Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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Did not do the other 4 ewes last night. DS1 admitted to still feeling a bit under the weather from the kick he received. We will do them today and tag the 2 that need tags. I did go down and get the scrapie tag numbers and have filled out the registration application for Cleo. It will go in the post office mail today. Then those 5 will be ready for the vet check on Thursday. Once we have trimmed hooves on the last 4 and marked them with livestock marking paint - bright green for being trimmed and hot pink for TX, we will separate the 5 for TX into a holding pen for the vet on Thursday. We need to keep them separated so they will be easy to load in the trailer as a group.

We are waiting for the tractor guy to show up to work on the tractor. DD2 called and said that her car was not working again. She had returned our old car on Saturday because they had replaced their fuel pump which was supposedly the problem. She and DSIL2 came over and collected it again. We are not leaving the keys to our good car behind when we leave for Texas. I told DH that we will bring the keys with us. Oops! Not having anyone help themselves to our car. drive it the entire time we are gone and bring it back with no gas!

We still don't have our truck back from the dealership shop so if we don't get it back before leaving for Texas, we will just be driving the black truck with the stock trailer. That will put us behind in our plans because we won't be bringing the flatbed with the fencing stuff. The black truck doesn't have a gooseneck attachment. We will bring back the sheep, a bunch of boxes of equipment, shelf units, etc. and go to the wedding. Then I guess we will have to make several turn around trips with the flatbed and stock trailer with the fencing stuff, tractors, more boxes of building supplies, and some outdoor furniture to use in the house. We will need to get on with the fencing this spring once the tractor is in TX. DS3 said he would give us a couple weeks with his family and so did DS2. Before we can host them, we will have to buy a washer and dryer and move a freezer back so we can feed everyone. LOL

:barnie:he Not happy about having our plans collapsing.
 

SageHill

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Don't let your sheep baaa to my sheep ;) - I just back them up and tip them into the chair. Some are tough to tip but that's because I'm not that big. A struggle here or there but for the most part they've been good. Now that they take crackers and treats from me it might be easier :rolleyes:
 

Ridgetop

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The laundry room has a washer and dryer side by side, then an upright freezer. I figure the room is about 8' long. I was figuring to put a stackable unit where the freezer is since I can't put anything up high on the end where the side-by-side W/D are since the electric panel is above them and I can't block that. However, it won't take much to run an extra length of drainpipe and longer water hoses in order to fit a chest freezer where the side-by-side W/D are now. I plan to measure everything while I am back there so I can draw up an architectural floor plan with exact location of switches, plugs, water, light/fan fixtures, etc. as well as window heights from the floor. Also, interior sizes of cabinets, cupboards, and closets. I will keep an eye on the sales at Lowes and will probably get the W/D in one of those appliance sales they have. I can make do with the smaller old fridge that belonged to Mrs. McDonald, but really need a washer/dryer when working on fencing and repairs.

Finished trimming hooves today with only a few minor injurie to DS1. One of the ewes decided to act like a crazed beast and crashed the Premier chair into DS1 causing heavy bruising and multiple curses. Once in the chair she just laid there. Go figure. The next one also acted like she was fighting for her life. Nursing the twisted ankle she gave him, DS1 tried to figure out if there was enough room in the trailer for those two to enjoy an all-expense one-way trip to TX. :lol: The final injury came when trying to sort one ewe out of the remaining 3. As they all rammed into DS1 the smallest got under DS1's legs and tripped him up. As a final insult the sheep managed to wedge him in the gateway on his back as they trampled out over him. He was finally able to get unstuck and climb to his feet to finish the trimming. I offered him Arnica, but he just reminded me that he hates sheep. I told him that building a proper chute with gates to let in the sheep one at a time instead of just trying to catch them would make it easier, but he just snarled.
At any rate we have finished trimming 19 sheep. Doing 4-5 per day works well. Only 26 still to go. :thWe spray painted them as to who is trimmed and who is going to Texas (different colors) and put the Texas bound ones into the creep. We have not turned the others out into the field yet since DS1 said it would be easier to run the others into the barn without them cluttering up the flock. He plans to do that tonight when we feed, I think. Until we bring the rest of the flock in from the field, we put the trimmed ewes into the small pen below the milk shed. We also ear tagged the two that had lost their tags. After the vet comes on Thursday I will worm the 5 ewelings going to Texas and move them into the small pen below the milk shed for now. I got a really good look at both Purple 18 (Cleopatra) and Purple 16 and they are really lovely. Both look to be clean shedders too. :fl
 

Ridgetop

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Even funnier was that after the limping, cursing, floundering on the ground, and name calling of the sheep, when he finally got the murderous ewes into the chair, he began crooning to them about how they were silly old things and would look so pretty after their mani-pedis! :gig

At any rate I need to go to the barn and rake out the pens to be ready for the vet visit tomorrow. I was mistaken about DS1 moving any sheep in last night. He was talking about moving the ones for the vet to check over up from the creep. The pens are full of old hay so I need to clean them out so we can maneuver in them tomorrow - YUP! catching more sheep. I plan to dump the old hay over the edge into the gully. Maybe I can convince DH to start a compost pile with the manure and hay.

Got the little Kubota fixed yesterday so now we can start loading the flatbed. Whether we get our truck back to tow it is another matter. :barnie DH and I no longer talk about it.
 
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