Baymule
Herd Master
What if your kids are just like you? 
Mystang's Homesteading Circus
- Thread starter mystang89
- Start date
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- #72
mystang89
Herd Master
hush you 
RollingAcres
Herd Master
- Thread starter
- #74
mystang89
Herd Master
Been a while since I updated this. I had to read what the last thing was that I wrote. So where to begin.
Hmm, well, trying to hay rake the pasture after using the bush hog didn't work. I'm a newbie at making hay so I'm sure that contributed to it but one of my wife's friends said that the hay rake probably couldn't grab the hay since it was cut too small even after taking off the side of the bush mower. That's ok though. I decided to take the finish mower and mince up the dried grass as much as possible so I could at least use it as fertilizer for the pasture. As I was doing my rounds I found that I was inadvertently making windrows. I figured I would continue on and, in the end, ended with 5 or so rows. The next day it rained. Oh, the love, it's real. I waited till the next day and the children and I went out to pick it all up and place the hay in the trailer. Took some pictures but they aren't on my phone so that'll have to wait. Turned out good though. Just need to wait till the hay is dry enough now. Until then, it'll wait in the back of the trailer.
I tried to take my daughters leg off. Yep, proud moment as a father right there. I was bush hogging the back pasture and she was on the front loader like normal. I didn't time my turn right nor pay attention to the speed I was traveling at and ended up running her leg into a small try. Don't have a picture of that one either but it was ugly. She needed to have 16 stitched with 4 of those being on the inside for the muscle since it was torn as well. Some lessons are learned the hard way, it's just unfortunate that it was at the expense of my wonderful daughter. She's such a strong girl though. She makes me proud.
Today we went out and straightened up the garden. After weeks of non stop company or things NEEDING to get done, the garden had gotten out of hand.
The sheep themselves are doing well. I'm not getting as much milk from Betsy as what I wanted but she also still has one of her lambs on her during the day and both of them at night. Still trying to get her condition improved though.
We also fixed out wood shed. When we purchased the property the woodshed's back wall was falling down. I replaced boards and did the whole screw/nail barn wood together and now it's just as sturdy as the day it was made. Ok, well, probably not that sturdy but it isn't going to fall down on my any time soon lol.
That's the before from when I first moved in. I'm pretty sure they had forgotten where the trash can was so they just put everything in there. It was cleaned out not long after I moved in. I, unfortunately, don't have an after picture just yet but just imagine that back wall being connect at the ends and not having a huge, gaping hole in it and you've pretty much got the picture. Next project for the building would be the roof which has a few holes that are making the wood rot.
After looking back a few pages I apparently never mentioned that I enlarged the sheep living area.
The above is the before of the area which I enlarged.
That was the area which 5 sheep had to call a home. Slightly smaller than what one might want. I think it was about an 8x8.
This is the new area. It's about 5x's the size of the original.
Think that's it for now. I'm sure there's plenty more I'm forgetting but I'll think about it next year.
Hmm, well, trying to hay rake the pasture after using the bush hog didn't work. I'm a newbie at making hay so I'm sure that contributed to it but one of my wife's friends said that the hay rake probably couldn't grab the hay since it was cut too small even after taking off the side of the bush mower. That's ok though. I decided to take the finish mower and mince up the dried grass as much as possible so I could at least use it as fertilizer for the pasture. As I was doing my rounds I found that I was inadvertently making windrows. I figured I would continue on and, in the end, ended with 5 or so rows. The next day it rained. Oh, the love, it's real. I waited till the next day and the children and I went out to pick it all up and place the hay in the trailer. Took some pictures but they aren't on my phone so that'll have to wait. Turned out good though. Just need to wait till the hay is dry enough now. Until then, it'll wait in the back of the trailer.
I tried to take my daughters leg off. Yep, proud moment as a father right there. I was bush hogging the back pasture and she was on the front loader like normal. I didn't time my turn right nor pay attention to the speed I was traveling at and ended up running her leg into a small try. Don't have a picture of that one either but it was ugly. She needed to have 16 stitched with 4 of those being on the inside for the muscle since it was torn as well. Some lessons are learned the hard way, it's just unfortunate that it was at the expense of my wonderful daughter. She's such a strong girl though. She makes me proud.
Today we went out and straightened up the garden. After weeks of non stop company or things NEEDING to get done, the garden had gotten out of hand.
The sheep themselves are doing well. I'm not getting as much milk from Betsy as what I wanted but she also still has one of her lambs on her during the day and both of them at night. Still trying to get her condition improved though.
We also fixed out wood shed. When we purchased the property the woodshed's back wall was falling down. I replaced boards and did the whole screw/nail barn wood together and now it's just as sturdy as the day it was made. Ok, well, probably not that sturdy but it isn't going to fall down on my any time soon lol.
That's the before from when I first moved in. I'm pretty sure they had forgotten where the trash can was so they just put everything in there. It was cleaned out not long after I moved in. I, unfortunately, don't have an after picture just yet but just imagine that back wall being connect at the ends and not having a huge, gaping hole in it and you've pretty much got the picture. Next project for the building would be the roof which has a few holes that are making the wood rot.
After looking back a few pages I apparently never mentioned that I enlarged the sheep living area.
The above is the before of the area which I enlarged.
That was the area which 5 sheep had to call a home. Slightly smaller than what one might want. I think it was about an 8x8.
This is the new area. It's about 5x's the size of the original.
Think that's it for now. I'm sure there's plenty more I'm forgetting but I'll think about it next year.
Baymule
Herd Master
To cut hay, you need a hay cutter. Probably a sickle cutter would work best for you. Your hay got rained on. Rained on hay has its nutrients washed out. It may do for a belly filler, but that's all. Watch it closely for mold. If it is spread out flat, it may dry ok, if it is clumped up at all, being not too dry, it will ferment.
Sorry about your daughter. I am going to say this as politely as possible. Your daughter, nor anybody should ever ride in a front loader. I worked in machine shops and welding shops, got lots of safety training and I am phobic about safety. I piss my husband off a lot because of the stupid things he does sometimes. He just doesn't have a clue. There are lots of farm accidents because of lack of safety. You and especially your daughter are very fortunate that she wasn't hurt worse. I am not beating up on you, I imagine that you have done that already. I do not know your back ground. I do not know if you ever had safety training on equipment. But I certainly hope you seek out safety books, training manuals or something that will help you be more safety conscious.
The new sheep living area looks real nice. I am sure they like it too!
Sorry about your daughter. I am going to say this as politely as possible. Your daughter, nor anybody should ever ride in a front loader. I worked in machine shops and welding shops, got lots of safety training and I am phobic about safety. I piss my husband off a lot because of the stupid things he does sometimes. He just doesn't have a clue. There are lots of farm accidents because of lack of safety. You and especially your daughter are very fortunate that she wasn't hurt worse. I am not beating up on you, I imagine that you have done that already. I do not know your back ground. I do not know if you ever had safety training on equipment. But I certainly hope you seek out safety books, training manuals or something that will help you be more safety conscious.
The new sheep living area looks real nice. I am sure they like it too!
- Thread starter
- #76
mystang89
Herd Master
Thanks for the info! I'm new to the hay cutting scene so every little bit helps. I probably won't be doing any more hay till next year when I get a cutter with taxes but I'm the meantime I'll be gathering info.
This weekend has been a God send. With temps at 108f the past few days it's been a huge drain trying to get work done. This weekend has been low humidity and around 85. Feels like heaven. So after a little light work today is time to just sit in the porch swing and enjoy the breeze.
Baymule
Herd Master
A sickle cutter would be the safest to operate, since you don't have a cab tractor. No flying disc that just came off the mower at 3000 RPM's to slash your arm off. At least the cab offers protection, along with A/C and radio. LOL
- Thread starter
- #78
mystang89
Herd Master
Quick update. For the past 3 weeks I've been trying to refinish my brothers hardwood floors. They had stains in the wood which I tried to sand out and for some of them I was able to remove completely. Others, however, were too deep and ended up having to stay. I threatened his children that if they ever so much as dropped a spot of sweat on the floor I would eat them. They look at me and rolled their eyes. I tried. I did finally finish through. I think it looks terrible, he thinks it looks great. He lives there so I'm good with that. It did make me want to take up the carpet here and see if I had something that was stainable underneath. Maybe one day.
Today was spent finishing up with mowing the pastures. Yesterday the belt for the finish mower broke so I went and purchased a new one. Today the belt for the finish mower broke so I.....pulled out the bush hog....Yeah, pretty much the same sentence plus additional crying. I'm not sure what's wrong with the finish mower and why its snapping the belts. The first looked like a clean snap, the second looked shredded. I know it can be a few different things including pulleys not being on the same plane, ball bearings being off a bit, rust around the pulleys etc. I'm going to take it apart the next rainy day and see what I can't break.
Sheep are still good. Getting about 1 1/2 - 2 cups a day from Betsy. She's still feeding her ewe lamb but I've pulled the ram lamb off since he's been weaned. He's with his dad now and seems to be doing good. I'm keeping an eye on them though because I don't trust his dad any further than I can see him and many times less than that. That said though, with another sheep in the pasture with him, he seems to be a bit happier. We'll see how long that lasts especially when the girls come into heat.
Checked the pigs today to see how much they weighed. 125lbs and 160 lbs. Still have a bit over 100 lbs to go
I can't wait to butcher them. I can't stand pigs. They stink. They fight. They destroy everything. They knocked everything over. They don't pick up after themselves. They don't clean their rooms....oh wait, sorry, started talking about my children....
I did finally finish through. I think it looks terrible, he thinks it looks great. He lives there so I'm good with that. It did make me want to take up the carpet here and see if I had something that was stainable underneath. Maybe one day.Today was spent finishing up with mowing the pastures. Yesterday the belt for the finish mower broke so I went and purchased a new one. Today the belt for the finish mower broke so I.....pulled out the bush hog....Yeah, pretty much the same sentence plus additional crying. I'm not sure what's wrong with the finish mower and why its snapping the belts. The first looked like a clean snap, the second looked shredded. I know it can be a few different things including pulleys not being on the same plane, ball bearings being off a bit, rust around the pulleys etc. I'm going to take it apart the next rainy day and see what I can't break.
Sheep are still good. Getting about 1 1/2 - 2 cups a day from Betsy. She's still feeding her ewe lamb but I've pulled the ram lamb off since he's been weaned. He's with his dad now and seems to be doing good. I'm keeping an eye on them though because I don't trust his dad any further than I can see him and many times less than that. That said though, with another sheep in the pasture with him, he seems to be a bit happier. We'll see how long that lasts especially when the girls come into heat.
Checked the pigs today to see how much they weighed. 125lbs and 160 lbs. Still have a bit over 100 lbs to go
I can't wait to butcher them. I can't stand pigs. They stink. They fight. They destroy everything. They knocked everything over. They don't pick up after themselves. They don't clean their rooms....oh wait, sorry, started talking about my children....
Sorry about the belt issues... aside from the monetary loss it has to be very frustrating.
Baymule
Herd Master
Pigs aren't THAT bad! LOL We just took ours to slaughter and i'm glad. It is over 100 now and I wouldn't be able to keep them cool.
