Baymule
Herd Master
Our lamb loading has a lot to be desired. We have invited our friend over to help us catch and carry lambs to the trailer, it took 2 or 3 of us, that worked, not great, but it worked. I have tackled them in the lot, slipped a halter on them and led/dragged them to the trailer with me pulling and BJ pushing. That also works, again not great. We have put up 2 cow panels coming out of the sheep barn, to a trailer, then chased them into our crappy chute and lifted/dragged to the trailer.
I have plans for that elusive "someday" loading chute that will miraculously be attached to the barn and be in a place that is easy to back the trailer to. Those plans are in my head, nobody can see them, they are subject to change and they are not implemented yet. Temporary is my magic word. Cow panels, bits of wire, hay string and pallets are marvelous inventions.
I formulated yet another invisible temporary loading chute in my head. I'll pause for a moment so y'all can feel sorry for BJ. We generally tie up, argue, fight and yell at each other because he can't read invisible head plans and thinks his ideas are better than mine. I remain mystified
So I attempted to relate verbal blueprints, how hard can this be? It's just cow panels, right? This time, my brilliant idea scrapped pervious plans of backing up to the barn, gate, wire gap or other location, which are hindered by the placement of a power pole and guy wire. What a stupid place to put them. I have even inquired about moving them from representatives from Wood County Eclectric Co-Op which pretty much got shot down. Anyhoo, my new plan was to run a cow panel, along with a 18' piece of non climb horse wire, down the back of the portable building and along the fence. The sheep barn is a 20'x24' lean to off one side of the portable building. A fence runs down the back of it, to the back yard--another temporary fence. Their lot opens to that pasture with a temporary wire gap. My temporary loading chute would make use of my previous fencing efforts.
After preliminary bickering, we got started. We rounded up T-posts-another marvelous invention, hay string, tossed a cow panel over the fence, along with a T-post driver and the long piece of wire which came with a bonus piece of rebar which at one time, functioned as a wire gap. BJ used the end pieces of the horse wire to wrap around a cow panel-part of the sheep lot, while I held it up. He then drove a T-post and I tied the wire to it with hay string. It's temporary, OK? We got that piece of wire up, then positioned the cow panel and jammed it up against the cow panel gate that we use to go in and out of the side pasture, another temporary cow panel fence to keep the sheep off the side pasture while the winter rye and clovers grow. This had the joyous result of severely restricting just how far that piece of cow panel gate would open. We drove the T-posts, secured with hay string and the chute was up! We cut the fence, making a place to back the trailer to. We high-fived our congratulations of a job well done. We hitched up the trailer and BJ backed it up to the hole in the fence perfectly.
We did this on Sunday, it was sunny, warm and beautiful. We loaded them up on Monday afternoon, so we could leave early Tuesday morning. We usually load up the night before, if there are problems getting animals loaded, it gives up time to work out the finer details of obstinate animals and ignorant humans and we don't miss our appointment the next morning.
Pictures to follow.
I have plans for that elusive "someday" loading chute that will miraculously be attached to the barn and be in a place that is easy to back the trailer to. Those plans are in my head, nobody can see them, they are subject to change and they are not implemented yet. Temporary is my magic word. Cow panels, bits of wire, hay string and pallets are marvelous inventions.
I formulated yet another invisible temporary loading chute in my head. I'll pause for a moment so y'all can feel sorry for BJ. We generally tie up, argue, fight and yell at each other because he can't read invisible head plans and thinks his ideas are better than mine. I remain mystified
at what the he!! is wrong with him. Him, likewise with me. So I attempted to relate verbal blueprints, how hard can this be? It's just cow panels, right? This time, my brilliant idea scrapped pervious plans of backing up to the barn, gate, wire gap or other location, which are hindered by the placement of a power pole and guy wire. What a stupid place to put them. I have even inquired about moving them from representatives from Wood County Eclectric Co-Op which pretty much got shot down. Anyhoo, my new plan was to run a cow panel, along with a 18' piece of non climb horse wire, down the back of the portable building and along the fence. The sheep barn is a 20'x24' lean to off one side of the portable building. A fence runs down the back of it, to the back yard--another temporary fence. Their lot opens to that pasture with a temporary wire gap. My temporary loading chute would make use of my previous fencing efforts.
After preliminary bickering, we got started. We rounded up T-posts-another marvelous invention, hay string, tossed a cow panel over the fence, along with a T-post driver and the long piece of wire which came with a bonus piece of rebar which at one time, functioned as a wire gap. BJ used the end pieces of the horse wire to wrap around a cow panel-part of the sheep lot, while I held it up. He then drove a T-post and I tied the wire to it with hay string. It's temporary, OK? We got that piece of wire up, then positioned the cow panel and jammed it up against the cow panel gate that we use to go in and out of the side pasture, another temporary cow panel fence to keep the sheep off the side pasture while the winter rye and clovers grow. This had the joyous result of severely restricting just how far that piece of cow panel gate would open. We drove the T-posts, secured with hay string and the chute was up! We cut the fence, making a place to back the trailer to. We high-fived our congratulations of a job well done. We hitched up the trailer and BJ backed it up to the hole in the fence perfectly.
We did this on Sunday, it was sunny, warm and beautiful. We loaded them up on Monday afternoon, so we could leave early Tuesday morning. We usually load up the night before, if there are problems getting animals loaded, it gives up time to work out the finer details of obstinate animals and ignorant humans and we don't miss our appointment the next morning.
Pictures to follow.