Corral is almost complete.

Of all the days this past week once again I only had Sunday free to try to accomplish anything here around the farm.  The kids stayed at my parents house Saturday night because my wife and I had a wedding to attend so we got to enjoy sleeping in for a few hours.  After a nice peaceful breakfast I headed out to the barn to see if I could get a couple of things completed.

It turned out to be one of the most productive days I have had since breaking my finger this summer!  Short of mounting one gate and purchasing one more I managed to complete the corral.  On top of that I also cleaned the pig shed and the cow shed and the feed pad.  I also rearranged the pigs and bedded the barn!

Now, on to the part that I am sure you are wanting to see.....the finished product!  First off, here is the gate between the pig lots and the feed pad.  This is to allow me access to the pig shed for cleaning without having to go out on the driveway to get to the storage area.  

Pig lots gate with height restriction.

This shows the gate shut.  This is how it will normally be kept.  If you look closely you will see the new height restriction that used to be on the corner of the cow shed has now been located to the left of the gate.  

Pig lots gate with height restriction.

Here is one more picture from a different angle showing the railing boards along the walkway the pigs use to get to the sow lot.  

Pig lots gate with height restriction.

The first few pictures were taken earlier in the day.  The rest were taken after I was finished and had a chance to cut all the polls to their finished height.  Next up we have a picture of the finished railings on the south side looking in the west end of the feed pad.  The manure storage is to the right.

Finished corral with manure storage in the corner.

Here is the finished railing around the cattle waterer.  It turned out pretty decent.  You can also see Baby Girl, the calf we have been bottle/bucket feeding, in the back ground of the picture.  I let her out to run with the cows to get her used to everybody. 

Cobett Cattle waterer installed in concrete feed pad.

Here is a shot from the inside of the corral showing the other side of the waterer.  

Cobett Cattle waterer installed in concrete feed pad.

This picture show the cattle side of the corral where the walkway for the pigs is located.  

Here is a picture I took while standing on the rails above the waterer.  You can see that Baconator was even demonstrating how to use the walkway to access the barn from the sow lot to my back left.  

Heavy use feed pad with built in walkway for pigs.  

Here is a picture of the manure storage area.  This is only two weeks of manure....and I thought I would have plenty of space!!!  I will be able to stack it as it dries out but it will still be a pretty big pile if we have a nasty drawn out winter!

Manure storage on heavy use pad.

My last picture is of baby girl and my wife.  As I said I am starting to let Baby Girl out to run with the cows in hopes to get her on hay and possibly start feeding on the cows as well.  She is doing very well and is adapting quickly to the rest of the herd!

Now, off to bed, 5am comes very early!

Kenny