Patsy update.

Patsy is doing well.I think she adjusted to losing the calf better than we did.She was in heat on Sunday.I marked the calender so I can keep track again.We don't want to breed her until July or August.I am hoping this time everything works out ok.She needs to lose some weight( don't we all ) because she is very fat and that isn't good for her.We thought for sure there was another calf in there but nothing.She still looks pregnant.Her milk is starting to dry up.That is what I feel bad about the most.It has to be uncomfortable.She is back to herself as far as personality.She is back to being curious and affectionate.This is the main reason I wanted so badly to give her another chance.So we are back to the wait and see.Hopefully next year we will have a beautiful calf.

seedlings

I wanted to try starting seeds this year.Usually I buy my veggie plants but this year I wanted to give this a shot.I got some seed starting trays from Walmart.I followed the instructions on the seed packets and I couldn't believe it when they sprouted( I wanted to say hatched cause I have eggs on the brain)
I had John hang the light for me.We also have this in the basement.With all our projects our basement is pretty full.
A week later they started sprouting.The tomato plants are about 4 inches now and started to get their real leaves.I will take some pictures along the way.So by the end of summer you can see if they make it.

Incubator

Here is our incubator.It has automatic turners so they turn every so often.John know what brand it is and what degree it is set to.The humidity has to be just so.He has it all down to a science.We get great hatchs.I would say around 95%.
We incubate and hatch in our basement so to keep an even temperature.I love hearing the sound of little peeps coming from inside the eggs when they are almost ready to hatch.

Hatcher

Here is the eggs all set in hatching baskets in the hatcher. It is great because you can see them hatch right before your eyes.

Hatching chicks

Here are some of the cute chicks that hatched a week ago

Patsy's calf

Patsy had her calf very early Wednesday morning.We found him at about 5 a.m.He was very tiny and was very cold.She had cleaned him off but he just wasn't responding.We brought him into the basement and dried him off.Warmed him up until he was alert. It took a long time to get him to stand.We had gotten some colostrum from a dairy farmer.We bottle fed him some to give him strength.He was doing well.But he just didn't have the sucking response he should have had.
We didn't want Patsy to forget about him so when we got him stronger and standing we brought him out to her.She was wonderful.She licked him all over again.She tried to get him to nusre but he didn't have any idea what to do.
So we put her in the head gate and milked her.She stood still and was a very good girl.We feed him some more.He would lick and swallow but just not suck.We didn't want to leave him outside at night because we were afraid of him getting cold again.So we brought him when the sun went down.We fed him every 4 hours during the night.The first feeding he ate well.The 2 O'Clock feeding he wasn't interested and by morning he didn't want much at all.I had to go to work.Lucky John was off and could stay.The calf wasn't responding well by mid morning so John called the vet.They recommended giving him a shot of vitamin E and selenium.We did but he just wasnt strong enough and didn't make it.If it wasn't for John's cousin's Sharon and Robert I didn't think he would have made it as far as he did.They were are endless supply of information.My deepest gratitude goes to them.