Mastitis / Gooseberries / Fox
Posted: Monday 19 July, 2021
Monday 12th July
Bit of haar, then the sun came out and it was very warm.
I milked Annie out with the machine – about 2.5 litres – and she’s not sore at all. There was a cut on her teat and a bit of flappy skin, but that came off when I washed her, so I think that will make her more comfortable. Blizzard was obviously stimulated by the noise of the machine and was leaking milk. Maybe not dry yet.
The flies are torture.
Tuesday 13th July
Rora’s doing well at her halter training. She now stands and lets me put it on (pretty much) because she knows she gets her bucket afterwards. They’re no daft, cows.
Rosedean Aurora.
Wednesday 14th July
The pigs aren’t making much impression on the grass in their pen. Dan’s itching to get in and strim it.
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Pig pen, pigs in the distance.
Thursday 15th July
My birthday today, St Swithin’s Day. Dan and I had lunch in Dundee, ice cream and a walk along the waterfront.
Annie had her last antibiotic jag. Thankfully. She seems fine and I’ve put her back in with Rosie and Ace, who immediately served her. That would explain his agitation over the last 24 hours. Hopefully, she’ll hold.
I lifted the onions, shallots and garlic out and planted my Gourmet brassica plants, which were delivered this morning. Note to self; don’t grow onions, they take up space and you can buy British organic onions for a quid. The shallots and garlic have done well.
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Shallots.
Friday 16th July
Positive stuff on the cow front; Annie looking fine and calf is suckling from the sore teat and Blizzard almost sound.
The blackcurrants are ready. Over ready really, so picking is underway. It’s not the picking but the soring afterwards that does my head in. However, I have discovered Pure Radio, which is a Scottish station, and I love it. And it breaks the mind numbingness of picking over blackcurrants. And gooseberries.
Saturday 17th July
So hot. So many flies.
Lots of soft fruit ready – even a few raspberries and strawberries.
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Fruit harvest - a wee bit of it.
And just when it’s all going swimmingly, Foxy has got into the brown hen house pen and killed twenty hens, this year’s new layers mainly. Wee Sheldon has survived but he’s looking pretty shaken up.
Sunday 18th July
Opened the brown hen house this morning to find Sheldon collapsed off the perch where I put him last night. I thought he was dead. However, he’s not so he’s now living in the feed store with food and water. We’ll see how he goes.
Annie’s quarter looked a bit swollen this morning, so I put the machine on her. Not much milk but no heat, blood, lumps or flakes and no apparent discomfort, and I was pummelling her quite hard to get her to drop her milk. I wonder if the calf doesn’t like sucking if the teat has cream or spray on? I’ll keep them in tonight, away from the flies, so no spray, and see how things are in the morning (her quarter was fine in the evening)
I’ve ordered Quiet Wean thingys; can’t take the noise any more.
The fox got in through a hole in the fence made by Ace trying to eat the willow in the hen pen. Willow now cut down and fence repaired. Robbie, our shooter, coming out tonight.
