Devonviolet Acres

[Devonviolet]

Continuation of my story from earlier today...

Our farmer friend moved the hay bale and trailer on Thursday evening.

Friday morning, we hooked the trailer onto the truck again and headed to Sulphur Springs, where we picked up three 275 gallon, food grade water totes, from the water reclaimation plant. Every once in a whille, I call them, to see if they have any empty totes. The last time we got totes from them, they were free. This time they were $20 each. Which considering I have regularly seen them for $100, I can’t complain.

About two weeks ago, I was talking to the dairy farmer that leases the land next to us, to grow hay for his cows, and asked if he had any spare calf huts. He said, he had two he didn’t need, but he was going to be out of town for a while, but when he got back he would get them to me.

Well, Friday morning I called, and asked if we could come by and pick up the calf huts. He said he had just gotten back from the Netherlands (he is originally from there). He asked us to stop by mid afternoon. So once we ate a bit of lunch, we headed over there, with our trailer. His place is way back in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer, we saw more and more cows and LOTs of calf huts! After we got the two huts loaded on the trailer, I asked him how many cows he had and he said, about 750 and an equal number of hefers and steer. I noticed that he had some Jersey hows mixed in with the Holsteins (which I think give approximately 3.5%, and asked what he was getting for butterfat and he said 4-1/2%, which is good for cow’s milk. Before we left, I gave him a dozen of my “famous” oatmeal cookies, as well. He seemed quite pleased with the exchange.

Anyway, the calf huts had gone through a tornado, that passed through his dairy a couple years before. With insurance money, they had gotton all new calf huts and these were what was left of the surviving huts, but they are kind of banged up a bit. But with a scrubbing, banging out the dents and putting together a 2x4 base, to firm it up, we should have some nice huts for our goats to kid in. We currently have Danny Boy in with the girls, since they are already pregnant. Once they have kidded, we will put together a paddock for him (in the pasture, so the dogs are close enough to protect him too) and he can use one of the calf huts. Win-Win!!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Congrats on your great bargains! Are you using the water totes for water storage or as shelters? I've seen them used that way previously. I would love to find a deal on them for $20.00!

 

[Baymule]

Score on the calf huts! You are making some great deals swapping your FAMOUS oatmeal cookies for needed items and services. Pretty soon word will get out and they’ll be lined up in your driveway with their “trades”. LOL LOL

 

[Bruce]

What do you have to trade Bay? I'm sure you and DH could use a few cookies.

 

[Devonviolet]

Congrats on your great bargains! Are you using the water totes for water storage or as shelters? I've seen them used that way previously. I would love to find a deal on them for $20.00!

You might try calling your local water reclaimation plant. Some of them hang onto the totes and some of them give/sell them. It’s worth a try. If your local plant doesn’t give/sell them, move out to other cities. These totes are well worth a bit of a drive to pick them up. Something to keep in mind ... we have a 12’ trailer and three totes just fit.

As far as what we plan to do with them ... right now we will be using them to store water, especially when the “drought” period hits in July, August and September. FYI, we put a small amount of chlorine in the water, to keep it from turning dark green with algae. The algae especially likes to collect on the walls of the totes, and that is NOT easy to clean off - ask me how I know!

We already had six totes when we got these three. We have learned that by collecting water, from our roof (including roof overhang) has 1594 sq ft. We have learned that just 1” of rain can fill all the totes. Our gutters were not installed properly, and have high and low spots, as well as leaks, that DH just can’t seem to plug up. So, some of the totes fill faster than others and unfortunately some of our roof water is wasted. DH has a transfer pump, that he hooks a water hose to, and he moves water from fuller totes to lower totes.

DH also uses the transfer pump to move water to the duck pools and 5 gallon buckets closer to the animals, so he can water the animals without carrying full buckets across the yard at feeding/watering times. We also use the water in the totes to slow water the garden. Once we get our garden established this year, I want to place soaker hoses, in the garden, and this kind of slow trickle is perfect for that kind of watering.

We plan to put these new totes out closer to the birds and livestock. By putting them up on cement blocks. We figure we can gravity feed water to buckets, for watering animals.

We have gutters on the chicken coop already, and can run the coop roof water into a tote there. We can put gutters on the goat shed, to run water into a tote there, and if those totes don’t fill, DH can always use the transfer pump to run water into them from the totes close to the house

Ultimately, though, my dream is to build an aquaponics system, using the two frames we have for the canvas garages, and greenhouse plastic. These totes will be very useful for aquaponics.

One or two totes could be used for water/fish tanks and other totes could be cut in half, and used to grow plants in growing medium. @HomeOnTheRange is into aquaponics and I am hoping he could help me work on the details to make it work.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wow, I'm impressed! I have a couple of those totes that we can fill by a gutter system. They are just sitting there - full of water. But, we need to get the fittings to allow us to hook a water hose to them. Ya'll have it all worked out!

Aquaponics would be great. I'd love to hear how ya'll do it if/when you get into it!

 

[farmerjan]

Good deal on the totes. Here you will pay 50 to 100 most times. I have a couple, use one to haul water from the spring when things get dry, to the water troughs in the barn lot at the nurse cow pasture. The spring that feeds the water trough is WAAAAAY down the hill and can't get to it with the truck so it is just as easy for me to go fill the tote with water from a pipe, gravity feed, from a spring near me alongside the road, into the tote on the truck and take it with me to the pasture when I go.
Have one that has some leaks in the one corner, told my son to cut it for use for the sheep as a shelter. They can be used for calf hutches too.

 

[Devonviolet]

Wow, I'm impressed! I have a couple of those totes that we can fill by a gutter system. They are just sitting there - full of water. But, we need to get the fittings to allow us to hook a water hose to them. Ya'll have it all worked out!

Aquaponics would be great. I'd love to hear how ya'll do it if/when you get into it!

I will be sure to post as we work through the project. The most pressing detail, right now is to clear trees, in the area, where we want to put the greenhouse, so we don’t have branches falling on it, when we get high winds here. Next we would need to level the ground where the greenhouse would go, as we currently have about a 20% grade and I want to tamp down the dirt and put a layer (6”?) of pea gravel, to minimize mud inside the greenhouse.

I know i took photos of how we have put plumbing connections, on the water totes, for hooking a hose to drain the totes, but can’t find them. When I am outside, later today, I will take some more photos. We have plumbed three of the totes together, so the water level in all three is the same (one interconnected system) and have the hose connection on that system. I will get a photo showing how it is all hooked together.

Disclaimer: DH is the one with plumbing skills, so I probably won’t be able to explain, in detail how it’s done. Hopefully, the photos will make it easy to see how the connections all go together.

 

[Devonviolet]

Score on the calf huts! You are making some great deals swapping your FAMOUS oatmeal cookies for needed items and services. Pretty soon word will get out and they’ll be lined up in your driveway with their “trades”. LOL LOL

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I know i took photos of how we have put plumbing connections, on the water totes, for hooking a hose to drain the totes, but can’t find them. When I am outside, later today, I will take some more photos. We have plumbed three of the totes together, so the water level in all three is the same (one interconnected system) and have the hose connection on that system. I will get a photo showing how it is all hooked together.

Thanks - that would be awesome!