An Angus cow chewing blissfully
Feed time on McDonald’s farm happens every second day, when there isn’t any feed. Even though we had a whopping 45mm about eight weeks ago, we have had very little since and the paddocks are baring up quickly. Any tiny little morsel of green grass has been found and munched on by every-on-the-hunt sheep and cattle.
Sheep waiting for the hay to be rolled out
It can be depressing, watching the weather sites and sky for rain, but more often than not, there’s no point in getting upset. You’ve just got to get on and make decisions as you see it on the day.
I love it when hay day falls on the weekend. I get to take my off-sider to open gates and pull the netwrap off the bales. Neither of these jobs are particularly stressful when I’m on my own, but having Hayden does make it quicker and it’s fun having him with me.
Now I must hasten to say that there are three ways to feed out on our place. One; using the big Scannel Feedout cart which holds five bales. It’s a great way if you’re running short of time. Two; using the old 4240 John Deere tractor which has front-end-loader on it and can carry two bales. Three is the way I prefer to do it – old “Charlie” Chamberlain, which was manufactured in about 1950 (maybe earlier) and is basically unbreakable. I can only carry one bale at a time and it does take a while to finish the feed-out, but it also means Hayden can drive it.
This is they way it looks to feed out hay from Charlie’s cab: (excuse the crack across the photos, there’s a crack in the back window!)
starting to feedout hay
Hay being rolled out
Cattle coming in for a feed (you can just see Hayden pulling out the netwrap)
I wish the cattle were feeding on green grass – it’s much better for them and their calves, but the hay we make is top-shelf and it’s the next best thing. From this photo, I think you can tell they’re enjoying it!
