SageHill
Herd Master
The bathrooms look fantastic!! That's a lot of work.
Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
- Thread starter Ridgetop
- Start date
Mini Horses
Herd Master
Great job on both bathrooms! I'm sure you're glad it's done -- for contented use and marking it off the list. 
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- #4,573
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Yes, but my men are not happy at being told to wash outside and use a tree to kee[ those rooms pristine! 
Got the report on the necropsy. Couldn't find anything in the necropsy tissu samples. Negative for Brucellosis (I had my rams tested before coming out last May so pretty sure not that), negative for Campylobactor and Listeria. Probably not Chlamydia since only a couple ewes had dead lambs at the end of lambing season. Chlamydia would have infected entire flock. Cause was not able to be detected but safe to breed again and extra meds necessary.
Just one of those things. Could have been injuries too since the ewes like to charge through the gate opening and crush each other trying to get in. New gateway hopefully will stop that.
Today was a long one - we brought the ewes and lambs into the barn and sorted them as to whose mama was who. Most of the tags we had written down so not that much trouble sorting them out. Main problem was finding the ear tag # on the list and making sure we had a mama listed. Also vaccinated all the older lambs with 2nd CDT. Did 29 lambs, will do last 10 next month. Identified some VERY nice looking lambs in the group. Quite a few nice keeper replacement ewe lambs and several very nice ram lambs that we will grow out to see how good they are. Most of the ram lambs go to auction but there are a few with Australian/South African bloodlines that may be worth keeping for sale as stud rams. Also a few nice market lamb prospects for a couple special kids.
Th whole process took about 4 hours.
DS1 caught the lambs and I vaxed. DH blocked the gate by holding a 12' gate panel in place for all that time. We finally gave him a chair. LOL Exhausting - trying to find the numbers for each lamb and mom on the list while DS1 fought with a struggling lamb. I tried to convince him to set up a small chute but he said it was easier to catch the lambs. He said the lambs were so small that they can turn around in the chute. Next time I will set up the chute myself without him and it wll be a fait accompli. Also next time the lambs will be larger and older. The oldest lambs are about 6 weeks now. I would like to try to weigh some of the larger lambs to see what the weights are before they go to the auction. Some of them were pretty heavy. Once the lambs go to auction we will shear any ewes with leftover wool. Maybe cull a couple if they are not holding condition. One of them is looking pretty ragged and thin in spite of being wormed. She twined but her lambs were pretty skinny and then one died around a month old. Might have starved to death or been trampled in the ewe and lamb pen before the actual creep was up. We still need to worm the ewes for tapeworm with Zimectrim. Also need to worm the rams and open ewes with Cydectin.
Tomorrow Chasen is coming back to check the ground to see if it is dry enough to bring out the drilling rig.
A week ago, after I had changed the hay bedding in the doghouses, both the young dogs were barking up a storm at one of the doghouses. DH lifted the hinged lid and looked inside and discovered our gray tabby cat, Sam, curled up in a corner. It was during the super cold temps. We figured that she just wanted to be cozy and the dogs wanted her out of THEIR doghouse. A day or two later, DH found our gray tabby cat dead out by the barn. He thought he saw the dogs chasing it but they like our cat so wasn't sure what happened. We have had her for almost a year with no problem andthey have never bothered her before. We were sad and confused but I disposed of her body. Last night DS1 started yelling for me to come out to the carport. He was laughing and asked if I was sure the cat I disposed of was actually dead because he was holding our cat! She had shown up like always in the carport at night! No idea who that dead gray tabby interloper was but we were overjoyed to see Sam. I immediately filled her bowl with food and she dove right in. I told DS1 that she seemed very hungry and he laughed at me. He pointed out that I had not been putting out any food for her for 3 or 4 days thinking she was dead! Poor baby was probably starving. So glad she is back.
Got the report on the necropsy. Couldn't find anything in the necropsy tissu samples. Negative for Brucellosis (I had my rams tested before coming out last May so pretty sure not that), negative for Campylobactor and Listeria. Probably not Chlamydia since only a couple ewes had dead lambs at the end of lambing season. Chlamydia would have infected entire flock. Cause was not able to be detected but safe to breed again and extra meds necessary.
Just one of those things. Could have been injuries too since the ewes like to charge through the gate opening and crush each other trying to get in. New gateway hopefully will stop that.Today was a long one - we brought the ewes and lambs into the barn and sorted them as to whose mama was who. Most of the tags we had written down so not that much trouble sorting them out. Main problem was finding the ear tag # on the list and making sure we had a mama listed. Also vaccinated all the older lambs with 2nd CDT. Did 29 lambs, will do last 10 next month. Identified some VERY nice looking lambs in the group. Quite a few nice keeper replacement ewe lambs and several very nice ram lambs that we will grow out to see how good they are. Most of the ram lambs go to auction but there are a few with Australian/South African bloodlines that may be worth keeping for sale as stud rams. Also a few nice market lamb prospects for a couple special kids.
Th whole process took about 4 hours.
DS1 caught the lambs and I vaxed. DH blocked the gate by holding a 12' gate panel in place for all that time. We finally gave him a chair. LOL Exhausting - trying to find the numbers for each lamb and mom on the list while DS1 fought with a struggling lamb. I tried to convince him to set up a small chute but he said it was easier to catch the lambs. He said the lambs were so small that they can turn around in the chute. Next time I will set up the chute myself without him and it wll be a fait accompli. Also next time the lambs will be larger and older. The oldest lambs are about 6 weeks now. I would like to try to weigh some of the larger lambs to see what the weights are before they go to the auction. Some of them were pretty heavy. Once the lambs go to auction we will shear any ewes with leftover wool. Maybe cull a couple if they are not holding condition. One of them is looking pretty ragged and thin in spite of being wormed. She twined but her lambs were pretty skinny and then one died around a month old. Might have starved to death or been trampled in the ewe and lamb pen before the actual creep was up. We still need to worm the ewes for tapeworm with Zimectrim. Also need to worm the rams and open ewes with Cydectin. Tomorrow Chasen is coming back to check the ground to see if it is dry enough to bring out the drilling rig.
A week ago, after I had changed the hay bedding in the doghouses, both the young dogs were barking up a storm at one of the doghouses. DH lifted the hinged lid and looked inside and discovered our gray tabby cat, Sam, curled up in a corner. It was during the super cold temps. We figured that she just wanted to be cozy and the dogs wanted her out of THEIR doghouse. A day or two later, DH found our gray tabby cat dead out by the barn. He thought he saw the dogs chasing it but they like our cat so wasn't sure what happened. We have had her for almost a year with no problem andthey have never bothered her before. We were sad and confused but I disposed of her body. Last night DS1 started yelling for me to come out to the carport. He was laughing and asked if I was sure the cat I disposed of was actually dead because he was holding our cat! She had shown up like always in the carport at night! No idea who that dead gray tabby interloper was but we were overjoyed to see Sam. I immediately filled her bowl with food and she dove right in. I told DS1 that she seemed very hungry and he laughed at me. He pointed out that I had not been putting out any food for her for 3 or 4 days thinking she was dead! Poor baby was probably starving. So glad she is back.
Baymule
Herd Master
A chute is so much easier and doesn’t scare the lambs like chase and tackle does. I hate tapeworms. They have that EEWWWW factor, plus sucking all the nutrients out of everything the sheep eat. I guess you are getting your list ready for the Emory auction. Wise idea to save out the rams with Australian and South African bloodlines. White Dorper breeders should be glad to buy those!
Your cat is back from the dead! LOL maybe the “new” cat scared her off and the dogs wanted “their” cat back.
Your cat is back from the dead! LOL maybe the “new” cat scared her off and the dogs wanted “their” cat back.
I like.The bathrooms are finished.Here are the promised pictures. First remember this?
View attachment 115495 View attachment 115496This was the main bathrom. Simply enormous at 9'x12', I considered dividing it into a guest bath and master bath and moving our room to the back of the house. Too much expense and family would have to cross living room to use the front bath. Not functional. After stripping wallpaper and painting out navy blue paint this is the bathroom. Primer, paint, faucet, handles, and light fixture were inexpensive updates. Tiling the tub was the big cost.
View attachment 115497View attachment 115498 View attachment 115499Tub had formica only half way up wall since it was built in 70's when there would be a separate shower stall. Adding the tile backsplash and new pumbing for shower was not cheap but was worth it in terms of usability and resale. By keeping the beige tub (xlt condition) and choosing tile to complement it we saved at least $1000.
Next up the "master" bathroom. Not a true master, but I have an idea for future redo that would make it one without too much expense. Red, olive green, and tan wallpaper with light poop green paint. At one time probably very stylish since I can remember when those colors were very in vogue. (Like the burgundy paint on the cabinets and pink wallpaper that were underneath.)
View attachment 115486 View attachment 115494At any rate the change is dynamic and very inexpensive since the new light fixture, faucet, handles, 2 new bath sheets, and toilet came to about $350 and the paint was left over from the other bathroom.
View attachment 115500 View attachment 115501 This is a smaller bathroom with a large stall shower across from the counter. That tile is a very dark teal and beige with beige trim. It also has some leaks and will eventually be redone in the same tile as the other bathroom. That will lighten the room up a lot too. One thing nice about this house is that the bathroom and shower was already outfitted with grab bars since Mr. MacDonald had lost a foot and lower leg in WWII. Very handy for our knees.
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- #4,576
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Or she came in season and the dogs prevented a sex crime. At any rate, the perp was terminated.
Bathrooms are still clean. I check both of them every day just to enjoy them. I used to do that with the office but now that tax season is approaching, the office is a wilderness of paper records, sorting boxes, extra card tables, etc. The photos of our family are laughing at us from the walls. Since DS1 has taken my office desk chair for his room, and DH likes to sit when on the computer, my tax receipts have migrated to the dining room table for me to work. I have now just about finished entering 2024. I have had rto go back through the computer to find some of the receipts and print them off. I like to have a handful of stapled monthly receipts to wave at any IRS auditor, just in case.
Once I finish 2024 I will start entering 2025 - getting a start on next yar 
. LOLThe side barn is 2"+ deep in mud. I am going to ask DH if he can use Baby 'bota to scrape some of that ud out for the garden. If he can, we can spread the 3 bags of lime down on the still wet floor. The lambs' creep is still dry. The older lambs are eating from the hay and grain in the creep now, as well as grazing on the field.
I am cutting the milk with more water for the orphan lambs. The ram lamb is refusing his bottle and getting a bloated look. They are nibbling hay as well. I would like to put them in with the other lambs in the creep but with no mama to protect them when they go out on the field, I am not willing to yet.
The well diggers arrived this morning, the sheep are out on the pasture, and the dogs are confined to the back yard till they finish today. Once the diggers are gone for the day the dogs can go out with the sheep but we will have to check the holes to see if we have to cover them. Don't want to lose any ewes, lambs, or dogs down a well hole! Digging the well will take about a week. They are going down 450' to the main acquifer. We sit directly on top of wonderful water. The old well was down only 250 feet and still pumps water (even though the old steel shaft is pitted and the water comes out nasty), but with so many people moving to Texas better to go deeper in order to have the water. All those old stories where the well goes dry scare me expecially after drilling a new well.
