Baymule’s Journal

[Simpleterrier]

We hit -13 this morning. Got wood stove going heated floors are on and is a warm 72 inside. We have gotten rid of all our animals so only have a cat a rabbit and our dog. Dog is sleeping in the garage it is not heated and stays about 45. Once the house warms up a few more degrees I'll open the door to the garage and get it warmer in there. First year we haven't had animals in over 20+ years. Kinda nice to just drink coffee by the wood stove and look out at the cold.

 

[Mini Horses]

You have a carbon monoxide detector, right? I bought one when I got my ventless propane heater! Safety.

 

[Baymule]

No I don’t. I’ve never had one and have used propane heaters practically my whole life. Where do you get one?

 

[SageHill]

No I don’t. I’ve never had one and have used propane heaters practically my whole life. Where do you get one?

Home Depot, Lowes, online. Usually found near smoke detectors.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep, look like a smoke detector also. Cheap insurance against a possible burn or line fault/leak.

 

[Simpleterrier]

I agree with the carbon monoxide detector. ventless heaters kill a lot of people plus the moisture they put off turns into black mold.

 

[fuzzi]

No I don’t. I’ve never had one and have used propane heaters practically my whole life. Where do you get one?

I got one when we had the HVAC replaced. It just plugs into an electric outlet.

 

[Baymule]

Yesterday was sunny, gorgeous and I played outside. I cleaned out both round bale spots, and set new bales. I have only run son’s big 100 HP Kubota tractor twice, with son walking along beside me, telling me what controls to use. That tractor has so many fancy fangled controls, buttons and levers, I get confused. But yesterday I did it all by myself. Kinda proud of myself. I like to never figured out the brake lever, Why is the behemoth not moving and why is it beeping at me?

I’m comfortable with my little 23 HP Kubota, it is very simple to operate. But it just doesn’t have the oomph to get a big round bale off the ground.

There are 2 steps to get up to the seat of the big tractor and 2 grab bars on each side. I feel so high off the ground! I can’t see the hay spear unless I stand up and lean forward. But I got the bales speared and set. Well, maybe dumped is a better description. At any rate, sheep have hay.

This afternoon I get a load of dirt. It seems some idiot ordered 75 meat Cornish Cross chicks, I pick them up at the hatchery February 19. With so many, there is no place to brood them. There is no place to raise them. In my usual manner, I’m unprepared. If I ever got prepared FIRST before acquiring animals, the earth would spin off its axis and it would be a major world calamity.

When I pick up chicks, it will still be cold. I will have to have them by the house. They will have to be in the front yard where I can run an extension cord from the house. When it rains, the yard floods. Chicks for some stupid reason, cannot swim. The dummies drown.

Enter: dirt pile. My small tractor will make many trips with its little 4’ bucket, moving dirt to raise up the future hoop coop up off the drowning level of the yard.

I have to rob cow panels and a hog panel from the sheep pens and replace with sheep and goat wire. Annoyingly, I used wire to secure panels to T-posts instead of the hay string and zip ties that I now favor, but bolt cutters come in handy for that. Why waste my time and feeble strength struggling with puny wire cutter pliers? Two foot long handles on bolt cutters give me leverage.

I have 2x6 rafters pieces from the roof part of the shed that hurricane Beryl blew to pieces. Unfortunately they are still nailed together with 6” ring shank nails. Dang nigh impossible for me to take apart, which is why they are still nailed together. Maybe I can beat them apart, maybe cut them apart or maybe the hurricane will come back and finish what it started. At any rate, I’ve set my eyeballs on them as needed lumber for the chicken coop project.

I have 3 weeks to get this done and 4-5 inches of rain is predicted for the first week. Y'all wish me luck!

 

[Mini Horses]

That's more chicks than usual but, grands are growing and eating more. I get it. April/May will be a busy, bloody mess . Those ring shanks are tough ones.

 

[Baymule]

My regular chicken customer ordered 28. She was talking to her neighbor who wants 10. Another friend of mine wants 10. That’s 48 chickens! That leaves 27 for me and DD’s family . Allowing for mortality and those that never do well and are small, that will leave some for me, and most of the rest for DD and family.

Using a 5 pound dressed chicken, most are bigger. I get $8 per pound. 5x$8=40. 40x48=1,920.
Most of the chickens I raise are in the 6 pound range, with a few 7 pounders.

For that kind of money I’m a chicken pickin’ fool! A friend is loaning me his chicken plucker! Yay!

BARN MONEY!