#60 Has Black Bull #85- 4/25/17

Our red heifer #60 had a black bull #85, and is being a great mother.  Whimpered a little while I tagged him but is keeping him from the herd for now.

Mystery Orphan- #84

On Thursday or Friday of last week I find this emaciated guy standing knee deep in runoff water drinking his fill.  No one shows interest in him so he is either a twin that was rejected or the survivor of #62 who didn't survive calving which would mean this guy- now named Swamp Water (or Swampy according to Heather and Remedy)- survived 4 days with no colostrum and only swamp water.  We got some milk replacer in him and found a mother at FaceBook Friend Melissa Cherry Reimer's herd that needed a baby.

#52 Doesn't bother to leave the feedlot for #83- a bull 4/22/17

At least #52 found a dry place to lay #82- large bull in early morning of 4/22/17.  He was skipping around within minutes.

Pippy Long Stockings has large bull- # 82- 4/19/17

Pippy- #3- had a large bull #82 on 4/19/17.  She nuzzled and whimpered a little while I tagged him but she is a good mother with tons of milk.

4/18/17- #51 has speedy heifer- #81

#51 went as far away as possible to drop her heifer- #81.  She was less than 24 hours old but jumped up and ran across entirely across section 17 with her mom to join the herd.  Just call her Speedy.  She finally got in a corner of the corral where I could tag her.

Sad Finish for #62- 4/17/17

This was how I found #62- out secluded by herself.  Looked like the afterbirth came out but she couldn't get up- no sign of struggle.

Tallow

After a couple years of study I have decided to switch from all cooking oils and margarine and butter to using our own tallow.  On the left is what was skimmed off the crock pot of bones that we cooked down for gravy.  The bottom part has cooled and the top is fresh out of the crock. I am going to document how much we can save from a typical trim box from processing a side of our beef.  I'm convinced at this point that the benefits of using our own tallow outweigh the risks and expense of using even the "healthy" stuff from the stores.  We will keep you posted.

4/22/17

As a result of "processing" a typical 42.5 pound trim box I ended up with 10 pounds of tallow all deposited in paper cupcake holders.  Also got 2 gallons of bone broth that didn't last very long.  That was the most delicious drink once warmed and liquified.  Also got about a gallon of skittles that are in the freezer but which I'm still looking for a use for.  The remainder was bones that became a great source of heat in the fireplace.