Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Raining here. And very cold.

Just finished a 4-hour long bank call. RBFCU in Texas is wonderful. NOT the 1-800 number which rings somewhere in India and aside from the accents wanted me to answer a lot of other questions to verify myself including a credit card. Got a supervisor and same problem. Finally called the Plano branch and talked to 2 wonderful ladies who talked me through my online statement, questions from both DH and me, and how to deposit a check by computer. Will probably transfer most of our banking to them with a local account in SS when we move to TX.

Going to the orthopedist tomorrow about my knee. Still slightly tender and clicky since the fall the beginning of December. Swelling mostly gone down though. I have been using my exercise machine that is like an upright rowing machine. you sit on it and push against the foot bars (which do not go around like a bike) and pull with your arms and shoulders. My arms ache and I feel some strengthening in my legs so I think it is doing me some good. I put the timer on for 15 minutes and it is situated in the dining room so I can watch the TV across the hall while exercising. if necessary I can use my TV ears when Robert is making too much noise. LOL

My freezers are full of sale price meat which is great except that I have to bring home 3 lambs eventually. I have 3 others that are over 100 lbs. and could go to the butcher but there is no room for them in the freezers so they are going to the auction with 5 small lambs. Hopefully prices will be good on Wednesday. I am going to start cooking up the large pieces of pork in green chili sauce and freezing the resulting pork chili verde in Ziploc bags to lay flat in the freezer. They will take up less room and I will be able to thaw and use them without a lot of time cooking. I have forbidden anyone to do any shopping until we have emptied out some of the freezer space. We got a little carried away at the scary news of meat prices skyrocketing. Everything we bought was at low sale prices but we need to convert some of it into more easily stored items. I am considering keeping one of my pressure canners here and canning the pork chili verde instead of freezing it. When I was in the Connex I found the old food dehydrator that we used to make jerky in. It will go to TX for fruit and vegetable dehydrating. I wonder if I could dry some of the meat as well. Dried meat can be reconstituted in stews I would think. I will try that another time.

Got to go work on supper now. I am trying to use up some of the roasts in the freezer to make some more space. The problem is that I manage to squeeze so many meals out of a large cut that it is almost impossible to cut down on the amount of stuff in the freezer when it is replaced with with Ziploc bags of prepared meals.

 

[SageHill]

Raining and cold here too today. Good luck with the knee. Is that the Chino auction that you go to?

 

[Mini Horses]

Freezer stock can be an issue yeah I buy on sale. Had to start my usual "no groc shop" for winter early. I force myself to cook/eat from cabinets and freezer. Buy only absolute minimum. So, occasional ice cream or single bag of chips is about it. Just ME to eat. Occasionally I treat DD to a baked ham or pot of chicken & dumplings, pot pie, etc...and DS a few meals. There's always prepared heat & eat for me in there....

 

[Margali]

Just finished a 4-hour long bank call. RBFCU in Texas is wonderful. Finally called the Plano branch and talked to 2 wonderful ladies who talked me through my online statement, questions from both DH and me, and how to deposit a check by computer. Will probably transfer most of our banking to them with a local account in SS when we move to TX.

RBFCU is pretty good. My loan closer on the land was a Bi$ch! but RBFCU responded well. I got an apology email from her boss and promise that she was sent to retraining. They also fixed issue when Carmax screwed up my used car purchase and tried to make me take their loan.

 

[Ridgetop]

Is that the Chino auction that you go to?

Euclid Auction in Chino. Been going there for about 20 years now. Very honest. Started with prior owner who told me not to hold my bottle calves for 3 months but to bring them in at 2 months and try to bring in a group - I would make more money. I did that and got Angus money for my Holstein bull calves that we raised on goat milk and leftover hay. My 4-H friend that owned a Holstein dairy would save bull calves for me and make sure they got colostrum. They even gave DS3 a preemie heifer calf to raise and then bought her back when she was ready to breed. He entered her in several Fairs and they showed DS3 how to clip for show, etc. Good friends. Lots of fun. Now I take my lambs and cull sheep there. They used to have a horse auction too.

This past week we have been busy. we sorted out the sheep we are taking to TX with the help of DGD1. One is in the creep, the others were in the large field. After reading ear tags and marking them with paint, we couldn't find Green Tag 16. Nowhere was there a Green tag 16. Just as I was thinking I had made a mistake and there was no GR16, we realized that there were 2 young ewes in the pen with torn ears and no flock tags. Naturally one was Cleopatra who needed a purple tag (she is out of Lewis) but the other one had to be GR 16 out of Smalley. We trapped her and I read off her scrapie tag and she was Green 16. So now we have to ear tag 2 ewe lambs before heading to TX. We'll do it when doing the vet check. I am wondering if I can spray paint one of the blank white tags I bought for the purpose of ear tag replacement. If I can paint the tags, it will make things easier for me when retagging sheep with lost tags. Our ewe lambs are tagged with colored tags that identify who the sire is.

The next day I received my registration papers on my lambs. The computer system had been down for several weeks at the Dorper Society and they couldn't issue any registrations. Sorted out and copied the 2 registrations for the other 2 lambs going to TX. I always keep a copy of every registered animal I sell. The only registration I don't have yet is for Cleopatra because we haven't tagged her yet. I have to double check her scrapie number as well since I need those numbers for the paperwork. I will have to mail the registration to @Baymule when it arrives.

We have now finished hoof trimming more sheep. Total 2 rams and 7 ewes. Did the ewes that we weaned the lambs off since they were already in the barn pen after separating the lambs off. Turned them out onto the large field and DS1 brought in another 10 tonight. The 10 he brought in included a couple of the ones we marked the other day with DGD1 so those will get sorted into another pen later to wait for the vet on Thursday next - getting the health check to enter Texas. The ewes were easier. Their hooves were not as hard as the rams for some reason. The rams' hooves were like rocks, and we had to use the cutter blade on the Hoof Boss to score them before I could cut them. I did 4 yesterday in half the time we did the 2 rams. I finished the other 3 today in even less time. DS1 flipped them in and out of the chair and I trimmed. He had to hold a couple in, and we had to adjust the width of the chair for some of the smaller ewes. We used a towel over their eyes, and it helped to keep them calm. Some seemed naturally calmer, others not so much, but being in the chair was a real help. None of them kicked or struggled like they had in the squeeze on their sides. DS1 wants me to figure out some sort of harness that will hold them restrained in the chair. First, he thought just a strap but today he suggested I could make some sort of large body harness with leg holes to fit across their chests. HaHa.

DS1 put the harness and crayon back on Lewis and he is in with the ewes in the breeding pen again. We had pulled him out because he was limping since his hooves were so bad. 4 of the 12 ewes in that pen had not marked yet so we put him back in now to see if they are open. Also, in case the other 8 recycled he could rebreed them since they had only marked once. We will pull him out when we leave for Texas since I won't be putting any rams with any ewes until April to avoid August lambing.

DH said today that he will hire some casual laborers to help load the flatbed since the corral roof panels are so heavy. Happy to hear it but I wonder what the goig rate is these days. Used to be $5/hr then went to 10/hr. Probably now 20/hr. But better than hurting either DS1 or DH. DH has the tractor repair guy coming out to look at the little Kubota since it won't start. He thought it was the battery but after charging the battery it still won't start. Very annoying since he wants to clean out the sheep pens before any more rain starts.

I have to order another hay delivery this week and also tell them that 3 of the bales they brought were moldy. I am going to insist they take them back and give us credit since they cost $26/bale when we bought them and have gone to 30/bale now. DH is going to try to buy some alfalfa on the way back from Texas in New Mexico or Arizona. We are hoping it will be cheaper there at the fields.

 

[Baymule]

Y’all have been busy! I’ve got to get a couple more cow panels and enlarge the pen I want to put them in.

I paid $35 for an alfalfa 3 string bale they said was 110 pounds. That stuff is green gold.

When I tried my sheep chair, it didn’t go as planned. A towel over their face sounds like a good idea. So does a seat belt. LOL

What is your ETA?

 

[SageHill]

DS1 wants me to figure out some sort of harness that will hold them restrained in the chair. First, he thought just a strap but today he suggested I could make some sort of large body harness with leg holes to fit across their chests. HaHa.

OMG a body harness --- eeeeep - and if they struggle and get part way out --- just imagine a sheep running around with the chair on it's back!! a true Laurel and Hardy thing .
I'm doing hooves next week and I've got a 4inch wide velcro strap that I'm going to try. It might work, it might not - but it's "quick release" if I grab one end. Time will tell.
Yeah - the width adjustment on the chair is key to keeping them in it. LOL - but the human condition says set it and forget it. Which doesn't really work.
I've sent some sheep up to the auction - got more than I thought I would. Chino is about an hour and half from here. Bet it's probably midway between us.

 

[Ridgetop]

When I tried my sheep chair, it didn’t go as planned.

The video shows one person backing a complacent little ewe into it and managing to do everything on their own while the sheep just relaxes and summons room service. NOT! That sheep must have been trained from lambhood to get in the chair, or I want some of that sheep tranquilizer they must have used. I wonder if that "Calm" stuff they advertise for horses would work.

With us, it takes DS1, who is very strong, to flip/roll the sheep into the chair and then hold the sheep there while the other one trims hooves. You still have to be careful and alert for a sudden kick or struggle. If you don't get the sheep into the chair just so, they get crooked and struggle even more. Some of our ewes just relax there, others remain fairly still but are not happy. However, the chair is much easier than when we had to have 3 people hold struggling sheep during a hoof trim, or headlock them into a stanchion and crouch while they kicked and fought to get loose. Dairy goats are much easier but then have been bottle fed and handled since their birth and are used to the milk stand being a pleasant place where they get grain and are relieved of the painful pressure on their udders.

I still have another 20 ewes and 2 rams to do. Now that we have the ewelings needing to be tagged/retagged in the barn we will do them today too. That way I can mail off the registration application for Cleopatra. Didn't do any trimming yesterday which was ok since I had a blister forming on the base of my thumb from the clipper handle in spite of wearing gloves. Healed today so I will be up for doing 4 more. Four seems to be my back's limit even with stopping and stretching every so often. Being in your Prime can be tough.

I am hoping that my friend, Cheryl, will take the little mustang. She wants a smaller horse since her old mule is now 32 years old. She likes shorter equines, and still does playdays and Gymkhana games with her mules. She likes mustangs for the same reason she likes her mules - they are tough, heathy, and don't need shoes. If the animal is put together right, they don't even need much trimming. Josie the Mule hasn't had a trim in about 4 years and her hooves are perfect according to the farrier who just trimmed the TWH. Thank goodness for that since trims (no shoes) have gone to $50! Cheryl is coming over this week. Haven't seen her in a while so we will be able to chat a bit. Her 2 younger kids are around the ages of DS1 and DS2, her older 3 are older than DD1. They were all at the Fair together. They were all at the Fair together in 4-H and Grange. Jonnie's youngest is the same age as DD1's oldest and they were in Preschool together. Her youngest daughter has a baby the same age as Robert and Annabel.

Trying to decide when to start loading the trailers. DH has decided to get some casual laborers to load the flatbed. That load is going to be very heavy with a load of cross arms in the bottom, the galvanized corral covers, corral panels, and portable fencing panels on top. Before they can load the tractor guy is coming tomorrow to see why the tractor won't start. (They need the tractor to pull the corral covers up the hill to load.) DH and DS1 told me that I can't load any boxes in the black truck bed yet since they may need to use it for transportation and don't want the extra weight burning diesel. I can't load the stock trailer either since we need to load the larger ewelings in the forward compartment first. Since that trailer has 3 compartments, all with slide gates, I might be able to load one side of the stock trailer and just leave a passage through the slide gates to load the sheep. I can feed and water through the side door on the road. I need to get the boxes we are taking to TX off the shelving units so we can take apart and move the shelves back with us. Then we need to unload them first, set them up, and unload everything right back onto the shelves. I might not have enough room for everything I planned to bring back this trip. I may need to do some measuring and figuring on my stock trailer capacity. I am not good of cubic footage. And I remember that the inner gates do not reach the roof of the stock trailer so will need to make sure that nothing can slide over into the sheep compartment. I also will need to put a tarp over the floor and up the side of the gate so that any urine won't soak into any of the stuff I am loading in the trailer. That is why I am panning to mostly put plastic boxes in the stock trailer though. Then I guess we will have to tarp the load in case of ran during transport. The ewelings will be in the nose which should keep them dry. I will put half a bale of straw in the front compartment to keep them comfortable too. And tie the bucket to the gate. And remember to bring my bike chain and padlocks for the side door to avoid theft or release of the lambs. You never know what people will do.

DGD2 asked yesterday if she can have a playdate with DGD1 at our house. Naturally I said ok. I hate being such a good grandmother. Particularly when the grandchildren ask me themselves. Pretty soon they will figure out asking themselves gets a "yes" answer while I can say easily say "no" to my grown children. LOL

 

[Margali]

@Ridgetop You might consinder putting a pallet under your loads. Not only will that keep them safe from urine, you can borrow a pallet jack and pull each to back of trailer. Less carrying of individual stuff.

 

[Ridgetop]

Good idea! I just saw 4 new pallets in the old hay shed so we could use them. Thanks!

Got another 5 sheep trimmed before DS1 picked up DGD1 from school. Some of them were so bad that the hooves have turned under and begun to grow to the sole of the foot. Had to trim carefully and take some of the foot sole off. I am a very bad sheep owner. I only need the Hoof Boss and cutter blade on one of the ewes. DS1 and I have decided to trim every year when we wean. That should run all the sheep through at least once a year and just do about 8 at a time. It will also give us an annual date to vaccinate the rams. We vaccinate the ewes at the same time we give their lambs their first shots, but tend to forget about our rams. Did I say I am a very bad sheep owner? Might do the other 4 this afternoon. 8189 caught DS1 in the crotch. She is lucky she is a grade 5! LOL I told DS1 he needs to wear a cup when working the sheep. He was not impressed with my consideration for his welfare.