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Meet Our Herd: Iys

2/26/2016

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PictureIys's favorite place to be is outside! Especially on cool spring and autumn days!
Dogs are an important part of many farmer’s lives. Iys dog (pronounced: Ice) has been a loyal companion to NP for 13+ years. She predates Brun Ko Farm by more than a decade! They have been companions through a broken hip (Iys’s), dog training school and lots of life’s little challenges.
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Iys is intelligent, loyal, lovable and very tolerant but one thing she is NOT is a cattle dog. When NP first brought Abby and his first bottle calves home, he had visions of training Iys to help ‘work’ the  calves. However, Iys was not interested and was in fact even scared of them – skirting cow pens whenever possible. Which was probably wise because Abby isn’t terribly friendly towards dogs – chasing them whenever she gets the chance!

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Which is scarier: Abby? or Thunder? Evidently, thunder!
Besides cows, Iys also has a long standing fear of thunder.  One night during chores we learned which fear was stronger! That particular day had been stormy looking but it didn’t really start thundering and raining until we were down in the barn so like usual, Iys was in the barn with us. That particular night, I had the pleasure of milking Abby and all of a sudden I heard a big ka-boom! And before I could even tell what was happening, Iys was huddled underneath Abby and as close to me as she could get! Turns out Abby was the lesser of the two evils!
PictureNow that's service!
Now a days, Iys dog has earned a new name: Old Dog. Used affectionately of course! She spends her days mostly sleeping but she still insists on going down to do chores even though she still doesn’t much care for the cows. Except to eat their poo. That seems to be a delicacy. Don’t ask me – she often times leaves her food sit but if there is a good pile of calf poo nearby – she’s all over that.

Another thing that we are learning about in Iys’s old age is doggy Alzheimers. It’s a real thing, I swear. Although, Iys can usually get halfway to the barn before she starts to look lost – the location of the backyard seems to move daily in her mind. Most days we have to guide her in after she misses the corner 3 or 4 times. In addition to her mind, her body is also starting to give way. Her food dish tends to get away from her in her attempts to eat and her legs sometimes give way causing her to have to sit or even lay down to eat. NP  does a good job of keeping her bowl pushed up close enough to her that she can finish her meal. However, on this particular day, she got so frustrated she gave up and laid down in a huff. NP took pity and delivered the food bowl directly to her choice of bed for the day.

Old age seems to be kind of a crappy deal even for dogs. But there is one benefit to the deal -

Table scraps.

Iys and Piper don’t generally get table scraps. Mostly because they don’t need them, but also because the giving of table scraps can result in bad habits like begging and table surfing. Iys, however, is long past the days of developing such habits and has had trouble keeping weight on. The weight loss is in part due to her tendency to skips meals. So to tempt her to eat every meal and to help maintain weight, select table scraps have made their way onto her menu. Eggs are her favorite and she will eat almost anything to get to the egg at the bottom of her bowl! Eggs are probably also the most common treat that she gets as I often have a bit of egg wash or lonely egg yolks left over after baking. If a bit of it dries to the side of her bowl she will lick and push her bowl around for hours trying to get every last bit! She’s kind of like a kid with a lollipop.

All in all, Iys is doing pretty darn good for her age and we feel pretty lucky to still have her around. She isn’t the most affectionate dog on the farm but she tolerates our petting and hugging and she is a great source of amusement and comfort. We are enjoying the time we have left with her, however long that may be!

**We know many of you have loyal companions as well. We would love to hear about them in the comments section!**
 
Enjoy!
Brun Ko Farm

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Meet Our Herd: 26160

2/7/2016

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26160, affectionately known as AJ, has a unique position in our herd. AJ is Abby's 2nd calf, and the first calf born at Brun Ko Farm! As such, she has always been just a tad (read: a lot) spoiled. NP makes it a point to ‘make friends’ with all of the critters on the farm but AJ is by far the most receptive to his attempts.  She’ll push through the crowd every time, to get front and center at the gate where NP is handing out ear scratches.


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AJ (26160) enjoying a sunny corner of the barn.
​AJ is approaching 2 years old and is pregnant with her first calf! She joined the ranks of the other heifers a month or so ago when she was confirmed pregnant and received her ear tags! Now, most calves are given ear tags when they are born. This is important for quick and easy identification. However, AJ being the only one on the place with no tags, a fair bit younger than the rest of the herd, and having her own particular attitude, we weren’t too worried about losing track of her! And we still really aren’t but after Lily (AJ’s half sister) was born, we decided it was about time that AJ graduate and get ‘ear rings’ like the rest of the girls ;).
AJ as a baby!
Hangin' with the 'big girls'. AJ is the one sandwiched in the middle :)
Close up!
AJ last fall - can you see a bit of her attitude??
​​AJ currently lives in the same pen with Abby and 54. She might have the humans at Brun Ko wrapped around her finger but she tends to be at the bottom of the totem pole when grouped with the rest of the heifers so we put her in the pen with the more bunk space and less competition at meal time! In fact, Abby and 54 are fed in the stanchions, so AJ has only herself to blame if she doesn’t get her fair share of the grain.

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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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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