steers may take longer to reach market weight and may not reach their full potential due to time and weight lost during those critical early days of life.

The other great thing about calf hutches is that they are able to keep the calves warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Even though they are small, calves are capable of producing a fair amount of body heat. In the small, micro-environment of the hutch, this heat is conserved and the calf is essentially able to heat its own little house! Now, it isn’t going to be 70 degrees in a hutch in the middle of winter, but they definitely take the edge off. I’ve ducked in more than one calf hutch in the wintertime under the pretense of checking a calf but really I was just getting warmed up! Shhh, don't tell NP ;) And we have to remember that calves thrive at different temperatures than you and I do.  Seventy degrees is borderline too warm for them while 33 or 34 degrees doesn’t bother them at all!
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To make this all work, we also have to provide plenty of clean, DRY bedding like straw or chopped up cornstalks to help insulate them from the cold ground and also to give them something to nestle down into. During really cold spells, we can also put little calf ‘coats’ on the younger calves that have a harder time self-regulating their temperature.  And we can cover the front door when it snows or rains or the wind is just too strong!
Lily modeling her new coat. Way too warm for it today but will come in handy when winter weather sets in!
See all that nice bedding? We will add more to create a thicker layer for 'nesting' as the weather cools down!
We use a combination of cornstalks and straw to bed our calves.
​In the summertime, the hutch provides the calf with shade and we can open up all of the vents and ‘windows’ on the hutches to create as much air flow through the hutch as possible. We also put a cattle panel ‘fence’ in front of each hutch in the summertime so we can open up the doors of the hutches and the calves can have a little extra room to play and also take advantage of any breezes.
Holstein bottle calves that we raised last summer enjoying the sunshine and breeze!
Here you can see vents in the backs of the hutches. They are closed now but can be opened in the summer.
You can see in these pictures, the hutches also have a bottle holder (time saver for us!) and bucket holders so the calf can have free choice access to feed and water all day long! Also, the hutches are movable, so we can adjust their location depending on season and it is easy to clean them out in between groups of calves as we can move the hutches to the side and clean out with the tractor. Furthermore, the plastic material they are made out of is washable meaning we can wash and sanitize them in between groups of calves and/or as needed.
Look mom! No hands!! :)
Feed bucket
So, when you are wrapped up in a blanket sipping a cup of hot chocolate this winter, you can rest easy knowing that our calves are contentedly napping while nestled in their little hutches with a belly full of warm milk!

And when that time comes, I’ll be sure to share pictures!

Enjoy!
Brun Ko Farm
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Meet our Herd

11/2/2015

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Picture26147 aka: Abby
Over the next few months we want to introduce you to our little herd. Today is going to be all about 26147.

26147, affectionately known as Abby was born in July of 2011, making her a shy 4.5 years old.  That may seem young to you but in cow time she is leaning toward middle aged and it’s probably safe to say that her first calf has made her a grandmother by now.

With that said, Abby is undisputedly the boss here at Brun Ko Farm.  She is quick to put the heifers in their place at the feed bunk and is the only bovine on the farm that Piper, our cattle dog, is afraid of. I don’t even think the horse would stand a chance at bossing Abby around. And we may not like to admit it, but Abby even dictates NP’s and I’s schedule and influences much of our activities and decision making.  Milking time is the number 1 thing we have to consider when making plans because if we are a half an hour late for chores, she lets us know about it!!


PictureAbby had her 3rd calf in the wee hours of the morning last Friday!
  As many of you know Abby had a calf this past Friday, making her our only currently lactating cow.  She has one other calf at the farm that you will meet in a later blog post. Abby is the founder of our milking herd, 50% of the reason we are planning a creamery and 99% of the reason that NP and I met and fell in love.  You see Abby used to me ‘my’ cow.  She was a part of my small herd that was housed within the larger herd at the farm I worked for.  Abby was a normal looking heifer for the first 15 or so months of her life.  But at some point after she was confirmed pregnant my boss and I began to notice that one of her front legs appeared twisted.  Upon further inspection it was clear that it was in fact deformed but not broken and was causing her no pain. She ran and jumped and played just like all the other heifers.  The heavier she got with calf, the more twisted her leg became.  However, it never seemed to pain her and she milked just fine after having a healthy calf.  So, she became a part of the herd.  However, I was always concerned that someday she would get pushed just a little too hard by a more dominant cow or fall on a slick spot or due to rough terrain on the few occasions that the slats in the barn froze during the winter months. 

So when NP began looking for a nurse cow, specifically a Jersey nurse cow, to feed a few bottle calves, a mutual friend pointed him my way.  And I was more than happy to send Abby (at that time known strictly as 26147) to a home where she would face little to no competition from other cows and would have footing and care better suited to her unique needs. And that is how Abby found her way to Brun Ko Farm. And became the connection between NP and I.  I guess we owe a lot to our bossy Abby cow!
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Abby even gets bossy with the wheel barrow!
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In this photo you can see that Abby's front right leg is twisted. It doesn't slow her down though!
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    Emily Paulsen

    Just a woman with a passion for the animals, the land, and feeding people!

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