Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

Some of the experiences shared here remind me of James Herriot's books, starting with All Creatures Great and Small.

I love the stories about the younger brother puling a calf - he moans and acts like he is in agony and exhausted from the experience and the farmer makes him tea with brandy! LOL

Got the side panels of the barn pen removed. Then dug out, moved around, and reattached, adding 120 sf (10' x 12') to the sheep pen area. I might need some of that area to put extra jugs in. At least it gives them more room to move around and sleep. DH and I also unloaded the 20 bags of sheep and horse grain we bought. Told DH he needs to go back and buy the rest of the horse grain since it is a 70% savings. I will need more sheep grain too since I am using a full bag a day. Tomorrow I am going to make a small pen in the barn for Moyboy. He has lost weight and looks pulled down. I want to give him extra feed and get him back into shape before bad winter weather hits in January and February.

I also started putting up the jugs in the side barn. I put some of the small 36"w x 32"t panels together and they will work for jugs. I need to decide how to use them - either 3' x 7' pens, 6' x 5' pens, etc. depedg b hiw I attach the together. I wanted to buy more standard gates, but didn't get down to the company and now have run out of money.

I know that no one else knows what havng no money is like.

I am cobbling jugs together from different sizes of panels and will have to use 1x4's zip tied to them to stabilize them the sections so they don't fold up. I can make this work. I will have to hang up tarps at each end of the side barn to keep the rain and wind off the jugs. Cold won't hurt the lambs but wet and wind will.

Hopefully, I can use the barnyard where we park the 5th wheel as a mama & baby nursery field off the side barn for the new moms and their lambs once they have bonded in the jugs. When DS1 gets back we have to turn Junior in with the other ewes since several don't look bred. That would give me lambs in June but better than open ewes for another year. I also have to sort out the ear tags that DS1 removed from the lambs and ewes that died while I was in California, count how many we lost, and remove their registration papers from my book. Then I can sort ut which lambs if any I will keep. I probably won't keep any ram lambs except the black headed Dorper. I do see one or two ewe lambs that look good although they are sort of small.

DH did a burn pile today. While he took the 5th wheel battery to be checked and charged, I made sure that al the wood was in the middle. Those burn piles have a tendency to let the larger logs roll off when the pile starts to smolder. The 5th wheel marine batteries are good and he will take the other in tomorrow. This way I can turn on the propane generator in the trailer and attach an extension cord for light in the barn. And maybe sleep in the trailer too if I need to be close to the barn.

After a full day of heavy physical labor, I came in and finished up 3 loads of laundry, made dinner and finaly watched the Notre Dame game with DH. When I was in 4th grade I went to Catholic school and my teacher was a nun. Sr. Patrick Joseph was a major Notre Dame fan. She made our class kneel down every Friday and say the rosary to ensure Notre Dame would win their game. If they lost, she sadly said we didn't pray hard enough. If they won we all got extra credit. At 9 years oId I wasn't sure what football even was, but figured I would go to hell if Notre Dame lost their "season" because of my poor praying. I got worried during the final half but Notre Dame pulled it off.

 

[Baymule]

How many ewes are expecting? It sounds like you are gonna be very busy!

 

[Finnie]

Hopefully, I can use the barnyard where we park the 5th wheel as a mama & baby nursery field off the side barn for the new moms and their lambs

Will they chew wires on the 5th wheel like @Baymule ‘s did to her son’s trailer?

 

[Baymule]

Will they chew wires on the 5th wheel like @Baymule ‘s did to her son’s trailer?

They probably would!

 

[Ridgetop]

I have almost 40 that were exposed to the rams. They are all due between mid January and end of February. Some have bagged, others are just getting huge, others don't look pregnant (but my ewes are sly and sneaky). Went out and built more jugs today, then took them apart and rebuilt them in a different configuration. Now I am reconfiguring design again. The panels are all different sizes so I have to figure out how to put them together for themost jugs in the space. I might also put a couple in the barn pen. I still have to install the 12' gate across the side barn. I found 6 additional heavy 5' panels, so I will be able to make a lot of 5' x 5' jugs. Problem will be protecting them from rain blowing into side barn. I will have to get out the big ladder and install screw in hooks on the overhead beam at the opening. Then I can hang a tarp and lace it down to the bottom of the fencing to keep water out. I have several pallets that I can put at the ends of the pens and tarp as well.

We need a couple more bales of hay set out for the ewes and also for the rams. DH said to have Payton put the bales behind the barn instead of in the sheep pen. Some of the hay bales have sticks and honey locust brambles in the middle of them. The chain came off the chainsaw so I will have to read the instructions to put it back on. I will have to use it to cut into the hay bales to get hay to feed in the jugs.

DH couldn't get the battery pwer on to thetrailer. Then he switched the cables andthe lights worked but the batteries started sparking. DS1 said he will take a look when he gets back mid January. I will charge up all my battery lanterns for lambing in the dark. Had hoped the guys would have had the electric from the new box already hooked up in the barn before lambing but they ran out of time.

Took all the Christmas ornaments and the tree down yesterday and today. So sad when all the cheerful decorations are put away. DH hates it when Christmas season is over. However, now I can start putting out some of my good stuff which has been shoved in a cabinet since being unpacked. Also have to finish hanging up more pictures.

So much still to do.

 

[Baymule]

40 ewes lambing? You’re gonna be busy! I keep tac lights for the house when power goes out. Harbor Freight has them, around $4, takes AA batteries. They have a handy handle that you could hang on a nail.

 

[fuzzi]

40 ewes lambing? You’re gonna be busy! I keep tac lights for the house when power goes out. Harbor Freight has them, around $4, takes AA batteries. They have a handy handle that you could hang on a nail.

I like those lights when they have a rubber coating, as they bounce better when dropped.

 

[Ridgetop]

I have quite a few battery lanterns and brought them with us to have for the barn. The wires have been run from the electric installation panel, but not hooked up yet by my husband the electrician. (The shoemaker's child always goes barefoot you know).

DH is getting ready for the cold snap (or freezing month) by putting quick connect ends on the hoses so I can disconnect and drain the hoses after watering. Also have a wrecking bar in the barn to break the ice on the water troughs. Supposed to get below freezing every night for the next 2 weeks. I will have to have Payton come ver and move ut another roll of hay for the rams and 2 more for the ewes. DH said to put it in a different spot - not in the pen - where the ground is not all mud.

Did more work on the jugs and this morning after church we went to Lowes. I bought 8 new 5 gallon buckets to make sure I have enough water buckets for the jugs, another medium weight tarp, and 1 dozen heavy duty screw in hooks from which to hang the tarps. Also a large screw in eye bolt for the gate chain. I couldn't sleep last night and got up and worked on my jug plan. I think I have it right but need to measure the barn again to make sure. Going to make all the jugs 5' x 5' or as close to that as possible. I have to divide off a separate area for the ewes and lambs to go when they are turned out with the flock as well as a creep for the lambs. The lactating ewes will need extra feed and I will creep the lambs this year as well. No more undersized lambs thank you.

I got the NAHMS study on worms back yesterday. They do a herd test instead of indicidual tests but overall the herd came back with a FEC of 50. They figure anything under 2500 is low and over2500 is high. The worm study included testing for Barber Pole as well as other types. That made me happy although they did say since it was a group study some individuals coud be higher and some lower. Overall though it means that no one else will die of worms for a while. LOL
Marv left town today to fly to California with our granddaughter. He has several doctor appointments and will drive back with DS1 in 2 weeks. I thought that he and DS1 should be back by the time the ewes atart to lamb. Last night I checked my calendar for his appointment times and decided to check on when the ewes are due.
OMG! 2 ewes due today, 13 due on wednesday and another 4 on Friday. The jugs were not set up since I was rearranging them to get as many as possible out of the panels so I had to rush out this morning. 2" of ice on all the water tubs this morning. I used DS1's wrecking bar/hammer to break the ice up. About 20 degrees when I went to work on the jugs, but I wore my thermals, flannel lined jeans, "fur" lined hat, heavy barn jacket, and cold weather work gloves and was cozy. The barn cut the wind so it was not unpleasant to work in there. The sun was out so sheep went out to graze without complaints. I need to have Payton come over and move another 4 bales of hay out for the ewes, and one for the rams. I will need to buy more hay before grazing really gets going, luckily Cody put up a lot last year.

BL14's vulva is very swollen, she's loose as a goose, and her udder is bagged. Jugs put up just in time. I still have more work to do with them since the ones in the side barn still need zip ties to secure the side pieces to the rear panels, but I have 3 ready to go so doing ok. I was able to get 16+ jugs out of my panels and the small 36"w x 32"tall garden panels. I turned the garden panels upside down since they had fancy spiky tops. I used 2 of them to get a 6' jug. I figured a 3" x 5' jug would be too small. However, I used four 7' panels and four 36" panels and made 2 additional jugs 3' x 7' along the side of the barn. Most of the jugs are 5' x 5' 5 or 6 are 5' x 6', 2 are 3' x 7, and 2 are rather odd shaped. One is about 5' x 5' using a grafting panel and the jug at the end ofthe barn I can open at the corner and out a head gate in if I need to restrain a ewe. Since I had enlarged the ewe's barn pen, I was able to set up 4 jugs in their pen. That will make it easy to get them in a jug when they lamb. I also shut the gate to the field so they have to stay in the barn and adjacent pen.

I still need to hang the tarps on both ends of the side barn before Wednesday/Thursday to keep the expected snow/sleet out of the jugs. I will also hang a tarp up on the end of the barn where the jugs are in the main barn. Tomorrow I will get up on the ladder with my drill and make the pilot holes, screw the hooks in, and hang the tarps. I will use the tie down holes in the tarps to attach the bottoms and sides to the barn so they don't flap around and blow off. I bought 8 new 5 gallon buckets for water in the jugs since I didn't have enough. I only have 6 jug size hay feeders so will use the yellow supplement tubs for hay and feed. I am not sure how I will get the hay off the rolls, but I think I will use my nifty battery powered chain saw to cut into the bale and then peel it off. I will remove the wrap first.

Here are how the jugs fit in the barn. I think I wil have to buy some more panels for next lambing seasn since the little garden panels are kind of shirt, also since they are oined together in the middle the ewes can push them around. I am considering getting 4' panels and making 4'x5' jugs. I would like to only keep the ewes and lambs in the jugs for a few days before they rejoin the flock. Then they will have to have a creep for the lambs and feeders for the ewes.

Jugs - Front to back of side barn
Next picture is back to front of side barn. in frnt is the jug made with the grafting panel. On left side you can see the 2 7' panels comprising the 2 3' x 7' jugs. Couldn't put any more along that side because the barn floods slightly aling the frint side.
3 5'x6' jugs and ne weird shaped one about 3'x8'. Probably use that one last.

Everyone is fed, I am exhausted, my back aches from dragging those heavy panels around. I'm heading for a couple Ibuprofen, a hot shower and supper. Just realized that I worked non-stop without any food or water for 6 hours! Tomorrow I have to finish zip tieing the jugs and put in the feeders and buckets ready for mamas and lambs. Might be some surprises tomorrow am.

At least the ewes are not over conditioned like they usually are come lambing. A couple are thin, but most are in good condition so hopefully will not have overly large lambs. the rams are in good condition too, except for Moyboy who is thin and shwing his age. I would like to get him into the barn in a jug, worm him, and feed him up but it will have to wait for a couple weeks till DS1 gets here. In the meantime I am feeding the rams a sweet feed ration.

 

[rachels.haven]

Oh goodness, Wednesday is PARTY TIME. Get them all lambed and done! Good luck!

 

[Mini Horses]

Supposed to get below freezing every night for the next 2 weeks.

Same here! Teens to low 20s days. 35-43 days. A real cold snap for us too. Waaay below normal.

Sounds like a busy week there! 19 ewes due to lamb.

I was fortunate to have 12 stalls in my barn, 6x8. Perfect jugs And portable panels to use in other sheds. Mini horses & goats use similar space. Minis are easier to be stalled.