Sam is Brian’s dog. At eleven years of age, he’s retired now and works when he chooses to, when it’s a job he enjoys. Lou is mine. She is the first dog I’ve ever had who obeys me, who follows me around like a shadow, who is a good working dog. At this time of year, she accompanies me when I’m scraping and liming the cubicles, when I’m feeding calves, whatever I’m doing up the yard, and she gets me [...]
This spring was our first year to try using calf hutches, calf jackets and a calf barrow and I said at the time that I’d review should any readers be considering using any of them. It’s taken me a while to get around to doing it but better late than never I guess.
First up the calf jackets. They varied in price from €19-€35 if I remember correctly. The calves wore them for about six weeks until the weather improved. I [...]
About 14 years ago, I was teaching Communication Studies at a third level college. I brought a t-shirt into one seminar, asking students to discuss how they would regard a person wearing it as it bore the slogan “High Fertility, No Bull”. I didn’t show them the front which showed the logo of the Artificial Insemination company but as it happened, I don’t think they would have recognised the name anyway as none came from farms. Their interpretations were varied [...]
Telepathy fails sometimes doesn’t it? Even on farms? So what do you need instead? I’ve concluded a dog and a mobile phone are essential requirements. Although we have to bear in mind that a mobile phone doesn’t always work. A dog? Well, that’s up to you to ensure you have a good one – or at least know its weaknesses.
These events happened a couple of months ago, late March and early April, when the cows were out but it was [...]
Not everything in farming is exciting. There’s plenty of jobs that can be repetitive, not necessarily boring but one is able to daydream a bit while doing them. The problem is, I tend to let my mind wander quite a bit sometimes particularly in the evenings if I’m tired.
Part of our farm is separated from the rest [...]
