Friday on the Farm

awaiting breakfast

A cow and her calf are in the barn where I live. The heifer calf is coughing and breathing a little difficulty, so we hauled the cow and calf out of the pasture to the barn so I can treat her. Once the calf is better, they will return to the pasture to graze.

 

The second morning in the barn, Orange 9 peeked out of a barn window and was awaiting her breakfast! Such a sweet face! She was making sure I was bringing her some corn and hay.

I love this picture so much, I made a 16 x 20 black and white print to frame and hang in my farm house <3

Farm Chick Favorite

* love WIU *

love wiu

I heart this Western Illinois University shirt! It is so adorable! I am pretty excited about showing my purple pride in it :) It is now my most favorite WIU shirt! It is a great day to be a Leatherneck.

Find this cute shirt is at fanprint.com!

#farmchickfavorite

Friday on the Farm

soybean swelling

Dad planted a field of soybeans on Sunday. The soybeans were swollen we checked the field on Tuesday morning. Soon they will be pushing through the soil!

 

 

[ agriculture photos @ monicastevens.photoshelter.com ]

 

Friday on the Farm

snowy cow

Snow fell this week. Flakes of snow lightly covered cows as they ate hay on Valentine's Day.

[ agriculture photos @ monicastevens.photoshelter.com ]

happy valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our snowy red, white, and roans!

 

Snow fell on this Valentine's Day. And, I couldn't resist taking a few photos of our cows in the falling snow.

Farm Chick Favorite

Candles by Swan Creek Candle Co...aDorE!

lavender & lemongrass



On a visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards, I discovered Swan Creek Candle Co. The candles smell absolutely wonderful! And, I love the pottery...so pretty! They will be perfect for my rustic farm home. The pottery bowl is able to be refilled with soybean wax from Swan Creek Candle Co. Love it!  



roasted espresso



I ordered three scents...Lavender & Lemongrass, Roasted Espresso, and Crisp Cotton. And, I am looking forward to enjoying the scents in my farm home!

 

#farmchickfavorite

renovating a calving area

 

Last spring, we started renovating part of a barn for calving. We own two For-Most calving tubs...one for each farm. We use these calving pens in case a cow is in need of assistance in calving. We will have used these calving tubs for three seasons now. And, they have made assisting a cow in calving safer and stress free. My calving tub was moved to a different area of the barn and set on a rock mix for the 2015 calving season.

 

In October 2015, concrete was poured in the area of the barn where we had my For-Most calving tub last spring. The concrete will make this area perfect! We will have two 10 x 12 pens in the back of the barn to use for new cow/calf pairs. New lighting will be added to this section of the barn. I have drawn plans to figure out what is needed. I also have hope to include a barn camera in the near future.

calving vaccinations

The countdown to calving begins! We are about 5 weeks away from the start of calving. And, I have been busy preparing. I've put together our calving kit...Clorox wipes, paper towels, flashlight, calving record book, weight tape measure, iodine, syringes, needles, vaccinations, paper tags, marker, and glue. 

 

 

When our calves are born, they receive a series of shots...Vitamin B12, Bo-Se (Selenium and Vitamin E), Enforce 3 - Bovine Rhinotracheitis Parainfluenza Respiratory, CalfGuard - Bovine Rota Coronavirus, Clostridium with E Coli, and penicillin. Our health program for calving costs about $35 per calf. But, it gives our calves a great start to a healthy life!