My skinny girlie arms are SO tired. We collected 100 bales of good alfalfa hay from my friend the straw man and then one by one we hauled them up into the mezzanine floor of the barn to wait for winter. The Teenager unloaded them from the trailer..
..and carried them through to Our John who winched them up into the hay mow (said like Miaow) using this wicked ancient old pulley (found in another friends scrap metal heap) that you pull up by hand. 
Once John had swung the bale on to the first floor, pulling on the rope attached to the apex of the barn, I disengaged this apparatus, dropped that back down to The Lanky Teenager, carried the bale across and stacked it with the others. I like to stack because then I get the hay in the order I want it because I feed out by myself all winter and no-one else does it right! 
There are three grades of hay that will need mixing at feeding time as different animals have different nutrition requirements. Grass, alfalfa/grass (Johns hay) and alfalfa. The alfalfa is the highest in protein. In NZ alfalfa is called lucerne. It is the good stuff. These bales are very heavy. There is a good solid 60 plus pounds of hay in each. ) A cow will eat half a bale a day. Usually a quarter alfalfa and a quarter grass hay. And due to the dry weather hay will be in short supply this year. So I am feeling smug about having it all in and under cover. Johns alfalfa field, though struggling, will be mown and baled later this week if all goes well.
The Shush Sisters were setting up quite the clammer as they watched us work so in the breaks I let them out for a wee run and some training. 
I have been thinking about the pigs and the cost of feeding them once they are big and I am not sure the farm can feed and house two through the winter. Also the area designated for pigs in the winter was only meant for one pig. I am very against overcrowding animals. So I am going to be looking for a nice student to sell Charlotte to. My goal is that the farm is to feed the farm. Our pigs came from a litter of eleven. I am not even sure at this point whether I will breed Sheila as that is a lot of pigs to manage and sell. If Sheila is good with her training then she will be out and about with me most days. And in the dead of winter she will be in the barn with the other animals and me, so she will not be alone.
Sometimes we make mistakes. I think that the mistake is just that a mistake. But admitting the mistake, owning it, then dealing with the mistake is very powerful. My mistake was buying two piglets, sweet and entertaining as they are at this age. But they will grow to be about 400 – 500 pound and that is not be sustainable or manageable. Not to mention having two 500 pound sows trotting around after me as I go about my work. So I need to make this better.
One can come and sit on the verandah, not two. Well, let me know what you think. You all have a voice in the farmy and many of you have very experienced voices.
Good morning. Yesterday Daisy gave so much milk that she overflowed the bucket into the air line and down into the pump. All this in just under about three minutes by the way. Luckily our John was on hand to clean and dry the lines and the pump is still going. So he has ordered a bigger bucket. The one I am using is stainless steel so I cannot see when it is full. It is a 35 pound bucket full. So I have to keep lifting it. If it feels full (a knowledge that only comes with experience and that is something I do not have) I am to stop milking and pour some out. Then either reattach the cups and start again or hand milk the last of the milk out. I hope the bigger bucket comes FAST!
Paisley Daisy is in a good paddock! All that lovely clover. This bucket is full at just over 3 gallons. The next one will be 5.
Now I had better get my tired and achy self out there and get to work.
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
85 responses to “Daisy’s Cup Runneth Over”
Morning! Fabulous shots from the barn, the winch is a thing of beauty Celi.
Well done for realising the mistake and then working out the solution – I always feel better when I’ve worked something out like that.
And haven’t the Sush sisters grown in the few weeks, feels like I’m talking about a child I haven’t seen for a while and you bump into them in the street with their parent, oooo haven’t you got tall?!
They are growing so fast, it is the milk and eggs i think!! c
Always interesting and usefull info. Stored in my head for future use. Please remember to rest dear one.
Morning honey, i seriously considered laying down in the hammock after chores this morning, but chatting with you guys is more fun! c
“Girlie arms” or not, anyone’s arms would be sore after a day spent hauling hay. I’d be willing to bet you’re a lot stronger than you’re letting on, Celi. I wouldn’t arm wrestle ya, that’s for sure!
Surprisingly, I know a little about hay. Some years ago, I captured a baby guinea pig, “Charlie”, that had been eating my spring flowers in the front garden. They’re fed alfalfa when young because of the high mineral & vitamin content but switched to Timothy when adult.
As for the pigs, I know one thing: you will do what is best for them. Mistake? Hardly. Even if one is given up, she will fare better than if you hadn’t brought her home but left her fate in the hands of the swineherd. You’ll make sure of it.
I hope you can find a cool place to spend a couple hours this afternoon. Good morning, Celi!
Morning John, we have a lovely day ahead of us so far!! Fancy catching a WILD guinea pig!! what a hoot! c
Beautifully neat hay! I realise that maybe you have a problem with those piggies but they really do like the company of another of their own kind. Maybe by breeding them, the sale of your six-week-old weaners could allow you to buy in some organic pig-pellets to top up what they get from the farmy. Or perhaps you could just keep Sheila, breed from her, sell most of her piglets and fatten up others so that she still has piggy company most of the time, until breeding time comes around once more. A difficult decision.
Christine
I think this may be the answer.. I will see if there is a market for them.. c
Morning Celi, is there any chance you can sell Charlotte back to the Haahg farmer? Not sure what your milk pump set up looks like, but I have seen glass receptacles on automated (commercial systems), or are these not available on smaller ones like yours? Can Bobby Blanc not help out with the last bit? Laura
Our next bucket will be transparent, Bobby Blanc could go in at that point if he promised to not head butt his mother and also promised to just take a few sips from each of the four quarters. It worked out this morning, I just hand milked the last bit.. maybe I will teach the cats to catch it in their mouths like in the pictures!! c
oh no…..down to one shush sister? well, i certainly can see your point when they are grown and it is best to address the problem now. we learn from our mistakes which is why we need to make them in the first place. at least you didn’t bring all 6 of them home. we were supposed to get rain yesterday and it missed us again. we are so short on rain i can’t imagine what the rest of the summer will be like. i am noticing insects forming nests on my plants which is always a sign of drought. i hope you find a good home for the little shush!
I hate that feeling of watching the clouds just pass you by! heres hoping you get some soon. But i fear we are in for a dry summer, this is why i am feeling smug about getting our hay in early before there is a shortage.. c
It’s a delimma, to be sure…Pigs do like their own kind. The suggestion above is a good one – selling off most of a litter as weanlings can help pay for the ones you’ll keep to stock your own freezer next year.
Great photos from the barn – I can smell that swirling haydust!
Air freshener for the barn! c
And they grow so fast I’ll bet. I’m sure you’ll find someone to take one. Great photos.
Morning greg! c
That looks like a long and labor intensive process to get hay into the barn. My dad used a grain elevator to transport the bales upward. But that would be another expense and probably unnecessary for the size of your Farmy.
Oh how I long for one of those! Actually I am sure it is john who longs for one as i would still be stacking! But you are right. I like to have 250 hay and 50 straw, we can hand move that many. c
Celi what a tough decision for you to make. I do know though that you will make the right one, which ever way it has to go.
Have a lovely day.
🙂 Mandy
Morning Mandy! c
An informative and sensible post, Celi. Recognizing an error in judgement and fixing it is not as painful as living with the consequences later on. Good luck.
bulls in a china shop is an expression that comes to mind. Pigs do not walk slowly by like cows, they RUN everywhere! c
Girlie arms my butt. You are a strong woman. I’m ni expert, but I think you’re right about the sisters. Pigs are strong, and smarter than dogs. If you don’t have the wherewithal to control them, they can be pretty destructive. In the south, many have escaped and become a huge menace. Long term, you may all be happier with just one. You can’t work yourself ragged just to feed a pig.
I have heard about the feral pigs running wild .. and they can have litters of 10 or more three times a year.. that must be a huge problem.. They do grow to be very big, and if Sheila becomes bonded with the others particularly the Bobby Blanc and Minty, then she will have company of sorts! c
That is a lot of hay, no wonder you had a busy day!
Sorry that you’re now in the middle of a slight ‘dilemma’ about the pigs… it’s hard to let go of one of them, I’m sure, but I hope you figure something out that allows both you and them to have the best farmy lifestyle possible.
morning ksenia, yes in the end we have to do what is best for the animal! c
We all know how well you care for the animals on the farmy! What has to be done, has to be done. I’m sure you’ll find a very good home for Charlotte.
I can’t believe how much milk one cow can produce, I had no idea!! Give those skinny girl arms a rest today Miss C. 🙂
They are letting me know they are there today, and my shoulders! Maybe I will get beefy! like Queenie.. c
Wonderful barn with those bales of hay! I can just smell it in my mind of minds…….hmmm, thanks! Boy, animals are a lot of work!!
Morning G Mom.. yup it is work alright! c