Bruce's Journal

Bruce

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"Open Center"

An aftermarket add on valve will also have a PB connection, and I'm surprised your existing FEL loader valve doesn't.
It very likely does based on some videos I watched. THOUGH, it could be that the connections for the backhoe are already using the PB on the loader valve. One video I watched started with the basic hydraulics then added (schematically) more valves, tapping into the existing hose coming from the loader valve PB.
 

greybeard

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Every valve I ever saw, oem or aftermarket, had the PB port marked "PB" "T" or "TC" but there is an adapter that is used on any valve that does not have a dedicated PB port.
If your backhoe was rigged up at the dealer it was probably plumbed into the tractor's OEM hydraulic block that comes off the side of the transmission. That block would have it's own PB port.
 
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Senile_Texas_Aggie

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Mr. @Bruce,

I'm about to show my ignorance yet again, but do you or does anyone else know if there are LGDs that don't bark, at least not much? Any time a predator comes onto the property it would simply deal with the problem, and then perhaps bark to let you know that the predator had been dealt with? I know you had problems with your previous dog barking and keeping your poor wife awake, but maybe there is a breed that doesn't bark that much but still would guard the place.

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Bruce

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I don't know STA.

This morning I bought four 100' rolls of 48" knotted horse fence. After lunch I start fencing. At least this time it is "only" stretching and tying off, no posts to set. That will come later when I replace the rotting fence around the front and side yards of the house.

I think I'm going to add a strand of hot wire on the outside of the fence about a foot down from the top. The existing hot wire is 6" above the fencing but on the inside. Thinking about it, I won't be able to stretch the south line since it is all cattle panels and no braced posts. There is a LOT of rock and that tree I had to fence around in the south line. I guess the new fencing will be unstretched there.

@greybeard, I'll have to crawl under the tractor (WAY easier than crawling under the cars ;)) and see if there is an unused PB port on the loader valve. The tractor was built as a TLB so based on your experience there is probably an available PB port as you stated.
 

B&B Happy goats

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Mr. @Bruce,

I'm about to show my ignorance yet again, but do you or does anyone else know if there are LGDs that don't bark, at least not much? Any time a predator comes onto the property it would simply deal with the problem, and then perhaps bark to let you know that the predator had been dealt with? I know you had problems with your previous dog barking and keeping your poor wife awake, but maybe there is a breed that doesn't bark that much but still would guard the place.

Senile Texas Aggie

Dear STA, I have always been a "hater" of barking dogs. Having Mel come into our lives has made me rethink my position....Mel barks alot at night, and often during the day, it is his way of letting other animals, people and sounds , know that this is HIS turf, and they need to stay away. I have seen dogs walking down our road and turn around and run away when Mel goes to barking at them....Grown men cross the street or not get out of their vehicle because of his bark. He is doing his job and I have grown to love the bark, even in the middle of the night.....He makes me know I am safe.
With all of the robotic technology we have, you may be able to find a robotic dog you could program to your liking....but I don't think it would do as good a job as a LGD that is bonded with its partner/owner and would give his life to protect you and your loved ones....
 
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Senile_Texas_Aggie

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I was suggesting to Mr. @Bruce that if such a breed exists then he might consider it. I don't know if you have read all of Mr. Bruce's journal or not, but if you haven't, Mr. Bruce had a LGD for awhile. He was a really good watch dog, but unfortunately his barking at the critters at night kept his poor wife awake most of the night. Considering that she has to go to work early in the morning, her lack of sleep just didn't permit their keeping that dog.

I seem to recall that there are some guard dogs, such as ones that patrol the grounds of property like big mansions, that are trained not to bark should an intruder enter the grounds until they have killed or rendered harmless that intruder. I was thinking perhaps that there are LGDs that may be trained that way as well. But I am grossly ignorant of LGDs (and most other working dogs, for that matter), so I was hoping others might suggest some ideas. I hate to see Mr. Bruce lose any more livestock because he cannot have a barking LGD.

I understand your liking Mel's barking. You know that when he barks, critters (both two legged and four legged) are going to pay attention. It also gives your warning that something is around that maybe shouldn't be. That bark is like a burglar alarm. Alas, poor Mr. Bruce can't have such an alarm. :(

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Bruce

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Having Mel come into our lives has made me rethink my position....
And I gather that is how it is with most people. Hearing the dog bark gives them comfort that things are being taken care of. They know the "get the he11 away from my property" bark from the "Bad things happening!!!" bark. And they have learned to generally not even notice the first kind. DW couldn't manage that. I've heard that there are people who live near railroads and wake up when a train does NOT come through on schedule. Sleep like the dead otherwise.
 

Baymule

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Mr. @Bruce,

I'm about to show my ignorance yet again, but do you or does anyone else know if there are LGDs that don't bark, at least not much? Any time a predator comes onto the property it would simply deal with the problem, and then perhaps bark to let you know that the predator had been dealt with? I know you had problems with your previous dog barking and keeping your poor wife awake, but maybe there is a breed that doesn't bark that much but still would guard the place.

Senile Texas Aggie
LGD's bark to warn predators away. Any time a LGD engages with a predator, there will be bites and wounds. No predator wants to fight for a meal, as wounds can be debilitating, get infected, severely cut down on their chances of catching their next meal, and/or death to the predator. Properly warned, they will go find an easier meal. As far as dealing with the predator, the LGD could also be wounded. So the barking is music to the ears of those that know, truly know why and what it means. So I smile when Paris and Trip bark at garbage truck monsters, the neighbors who dare to walk around their own yard and talk, because I know when the chips are down, my dogs will come through.
 

Bruce

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Since I've not lost any to a fox in the past 2 years since the fence went up, I ASSUME we just didn't have a fox around. This is late for fox attacks, when I've had them in the past it was late April.

I got some 2x4 fence Saturday and have been putting it up on the outside of the existing fence. Long slow process, I don't even have the west side finished yet. This fox is bold as brass. I put the tractor away about 5 PM today and went to get the chickens into the barn. Got most of them in, went out to gather the rest and that @#$%^ fox was trying to get one of the girls not 20' from the barn door. It ran off as I came out and it went the ~170' to the south fence and through to the road. That part is cattle panel so it has even bigger holes than the field fence. Perfect timing or I'd be down another hen. Thus the girls are now locked not only in the barn but in the coop since the fox could come in through the alpacas' door and at least 2 of the girls have no qualms about going out it in the morning before I open the barn. I'm sure they will not be happy stuck in the coop without even the barn alley to hang out in.

Adding to the lower egg count: 2 of the girls are broody, another was just broken of that a couple of days ago so hasn't started laying again yet and Mellori is laying such thin shelled eggs that they get broken under Angel who has claimed the left side of the community box and will collect any egg laid in the rest of it so she can 'hatch' them. I've ordered 9 chicks to come in about a week and am letting the broodies hog their nests in hopes that one of them will take the kids and raise them right. Of course they won't be producing until Nov or Dec, unless they decide to skip the winter as some of the young pullets have in the past, then it will likely be February.
 
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