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Thewife

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Thought I would introduce myself!
I'm just your average old lady that has a bunch of cows!
To put it nicely, for the past 20+ years I have been here on the farm raising my boy(25), trying to take care of the cows, while watching my father run this place into the ground!

A couple of years ago I married a nice man that bought me a big tractor! We took over the farm and the two of us have been trying to bring the place back up to par.
We've got some of the fields making hay now! There is still more to go!
The herd is still kind of a mix lot of limo crosses, but we are working on that too.
As I said in the other thread, right now I am working on getting the barn back in shape. For the past few years I wouldn't even bring a cow in, unless I really needed too.

I'm also hoping to get a one woman cow catching corral system up too. If you have any thoughts on that one, I'd appreciate it!

Anyway that's me!
 

wynedot55

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welcome youve come to the right place.we will answer any qs you might have.getting a farm back in shape will take sometime.dont get overwhelmed by all that needs doing.its good that your cleaning out the old barn.how meny stalls does your barn have.
 

Farmer Kitty

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Hi and
Welcome.gif
,
DH had taken over the farm from his father, well technically his brother but, his father "ran" it. He had run it into the ground and a lot of work needed to be done so I know what you are facing. Just work at it slow and easy. Set goals that are shortterm to be done and don't let the whole picture overwhelm you. Instead look at what you have been able to accomplish. It will make you feel better.

As for a one woman catching corral, you will need something that will hold one spooked and upset cow, as I'm sure you know, they don't like being separated. But if you can get it so they can come in occasionally so it's not so foreign to them it will make it easier for you when you do need to catch them. Maybe have it so there are gates that you can swing to limit her space if your actually trying to get a halter on her. If your just using it as a spot to sort her out and then move her into the barn you may not need something like that. I sure miss being able to use our backbarn that way. DH took out all the horse stalls when his father sold the horses and now I sure miss it!
 

Thewife

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Thank you for the welcome!
It's nice to have someone, who wants to talk cows!!

My barn has six big stalls. One is used for hay storage, but since it's full, I won't complain!

I really try not to let the big picture overwhelm me! Hubby is always telling me "You can only do, what you can do".

When I do look at what I have done so far, it does make me feel like I've done something good! This will be the first year, in our family history on this farm, that no hay had to be bought! Other than about 200 bales from a neighbors field, all the rest came from this farm! (Dad said it could not be done)

I'm trying to set my goals on the barn right now! I consider the pens as toxic waste dumps, the water lines and troughs are rusting away! I think I am down to 3 working troughs. I haven't told Hubby my plans for the new water system, I'll wait til after hunting season!

For a one woman catching system, I'm thinking of gates, gates and more gates!! I would like to be able to catch and hold a cow in case she needs milked, calf pulled or even if I need to teach the calf to eat. I have a squeeze shute, but most of my cows know me as the nice lady! When it comes down to it, they would rather go over the top of me than into the shute!
There was a set up at a dairy I worked at. (Yep, I milked for awhile, loved that job!)) It was just a small pen with a home made head catcher. Once her head was caught, you could have access to her udder, by opening a gate!
I guess I need to figure out how to make a head catcher?
 

Farmer Kitty

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Or look around. Ours was found at an old farm and was part of a squeeze shute. The rest of the shute was unusable but the headgate. We mounted it in a pen in the heifer barn so we can run the heifers into the pen and then coax them into the gate. We mainly use ours for dehorning the heifers as we have the main stantion/tie stall milking barn to bring them into if we need to do more with them.

I'm a dairy farmer and we have had our place for 20 years now. I worked on the neighbors dairy farm growing up and DH was raised on the farm. We are now raising our two daughters (4 and 10 yrs old) on the farm.
 

wynedot55

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you say you want to work on the pens after you get the barn done.wich means pick 1 thing an get that done.how meny water troughs do you have to replace.remember if you replace the waterlines to put them out of the way for the new corall.you dont want to digg postholes an bust the waterlines.an when you run new lines.you may want to put a main on an off to that line.so you can turn the water off if need be.
 

Thewife

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I really want to thank you for your thoughts and being my sounding board!
I'm going to get the pens cleaned up first. The troughs and the corral, are "need Hubby" things. He works long hours, off farm.
The troughs I have now are the old metal box type ones. Why the guy put them where he did, I don't know. Every year I get at least one kicked off it's foundation. Nothing like starting the day with a flooded pen!
I was thinking about replacing them with the small bowl kind, IN THE CORNER!! Then we could run the new water lines along the wall instead of two feet into the pens?

I may have figured out where to put my one woman catch all. It is in the perfect place to bring in cows from the feeding slab, both old corrals, future corral and the barn! It will require a roof and one wall.
Your right about paying attention to the water lines! There is a water line there too, Hmmm..

My Hubby had done some work with cows, years before we hooked up. He was happy to hear about the invention of pour on wormer!
He has two daughters, I try not to claim either one of them! The oldest just turned 20, we recently found out she is pregnant! She used to call about once a week just to talk, but I think she figured out I know her BF does NOT have a job, like she said he does! I really don't like being lied too! The youngest just graduated this year! She is the one who told me about the BF and no job, she is kind if a snit, that likes to stir the pot!!
 

Farmer Kitty

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Sounds like a good plan for the water lines. Then they will be up out of the way. I would go with the bowl too.

Sounds like you've got your catchall place figured out. You may have to see about the water line situation but, if they are old it may be best to replace them anyway. Sometimes when you start working on old lines the rust will be knocked down from inside them and plug them or drinking buttons up. If your going to do part you may as well figure on doing all for that reason.

Pour on wormer is great!
 

Thewife

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AHHH!!!
I guess if I am supposed to be digging out and fixing the gutter drain pipe, I should find out what he plans on replacing the water line with? Then maybe at least get that section in place, before I add the 6 inches or more of fill, I was planning on putting in?

And the "to do" list grows!!

The old line has already rust through once!
Started that day with a flooded pen!
Fun times!
 

wynedot55

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you sure do have alot of work ahead of you.id love seeing pics of your barn an stalls as well as pens an corrals.
 

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