Changing goals and speed

[AClark]

Bruce, the extreme arctic's are water repellent so would probably work better for your application. Like these ones https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carhartt-R33-Extreme-Arctic-Zip-Front-Bib-Overall-Quilt-Lined-Black-32-x-30/302585730309?_trkparms=aid=888007&algoISC.MBE&ao=1&asc=47301&meid=8486370c6d9d4e0b9075a3cf551fb4ae&pid=100009&rk=2&rkt=2&sd=253334556539&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982

It was 20 degrees when the turbo finally went in, and something like 3 with the windchill, 25 mph winds at 20 degrees...it makes busting your knuckles 100x more painful for sure.

 

[Bruce]

I'll keep those in mind when I wear these out, thanks!

 

[Baymule]

My son gave me his Carhartt bib overalls that he outgrew. LOL They are too long on me, but I just roll them up twice. I love them! I have been wearing my flannel lined jeans, the carhartts, a long sleeve tshirt with a sweat shirt over it, then my hooded parka. I have been toasty warm as I slogged from the kitchen to the animals with boiling water, breaking ice and giving them a warm drink. Tonight low of 25, tomorrow night low of 30F, then we'll be done with freezes for awhile!

@Bruce, make a patch for your knees with duct tape. it's water proof and will keep your knees dry.

 

[Mini Horses]

Bruce -- you can also add a patch onto those pants. Some are iron on. Waterproofing can be bought in a can and sprayed on, also. Plus the Duct tape. I just find I need to place that since there's "play" in the fabric. I love my Carhart jacket for warmth but, the fabric is a little stiff.

I've got some old ski pants that are lightweight, toasty warm and slick, so most things slide right off....even splashed water to an extent. Up North those ought to be readily available at 2nd hand shops. Here they are scarce.

 

[AClark]

Mini, that stiff texture comes out in the wash if you use a little fabric softener. DH, me, and my oldest boy all have Carhartts and I just washed DH's for the first time last week since they get worn pretty infrequently because we don't usually have this obnoxiously cold weather; Tide pods and some cheap fabric softener on a cold wash then a medium dry and it is nice and flexible now. So my son gave me his brand new one to wash for him to get the stiff out of it. Worked like a charm. My Carhartt isn't the same material and has been washed way more frequently and it's nice and soft, but I wear mine daily since I'm cold blooded.
With that in mind, fabric softener has a way of making fabrics water repellent as well, that's why they tell you not to use it on bath mats and towels because it reduces the absorbency. I prefer my towels to be nice and soft though so I don't abide by it, but I do for bathroom rugs.

 

[Bruce]

I have ski pants, use those with the winter coat when going "off property". Also have a ski coverall. Haven't skied for years though. Those would be OK when I'm blowing snow but it doesn't have a hood like the Carhartt's do (add on, not integrated). The gap between hat (with integrated face cover) and collar is a REAL cold spot in the wind. I guess they could be for "good weather" snow blowing. Sounds a bit of an oxymoron!

 

[AClark]

We had a productive weekend, and I will have a very busy morning today!
Went to the auction on Saturday, sold both Athena and Wee-man and a couple of rabbits. Came home with 3 Boer/kiko does (I don't really see the kiko in them, they look mostly Boer), a new doe bunny, and 3 chickens, lol. Then went on Sunday to pick up a new Nubian doe, who came with a buddy.

I couldn't really pass the buddy up, she's an older Boer doe, they wanted $25 for her (got the Nubian for $25 also because she's 8 years old). This poor Boer does hooves are so bad she walks on her knees which are thick with callous and her brisket is thickened from rubbing the ground. If you've ever seen a pony with neglected hooves that got "elf shoes" for hooves, this is what this Boer does look like. DH literally had to carry her to get her in the trailer, unfortunately we got home so late it was almost dark so I didn't have enough daylight to start taking a whack at those monsters. I will get pictures before I start cutting them down today. The guy said he bought her with long feet and said he just wasn't confident in cutting them off - I'm confident that even if I knick the quick it'll be better than walking on her knees. I'm going to have to use horse nippers to get the toes off.

Boer is bred to a Saanen buck possibly because they couldn't keep him in, they said she's 10-11 years old and kidded over the summer. I'm not so sure she's quite that old, her teeth are a bit gapped but in perfect shape, no missing ones and not extremely worn. A little "long in the tooth" perhaps, but she's in excellent weight. Her and the Nubian have rough coats so I already dewormed them and have mineral out. Both are extremely gentle and the Nubian was a purchase for the kids to get into showing with something they can handle, honestly just felt bad for the Boer doe who my husband affectionately called "knuckles" but the kids named Ruby since she's all red. Both of these older does are just darlings and sweet as can be.

The Boer/kiko does that came from auction are all young, and pretty thin and scroungy looking. That said, I paid less than $100 a piece for them.

I tried to find a video of really badly over-grown goat hooves on Youtube to reference, as I'm skilled in trimming, have done horses with "elf shoes" but not goats. Nothing on the YT had anything as extreme as this, even the neglected sheep cases they made this huge deal over the hooves was nowhere near as bad as poor Ruby. Her back feet aren't any better, but I'm a bit afraid to trim on them since her front feet are so extremely bad and will be uncomfortable to stand on while I do them, I may wait on the back until my boys get home from school so they can help me lay her down to do them more comfortably.

So, that makes 10 goats now. I still have two of the nice pygmy does that are ready to pop any day (may have over night, I haven't been out to the barn yet, fingers crossed) 3 Nubian does and 4 Boer does and my Nubian buck. It sure changed the feeding dynamics to remove the two bullies out of the group, and they aren't missed.

Pictures coming after the sun comes up and the kids are off to school!

 

[AClark]

Got her's hacked down some, it's going to be a work in progress but it's a LOT better. I didn't even hit pink on the front but they're so underslung I figured I'd give her time to adjust to her "new shoes" and then rasp them down more in a week or two. I had to use the good GE (horse) hoof nippers to even get through them enough to use pruning shears. We did most of it with her laying down, which is great because I was afraid of working on the back feet with her front ones being tender, but she decided she'd just rather lay down. It makes it hard to work the big horse nippers, but we got 'er done.

Now for the fun pictures:

Ruby (10+ year old Boer doe with the bad feet)

Clara - Nubian doe, who also got a pedicure:

The 3 Boer/kiko does I got at auction, no names yet, just 11, 12, and 14 tag #'s

 

[Bruce]

That girl's life improved a billion percent the minute you decided to bring her home!

 

[AClark]

She's a sweet girl, she has the weirdest fur, it's soft and curly in spots. All 5 of the new ones feel rough, I have copper bolus on it's way to add to the deworming. It was time to bolus everybody anyway, just for good measure. She's well fed, by someone with good intentions, but they didn't have time or the inclination to hack those feet off. I think it took me less than an hour and a half to get through hers and the other does.
Ruby is up and walking around on her new shoes no problem, no more walking on her knees. That was rather pathetic to watch.

My next endeavor is a hay rack so they lose less of it. I bought a round bale feeder for the horses since a lot was being wasted with them stepping and pooping in it - good investment. I need something like that for the goats but will probably just make something, I have a couple of old cattle panels that are really messed up on an end so can cut those.

I also picked up a welder at the auction. It's an oldie for sure! It's a Twentieth Century 260 amp arc welder with a cutting torch setting. Never used a carbon cutter, at least I think that's what it is, and those leads are gone but it was said to work and I got it super cheap. It's on wheels and it's a big sucker, I read that Lincoln bought out Twentieth Century a long time back but have no guess on the age of it.
I learned on an old Lincoln, but I need to do some reading on this one before I fire it up.