Clementine at 10 Months

A comparison of our little bottle calf at a few days and 10 months old.  She is now weaned and on forage, and fully integrated into the herd….but she hasn't forgotten her friends!

Updates Coming Soon!

We are hoping this winter ends soon-we will be coming out of hibernation soon and will have updates posted on pricing and availability.  Only 2 1/2 weeks left until SPRING!

I'm posting a picture of Neel sharing some leftover corn and pumpkin with the herd from last fall-look at all that GREEN GRASS!  This snow can't go away fast enough!

Clementine

We have been so busy this summer, I just realized that our bottle calf, Clementine, never got a proper introduction.  

She was born on May 30th to a first time mother.  The birth went well and she was a healthy little heifer, but when she got up and attempted to nurse, her mother would not allow her.  This does sometimes happen with a first calf-it is always heartbreaking.  After unsuccessful attempts to get one of the other cows to "adopt" her, we made the decision to bottle feed her.  It is essential that calves get an adequate supply of colostrum (a nutrient and antibody rich substance that cows produce for only about 12 hours after delivering) in the first 2 hours after birth, and we were running out of time.  We always TRY and keep a supply of powdered colostrum on hand, but on this day, it was a frantic race to the feed store to get more.

Clementine moved into our backyard where she would be safe from predators and/or other cows that normally her mother would have protected her from.  She had a great appetite and quickly learned how to use the bottle.  She spent her first 2 months camping out under our deck, where she had a fan to keep her cool and keep the bugs away, regular grooming, a straw house with an extra soft bed, and our three dogs as her playmates.  She imprinted on Neel very quickly and would follow him around every morning and afternoon as we did the other chores.  Regular calf stuff.

When we felt she was big enough to hold her own with the hard, we slowly re-integrated her.  The other calves welcomed her immediately and Wallace the Bull was very protective of his little girl.  She is living with them full time now and remains happy and healthy.  She still gets bottled milk replacer 3 times daily but will be weaned in a few months along with the rest of the other calves.

Clementine will remain with us and become one of our breeding cows.  Although I would always prefer that the animals are raised by their mothers in as natural an environment as possible, it has been a wonderful experience caring for her and getting to know her.

Pork is Ready!

There is still plenty of summer left-pick up some bacon and enjoy a great BLT with some ripe tomatoes, grill up some chops and sweet corn, or BBQ a roast for some great pulled pork.  Check out the price list for availability and call or email an order!

A few of my favorite things.....

Baby calves, strawberries, and basil....three things I look forward to every year!

HFF Garden

We are lucky enough to have some wonderful local farmers to swap meat for veggies with, but this year we decided to also expand our own gardens at HFF.  In addition to our raised beds, we chose a spot (pre-tilled by our pigs!) to try a Three Sisters garden....a traditional Native American garden concept that should allow us to grow corn, beans, and pumpkin with very little maintenance.  The beans will grow up the corn stalks, eliminating the need for trellising, and the pumpkin vines smother the weeds.
We also added blueberry bushes and expanded the herb garden-now we just have to wait to harvest!

May 2013

A few shots from around the farm this past month.  We are loving spring!