Rebuilding the cow shed!!!! Finally a four year dream coming to fruition!!

 Well, another couple of very very busy weeks have gone by.  I have been busting butt trying to get things around the barn done for winter.  I got a new feeder to feed the cattle but quickly realized without a concrete pad to feed them on they would be standing in the mud all winter long.  So, I borrowed a post hold digger and got to work.  I first set all the posts for the new corral/feeding area.  Then, 65 tons of gravel and 200 tons of soil later I had the area leveled enough for concrete.

I had Ray Pucci who owns Accent Concrete in Greentown Ohio pouring the pad for me.  He does a lot of work on projects where I work during the day and does a really nice job.  I had everything close so I fixed the guys lunch while they set forms and then we tweaked the grades and poured the pad.

We were a little short for what I wanted to do but the pad turned out great!  I wanted an apron on the left side of the pic for the feeder to set on but we will get it on the next pour.  After I get the new shed posts set we will pour the rest of the concrete and be set for winter!

Sunday was my first full day of for the last several weeks so I started early with stuff in the house and then headed out to get things set up for letting the cows onto the new pad.  I first mounted the main gate....and I was happy to find I finally got it right and it is level and stays where I put it instead of just swinging one way or the other when you unchain it!

I got my feeder reset in its proper location and had to block it up to level it for the time being.  By this time I was ahead of where I thought I would be and I knew I needed to take the old shed down to finish the wall on the end of the pig shed that will be part of the new cattle chute/loading chute that will be built into the barn.  So, I pulled all the screws and extra anchor bolts out that I put into the shed many many years ago to hold it together out so I could push it over and take it apart. 

Two hours later the shed was gone.  I saved all the metal off of the roof to use on the new roofs for the feeders and I managed to save about $50 worth of screws and two long 2"x6"x 12' boards! 

Here is a pic of the shed gone.  I managed to finish the rest of the wall on the side of the pig shed tonight.  I have having my construction guy come tomorrow to help lay out the posts that I need and how they will be set up so I can get the posts and get them set.  Once they are set we will be able to pour the rest of the concrete!!

I am so excited.  This will change many things here on the farm.  Herd checks will be phenomenally easier with the new chute and headlock system allowing us to check the cattle and vaccinate with much much less stress on the cattle and us.  I will also be able to sort the cattle out that I need to catch by myself with zero stress on the cows just like I can currently do with the pigs.  Another very important but much over looked thing will be the ability to contain the manure from the cattle and be able to clean the barn easier without losing the valuable fertilizer that I need for the fields!

I eventually will have a manure storage pad to the direct west of the corral area once I get enough money to pay off the work I am currently doing now.  Also if you look at the second pic from the bottom you will see the south board fence of the corral.  I am going to extend this as far west as I can to be able to put in a set of gates away from the corral area so I can funnel the cattle in when I need to catch someone quickly rather than chasing them and stressing them out. 

I was excited coming into this year because I knew that we were turning a big corner in where we are headed.  This is proof of this and what keeps driving me every night after work to keep pushing onward and getting to the next step.  This setup will allow me to go from handling 12 cattle to being able to handle 50 with out any changes.  If I want to be able to handle more I can simply add on to the current area and set it up for up to 100 cattle.....that will be way down the road, but I have to think ahead!

Have a great day everyone!

Kenny

A trip to a new stone quarry and some farm projects.

I finally have a few minutes to sit down and put up a new post.  I always think that the next week will be calmer and things will slow down and then BAM, a whole bunch of stuff comes up and I am running all over again!

I got the opportunity to tour a stone quarry in Scranton PA this past week.  I found some new materials that until the last few years were not available.  This quarry is producing some of the most beautiful cut to pattern stone and irregular stone I have ever seen in my life!

The graining in these stones are amazing!  I am so ready to build a patio here at home out of this material.....if only it were free I would start tomorrow!!!

West Mountain Stone

Here are some other pallets of material ready to be shipped.  If I had a truck with me I would have brought a few pallets home!  Good thing I was driving a prius....I could only brings four small pieces of stone back.

West Mountain Stone

I got a chance to see their new saw shop they are almost ready to fire up.  This is one of their medium size saws.  It has a 10' blade on it.  They have three or four other bigger ones that are 11'6" and can cut up to 5' thick.  They also have a cnc water jet table that can cut through up to 2' thick material.

One of the West Mountain Seams that they get the really colorful rock out of.  They have to drill holes through the slab and then use cone shaped expanders to pop them out.  Then they cut them to order.

West Mountain Stone seam

Some of the natural edge stone cut and flamed to give a level surface that is not slippery and really makes the color explode!

West Mountain Stone Irregular slabs

This is the also pretty awesome.  Because they have such huge saws they are able to cut boulders the size of my truck into slabs.  So, if you want matching natural edge steps, tables, benches, etc., you can pick a boulder out and have it cut.

West Mountain Stone step and bench slabs

Some more slab material.  I probably looked like a little kid running around on top of all these rocks taking pictures.  However, I have not been this excited about new material since I set my first toprock 10 years ago!!!

West Mountain Stone with some White Mountain in the slab

Another beautiful slab.  I couldn't walk any where without seeing something I liked!

West Mountain Stone

If you want to know more about it simply email me at ken.r.merrick@gmail.com and I will get you more information.  The quarry name is Scranton Materials LLC.  They sell mostly to contractors and distributors.

West Mountain Stone

Now, on to the reality of the farm!  I was finally able to get my new feeder for the cows.  I now have too many cows for the one feeder that I have.  So I put in an order with my father to get them in one load and it came in a couple weeks earlier than expected.  I got them both from Klene Pipe Structures.  They have some awesome feeder and great prices.  I took pictures of both feeders in use to show the difference.  They both have 8 actual feeding holes for the cattle to eat from.  However, the new one is square and the calves can access the bale from the ends while the cows can comfortably eat four to a side.  There are also slotted panels inside the feeder that lay against the bale so the cows cannot pull large amounts of hay out onto the ground.  It is a C-7 hay saver feeder.  You can find it on their website at http://www.klenepipe.com/.  They have many many more options!

http://www.klenepipe.com Hay saver feeder c-7

As you can see in the picture below, even thought there are 8 holes in the bunk feeder there are only 6 cows eating.  This is due to the cows being wider than the holes and they argue over who is gonna eat first.  Now that I have two feeders I am already noticing a difference in growth of my steers.  Normally when I take them off the pastures and they go onto just bales the steers stop growing as fast because of limited access to the feed.  Now they are actually growing faster because almost everyone can eat at the same time without fighting for it!

http://www.klenepipe.com  Bunk Cattle Feeder bk-6

I have Kiko Custom Construction coming soon to help me rebuild the cattle shed and put roofs on both feeders.  This will help me save even more hay during wet weather and help the wood in the feeders last much much longer!

I also wanted to show a picture of our feeder piglets having a special treat.  My buddy Steven is travelling to different cattle shows clipping and showing cattle for people.  One of the by products of this is leftover milk from milking them while at the show.  So, at the last show he put about 150 gallons of milk in barrels and brought it home for the piggies.  They love it!!  They are gonna be huge by the time January rolls around to get them in to the butcher!  YUM YUM!!!!

Our berkshire x tamworth cross piglets eating milk.

I also spent one of my evenings a week or so ago rebuilding the Boar's Nest.  We tore it all apart to put the new barn wall in last spring and I never got it back together.  I also wasn't happy with the temporary OSB panels that we used for all the walls.  It doesn't last if it gets wet and the pigs were just eating it off the walls. The boar had also shoved the main sill plate almost completely off the foundation on the wall to the left.  So I beat it back into place and then rebuilt the walls and put rough sawed 1" boards up on the walls.  They will not be tearing that up any time soon!

The left side wall that I had to rebuild.  So much stronger now than it was before!

Well, I am headed out to enjoy the nice weather before the rain hits.  I may go get the auger and set some posts in the cow pasture for the new pen.  My wife is canning tomatoes and making beef jerky and the house smells wonderful!

Talk to you all soon!