rachels.haven's Journal

[Bruce]

I don't think snow stinks but as you know when it is wet it is HEAVY. BTW, my CP hoops over the berries were covered in chicken wire to keep the wild birds out. Nope, those holes weren't big enough for wet snow to fall through. I imagine it just slowly forze to the wires then to itself closing off the holes. I didn't even think about it until spring when the snow was long gone and the M conversion was seen.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @rachels.haven,

If I remember correctly, you don't own a tractor, do you? How will you be able to store all of that hay? But then, you somehow managed to put hay into the loft of your barn, so I guess you are like Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Baymule, and Miss @Ridgetop, namely Wonder Woman.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[rachels.haven]

I've got a lot of room in the loft and I may take down a pen or tarp and pallet some.
And yes! We have to be super women! Girls have to have it all, or so we're told by others and we tell ourselves. Plus, the animals are the things in my life that tend to go right on the bad home maker days and there are a lot of those.

 

[Baymule]

Miss @rachels.haven,

If I remember correctly, you don't own a tractor, do you? How will you be able to store all of that hay? But then, you somehow managed to put hay into the loft of your barn, so I guess you are like Miss @farmerjan, Miss @Baymule, and Miss @Ridgetop, namely Wonder Woman.

Senile Texas Aggie

Haha, Wonder Woman! Thanks for the compliment!

 

[rachels.haven]

Today my mom came down from TN and we put away 24 of the 50 bales my hay guy brought. Wow, things go fast when you're not descending stairs every 2 bales to tie them on, then back up to pull them up. We aren't particularly buff but finished up in about 30 minutes. We will get to the last few next chance we get and then will get more from the feed store probably to put away since it was that easy.

She started a conversation between tying bales about AI. Her animal science degree required a class on cattle AI, and she wanted to know how different goat AI was to it and if it was easier or harder...That's not something I've thought about in my spare time, but I admit it was a good question. I guess I'll have to go find out now. It sounds like cows are harder but usually I leave "I"ing of my does to the bucks so I know nothing. Meh, maybe I'll have to look it up and have a research party. The problem is, if I find out too much, DH will ask THAT question ("why DO you have so many bucks?") and we can't have that. Regardless, maybe if we ever move nearby I'll secretly have mom teach me how to AI if she ever figures out goats because now I'm curious...although I know little to nothing about cattle ai.

 

[rachels.haven]

Oh, and it is official. I will be going to the feed store tomorrow. We need to hit up the auto parts shop because DH's poor, neglected work commute car's battery is flat dead and I can't stand to have a broken down car when it's so simple. $10/35-40lbs bale is better than no bale and I'm almost full up top in the loft. I wonder if I can fill up the extra space on the ground floor before I have to stop. I'd like to USE and refill the ground floor hay and save the upstairs until the area goes dry. Hopefully it's not too soon. Man, after all this pulleying I would have nice buff arms...if I was a man. I'd be positively ripped.

I've been making the goats clean up the spilled hay and only giving them two meals of hay in the dwarf pen and letting all the feeders empty. Turns out, dwarves eat a lot for avg 50 pound animals. We've cut our usage down to a bale per day instead of 2 and nobody seems to have sunken sides at the moment, so this may not be a bad thing. I'd like to get and try some beet pulp pellets or shreds to try in their daily alfalfa pellets as an experiment.

Oh, turns out I'm over pelleting the bucks and the ducks like to come and crash in their pen to raid the dishes, so the pekins are running around pooping alfalfa green around the yard like geese. But the bucks are starting to look nice again so the ducks will have to just keep quapping green. I may cut the alfalfa just a bit, but I'd like to keep them on a decent amount because I know our hay is a little high in phosphorus and the calcium may not be a bad idea.

 

[Baymule]

Tightening up on the hay looks to be working. I know you will keep a close eye on the animals and regulate appropriately. Glad that you are getting stocked up on hay, it's going to be a very rough ride for many. Try the beet shreds, if the goats like them, best buy some more before other people catch on to the idea.

 

[rachels.haven]

You said it. I already know the milkers like the beet pulp and it adds to their condition. It doesn't look like their calcium phosphorus is too bad either. It's time to pick up a bag for testing purposes.

 

[Baymule]

Yeah, I never had rats get into beet shreds either. LOL But we are talking about Massachusetts rats...... if they are as onery and idiotic as the people, it’s a wonder the rats haven’t chewed your tires off.

 

[rachels.haven]

That's good to know (um, that hopefully they don't, I guess). I was putting off stocking up on beet pulp shreds because I don't have another feed can or a place on a pallet for the can.