Farming is Dangerous-- And It Can Hurt.

The other night, I was going to write this but I just could not manage too. I had a horrible headache, felt dizzy, a little nauseated and just wanted to go to sleep. So I did.

Here is the real life of being a farmer. You get hurt. And it happens-- most days in some way.

Usually it is a small wound, no doctor needed and you either just ignore it or you give in to your wife/sister/daughter telling you to go inside, clean it up and bandage it. Thankfully, we have never had to many major injuries on our farm-- but there is a HUGE chance every day. I know there is a risk at every job but folks lets be honest-- I know way to many other farmers that can tell you about personal injuries or even death of a family member from working on the farm. Did you know that in 2012 there was 374 farmers/farm workers that died according to the CDC (link here). Many more injuries and accidents occur every day-- this is a serious deal.

(Here is a good article about farm accidents and how serious they are on Modern Farmer: Death on the Farm.)

Today, I am thankful that I am alive. I was very lucky to not get more seriously hurt the other night and that I walked away with just a slight concussion. I was opening the gates into the holding pen to let the cows in for the evening milking. I tapped a cow with the gate to get her to move out of the way so that I could hook it in front of the alley way-- well apparently she did NOT like that. She kicked the gate and before I knew it this heavy metal gate went straight to my head. Right above my temple. Thank the Good Lord that it did not hit any harder or any lower and I may not be here to write this blog or spend another day alive.

However, me being me, I did not go to the doctor, I iced it for a bit made sure it was not cut opened and after 15 minutes of so went back out (lucky me, my sister is a nurse and happened to be there when this happened so she checked it over) and did the whole milking and the milking the next morning before taking the night off. I still have a few minor headaches but it could be the weather. The moral of the story is-- in the matter of seconds everything could change and it is a dangerous world. I am thankful for being alive and that it was not worse. Be thankful-- for every one and every thing.

I had thought that from my morning milking that things would go ten times better that day. I had already slipped and fell, causing a huge bruise on my hip and then a cow kicked my hand up in the panel and cut it open in two places. Minor injuries to what would happen that night. Let's just say my new nickname on the farm is proving itself more and more. "Cow Boom" started because of my many small injuries and because I started a tractor on fire-- yeah that was a fun night! (no worries the tractor is fine and running still) here is too hoping nothing worse happens!

Be thankful my friends-- you never know what will happen tomorrow!



The Milkmaid 

Here is some pictures I took-- doesn't really do it
justice but still the best I could get!
And sorry for the faces-- I didn't exactly
feel the best.

Luckily for me-- it is just black and blue now
minus the headaches

The Good Ole V-Day...Bull.

By now all the Valentine’s Day candy has been ate, the flowers have died and life is back to the grind. Another holiday down and I could not be more thankful. I am not one of those big holiday people. I do not enjoy Valentine's Day at all. Even though I have one, my heart goes out to those that do not and I can remember when I was that single girl and hated the holiday even more. Luckily for me, the whole love thing grows in my heart every time a new calf is born cause who can’t resist the sweet face of a little baby calf? It just got me thinking about the change that came that first Valentine’s Day with my hubs. The one where I asked that we do not celebrate it cause shouldn’t we celebrate our love every day? Yeah. I asked him to keep it pretty simple. So we did and still do very minimal celebrating goes on for the love day but we still show it every day and take the time to go out on "dates" when we can.

Now....

This is my love. Finding a new baby calf early in the morning and showering it with love and care. Meet Miss Little Red (for now, until I think of a good name anyway) 

I found her not long after she had been born, her momma #19 did a good job and cleaned her up for the most part but had her in a bad spot. She was shivering cold and needed dried off a bit more. So for the first time in over a year (usually hubs or dad are around for this part, but it was just me this morning) I picked her up and carried her into our bulk tank room. There I placed her in front of the heater and on some used feed sacks so the concrete wouldn't be so cold. I took some towels and rubbed her down and used a hair dryer to warm her up and dry her off. She was a good calf and just laid there for me after having bawled as I carried her causing every cow to become momma cow and follow me up to the barn bawling back... Quite the chatter this morning! 

Finally she was cleaned up for the most part and by then my dad had showed up to help me with the milking. I placed a calf coat on her and went back to milking. I milked her momma to get her that nice good colostrum that every baby needs. She was a happy camper for sure and I was happy for her but had to go on and finish my chores instead of just sitting there and playing with her all morning. Work must be finished and my other R&Ws would probably get pretty jealous of me not paying attention to them. 

My dad and I were thrilled to see she was a Red and White Holstein. We purchased a R&W bull last spring and hoped we would get some out of him even though we don't have many R&W cows. Well #19 is not a R&W, she is black and white so we were beyond thrilled to see Little Red. I, however, do not like Red Bull. He is a typical Holstein bull. If you have never been warned here it is, stay clear of Holstein bulls as much as possible. I don't know why but they get pretty feisty and are not so friendly after a while. Now that is not true of all Holstein bulls, we have had bulls that we can pet and our just little sweeties. Red Bull and I have a day to day relationship. Some days he just watches me and leaves me alone to get the cows in and other days he is kicking up dirt, hollering and following me or stirring up the cows and being a pain in the bull. My dad usually gets to get the cows in on those days cause he just doesn't mess with the man in charge. Men. Hmmph. 

Unfortunately, dealing with cold calves and feisty bulls are just part of the job description. A job I wouldn't change for anything. Just sometimes you wish others could understand all that goes into being any type of farmer and how big our hearts are full of love. 

My love for my cows and job goes on twice a day every day. My cows see love every time they are milked, fed or just go out to check on them. My favorite part of the day is petting my cows Annabel and Pineapple. They are my red and whites, my prize and joy, and now this sweet little girl... Even though she looks too much like the bull! 

Until next time,

The Milkmaid

P.S. - no sweet resolution update 50 days strong! 100 more to go! 

It's a Trap!

While everyone is talking about getting trapped into marriage before 23 (and yes, for the record, I am one of those trapped in a marriage because I got married at 22 (which to me isn't really a trap)) or trapped into a never ending something rather… I have a little different kind of trap I want to share with you.

The Trapping Season—like you trap animals.

Hubs and his catch one day.

Hub’s is getting big into the trapping thing these days. I use to just listen to him go on and on about just hunting. Now I get to listen to him talk about both. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy listening to him sometimes. 

And even though, I don’t want to admit this, I like learning new things from him. It is his fault I wear camo now and enjoy going out and about hunting with him.

So what is trapping?

Trapping, according to Dictionary.com,

     a contrivance used for catching game or other animals, as a mechanical device that springs shut suddenly.

Trapping Season (at least in Kansas) runs from middle of November until almost the end of February. In order to participate in trapping you must obtain a Fur Harvester License. Which you can get anywhere you buy deer tags, water fowl stamps, hunting licenses etc. Your state regulations may require you to take a test before you can obtain your permit, though. You can easily find your state's law online or in a sporting good store.

Why do we trap?

For hubs, he has two reasons he traps. One, he does it for sport/enjoyment. Just like hunting, he enjoys the thrill and challenge of hunting his game. Two, he likes to help reduce the pest and varmint population.

Let me explain, what some people call “cute” little raccoon's, skunks and opossums can carry many different types of diseases. Rabies, Opossum Disease, and TGE are just a few to be named. Here is a list to more http://www.wildlifedamage.com/index.html (this is specifically for animals found around Denver, but also in Kansas minus a few, but has some good information)

So, how does that affect us? Well, our cows are currently out on milo stalks in the fields with these little critters, not to mention they like to wander up to the farm, bring their little diseases with them and spread them to our cattle and other animals. They could give it to one of our dogs and then to us. You know the whole chain of disease spreading thing, right? The end result sometimes isn't so pretty. Our animals can get very sick or even die. The reason we trap for coyotes specifically around our farm is because they are predators. They attack our cows and calves for their food source and it is extremely important that we protect our animals. Another reason is that these critters can be damaging to properties. For example, we have a silage pit that the raccoons and other critters like to walk on and tear up. This is not good for many reasons because we need our silage to stay packed in order to ferment, not become spoiled and not blow away with that crazy Kansas wind.

What do we use to trap?

Hubs (and his father) could tell you in what may seem like a million different ways to trap. Here is just a few that I have been out with him to set.

The different traps
(From left to right: The Conibear, The Dog Proof, The Snare,  The Foot Trap)

The Foot Trap

A foot trap is effective for trapping all fur bearers, anything from a raccoon to a coyote. The trap holds the critter by the foot until the trapper can dispatch the animal. This kind of trapping does keep the animal alive until the harvester checks his traps (which have to be done within every 24 hours), then one must put the animal down.

The Conibear

A Conibear trap is also known as a “body grip” trap. These traps are used for most fur bearers, usually more effective for the smaller animals, such as badgers, beavers, bobcats, and etc. This trap is designed to capture the animal around the head region and as humanely as possible dispatch them.

The Snare

A Snare is used for trapping all furbearers. This type of trap is a cable with a locking device attached to it that is designed to take the animal around the head region or foot. The animal is alive in this trap until the harvester must dispatch them.

The Dog Proof Trap

This is a Dog Proof Trap set 

This type of trap is used to catch mainly raccoons. It is a type of a foot trap, see above. This is used mostly for raccoons due to their small double jointed hand being able to reach through a small hole that dogs and other non-target animals cannot reach through. These are good for use around farms and houses, as well as other areas.

Where to trap?

A good trapping spot can be picked by scanning different areas usually in a mostly wooded area and away from livestock and non-targeted species. Foot and Conibear traps are used in the pasture next to the milo stalks our cattle are currently grazing as it is a convenience for Hubs to check as he checks fence in the mornings. Also, it keeps the critters away from our cattle and their newborns. Dog Proof Traps are used around the silage pit because it is close to the farm yard and he does not want to catch the farm dogs or cats, but he wants to keep the raccoons off the pile to keep the milkmaid happy. Because as he states, “If the milkmaid is happy, everybody is happy!” Bucket traps (a Conibear trap placed in a bucket) are placed along creek banks and pastures not being used during the winter months.

Hubs setting traps

How to get the animal to the trap?

After we set the traps we must bait them to attract the targeted specie. Bait can be anything from a store bought mixture to a chicken carcass to a marshmallow. Dog Proof traps are often baited with something sweet, such as a marshmallow or molasses. Conibear traps are often placed in a bucket that has some type of meat source in the back of the bucket in which they stick the head region in the trap to eat and then get captured. Foot hold traps are covered with loose dirt in front of a hole made to look like a rodent hole which has a cotton ball covered with store bought paste or meat source in it. A foot hold traps can also be covered with loose dirt in front of an object that has urine from the targeted specie on it.

Conibear trap set and ready 

Removing the trap

So what happens then?

It is important to know that we take all trapping very seriously. We make sure to position them only where trails for our targeted animals occur. We want to make sure no humans or non-targeted animals get into them and that we handle all targeted animals humanely. Trapping can be a very successful endeavor if you educate yourself with many videos that can be find in stores and online and read many forums and blogs about trapping. At the end of the season, we sell all of the fur to a fur buyer and what is profited goes to next year’s season to help control the pest and varmint populations. As for the fur, it then can go on to make coats, jackets, leg warmers, blankets, pelts, pillows, rugs and clothing.

So for all of you other trappers out there, good luck with the rest of your season, and for others we hoped you learned a little bit about trapping. We want you to know that this is just a slight glimpse of the trapping world and there is much more that can be learned about it through numerous other sites and programs and we encourage you to take some time and learn about the trapping seasons and why we do what we do not to harm animals but to help.

Raccoon

Coyote 

Badger

Happy Trapping to You!

The Milkmaid and The Trapper (Hubs)

Hubs and his Badger.
 (It was the first one he has ever trapped!)