Husband and I drove almost an hour yesterday to pick up our hay.
Now that' a bit scary. good thing Ma ain't on top with a rocking chair.
And that my friend is it. That is all the hay we have. Apparently $9 a bale is a good deal, I thought I was going to pass out when I heard that. We paid $5 for these, normally we would pay $2.50. Grain is actually cheaper. I went yesterday and bought enough grain to supplement the hay. I have never grained them before, only given them cookies during milking. Hopefully this doesn't mess up their training, but I have no other choice. Large round bales of prairie hay are going for almost $200 a bale now. This is ridiculous. 1 cow use to pay for a year's worth of feed, now it buys 2 weeks worth.
Sorry, I am gritching.
As winter gets worse, this might be the end of the homestead livestock. Not sure what else I can sacrifice to feed the cattle. Christmas isn't a big deal, as we spend very little and trying to spend even less. Luckily the boys are old enough to understand that we can't purchase much for them, most everything will be handmade out of used materials that are here on the stead. There will be some lessons learned this Christmas. Husband was able to barter for something cool for Large, he is always on the look out for things like that. So it isn't going to be all bad. Someone gave me some gift certificates, and I will use those for the boys as well. Bugger. . . this doesn't matter, I didn't mean to go off in another direction. Sometimes worries get in the way.
I am starting to wonder if trying to hold on to them is worth it. Even if it rains in the spring, and our breeders will be worth even more than this year, I still won't be able to recoup this year's losses. All our winter feed money for the next 3 years has gone to feed them through the summer and this fall. ugh! ok I guess I need to stop. Happy thoughts?
Happy. . . thoughts. . . happy. . . thoughts. . . ummmm. . .
I got nothing.
Oh wait! As you can see in the above pics, I have a running and legal truck again! It's been almost 2 years since I had it, but there ya go.
Husband is almost done with his project, so I will be sharing that with you soon. Noodle making begins in a couple days, as does pie's and other storage foods.
Bacon Soap. I plan on making bacon flavored soap. Bacon makes everything better.
9 comments:
bacon is king!! if you add bacon to anything it makes it better..right now I am typing this comment with a piece of bacon. those hay prices are just crazy!
Hay prices are just as bad if not worse down here in Texas. We just got a *deal* on hay at 7.50 a bale and bought 20 bales....all we could afford. But with 5 pregnant goats, one that just delivered plus 2 males and a wether, 20 bales won't last long! We plan on getting rid of our big buck by Christmas...we may trade him for more hay.The small buck is going to a family that wants him for a pet. He is a sweetheart and loves to be around people, so he'll do fine. They plan on castrating him to make him more docile. One of the pregnant females is a lousy milker, so after she delivers and the kid is weaned, we'll probably get rid of her, too. We don't plan on breeding any of our does next year as we are moving in early 2013, and pregnant or nursing females can be problematic to transport.
Good to see the truck up and running again, but I'm sorry about the hay prices!
This has been a hard year for so many folks. Sort of a true test of our meddle, I reckon!
I hope things start looking up for you pretty soon, my friend!
what are the boys into? I might be able to sew up some messenger bags for them with some t-shirts I keep around for sewing projects.
I am so sorry. I wish things were better.(((hugs)))
Please make sure you post the recipe for bacon soap! I've been thinking about trying to make some.
I hope things get better for you guys out there. Nature has been doing some crazy crap this year, hasn't it? I live in a place that almost never gets earthquakes, hurricanes and October snowstorms, yet we've had all 3 this year. This summer I think we got all of the rain that you guys haven't. Completely washed out my driveway twice, and messed up my well. It just never ended. I'm so glad you're here to inform everyone about the realities of homesteading. I have a garden that provides a lot of food for my family, and I had planned to start adding animals and chickens until I started reading your blog and reality smacked me upside my head. It's a lot of work and my kids are grown, so I think for now, I'll just stick with what I can handle. There are just too many variables and it would probably overwhelm me. Thank you! In the meantime, you guys are in my thoughts and I'm sending prayers your way for better times.
I have said it before and I will say it again. THANK YOU for actually blogging about the realities of homesteading, All too many think that all they have to do is move onto a bit of land and all will be golden from there. Reality sucks, bites, whatever, but it takes some very special people to stick with it through the tough times.
eager, heck yes!
Lamb, I saw an ad for hay in Texas, guy wanted $500 a ton. Someone commented that they hoped it rot. I was with them on that. I was thinking about talking with the neighbors to see if they wanted to go in together and get hay hauled in from Nebraska. Sad that we are getting to that point. But they have normal prices up there, and if we all chip in for a local driver, it will still be cheaper. Good luck Lamb!
Jim, thank you, me too.
Trans, Large is into sword making and Monty Python. Medium is into frogs, and Small loves anything with wheels. I am sending your jars back to you next week.
Thanks Fancy.
Kath, oh I will post that recipe. Chickens and rabbits are the easiest to deal with, once livestock starts getting larger in size, you start having issues. I have always told people to start with small livestock and build up. Have seen too many people kill things because of neglect of learning before they got them. Sheep are great, and you don't need a ram, you can lease them to get your ladies pregnant. But I am writing you a post here aren't I.
Thanks Bob, I am hopeful I am special enough. I want this to work so bad I can taste it.
I take it the ketchup didn't last long, lol. Don't worry about sending the jars back. That's just extra money spent on postage. Don't worry about them, save your money.
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