rachels.haven's Journal

[Margali]

The tractor supply ones are $55 for an 18". You could buy one at a time ending up with one on either side of the door.

I didn't see about accident so I hope husband is okay.

 

[SageHill]

Wow - your barn is going to be SO NICE once you have it all cleaned up.
YESSSSS you've got help with the issues. That's got to make you feel a bit better.
AND -- fans are cheap and make a big difference esp if you don't have air flow without them. At least get a small one to get some movement.
Wondering if putting bleach or something down where the rats and the pallet were would help -- thinking that the scent of rats will bring rats in??? No idea how that would effect livestock in the future though.

 

[rachels.haven]

*gasp* only $55.
I just moved all the barn cats into the tack room. Mom caught my gray ones and then we have the hay pile kittens. I'm hoping to put them down in the holes with the rats, but that's a good idea. I may do some bleach water or find a kennel cleaning solution and kill two birds with one stone and then lay down stall mats after it's dry.

 

[Baymule]

Moving cats, an old English lady once told me to put butter on their paws when arrived at their new home. GROSS! Cats freak out at the goop on their feet, immediately go into their full grooming routine and relax when done. They are home. It sounds silly, but it really works.

 

[farmerjan]

I'd love that! If I can pull it off I plan to, but we need to buy DH a new car after getting in an accident and then a new truck and I just bought the bucks electric fencing because the horse electric won't hold a goat and I want a new induction stove...so much money. I/we kind of need those fans though. We shall see. I'd take a biggie floor one on both ends for sure.

I seriously would see about new springs for the truck.... before I went and bought a new one... you aren't going to be doing any moving again anytime soon.... and you like the truck... heavier leaf springs will get it "lifted" and give it some stiffness in the back end... they do "bend" after awhile with heavy weights and stretch out so so speak... Flatten I guess is the better word. I "test" mine in the ranger when i haul the water tank... and they can actually break. It would be a whole lot cheaper than replacing the truck and is not that big a deal....

 

[rachels.haven]

Moving cats, an old English lady once told me to put butter on their paws when arrived at their new home. GROSS! Cats freak out at the goop on their feet, immediately go into their full grooming routine and relax when done. They are home. It sounds silly, but it really works.

Lol, i'm going to go do that tonight. Harmless if it doesn't work so why not? And funny.

I seriously would see about new springs for the truck.... before I went and bought a new one... you aren't going to be doing any moving again anytime soon.... and you like the truck... heavier leaf springs will get it "lifted" and give it some stiffness in the back end... they do "bend" after awhile with heavy weights and stretch out so so speak... Flatten I guess is the better word. I "test" mine in the ranger when i haul the water tank... and they can actually break. It would be a whole lot cheaper than replacing the truck and is not that big a deal....

The truck was only $6k, but I do like it. Flattened is the right word. They progressively flattened lower and lower as we drove until when we arrived the trailer was starting to nose down with only a few inches off ground. I will look into that. Buying too many vehicles at once gives me heartburn.

Today I got hay from a guy who runs his farm as a horse retirement place and he's from Kentucky, KY accent and all. Basically the horses get old or ruined or unrideable and then the rich people pay to to have the horses live with and be taken care of by him until they die. The owners do not check up on them. All the horses looked GREAT. He takes a lot of pride in those horses that he doesn't ride. He grows and feeds orchard/alfalfa hay and told me the protein may be a little low for my goats but he could be a good stop gap and he'd be happy to sell to me if it worked for me. He just does not deliver. So we learned how to load the truck with hay an tie it down today. It did not squat for us today under 17 $5 bales.

*correction, now, after it has sat for a little while is the truck starting to squat. I guess when the heat breaks I'll figure out how/where to unload the truck. And I'd better plan on getting home and unloading fast next time.

 

[rachels.haven]

Oh. Update on Iris' mastitis. She got her 5 day today and antibiotic treatment and it seemed to go away and tested clear, withdrawal period over/almost over so I left her with my mom while we drove the bucks out. They milked her separate. In between then and now it came back and she now has it on both sides, stringy, nasty yellow "milk" and only about a cup or two out of my 1 gallon mini milker. So she is done. Her udder is finished, totally full of fibrous tissue this time with almost no room for anything else. So I guess she needs to go be shipped either to auction or processing when withdrawal is done because even if she survives the infection and lets her udder go dormant with freshening it will flare up and she'll be a disease vector. She's got a beautiful, well attached, perfect udder even when ruined and nothing but scarring, so it's very sad, but she's going to suffer and I don't want to become a pet goat farm.

 

[farmerjan]

Sounds like the springs have lost their "spring"... I would definitely have them checked out... new leaf's put in... make it like new...

 

[Margali]

Sorry to hear about Iris's mastitis. It sounds like she is really good doe otherwise. Hopefully you have some of her daughters.

 

[Baymule]

Second Jan on the leaf springs. A spring and brake shop can replace them.
Sorry about Iris. There’s some things that you just can’t fix.