Your christmas day?

farmerjj

Its probably as close as farmers get to a silly season, so what are ye,re christmas day plans going to be this year,
Mine would be up at 7.30
Milk cows
Feed cattle and calves
Push silage in
Mass:eek:
TV/FOOD
Dinner around 2
Fall asleep on couch
Milk cows again
Feed calves
Back in for turkey/bread stuffing sandwich
Then play cards with the family
More tv/food
Off to bed round 12 never wanting to see junk food again.
(presents opened christmas eve)

Mulumpy

With 3 smallies for Santy could be up at any hour.
Give a half hour on farm at some stage
Dinner at 1:30
Over to outlaws in the evening for more madness
When kids finally passed out feet up with Mrs browns boys and few beers.

C0N0R

Up at 5:45, work until nine, have the breakfast, back out at ten and work until one, back out at two, finish up at six. Ring the family and have a shower then in for the dinner at seven, maybe bit of tv after the dinner then bed for half nine!

Timmaay

I'm still considering going OAD here for rest of the winter, but I'll stick Tad over Xmas definitely, useful distraction in the evening from all the madness ha.

Muckit

Really shows how big a commitment dairying is. Milk twice on Christmas Day. Cattle/sheep lads could stuff the passageway Christmas eve and wave goodbye til St. Stephens

20silkcut

C0N0R wrote: »

Up at 5:45, work until nine, have the breakfast, back out at ten and work until one, back out at two, finish up at six. Ring the family and have a shower then in for the dinner at seven, maybe bit of tv after the dinner then bed for half nine!

You should take it handy you can't take it with you.

freedominacup

20silkcut wrote: »

You should take it handy you can't take it with you.

I used to be that soldier but there's no medals for it. We'll try to have the yard finished before 9. I'll check back around 4. Only a couple of autumn calvers this year so oad on Christmas day for once. Off to the sisterinlaws for 5.30 for the dinner. Hopefully don't go too mad and not end up in a heap on Stephen's day.

Timmaay

Muckit wrote: »

Really shows how big a commitment dairying is. Milk twice on Christmas Day. Cattle/sheep lads could stuff the passageway Christmas eve and wave goodbye til St. Stephens

I'll be here anyways, it will just mean tipping on out for the 40mins in the evening. Will help pace myself myself and bit of fresh air will do me no harm ha. No real avoiding the few hrs in total the morning though, hr milking then best part of 2hrs feeding/cubicles etc, mostly ring feeders here for the drys so I can't really stack 2 days of feed. All in all 3 hrs work is nothing ha, as far as the farm is concerned I'm still just on tickover, I remember 3 or 4 yrs ago calving down 2 phuckers of 3yr old heifers Xmas week, both around 1am different nights, both jacked out etc. Freedom I'm still waiting for the medal for them days ha.

tanko

Isn't Conor working in Saudi Arabia??? He probably doesn't have any choice.

C0N0R

tanko wrote: »

Isn't Conor working in Saudi Arabia??? He probably doesn't have any choice.

Ha yea correct, just another day of the year here, I'll make up for it when I get home on the third of January for two weeks!

kerry cow

I know a lad milking close to 500 spring calvers up the country .packs in feed Christmas eve . On Christmas day drives in to yard in morning around 10 am .Quick look around and home .ten minutes . Doesn't even turn off the jeep and heater and he used to work 24/7 and winter milk . No more .
So we can make it as easy or difficult as we like .

_Brian

No up here till 7.
About the house all day really, few callers not too many.
4of us for the dinner which would probably feed 8.
Dinner maybe 3-4pm.
Visit the mother about 7

Farming will be a real "slash and dash" affair with everything left ready from day before.

Mac Taylor

I left for Santa so more than likely early start!!!! Quick run around when light comes up. Breakfast, visit parents, dinner around 5pm. Pig out before after and in between. Don't mind going out for the bit of fresh air. Have a lot of respect for the emergency services, volunteers etc that are wiling or scheduled to work Xmas day.

_Brian

Mac Taylor wrote: »

I left for Santa so more than likely early start!!!! Quick run around when light comes up. Breakfast, visit parents, dinner around 5pm. Pig out before after and in between. Don't mind going out for the bit of fresh air. Have a lot of respect for the emergency services, volunteers etc that are wiling or scheduled to work Xmas day.

Yea.. you'll find factory staff working too, I've done half a dozen or so 12 hr shifts on the big day..
Reggie's crowd will be on too...

Not nice but just a matter of digging in and doing it..

trixi2011

Hoping to have a handy one this year but only 2 working so see how it goes. Start at 6.30 scrape ,bed cubicals and push in silage. Then bed down straw sheds and feed a shed of dry cows. Home for mass at 10 and back out to have a walk around young stock before dinner. Have the dinner in the middle of the day and then out to push in silage in the evening feet up and tv on after that

farisfat

In scrap down cubicles walk through cows 20 minutes work.

Bleating Lamb

Long held tradition in West of Ireland of giving the cattle an 'extra' feed...in days of yore that meant 3 times,
Quick push in of silage morning and evening will do for me.

Reggie.

_Brian wrote: »

Yea.. you'll find factory staff working too, I've done half a dozen or so 12 hr shifts on the big day..
Reggie's crowd will be on too...

Not nice but just a matter of digging in and doing it..

Unfortunately we are usually the least remembered due to not being "frontline" services to the public but at least I'm off the Christmas for the first time in 17yrs

Muckit

Ah you poor thing! 17 years of overtime sure does buy alot of machinery though to make up for it!!

Reggie.

Muckit wrote: »

Ah you poor thing! 17 years of overtime sure does buy alot of machinery though to make up for it!!

No overtime. 24hr duty is worth approx €25

rangler1

Reggie. wrote: »

No overtime. 24hr duty is worth approx €25

You must get time off instead, Like when you hear nurses complaining coming off 12 hr shifts and they neglect to tell you that they only work three of them in the week.
Because we had no kids, OH use to work christmas day to allow those with families the day off so christmas day was seldom much of an event here, it suited as I was not really bothered either.......enjoy the associated parties and piss ups though.

We're at home this year, having a few people that gave us christmas over the last few years so it'll be nice and relaxed,
We'll be up about eight and the work done in about an hour, everything'll be ready, pressies then, dinner at one and then drink,
Church at nine tonight, which is nice, sometimes go to neighbours for drinks and don't make it it church if it;s later, so we can go visiting after praying this year

Reggie.

rangler1 wrote: »

You must get time off instead, Like when you hear nurses complaining coming off 12 hr shifts and they neglect to tell you that they only work three of them in the week.
Because we had no kids, OH use to work christmas day to allow those with families the day off so christmas day was seldom much of an event here, it suited as I was not really bothered either.......enjoy the associated parties and piss ups though.

We're at home this year, having a few people that gave us christmas over the last few years so it'll be nice and relaxed,
We'll be up about eight and the work done in about an hour, everything'll be ready, pressies then, dinner at one and then drink,
Church at nine tonight, which is nice, sometimes go to neighbours for drinks and don't make it it church if it;s later, so we can go visiting after praying this year

You get the day off the next day and possibly the day again somewhere else but hardly the same getting a day off in January when you miss Christmas day with your family and kids

_Brian

Reggie. wrote: »

You get the day off the next day and possibly the day again somewhere else but hardly the same getting a day off in January when you miss Christmas day with your family and kids

When I worked it we got double time and an additional days leave, but I resented working it each and every time. Unsociable shifts was one of the main reasons I jacked that job in, still miss the money sometimes but having every weekend off and no night duty is a lifesaver.

Buford T. Justice XIX

[QUOTE=Bleating Lamb;102055500]Long held tradition in West of Ireland of giving the cattle an 'extra' feed...in days of yore that meant 3 times,
Quick push in of silage morning and evening will do for me.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, my father was big into that as well, giving an extra bag of ration to each group and making sure nothing was hungry on Christmas day even if feed was tight.

I normally put out 2 days feed today and push in twice tomorrow but I'm thinking of putting out 3 days feed today and only push in tomorrow evening.

We have ewes lambing too atm so there will be an extra few minutes of checking them and sorting them into pens as well but I find the sheep very relaxing so I don't count it as work at all.

Muckit

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I find the sheep very relaxing so I don't count it as work at all.

That's good. In the same way I like listening to chorus of cattle chomping away

GrasstoMilk

Up around 7ish
Milk and bed milkers and feed them
Everything else getting a 2 days feed today
Shouldnt take more than 2 hrs

Timmaay

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Up around 7ish
Milk and bed milkers and feed them
Everything else getting a 2 days feed today
Shouldnt take more than 2 hrs

Up at 7, effort of that ha, if I stir by 9 I'll be happy ha.

pedigree 6

Church tonight. Hopefully I won't spontaneously combust.:p

Then a clear run for tomorrow.
Get bedding and feeding done today and should be okay for tomorrow.
Up at 8 and feed meal to heifers and silage to bull and then say a prayer for the poor unfortunate craters who have to milk on Christmas Day and then tuck into dinner at 1. Then when I get fed up listening to the family, have a look and see what the weather is doing online or check out racing lawnmowers on YouTube.;)

Merry Christmas farming Boardsies. Hope yous are well and don't end up in A&E.:P

whelan2

Midnight mass has moved to 8pm here so will go to mass tonight. Normally a rush on christmas morning to get to mass. Waiting for kids to go to their grannies now so I can sort everything out. All except milkers are fed for 2 days . So just milking and feed the cows in the morning hopefully

GrasstoMilk

Timmaay wrote: »

Up at 7, effort of that ha, if I stir by 9 I'll be happy ha.

May as well get a clear run at a lazy day

Who2

Il open the pressies with the wee one and head down to the farm for an hour or so. I really enjoy christmas morning feed it's just peaceful. Then in for a cuppa with the parents then do a coin toss on church or mass and spend the rest of the day with both sets of auld ones over. I'll be bloated, groggy and half cut most of day and probably be sound asleep by ten.

charolais0153

Muckit wrote: »

That's good. In the same way I like listening to chorus of cattle chomping away

The auld lad loves that. He'd spend a half an hour just watching the sheep munching. Its a big change from the blast of roaring 5minutes before when they hear a bag rattling

Keepgrowing

Cows done, feed pushed, yards scraped. This gate is all that's keeping me from the dinner.

Muckit

Fine job! Press the fob and off you go!!

Sam Kade

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Cows done, feed pushed, yards scraped. This gate is all that's keeping me from the dinner.

Were you lying down wheb you took the photo?

Keepgrowing

Sam Kade wrote: »

Were you lying down wheb you took the photo?

??

whelan2

Anyone calving cows around christmas?