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Down In Devon December 2007
First of all may I wish everyone a Happy New Year. Christmas seems to have been and gone very
quickly, we had a lovely time, with friends staying and with the family. Our two boys were up at 1.45 a.m. Christmas morning to see what Father Christmas had brought them. We didn't mind though,
because it meant I could see them go through their sacks, because so often I'm down at the farm milking on Christmas day morning and I miss all of that!
Not much different has been happening on the farm this month because all the animals are in,
so its just the daily grind of scraping up the yards, feeding up, and bedding up. I think that scraping up the cow slurry with the tractor and yard scraper should become a category at the next winter
Olympics, because if I say so myself I do a much better job of it than my brother does. I think I might possibly get a silver medal, and I'm sure he would struggle to get a bronze!
One thing we have done is to alter how we foot bath the cows. Before, we used to have to carry
gates into the cow yards and hang them on to posts to make a race at the exit of the milking parlour, so that each cow had to walk through the foot bath after milking. You know how it is, you tend to
think I'll do that tomorrow because its a bit awkward (and it doesn't get done). So now we have concreted in some posts with swinging gates on, and we religiously foot bath the cows once and
sometimes twice a week. We are using copper sulphate in the foot bath mixed with water, and our lameness this winter has been nearly non existent.
I have enclosed our local vet's newsletter.
Once again have a happy and healthy new year
All the best
From Steve, Down in Devon.
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