fencing

Burn day, commonly known as fence fire day

Steve Hardin2 Comments

It was another one of those days, where I thought I was going to move forward all day long. Alas there were a few bumps along the way, there usually are on the farm. I would like to think that after 9 years I would have this down and some things would be routine but that is just not the case. For example, how hard can it be to light some weeds on fire? Seems pretty straightforward but something always comes up. I really wanted to burn the upper field but it keeps raining and with all those weeds and gaps between areas I need it to be tinder dry when I torch it and the rain is just frequent enough to stop this plan. Its not like there is nothing else to do so I opted to burn the weeds alongside the driveway.

Cattle guard, right side

I started at the far end of the driveway near the road. It had some good thick piles and everyone that drives by won’t be disturbed by 10 foot tall flames in the middle of the day. Most of the road traffic is in the early morning and evening as people travel to and fro work.

I had put a pitchfork in the back of the pickup but to pitchfork it all away from all the fence would take me a couple of weeks. The tumbleweeds are bad this year. So I opted for expediency and just lit the weeds off while they were in the fence. This has caused me some heart ache in the past with burnt up fence posts. It’s always the old frayed railroad ties that catch on fire. They always catch on fire in the middle of the post and it is near impossible to put them out. I was determined to not let this happen this year so I tried to burn around the posts and then tried burning up to the posts in an attempt to keep the heat down near the posts. Several posts caught on fire but then went out in the wind. Cattle guard, left side

There is a long driveway and both sides needed to be burned. It took several hours to get to the end of the driveway. Once I got down near Donna’s house I burned a small stretch of fence line behind her house and continued on down to the corner and around up to the fencing supplies. I decided to stop as the next stretch of fence was piled high with weeds and our nephew’s camp trailer was only about four feet from the fence line. This would not have gone over well with the camp trailer. It would have made for an impressive fire. Driveway towed the houses

The tumbleweeds were bad this year, our driveway fence is starting to lean on both sides. The wind pushes on the weeds and bends the T posts. When the ground firms up I will need to go along and straighten all the posts.

While I was burning my mother-in-law stopped to ensure that I would go feed the cows. We have this discussion on a regular basis as I think they can always go another 1-2 days, especially with this weather we are having. I agreed that I would go feed them that evening. So there was a small fire burning on the hillside when I went to feed the cows. I brought the dogs as the cows really will mug me when I try and get the feeder pulled around the big bale. The cows think that the sound of the tractor means mealtime so they always come running. Mouse is much sneakier than Zeke he likes to lay flat and silent and then leap up and into the cows. So instead of following the tractor I looked over and Mouse had decided the cows were too close to the tractor as we were driving to the far end of the field. He tried to jump on the calf! Why go for a big defensive animal when you can pick on the helpless baby? Momma was coming to its defense even as I was hollering at him to back off. I got the hay all packaged up and surrounded by the feeder and we left the cows to eat. They only had a little hay left in the feeder. They maybe could of gone another day but it was time to feed. Now this is not always the case! If I feed them too early they just waste the hay and try and eat only the choice parts of the alfalfa.

It was just starting to get dark so I decided to just look down the driveway and spotted this column of flames near the road. I tooled on down in my tractor to find one of the old railroad ties next to the cattle guard on fire. This thing had sat dormant for over 2 hours before taking off. I had to go back to the house and get some water as the fire was inside the post. This needs water to take the heat out of the post or the fire will just reignite. I want back home and grabbed my gallon plant water jugs and filled them up with water. While I was doing that my phone rang and the neighbors were being helpful and everyone that drove by was calling my Mother-in-Law to let her know that a post was on fire out by the road. As I started driving down to the fire beacon to put it out I saw Donna drive up to the inferno and spray a cloud of white stuff on the post. The fire went out but by the time she drove off and I arrived it had already started back up. I poured a gallon of water on top of the railroad tie and it all went into the middle of the tie and dribbled throughout the cracks and crevices. After four gallons I managed to get the fire out and most of the heat so it would not reignite. I stank of smoke and was covered in soot so I opted to call it a day and go inside and shower. I was in my pajamas when Sarah called me to tell me that another post was on fire! I put my coat and rubber boots over my pjs and filled up my four gallons of water and head out into the rain to put out another post. It was raining at this time but not hard enough to put out my wooden post fires. This one was in a rock crib right behind Donna’s house and was easy to get out. This would have caused me problems as I would have had to rebuild the entire rock crib.

I have decided that I need a new plan when it comes to burning weeds in the fence lines. I need to pitchfork out and around all railroad ties before burning the weeds. This will be a bunch of extra work but anything that can prevent me from replacing wooden posts every time I burn is a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, I think the cattle guard needed large 8 inch steel pipes next to it to make the fence and cattle guard look good but I could have waited another 1-2 years.

The new chickens appeared to be getting smarter. After having to put 5 of 10 into the coop every night the last two nights they all made it back inside on their own. I was ready to declare victory until I went out tonight. There huddled outside were another five chickens, not even the same five that I had put in previously. To top it all off I have 25 chickens and I am only getting 3-5 eggs/day now. I keep thinking they will start laying but it has not happened yet.

Catch up

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Today was a day of little tasks. Those last few pesky things that have been bugging me all summer long and I had just never gotten around to dealing with them.

I had taken the outside corral gate off its pegs a couple of months ago. It was dragging severely as I had tried to stay too close to the ground and it opened up on the wrong side. When you kill a cow in there and try and drag it out the gate is in the way. So I had planned on switching sides the gate hung on. It took drilling two new holes and then finding another nut to use as a stop nut on the inside of the hinge. I finally got the gate on then had to run to the hardware store to get a chain link so I could add a section of chain to the existing latch so it would fit all the way around the railroad tie. The gate opens very smoothly now and has a couple of inches of clearance.

I moved onto the chute gate since I was working on the corral. We were going to run the cows in and tag the baby cow and potentially band it if its a boy when I got done fixing the corral. I ended up screwing a 4×4 onto the outside of the latch area and drilling into it. I also used a couple of pieces of metal to go alongside the bottom lock. No more chain to hold it closed, you can use the locking slide mechanism for ease of use.

I went and got Annmarie so we could sort cows. I brought the dogs along so they could work. We got the cows into the barn lot fairly easy. I was running the dogs as Annmarie’s voice is still tender. The dogs were working but being stubborn. Annmarie got a ahead of me and was over by the old granary concrete pad. She was hollering for me to put the dogs away and why did we bring them. I always work all the animals with the dogs. The bull was very angry and was snorting, pawing at the ground and throwing dirt into the air all while staring at Annmarie.

So I put the dogs in the old chicken coop and then we tried to herd the cows into the back barn area. Nope, they would not leave the feed area. We tried to throw out some food but they would not come. I ended up grabbing a flake and walking up to the cows and enticing them into the corral. The momma and baby we wanted were the first ones into the corral so we shut them in. I went to go get the ear tagger and the banding pliers. It was a boy. By the time I got back with the tools she had them separated out into adjoining pens in the corral. The calf is one month old, he is huge. We should have done this two weeks ago. I missed jumping on him the first time and just ate dirt for my troubles. The second time I went for the neck and got a good grip around it and proceeded to get drug around the corral. I could not tip it over and I could not get a hold of one of its legs. My ride was over 20 feet long and finally I managed to get the opposite front foot and pull it toward me causing the calf to tip onto its side bawling for all its worth. I managed to get the ear tag into the the right ear as we are not keeping this calf. I needed to trade places and get Annmarie to lay on the calf so I could attempt to band him. Oh Boy, we need to do this at 2 weeks for more reasons than just catching them. I messed around for a good 15 minutes trying to get the correct angle and both testicles into the scrotum. No matter what I tried I could not get it. I needed a third hand. I finally had to put one band on at a time so I could open the pliers far enough. He is a mighty fine looking animal. It is real hard to get pictures when its only two of us and we are both working.

After lunch I went into the barn and bolted on the old front door latching system. This worked great and now that we will be locking the sheep up every night it is necessary. I also installed a couple of eye bolts inside the door so we could attach tension bands.

The cows are all mixed together down below now so we can start watching their hay consumption. I gave them a 1300 pound bale seven days ago and it looks like 1/3 of the bale is left. Its going to be tight on hay.

We have started looking at micro hay equipment already. It will work with our small tractor and will only make 50# round bales. I just need to get the upper prime squared field burned and planted.

Major fence finale!

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Today was the do or die day. I needed to get that hillside fence completed as it is supposed to snow three days this week. Once the snow starts flying I will not be able to dig into the ground to make a flat spot to install the gate. I ate a good breakfast, three pieces of french toast with fresh fruit and syrup. I have been skipping lunch which makes me very hungry by 1600 but it saves me an hour extra working time.

I tried dragging the boxblade across the area but needed to try and dig into the hillside with the bucket. I also had to lower the claws on the box blade to start loosening all the rocks. It took me almost three hours to prep the area. I kept jumping off the tractor to fill the bucket with large rocks and make a pile next to where the rock crib should belong .

I found an old gate up on the hill that I used. I had taken all the stuff up there to do multiple rock cribs and install a gate and never used them. This was for when I expanded the hillside to be even with the prime squared field. This keeps getting put off. I would like to drive T posts for it in the spring if nothing else. I had the bottom side crib perfectly formed and then started dumping rocks into it. Then the rocks got so big I had to use the tractor bucket to lift them. This did not make for keeping my nice neat rock crib in line. I now have a crooked wooden post. I had to add onto the rock on the other side as my gate is only 12 feet instead of sixteen. This worked out as that side will now be the gate hinge side. I don’t have the stuff to mount the gate. I need two 1” thick 6” long eyebolts and I need two 3/4” inch 4” long pins with locking pins. The opening side needs several 2×6 boards overlapped to cover the other side. This is a spring time job so I just wired the gate in place. I pulled the entire hillside wire tight and then walked the hill tightening the T post clips and replacing staples and clips that had been torn off by the animals over the last few years.

This picture shows the pasture above the upper prime. This is the one I need to burn then replant with round up ready alfalfa. The pasture will be too wet in places for it but I need to be able to spray to get a handle on the weeds. If the weather really does change and snow this week I want to burn this weed patch.

I dumped a large bale of hay down below for those cows so that cut the evening chores by a third.

Hay no more

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Today I picked up the last of the hay, 8 more tons. Bring on the Winter! Our animals should be good to go. I had to get all large bales, 1300#. Since the big tractor is on hiatus until I can figure out what is wrong with it. So I used my little tractor to push the bales off of the flat bed. So now I have 12 bales in a fairly wide area just hanging out waiting for me to push them to their respective drop off/eating point.

Someone came over to look at the old tractor but the problem never appeared. I drove the tractor out and picked up a bale with no issues. We did give the tractor about 2.5 gallons of hydraulic fluid and found most of the leaks. Two of the leaks look like fairly straight corrective issues. I just need to put some teflon tape on the joints and retighten. I do need to go through and grease all the zirks to ensure everything is loose and slippery.

So after my assistant left I attempted to get the bales into the machine shop. Just as I was getting the first bale into the machine shed the tractor started to do that whole starved for fuel thing. I need to get some carburetor gum out spray. Maybe that will fix the problem.

I spent Friday building on my rock wall on the back hillside. I was supposed to go help someone trim llama hooves so I did not want to get the hillside fence laid down and have to leave. I used the tractor mistress to scrape dirt and build up the wall. The gate I had installed was pulling the post over. As Annmarie puts it she “told me so” and I should not have swung that gate out over air. I could not dig the post down as far as I wanted due to all the rocks. So I leveled off the gate area and cut into the back hill side so the gate could swing the other way. I will also install a wheel on the end of the gate so there won’t be any pressure on the end of the gate causing the post to move. I tried to tamp gravel down around the loose post but it just did not stiffen the post enough. I removed the gate and will put it on the other side of the opening as those posts are nice and stiff.

Bob the cat got out of his enclosure today. He is 2-3 years old and unwanted. He is also fixed! So we made a pen and kept him in the machine shed for 8 days. Today, I let him out and he disappeared into the machine shed. We will provide food for him out there and he can live out his life eating mice and cat food.

Out kitty in the barn is doing well. He loves to get petted on more than eating cat food. I usually only see him once a day inside the barn. He lives in the barn with the old tomcat. We need a couple more cats to live out in the barn. We feed the cats on our back porch, the barn and the machine shop now.

Fencing cause I love it

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The cows are at it again! Earlier this week a neighbor called Annmarie at work to tell her our cows were out. This happens a few times a year. I cannot believe that it only happens to us. I had a more flexible schedule that day so I went home during the day and spent three hours herding cows back to our pasture. The first thing that must happen before the cows can be retrieved is to figure out their escape hole and fix it. It does you no good to get them if you don’t plug the hole first. The bull tried to get under the panel crossing the front runoff ditch but it is wired in place on top and bottom. He couldn’t get it to move, favorite technique denied!

This prompted him to try out his second favorite technique, which is opening the gate. He will try and lift it off its hinges or push/pull it open. He managed to tear the gate latch out of the post. I had merely stapled the chain into the post with three 2.5 inch long staples. He just pulled them out of the wood and off the cows went. The crazy part is they went into the section I am building a new fence around. If I can get more fence up they will just break into the next fenced in area and will be stuck. No more calls at work from neighbors. I wrapped the chain around the entire post and tied it together. He will now have to rip the post out of the ground to get through the gate.

I drove the mistress up to the end of the property and brought both border collies with me. We were told the cows were in the neighbors green alfalfa field, which is a common destination. I tooled up there but didn’t see the cows so I went up the creek, on the road, with the dogs hoping to spot the cows. They were hiding at the far end of the suspected field by some out buildings. So the dogs and I drove back to the entry point of the field. I had to wait for Zeke to catch up so Mouse and I took a breather. We all calmly and slowing made our way to the creekside of the field. It is no longer an alfalfa field. It’s a grass field now. I kept a tight verbal reign on the dogs. They did very well. Annmarie had some issues with a Mouse and had to do the dominance choke. He listened better. We have learned that working with pack behavior and using the tools the dogs use on each other allows us to maintain our alpha leader status and the dogs understand us. Mouse does not like to stay in one place while I drive off a few hundred yards. Zeke will stay and guard a gate opening if told. This caused a little problem but I got the cows back into the correct lot. I was told that night this is a direct cause of us not feeding every day. Unfortunately, she is right. We have very little grass left and what little there is is dead. So now every evening we are feeding about 1/3 of what they would get in the winter and it is keeping them happy. I really need to put both cow herds together but I want to tag and band the new baby first. So hopefully next weekend. I had to go back to work and finish making up for lost time. Annmarie had to do all the evening chores.

The upper hillside is an issue now. It was one of the earlier stretches of fence I built. All these early attempts have some “learning curve issues”. I tried to use T-posts but the hillside is just too rocky in places so I built rock cribs instead. They are too small and very ugly. The cows are pulling them over just by pushing on the fence. This is happening to the T-posts also. In the picture above the fence looks fairly upright. I broke a T-post and several other posts are fragile and about half the wires are disconnected and loose. It needs to be repaired. I am going to have to go with the tried and true method. I bend a 16 foot cow panel into a circle, nail a large post to one side and then fill the crib with rocks. This takes about 25 loads of rocks with the tractor. All those rocks have to be knocked out of the ground then placed in the bucket and then dumped into the crib. Before I put these cribs on a hillside I like to attempt to create a flat spot for them so they don’t slide down the hillside.

Thursday I managed to get 1.75 cribs installed alongside the fence. Collecting the rocks is the most labor intensive side of the process. This also helps me in the long run as I pull the rocks out of the pasture to use in the fence line. I have some help lined up to help me on Saturday. I would like to be done with that hillside fence this weekend.

This is the gate area near the top of the fence. You can see the cows are just pulling the rock cribs over. I need to level this gate crossing, level a rock crib pad and install a real metal gate. This has to all be done in one day so the animals don’t escape. Once the upper rock crib is complete I can restretch the fence going up the hillside.