Page 13 of Home Hearts Hooves

“Sounds good,” I reply, and when Connor arrives, I leave him to finish my row while I go grab the tablet to bring up the app.

“So you have time to read through how it all works yet?” Preston asks, and I nod.

“Seems pretty simple. I added the app to my phone, too, but the tablet screen is bigger, so it should help get things done a bit faster through the set up.”

“Good thinking. Okay, so we’re going with names and tattoos, right?”

“Right. If you want to tag the same ear as the tattoo, I brought in the antiseptic spray we use when we tattoo.

“Great. The good thing about these tags is they come sterile, too, so as soon as we clean the area, we can tag and not be too worried about cross-contamination. Hey, depending on how well they stay on the cows, you might be able to stop tattooing all together.”

“Maybe. I wanted to a while back. We know our herd pretty well, but because they’re all registered, they have to have a permanent ID.”

“The new sensor might be able to be that, but I’m getting ahead of myself. This is a trial. They want to test how the data comes in, if there are any gaps in the info, if you as the users find anything that is complicated or frustrating to use. They basically want to know your honest thoughts on every aspect, so even though this is for an old friend of mine, don’t feel like you can’t be honest.”

I plug the scanner into the port on the tablet, and then Preston reads out the first tattoo.

“B, B, two, four,” he says, and I scan the pack of the first tag and peel it open so that he can connect the applicator without touching the sterile tag itself.

“B, B, two, four, AKA, Holly,” I say, punching in the info on the screen.

“Okay, next, B, B, six, seven,” Preston reads, and we keep going like that until all the cows and Gordon are tagged. He started to kick up when he saw the girls getting something he wasn’t. It was easier for me to get Preston to tag him than deal with his tantrum. The default in the system is cattle, but I was able to select other from the drop down and input Dumb ass under species and then Gordon under name.

“Hey, maybe they will get good data out of him, too, they can use to sell it to donkey farmers.” I laugh, and we let these girls all go and bring in the next lot.

It takes a while, but we finally get all the herd tagged and in the system. Preston brought his tranq gun for the bulls, and after they’re all tagged, too, we leave the guys to finish cleaning up all the milking hoses ready for tomorrow.

“I’ve still got to feed the chickens, and check the pool for Chewie,” I say, and Preston closes the door to his van.

“Cool, I’ll come for a walk if that’s okay?”

“Sure.”

“Nice. I haven’t seen the pool yet.”

“It’s my favorite thing we’ve done since we took over.”

I grab the feed for the chickens first. They are like little fuzzy clocks, always able to tell when I’m even a few minutes late with their dinner. The naked chickens are out, hovering by the door to the coop.

“Will just be a minute unless you want to come in and help collect the eggs?”

“No, thanks, I’ll wait out here. Those ones kind of freak me out.”

“The chickens?”

“Yeah, I mean, they look like they ran away just before being tossed in the oven.”

“You’re a vegetarian. That thought should make you love them.”

“Nope. They are seriously weird.”

“Well then, they fit in here, don’t they?” I say, and I toss the feed over the ground. They all rush to eat, except Little T. He’s going the opposite direction. It’s funny how chickens all have their own personality. I guess on large chicken farms they wouldn’t get a chance to notice, but with only nineteen of them, we’ve picked up on their uniqueness. I drop a handful of feed right in front of Little T, and then when she’s eating, I open the back of the coop and collect the eggs.

“That’s super clever,” Preston says, coming around the back of the coop to get a better look at the rear door we set up.

“It’s so much easier this way, especially for the ones who like to nest right at the back of their boxes like this one,” I say, pulling two eggs from a nest that is right on the edge.

“Okay, all done. What do you want to see first?”

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