The "Other" Hardware Disease

A year and a half ago, I did a post about hardware disease in cattle and how to help prevent it.  Today I'm posting about the "other" hardware disease.

First, the background.  I wanted to hang a reminder on the chicken coop door to "Close Nest Boxes."  (If we don't hang doormats over the nest boxes in the evening, the chickens roost in them and our eggs end up covered in poop.  Blech!)  So I grabbed a couple of short sturdy nails and a hammer to tack up my sign on the door.

Bang! Bang! Bing!  Suddenly the nail flew right out of the wood, bounced off my chest and disappeared into thin air.  That was NOT good!  Yes, our cattle have rumen magnets, but magnets won't help them if they step on a nail, and besides, I don't really want them eating nails!  So I needed to find that nail, but a thorough scan of the grass in front of the coop ended in failure.

I headed to the hay barn to find one of our big magnets--either the flexible magnet or the big rolling one.  I came up empty-handed--and this is where the "other" hardware disease comes in.  This hardware disease affects humans!

"What is this dreaded disease?" you may well ask.

The above scene illustrates the human version of hardware disease--a chronic failure to put things in their proper place when you're done with them.  The result of this disease is that when you really need something--like a magnet to recover a nail before it injures a cow--you will experience the symptoms of this debilitating disease:  irritation, anxiety, high blood pressure, and excessive sweating as you tromp from place to place looking for the required piece of equipment.

Here is what my crisis looked like--pretty much like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Without a magnet to find my nail, I resorted to desperate measures.  I plunked myself down on the ground, chicken poop and all, and combed my fingers through the grass, trying to find the nail.  When that failed, I raked a manure fork through the grass, hoping to see the sun glint off it as it bounced into the air.  Failure again.

So I headed to the house to ask Herb if he knew where the magnets might be.  He didn't, but he did help me search the hay barn shelves.  I've been a bit leery of those shelves ever since I found a baby copperhead on one of them, but with Herb to back me up I overcame my trepidation enough to actually move things around.

And there it was, the flexible magnet, masquerading as a bit of jumper cable.

I double-checked that the magnet would, indeed, pick up my missing nail, then I hurried to the barnyard to get it before Siobhan or Remy could eat it or step on it.  I raked the magnet repeatedly through the grass and repeatedly came up empty.  Maybe the 45 wasted minutes had been just enough time for Siobhan to step on the nail, I worried.  So I picked up her feet (good training at a young age!) to make sure she was okay.  Well, I picked up her front feet and one of her rear feet, at which point she'd had enough and wandered off.

That nail had simply disappeared into thin air. I thought back over the moment it flew out of the wood and bounced off my chest.  It was so frustrating!  It was almost as if it had fallen down inside my shirt--but I knew it hadn't because I'd already checked.  Even though I knew from checking that it hadn't gone down inside my T-shirt, the thought made me clap my hand to my chest.

Something poked my hand.  Something in the bottom of my T-shirt pocket.

This is my painting and varnishing shirt, so it's stained.  It also has a little point at the bottom of the pocket, and that's where the nail went.  Don't ask me how that nail managed to fall through the slit of the pocket opening; if I had been required to make it fly in there to save my life, I would be dead!

Instead, I laughed my way all the way back to the hay barn where I put the magnet exactly where it's supposed to go.

And I kept on laughing all the way back to the house where I informed Herb that there's one more item on our To Do list for the fall--get that hay barn whipped into shape.  I refuse to fall victim to hardware disease again!

Six Inches

Now that our power is back on after more than two days, I can look back and enjoy the photos I took when we got six inches of snow Wednesday night.

I love the sandwich sky!  Normally I'm not a lover of brown, but when dressed up with white snow, blue sky and blue shadows, brown looks elegant.

Lucky for the chickens that the coop overhang kept a bit of bare ground free for them to walk on.  They hate the snow!

Grace found a nice patch of sun where the cows scattered their hay and settled down for a nap.

Ebony was raised in the mountains of Kentucky so she wasn't fazed at all and headed over for some loving.  I think she was smiling!

Hunkering Down: The Ice Man Cometh!

For you "Oldies" fans out there, the theme song of this post is "Limbo Rock" . . . you know that line, "How LOW can you GO?" ♫

Monday it's supposed to start raining, change to snow (although around here it could end up being freezing rain), and get down to a low of 4° with a wind chill of -10°.  BRRRRRR!  Tuesday is supposed to be relatively balmy with a high of 23° and a low of 13°.  After about 36 hours of the Ice Man, we're supposed to get back our more normal winter temps of low 40s during the day and about 27° at night.

Although Dexters and horses routinely do well in even more severe temperatures, our forecast deep freeze can come as a shock to livestock that aren't accustomed to it.  So this afternoon we did some hunkering down to get ready for the Ice Man.  (Herb will be seeing counseling clients till late Monday evening and won't be here to help me get ready.)

Herb got out a new round bale for the animals in the pasture.

While Herb took care of the round bale, I collected turn-out sheets from the tack room and took them down to dress Angel and Brandy for freezing rain, just in case.  Once the rain is over I'll probably take the blankets off so the girls can fluff back up and stay warm in the cold.

The horses are old hands at wearing blankets, but Julie wasn't quite sure about this.  I tried our smallest one on Julie, but it was still too big.   So poor Julie will just have to tough it out.

Herb brought down the Rubbermaid tank and filled both tanks in the pasture.  In case the ice freezes solid, it's easy to remove it from the Rubbermaid tank by whacking it with a heavy rubber mallet.  Tomorrow I'll run down there with a big log to float in each tank, which helps to prevent solid ice forming.

Boudin has been banished to solitary confinement in the Back Pasture ever since Cameron caught the big galoot trying to nurse Ebony over Christmas vacation.  We let him back in with the horses today so he can get to the hay and so that we don't have to go to the Back Pasture to break ice on the pond for him.   The less scattered our animals are, the easier it is for us to keep an eye on them.  Boudin still wants to be with Ebony, so we weren't taking any chances.

Herb led Ebony up to the barnyard (it is SO great dealing with halter-broken cattle!) where she promptly dug into the manger full of hay.  She is Boss Cow, so the others left her in peace, although Macree ventured to eat from the other side.

Next we got a pile of clean hay that had been strewn in the hay barn and we built a comfy nest for Misty in the feed area.  She may or may not choose to use it, but at least she'll have a dry, warm place to go.

We plugged in the electric dog bowl to keep some water warm for the chickens, ducks and Misty.  It's safely inside the feed area where the cattle won't mess with it.  (Let me add here that putting electricity in the barn is one of the smartest improvements we've made!)

The water tank got a de-icer plugged in, and we drained and hung the hose.  The proximity of the tank to the chicken coop allows us to run one extension cord up high out of reach of mischievous horses so that we can safely plug in the tank de-icer and a heat lamp for the chicken coop.

A new salt block encourages the animals to get plenty of salt and stay thirsty enough to drink the water, even though it's cold.

Next we got some exercise stripping the stall we use to separate Siobhan and Macree overnight for milking.  I'd gotten behind on this, so Herb helped me.  Between the two of us we were able to lift the loaded wheelbarrow enough to dump it into the manure spreader, saving us from having to shovel everything twice or carry each shovel load clear across the barnyard.  (I will not be milking Tuesday morning in near-zero temperatures!  It's better for the animals to share warmth when it's that cold, and I can very well imagine the milk freezing as it hits the pail--I have no need to see it!)

After filling the water bucket and stuffing the manger with hay, I spread lime over the wet spots on the clean floor and carried in lots of loose hay the cows have spilled around their manger and hay nets.  They won't eat it once they've dropped it, but it makes a nice clean bed for Siobhan.  (Since Sir Loin has joined the barnyard gang and has decided he should get to nurse like Macree, I need to put Siobhan in the stall instead of Macree.  That keeps Siobhan away from everyone who still has nursing on their minds!)

We turned on the heat lamp in the chicken coop as usual in the evening, and we'll just leave it burning until things warm up.  I added fresh clean hay to the nest boxes before covering them for the night.  (You can see our high-tech nest box covers here:  two door mats with handy holes.  I just drove nails in appropriate spots so we can hang the mats over them.  During the day they are propped on the folding door that covers the nest boxes.  The mats are heavy enough and just the perfect size to cover the nest box openings and keep the chickens out of them at night, thus cutting way down on chicken droppings in the nests.)

That's it--we're all hunkered down for the Ice Man.  Everything and everyone is as ready as we can get them . . . except poor Boudin, who is hanging out near the gate where he bid Ebony farewell!  Herb thinks we might find him frozen there Tuesday morning, but I have faith that he has enough sense to head down for some hay and shelter once his hunger overcomes his broken heart.  Meanwhile, he's making quite a racket letting everyone know how upset he is!  Moo away, Boudin--it'll keep you warm! 

Build a Cheap Sheep Shack

Say THAT five times, fast!

The old Gypsy chicken coop would have made a nice sheep shack if it didn't have a wire bottom that sharp sheep hooves would poke through.

It does, however, make a handy sheep scratching post!

It's also a cheerful place to bask in the sun while setting on a clutch of duck eggs.  The sun, however, has been rather scarce around here with almost 14" of rain in the first two months of this year.  Who wants to walk around wearing a water-logged wool coat when it's cold and rainy?  Not I and not ewe--and wethers don't like that kind of weather, either!

So Herb took an hour out of studying and threw together a cheap sheep shack so our wethers could be happy whatever the weather.

He used four pallets, some hay twine and a tarp.

Three pallets make an open-sided shack with a fourth pallet for the roof.  It isn't pretty, but it works!  About the time Herb finished the shack it started to rain, and before he got inside the house, the sheep were inside theirs.

I waited for a sunny day to take these photos, profiting from the nice weather to patch a gap in the Misty-proofing of the Home Pasture gate.  We felt a bit like the government, having problems with Misty-Leaks instead of Wiki-Leaks.  Misty had been "leaking" out of the pasture at night, necessitating a second trip outside to shut her in the Misty-proof barnyard.
 

Obaama says "Thank you for keeping us safe!"

Herb finally found the source of the leaks:  She had shoved my roll of chicken wire aside so she could crawl under the lower gate.  But Herb fixed the "leak" just in time.

We arrived home from babysitting Charis and Kol last night to find a strange, HUGE dog starting up the driveway toward the barn and pasture.  Our arrival scared it away even before Misty was aware of it.  When we let Hero and Zephyr out all three dogs chased the stranger away and made it clear he was unwelcome.

Thankfully, everyone was fine.  We were glad we could put Misty in with her charges and know she would keep them safe.  As far as the animals in the barnyard, between Brandy and Sara, I pity any stupid dog that would try to get in there!

An End to Shemar and His Criminal Mind

(ADVISORY:  There is a slightly graphic photo on this post, although there is no blood or guts.)

Back in October, Shemar became the Top Rooster.  For a short while he fulfilled his duties conscientiously.

Unfortunately, by December, Shemar turned from "serving and protecting" to a criminal lifestyle when he attacked Kara and drew blood through her jeans.

It got to the point that Kara and I couldn't go into the barnyard without back-up.  I detest living in fear of a 7-lb. bird, so Shemar's days were numbered.  I've said it here and I'll say it again, any mean, aggressive animal on this farm gets eaten!

We've been procrastinating since we hate to butcher in the rain, but yesterday Shemar jumped Herb while his back was turned. He didn't draw blood this time, but it didn't matter.  Like all criminals, he was stupid!  He returned to the scene of the crime one too many times!  Last night Herb plucked Shemar off his roost in the chicken coop and shut him up in a dog carrier, to Shemar's audible fury!  Right after lunch, Herb did the dastardly deed . . .

... and I finished up.  Shemar (and his criminal mind) have come to a bad end.  Or--from Kara's and my perspective--a good end!  I've promised him to Kara for a nice coq au vin.  Now that's a really good end to a bad rooster!

Keeping the Animals Cool

With the Tri-State area (southeastern Tennessee, northwest Georgia & northeast Alabama) suffering a record heat wave, the biggest priority this week is keeping the animals hydrated and as cool as possible.

According to the groomer, Misty should not be shaved due to risk of skin cancer with her pink skin.  (I did grab a scissors today and trim off some belly hair.)  Instead she cools off by getting wet when she gets a drink.  When she's in the pigs' pasture, she lies down in their kiddie pool.

During the day we keep her up by the house where she can lay on the back porch and get the breeze from the ceiling fans or burrow into her "cave" under the bushes in front of the house.  A full water-bowl is a given, with periodic infusions of ice cubes to cool it down.

Since Herb and Kara have to be in Denver for his sister's memorial during the exact days of the heat wave (!), he moved the horses to the Back Pasture before he left.  It hadn't been grazed recently, so there's plenty of grass although the sun is gradually burning it crunchy.  Once we were done with Siobhan's AI on Friday, I moved the cattle back to join them.  (While in the round pen for the AI, they had water, shade, and some grass with cool leaves to snack on from the woods around the pen.)

Besides the pond for water in the Back Pasture, there's the mud hole in the old part of the pond where the cattle like to cool off.  (No, Siobhan didn't shrink; this photo is from last summer.  It's too darn hot to wait around for another photo op!)  We also filled the large tank to make sure they'd have plenty of water.

 The Back Pasture (in this older photo) has the biggest grove of trees inside a fence.  There's plenty of shade for everyone right around the pond.  And after bush-hogging the Lower Pasture Friday, I can testify to the cooler air that wafts out from a grove of trees.  We have a mineral block out there, too, for the animals to help their electrolyte balance.

The pigs have their kiddie pool (see the photo below with Ping) which they use often during the day.  Whenever I feed, I refill it, and they usually come running for a shower.  It's fun to see them dancing around in the water spray.  They have a rain barrel with a drinking nozzle (background), but they just drink right from the kiddie pool.  We filled the large water tank since they are now big enough to stand on their rear legs and drink from it.  It also makes a nice clean water source for Misty at night.

Before we ever thought of getting pigs, we planned for a shade grove while Herb was fencing the Home Pasture.   By thinning out the underbrush, we made it more accessible to animals while allowing the existing trees to grow bigger without competition.  The pigs love this grove and spend a good part of the day down at the bottom of it.

Ping enjoys the pigs' kiddie pool, too.  In fact, she thinks it's hers, although she's so timid that she runs away quacking whenever the pigs appear.

Herb built a support for this pool for our last pair of pigs and it has held up beautifully, even with 325 lb. pigs using it!  We bought two pools and doubled them for durability.  Ping also has a shade tarp attached to the coop and fence (background) which she and the pigs use.  She spends most of her time under the coop, though, if she's not in the pool.

The hens, ducks, and cats in the barnyard spend most of the day in the barn where I'm keeping our large, powerful fan going constantly.  They make forays into the sun to scratch manure or eat flies, but the ducks are most active at dusk when the bugs come out.  Yesterday I hosed the entire coop down about 6:30 p.m. to help cool it by evaporation; it was almost completely dry when I shut up the chickens at 9:30 p.m.

When it started to get hot, Herb oriented the chicken tractor north and south so the tarp provides shade on at least one side throughout the day.  I refill the 3 gallon waterer every morning, making sure it's level so as not to lose water.  The chickens are eating less grain in this heat which is a good thing since grain makes them hotter.  They sure are eager for the fresh grass when I move the tractor in the morning.

Hero, Zephyr and I spend most of the day in the house with the AC, unless I have to go out to the garden to change the water to a different bed.  Herb watered all the beds in the two days before he left, and I'm continuing to water all day long.  We have enough beds that it takes two days to get around them all, leaving the water for 2 or 3 hours on each one depending on its size.  It seems to be working because I've harvested almost 7 lbs. of bush beans, 11 lbs. of carrots, and 6 lbs. of pole beans in two days, not to mention a few tomatoes and a little squash.  Freezing them made a good excuse to stay inside where it's cool!

So that's how we keep cool and hydrated while we wait out this heat wave.  We have spotty storms predicted for all of next week, and we're praying for some good rain out of them to help alleviate our 6.5" deficit for the year.

A Welcome Visit

 Here's my sister Barbara and our nephew Thomas (camera-shy) getting ready to head home yesterday.

Thomas was ready for a spring break from running his own landscaping business, so he popped down to see us and brought his mom along.

We had a great time!  Barbara and Thomas were busy beavers, besides playing real and online Scrabble with me (which made Herb happy because he didn't have to) and doing a lot of talking and laughing!

Thomas finally got over his camera-shyness.

There are lots of things around to remind us of our great visit, like the irises Barbara planted for me.  (Those would be the ones she brought me last summer, blush, blush!)

Here are the two muscadines Thomas planted.  He'll have to come back again when they're ripe in a year or so!

In a couple of years the animals will be thanking Thomas for the red maple and mulberry he helped Herb plant in the Home Pasture.  He also helped Herb put the post-hole digger on the tractor, a two-man job, and Herb is now busy repairing fence.

The chickens will be really happy that Barbara and Thomas came, because he helped Herb move the little coop into the Home Pasture.  They can go out and free-range under Misty's watchful eye as soon as I get the nest boxes ready.

Lest you think Thomas was the only busy bee around here, we're still enjoying all the home-made bread Barbara made for us.

We have lots of things to remind us of their visit, especially the warm glow of love and laughter they left behind!