lambs

Chicks are laying

Steve HardinLeave a comment

It is very hard to believe that this is the end of January.  The weather has been incredibly mild.  In the last 28 days we have gotten just over 4” of rain.  We usually get 12” annually.  The ground is so saturated that if you look out in this field, all the little brown spots are worm mounds from them surfacing to avoid drowning, that is a lot of worms!  This is prime fencing weather but since I am supposed to be inside the house doing home improvement projects I don’t get to go outside and fence all winter long.  Being able to fence all winter long is not a problem that normally occurs.

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I have been working on the upstairs bathroom.  I have the closet almost roughed in and finish wood on the walls.  I still need to build one stem wall and a frame for the closet door.  I am going to hold off on the rest of the closet build until I get the floor tile installed.  I can do that while we are waiting on the plumber to come in and install the sink and toilet.

I was super stoked that I managed to get the closet floor cut and installed on the first try only using a tape measure and square to draw out the pattern on plywood.  It just needed some judicious use of nylon hammer to get it into place.  I am all ready to start installing the Hardiboard on the floor.  Once that is in I can start painting the Red Guard on to create a waterproof barrier to set the tile on top of preventing any toilet water from ending up in the downstairs ceiling. Barring no complications I should have the Hardiboard down and the Red Guard done over the weekend and will be able to start laying tile next weekend.  I am hoping to lay all of the floor tile in one setting.  Once it has cured for 24 hours I will come back and put the floor trim tile up on the wall.  I am not going to use pool tile grout this time.  I am using an epoxy base but it’s not quite as sticky as the stuff I used last year.  When I was talking to the tile shop I was told I should only have done about three square feet of grout at a time so I could clean it all up quickly.  I am pretty sure we did about six square feet of grout at a time and it was painful.  I am still cleaning up grout in some low traffic areas a year later.

Zeke is figuring out how to get out of the front yard again.  He was jumping at the lower wire strand to make it loose so he could crawl under it but he has figured out how to get out without doing that now.  I am going to drill through the 4×4 posts and string another wire through the posts and see if that keeps him in.  It is crazy how hard it is to keep him in the yard.  Mouse hardly leaves even if he front gate is left open!

My baby pullets just started to lay this week!  Instead of getting three eggs a week we have gotten two dozen in the last four days.  Our egg customers will be happy to get eggs as we were not selling any.

We did have another single lamb born this morning.  Annmarie and I think the ram got tired when he was doing his job this summer.  It’s like he had to save up energy before he could rush in for a few days then take a break to build up more energy, he is no Energize bunny.  We are seriously considering a second ram to cause some competition between the two rams.

  • Total lambs born (dead or alive):  28
  • # of singles:  5
  • # of twins:  7
  • # of triplets:  3
  • Stillborn lambs:  1
  • # died without a tag:  4
  • # bummered:  3
  • # ewes delivered:  15
  • # lambs alive on property:  20
  • Birth rate (alive & dead included):  187% (goal>150%)
  • Ewe productivity after 1 week (live lambs on farm):  140% (goal >125%)
  • Lamb success (live lambs on farm after 1 week):  71% (max 100%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lambaggedon 2020

Steve HardinLeave a comment

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We have had a hard time this year deciding when our lambing season was going to start.  We have had an occasional lamb here and there.  We are not sure if it is due to the fact that our ram had his very first season with ewes or if he was so fat to start with that he needed to lose some weight to be effective.  We just know that the trickle of an occasional lamb is annoying.  We opted to start counting our lambing season from November 1, 2019 for this reason.  There is usually one day that defines the start of our our lambing season.  We like to officially call this Lambaggedon, yesterday was the start of ours.

We had been having a steady stream of babies every 1-3 days for about 2 weeks.  This led to us having 6 pens all over the barn as of yesterday.  We were running out of panels and had ordered two more from Premier.  They make an aluminum gate/panel that is modular.  It is such an improvement over the old metal galvanized panels that used to be the only option.  Now you can add sections together and make a 4’, 6’ or 8’ gate/panel.  We had ordered two 6’ sections and a creep gate so we can start giving the babies an all you can eat buffet.  The joy of the modular sections is they can be shipped UPS ground!  The old heavy ones had to come via freight truck.  I tried to put the gates together and discovered there is a left and a right and I was sent two lefts!  I called the next morning and got a replacement sent and another right so we would have three panels not two.  I also asked about our creep gate that had not arrived.  Turns out someone left the creep gate on their truck and they brought it the next day.  I had a ordered an ear notcher and a new ear tag applicator.  We keep getting different brands of tags and I have three different applicators now.  The new one is a universal applicator.

So Friday morning I took the one 6’ gate outside and finished assembling it.  I needed a rubber hammer to nudge it into place.  When I went out to the barn there were babies everywhere!  I had a set of triplets by the door, one was stillborn and the other was flat like a pancake to the floor and could not stand, all four legs out away from its body.  I got that ewe and her two babies in a small pen.  I had three other babies and only one mother was claiming one baby.  I got everyone out but two ewes and then went and got a bottle.  I bottle fed three of the babies and they all drank even though two of them kept laying in weird positions.

I then worked on tagging and banding the lambs in the momma area (five of them), the triplets under the stairs and the single baby with the hairless mom.  This lamb had a tag but the old applicator cracked the female portion of the ear tag which is why I got a replacement.  Learning to use the new tag applicator took a few tries and I had to finally use a practice tag to figure out what I was doing wrong.  It makes a clicking noise when you get it together right and the others do not.

The triplets are all girls and we will be keeping every one of them to use as replacement ewes.  Once I figured out who belonged to who and tag and banded them I had to bottle feed the babies again.  Sarah came out and bottle fed the lambs again while I fed the main herd and we let the tag and banded sheep back out into the main herd.  We put the two new mommas into the momma area.  The little splayed triplet would not take a bottle the last time and its belly was full, the only problem is that set of triplets is tiny!  We then rearranged all the gates and panels, buckets, bungees and bucket straps.  I spent over six hours out in the barn getting it all put back together then went inside, showered and went to work, two hours later I was back home as Sarah had to bring in those three babies.  We had one die in the house and got the other two bummered off.

We went out this morning to check on the babies and found only one lamb with a first time ewe, nice big lamb.  We got the pair under the stairs, moved the twins and ewe at the far end of the barn into the momma area and are now down to two areas for babies.  We are discussing how to divide the herd into the haves and have nots (babies) and divide the barn also so we can track the babies being born better.  We will probably do this on Sunday.

I have sat down with our new Airtable spreadsheet that Annmarie made and added up all of our lambs.  I will update it as we go.  It’s kind of depressing currently, we are looking at nutritional causes and the age of our herd.  We have a lot of older ewes and are going to swap them out this spring.

  • Total lambs born (dead or alive):  27
  • # of singles:  4
  • # of twins:  7
  • # of triplets:  3
  • Stillborn lambs:  1
  • # died without a tag:  4
  • # bummered:  3
  • # ewes delivered:  14
  • # lambs alive on property:  19
  • Birth rate (alive & dead included):  193% (goal>150%)
  • Ewe productivity after 1 week (live lambs on farm):  127% (goal >125%)
  • Lamb success (live lambs on farm after 1 week):  70% (max 100%)

 

 

 

Bathroom planning

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I went out this morning to do chores in the barn and discovered a two new lambs.  The only real problem with this is I spotted another ewe with her water sack hanging out.  I tried to get everyone else out of the barn and keep the new momma and her in the barn.  She panicked and leaped past me and out with the main herd.  I tried to corral the new momma and babies under the stairs by grabbing both babies and sticking them under the stairs, but every time I turned to leave one of the lambs kept following me out.  The other lamb could hardly stand so I wanted her in a confined space so it could have a chance to nurse.  I finally managed to get her confined and then set a timer for two hours to come back out and check on the twins and see if I could spot the water ewe.  I was wondering if the weak twin was really the water ewe’s baby, but the other ewe took both babies so I was unsure.  Most of our sheep will not take a stranger’s baby, except for #1 ewe, she will nurse anything.  I went inside to start doing more planning on the upstairs bathroom.

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I went upstairs to draw on the wall.  Annmarie and I looked at it last night and decided that at a bare minimum I was going to have to move the light location above the mirror, maybe a power outlet also.  So I figured I better draw it all out on the wall so I could see where everything goes and make sure it would all fit.  I do need to move the light over the mirror.  Luckily, its not very far so I won’t have to run new wire.

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When Annmarie, got back from church we went out to the barn to check on the sheep.  I was pleasantly surprised when we looked under the stairs.  Annmarie said there were triplets!!  I had to look as I didn’t believe her.  I had pictures to prove that there was only two when I left two hours earlier.

 

 

 

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I went back upstairs to do more planning.  I hate planning but at this point I need to get it all down on paper and cemented in my brain so I can get a seamless install.  I moved the light box and started to look at how to alter the dresser to accommodate plumbing and a new granite top.  Annmarie helped me trace out the top of the dresser design onto plastic and then we went downstairs and ordered the sink, drain and picked out our single hole faucet.  We had to email an inquiry about the faucet as it is not in stock in most stores we found.  We want to get the sink and the faucet here and I want to get the countertop ordered so they have time to finish it as the front and sides are scalloped gently.

I am going to have to alter the top drawer so the we can use half of the drawer and move out and in easily.  I am going to have to buy a few pieces of finish wood to get the drawer redone.  I will be gluing, screwing and using finish nails to get the pieces in nice and tight.

When we fed the sheep and locked them in at night we did not have any new babies and there were still only triplets under the stairs.  All three triplets are girls and they are all doing well and nursing.  We will keep all three as replacements for our herd.  We also just ordered an ear not her so we can start marking ewes to cull.  We are going to start swapping out some of the older ewes.

I should be inside

Steve HardinLeave a comment

Annmarie tells me that it is time to start working inside again.  I went to the tile store and had to get some input on what color of grout to order for our backsplash.  Annmarie and I chose the brown color.  I am using sandless grout for the backsplash as all those little squares will get some grout around them.  Luckily, I only have to do a 4’x4’ section for the backsplash.  We have some fancy edge tiles and a chair rail to go across the top to install also.  The chair rail will hold the mirror that I will be mounting on the wall.  They had to verify the tile was still being made as we had picked it out a year ago.  I was going to epoxy a table top for our bathroom vanity but instead I am going to trace out the top pattern and order a small piece of granite to sit on top, it will be less than 4 square feet.  I will use the backsplash tile to pick the granite color and have them drill a hole for the drain and the faucet.  I will glue the granite to the top of the vanity.

 

8F386D9F-8265-4547-B197-A4C71285F933I purchased all the mastic and hardiboard needed for the floor and now I just need to patch the walls and start laying in the hardiboard.  I am going to use Redgard as my water proofing membrane.  I just need to roll on a few coats and then I can tile over the entire floor.  So I will be working on that this week.

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I spent most of the day on  Saturday outside working on the tractor.  I was supposed to be inside working on the upstairs bathroom but had to go outside to feed the sheep and cows.  Annmarie and had gone out first thing in the morning to check for babies and one of our old Baker girls pushed her way into the momma/baby area.  It was our old and infirm ewe so we let her.  She went outside and fell over, and could not get up.  We decided she was just too old and weak.  I came out later and put her down with a bullet to the brain.  She went up onto the bone yard at the far end of the property.  When we decided that we also sealed the fate of our other ewe with the lost hair.  She is losing more hair and has failed to turn around.  Her baby looks great so  we are going to cull the momma at 3 months age on the lamb.  That will be two culls for the year already.  We think we have at least 4 more this year.  We will be saving ten female lambs to use as replacements this year.  Most of the ewes  will come from the July 2019 bunch of lambs.  We are saving the old brown ewe’s baby as it is a little girl and if our old #1 ewe has another female we will save her also.  Choosing for temperament and mothering ability has benefited us and created a great herd to be around.

I ended up feeding both groups of cows.  I tossed my large hay hooks and have had to use a strap to try and drag out the large bales from the machine shed.  It takes longer to get the strap in place.  Now that I say that I may be able to use small all metal hay hooks and a chunk of chain.  I may try that next week.

When I went up to the boneyard I ended up dragging the upper fence line again to clear any rocks.  I did this last summer but I had a few rocks still in the path.  I now have a rock and debris free zone about 5’ wide next to the upper fence.  This means I can run the pull behind mower along the fence and not hit anything.  I like to do this to create a fire break alongside the fence line in the spring and early summer.  I ended up dragging the new fence line I cleared last summer also.  I also smoothed out a section for a gate and cut into the hillside so I can install a large rock crib for a gate and fence ending point.  All the moisture and moderate temperatures made it very easy to move the dirt and rocks around.

I even drug some dirt around in Alcatraz to clear the dirt away from the concrete footings of the old granary.  The cows were trying to bury it on one end and dig a hole under the other end.  So I just moved the dirt from one corner to the other.  At some future point I would like to work on this footing and build a floor and some walls.  This may end up being a retirement project but I would like to do it at some point.  I will also need to build about 120’ of stiff fence to keep the bull and ram out of my work area.  This is a project for another day, maybe another decade.

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The Tractor is Back!

Steve HardinLeave a comment

I picked up the tractor on Christmas Eve!  It took them a week and one of the connectors has been pieced together from three different fittings.  It now has a rear hydraulic takeoff with its own lever.  I will now be able to control the angle of the sickle mower and raise the back hatch of the hay baler so it can drop off the completed bale.  I just need to get the lights fixed and working on the roll bar.  I have to move them and attach the new rear facing light as the first time I put them in the wrong spot and lowering the roll bar caused us to destroy one of the lights.  So now I am on the second light and a second wiring harness and the lights have not even worked yet!

While I was in the parking lot at Bimart I had a couple come up to me and ask my opinion about my tractor.  I gave a whole rundown, cost and time savings benefit and the do’s and dont’s.  I walked them around the tractor and spent 30 minutes espousing my love of this machine.  They were convinced they needed one and thanked me for being honest.  This beauty has been used and she shows some wear and tear but keeps on chugging along.  03A20B3A-4531-4178-A8A7-D7780660DE32

I came home with the tractor and had to feed cows in both spots so I pushed large bales around, moved the feeders over the new bales and even spent some time scraping the road clear of alpaca poop.  Annmarie finally called me to ask me what was going on as she thought I was playing with the tractor.  Adult men do not play with tractors, we work with tractors any man could tell you that.  It was nice to be back on it.  I could do 2 hours of tractor work every day and not think it was work.

We had two of the old maps framed and I hung them on our wall.  The maps are from 1886-1912.  We have about 15 left to frame, but it is going to take us a few years to get them all done.  They are of various cities and railroad yards of the surrounding area.

Annmarie and I went out this morning to tag and band the three lambs that are currently out in the barn.  The first one was out with the main herd.  We went into the barn and closed the door so no one could escape.  I slowly waded into the sheep and spotted the untagged baby.  I tried to grab it but it snuck by me.  Annmarie wanted to run all the sheep through the chute but it takes 15 minutes to set it up so then she suggested just squeezing them all at one end of the barn and then I could wade in after she shut the gate.  As she was moving one of the panels I spotted the lone lamb again, I crept up on it and got it isolated.  It started trying to dash side to side and squeeze by me, as it leaped up into the air to get past me, I dove reaching out with my left hand and snagged it out of the air in a flying tackle and ended up longwise on the barn floor in the straw, I had her!  The amazing part is by the time we were done with all three lambs I ended up with no sheep poop on my entire body despite rolling around in the straw with a lamb.  We had two girls and a boy and we moved the momma and babies in with the main herd.

On the way back from the barn, I told Annmarie about my plan to collect 300# rocks and put them on the hillside.  She accused me of wanting to spend time with the mistress (tractor) when there were other things to do.  So instead I worked on mounting the flood lights on the tractor.  I had to run to Pilot Rock for some large hose clamps but I managed to get the lights all installed.  I even mounted a separate on/off switch into a piece of grey plastic electrical conduit and clamped it to my roll bar.  So now to turn on the flood lights I turn on the head lights then turn on the flood lights if needed.  I wired in the flood lights through the tractor lighting circuit.  I need some pins for the quick connect and will have to order them in.  My next project is to order a conversion kit for the “buggy” to put in a large deep cycle battery under the driver’s seat and a trickle charger.  This way we don’t have to worry about it starting whenever we want it to run.

I also need to get the machine shed wired so I can install lights and I need another metal cabinet for tractor parts.  Plus, I need to get the sprayer motor changed out to the new one with double the flow volume.  DC05D1FC-F261-4AC5-ADFF-6B3AE2351FA7