rachels.haven's Journal

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

No smoke down this way in Arkansas. Regarding the battery powered chainsaw, we own both a gas powered and battery one. We bought the gas one first -- a Stihl MS251C. It works great, but a bit heavy. Last year we bought a DeWalt 20V battery powered one. It is so much lighter than the gas powered one and I don't have to yank on a rope, either. It is the one I carry in the tractor all of the time. My wife is not afraid of using it, either, versus the Stihl.

Hope you can get through the bad air.

 

[rachels.haven]

It took a few weeks, but I got a barn estimate. The estimate is not great but okay. The man my neighbor referred me to came through. Then he gave me the number of a man who does demos. Maybe we can get the ball rolling on this?
If I can have a barn before spring I may still breed the goats this year.

 

[rachels.haven]

Emotional roller coaster yesterday.
Apparently the demo and site work man the barn guy wants me to use is retired and said the last barn down would be his last barn. He says if his partner likes the barn they'll take it down. Also, the only reason to demolish a building is for the lumber and salvage materials. Our barn has a new metal roof and lots of wood, but it's big and the materials are "hard to get to", so who knows.
The barn man is coming out on Monday after work.
I got a second report back from the lab I sent the dead chicken into a few weeks back late in the evening. Apparently the $100 I paid covers a preliminary exam and then a deeper exam where they mount cross sections of organ tissue on slides. They found multicentric lymphoma throughout the birds system, suggesting either mareks or leukosis. I don't believe in breeding either of those things so it looks like I'm need to depopulate and not keep chickens while here. Watching the few I have had get sick so far pitter out has kind of taken the fun out of things anyway. I hope we didn't spread anything, and I'll take measures to not spread it in the future. Maybe I'll find some layer ducks for the time being if I miss eggs I guess. My extra roosters went to a nice man of Asian descent looking for black meat birds. I think I have about 12 to do in left counting one of the sick ones. Not sure hens are worth meat. I'm not sure where whatever it is we have came from, if we brought it in recently with the new chicks, or it came with the new place, or the new used coop. I guess it doesn't matter. The lab check was worth it.

 

[rachels.haven]

The doe mini barn has a floor covering, troughs, a mineral feeder, and shavings. It needs bucket hooks and a panel fence. That will wait until I get the bucks' mini barn caught up. Then I will pound more posts.

 

[Baymule]

I'm sorry about your chickens. That's tough, you are wondering where it came from, did you do anything wrong and you feel bad about it. Sometimes things are just out of our hands.

 

[rachels.haven]

I'm proud to have been an Iowan.

We managed coyotes properly and didn't have a problem.

 

[rachels.haven]

Note to self: I'm allergic to black flies/buffalo gnats. I inhaled a whole bunch on Sunday and the consequences have been bad. The initial can't breath feeling mostly went away after about 24 hours, but MAN I'd like the massively runny eyes, nose, and the hives to quit. Last night I caved and we took a midnight run for benadryl-i hate that stuff, as it makes me completely loopy. The dam was up holding back the tears washing my sinuses last night, but apparently I want to just keep reacting and reacting and reacting...
Last time I did this it was milder and took a week to clear. I guess I was being warned.
For now I'm taking a bandanna with me and at least wearing it in the dark when they are worst. I tried a covid mask and the flies try to creep under. You can tuck in a bandanna. I may see if one of those screen mosquito hats work too, but I'm concerned the bugs are small enough to fit.
Man, this is going to take a bite out if my productivity...
As a result I haven't killed any chickens in time for garbage day. Or really done anything of note. Those gnats are so gross.

However the benadryl has had sort of a lingering effect so I should be back on top of my game in the next day or two.

 

[Baymule]

Those things are horrible. I used to spritz my hens with vanilla. The gnats didn’t like vanilla. Might work for you, if it doesn’t you’ll smell like a batch of cookies right out of the oven!

 

[rachels.haven]

@Baymule
GASP, if that works my herd (and me) are going to smell AMAZING. Extract or imitation?

On another note, I hung two buckets in the doe barn and ordered wood to hang the hay feeders. My other half has been having a hard time lately at work, so I may not go get the 8 2x4x8's and other hooks until the weekend. He's in no state for kid watching or ride alongs and baby+2 rowdy boys are not something I can tote to the hardware store at the moment.

I also fixed Atlas's collar as his neck is getting ripped for rut and should probably get stinky and recheck the rest, but it's tricky because they are randy and I have to keep them all in line when I go in. They basically have to come out one at a time for work, because nothing gets done when I go in. Atlas is now my tallest buck. Also, it looks like Buggy has a swollen teat I have to look at. That's going to be fun. His neck is too fat for the wonderful, immobilizing stand, so he has to be tied and that lets his hind quarters wander more than I'd like when doing necessary things to him.

 

[Baymule]

Extract. I also hung those vanilla scented yellow Christmas tree automobile air fresheners in the coop.