Bottle Calves, Raised Beds & Real Talk: A Day on the Farm
It’s been a minute since we last posted, but life’s been rolling non-stop out here—calves to feed, projects to build, and lessons learned daily. Thought I’d catch y’all up on a typical (and chaotic) day here at Giblin Cattle Co.
Meet the Bottle Babies
We’ve got three new bottle calves on the farm, and they’re adorable little troublemakers. They’re finally getting the hang of bottle feeding, which wasn’t easy at first—lots of stubborn latching and spilled milk. Now they’re little pros, and we’ve got a rhythm: feeding four times a day, with their last meal around 7:30 or 8:00 PM.
Right now, we’re feeding them milk replacer, and I’ve got a pretty good system down. Just heat some water (110°F-ish, I go by feel), mix it up, and make sure it’s not too hot or cold. I even do the classic wrist test. It’s wild how something so simple turns into a real routine—and how being responsible for baby animals teaches you a whole lot about patience, timing, and yourself.
Switching Gears: Projects Over Milking
I’ve stepped back from early morning milking lately. Not gonna lie, it’s a relief. Milking’s a good skill to have, but spending my days building things and prepping for grazing season just hits different. Today, the goal was to spend an hour at our second property, Pengale, getting the water system prepped before pasture season hits full swing.
We’re planning to run a water line down the well and hopefully get a siphon started. Spoiler: the siphon drill attachment I bought is trash. Ended up having to try the old-school “suck and hope” method. Risky business with well water, but hey, we do what we gotta do.
Raised Beds & Mild Injuries
In between bottle feeds, I worked on building raised beds out of pallets for our vegetable and flower gardens. Let me just say—pallets are a pain. I split a few boards, kicked a few in frustration, and might’ve smacked my shin hard enough to forget my name for a second.
Still, there’s something satisfying about building with your hands, even if the final product looks like it was built by someone who learned carpentry from a YouTube ad. But we’ll get it done. That’s the way it goes—if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Some Real Talk: Screens, Sleep, and Self-Discipline
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how easy it is to lose time chasing distractions—scrolling, checking trends, whatever. It gives you those quick hits of dopamine, but it’s not really satisfying.
I took six months off Instagram once and felt so much clearer. But now, making videos again, it’s tempting to fall back into that trap. I’ve been reminding myself that the work I put in each day, even if it’s not perfect, adds up. Progress over perfection. Real work over wasted time.
Also: reminder to drink your sleepy time tea and go to bed earlier than midnight. Speaking from experience here.
Farm Life = Chaos (and We Love It)
The evening feeding was full-blown chaos. Imagine trying to feed three hungry calves who don’t understand personal space. Spilled milk, stepped-on boots, a little calf poop on the pants—it’s all part of the job. But these moments? They’re the reason we do this.
They teach you patience. They show you what you’re capable of. And yeah, they make you want a cold beer sometimes—but they also remind you why farm life is worth it.
What’s Next?
Once the babies are fed and the raised beds are built, it’s back to Pengale. Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep building. Every day’s got its list, and even if we don’t check every box, we’re making progress.
Oh, and pro tip: if you’re starting a business, don’t use one of those fancy services to file an LLC. Just go to your state website and fill it out. Save your money and do it yourself—you got this.
Until next time, keep grinding, keep growing.
— Cooper