Chickens, Cows, and Pigs, OH MY!

Cattle

My favorite cow is the Brahman. I love white and grey ones with black around their eyes, it looks like they have eyeliner on. They have loose skin on their chest called a dewlap, and they are very protective mothers in my experience. Wikipedia explains brahmas as having a high tolerance of heat, sunlight and humidity, and good resistance to parasites.” This is really good trait during the South Texas summer heat. We have other types of cows on our property as well. Our most gentle cow is Smokey she is a mix breed. We can pet her whenever we choose, she lets us touch her babies, and she runs up to us when she sees us. She has these long horns that are a bit intimidating and make me grimace as she runs towards us.

Poultry

My favorite chicken is a Light Brahma. “McMurrayHatchery.com describes this breed as “exceptionally quiet, gentle, and easy to handle. I love the large brown eggs; they are great egg layers and they have feathers on their feet. The hens can grow up to 9.5 pounds and the roosters up to 12 pounds. They are a large chicken and are so nice to watch as they run around the coop. I love the amount of eggs they produce regularly; we have collected 32 eggs in a single day of laying from this breed. In a week we can really have a large haul. A fun chicken we had for a while was called the Ameraucana. They lay pastel blue colored eggs. It is like Easter everyday of the year. They are not as good a layer as the Brahman chicken is.

Swine

We have really learned a lot about hogs. They are the easiest animal to grow for County Show in our opinion. We have shown Poland China, Duroc, and Hampshire. We have learned how to artificially inseminate, castrate, notch ears, dock tails, and administer medication when they are in need. We have built hog pens and a ring to train them in. We have learned a trick or two about walking hogs back to the trailer after a county show. No one wants a hog running all over the show barn having a great time as you try to catch it. Don't forget these animals are very strong.

Goats

Goat milk is delicious. Take it from someone that had never even heard of goat milk previous to owning a goat. The trick is to keep the Billy Goat far away from the female if you are going to milk her. Did you realize that there are some muscles on your forearm that get very strong when you milk goats twice a day for months or years? You will feel it at first, but when you realize that muscle is strong you gain a pride like no other. I am sure there are some out there that know what I am talking about. We tried to show a Boer goat (Cheuy) at a county show. That was a very hard day. After the show was done Chuey walked to the trailer and off he went. Boer, La Mancha, Pygmy, Anglo-Nubian, Alpine are some types of goats we have owned. We no longer own any goats but we had about 15 at one time.

Dogs

Our dogs even have a responsibility on this farm. They are man’s best friend and protector. They have helped to save us from a rattlesnake or two as well as skunks, possums, armadillos, and racoons. They sure alert us when anyone is stopping at the gate or near the fence when they should not be there.