05/03/2025
The weather tech mats are earning their keep! Because our calf only got replacement colostrum and not moms full of antibodies, he has been having some issues. He has had to go to the vet for weekly antibiotic injections and also had to get his tetanus shot so we can get him banded (make him a steer). Definitely never planned for a bottle baby, he is super cute but a major commitment. This is the hard part of farm life. Having to make tough decisions, like taking his mother to the processor. She wasn't able to safely bear calves and she wasn't a good mom. Unfortunately it's expensive to feed an almost 900lb animal and every animal/bird on the farm has a purpose or job, so her purpose became providing us with delicious farm raised meat. We picked her up on Monday and enjoyed our first dinner of grilled rib eyes on Wednesday.
We now have a freezer full of beef that cost an average of $7.70/lb, not including the time and work we put in. We also processed 17 meat birds last weekend. This time I parted most of them out so we have individual packages of legs, thighs, breasts and wings. We also packaged up the carcasses to make chicken stock in the future. It's nice having meat that I know what went into it and how it was raised.
