Bee~ Journal of then...

[justusnak]

Oh Bee....I just hate hearing about farms like that!! I wish you could get your hands on "bones" That poor , poor girl. Plus you said there were 3 limping?? Why have an animal of you are not willing to do the proper care for them!?? $$$$ Its the root of of it all. Those poor animals.
Hey Bee...I was thinking...IF these Katahdins ARE preggers...and if they throw at least one ram...maybe you can use him in your breeding program. They are hair/meat sheep as well. BIG meaty sheep!

 

[Beekissed]

Hey! That's right! I will be coming to visit my fave aunt, Betty, this spring.....maybe I oughta slide by your place and snatch a ram baby!

I felt real sorry for bones, as she seemed to have been a big, meaty ewe at one time. What I think has happened was the nice older fella has just had some surgery and he is the one who usually cares for the sheep. I could tell that something was amiss when the barns weren't as clean as usual.

Wish we lived closer so I could help him out.

Actually, he needs to sell all the sheep except about 20 of the best ewes, one St. Croix ram and his new Dorper ram and start all over. This time be more careful in his breeding schedule, careful in his culling, stop trying to crutch poor immune systems/genetics with chemicals and stop feeding grains unless absolutely necessary.

He should be working to develop his existing pasture, sell most of his 25 horses~money drain and he's getting too old to ride~ and clean up his operation.

But....I guess it's not my call~ I sure wish it were!

 

[Beekissed]

Hey, guys....I'm thinking about putting in a small pond like Wifezilla's. What are your thoughts on this? I'm thinking about 6 ft. x 4 ft. x 3 ft. deep. Will this hold water well all summer or will it evaporate frequently?

I plan to place some goldfish in it, some aquatic plants and have access for the sheep to drink out of it. It will straddle the fenceline between the two upper paddocks and I was thinking it would be a great place for my honeybees to drink, my ducks(yes, you heard me...ducks!) to swim and to occasionally siphon into my garden and refill.

Have any of you used your small pond/reservoir in this manner? I plan to line it with rocks and the banks will be rocks, it will have a plastic liner.

I'm hoping it becomes a small ecosystem all of it's own but I don't know if this size will be too small for the function I want? Any input?

 

[big brown horse]

I'm no expert on ponds, but I did build one about a month ago for my new ducks. I bought a pond liner, not the hard plastic ones, just a thick liner. It is about 1 1/2 feet deep in the deep end and is shaped like a 3 X 7 ft. kidney bean. I used all the large rocks we have under the soil around here to hold the liner in place. I put an old carpet remnant under the liner so it wouldn't rub a hole through from the pebbles etc.

Ducks go to town in it. Especially when I clean it out on the weekends.

 

[Beekissed]

I would really like to create a little oasis in the middle of this property where my bees can sip, sheep can drink, ducks can swim and flowers can grow.

If I did this and I had it fixed where the livestock could water from it, I would have to somehow fix it to where they could only access the edge of the pond. I want some plants growing around it and I don't want it to be muddy all the time.

BBH, can you post me a pic of your pond so I can get some ideas?

 

[lorihadams]

Be careful.....if you have fish AND ducks, you know what's gonna happen....snack time, unless you have really big fish.

What kind of ducks??? I just love my runners! I think there are some posts on duck ponds in BYC in the duck section so you could look at some of them there, although I'm sure you probably already have. We just use a kiddie pool for now.

 

[big brown horse]

I'll post pics, but it isn't pretty. Not like WZ's. Mine looks like a mud hole. LOL I used what I had around the yard, the rocks that are everywhere here scattered about. I'll run down there when it isn't raining and snap a few for ya.

 

[Dace]

Your pond sounds lovely Bee....I am sure if anyone can figure out how to make it work as it's own little eco system, it would be you!

 

[delia_peterson]

Ya'll are soooo bad. The very first time I go take a gander at BYH, I notice the little padlock thingies...next to Bees' thread. And it says ----"Closed for clean up". Geez. Now I have to go back and read it!

 

[Beekissed]

The Man is always tryin' to shut me down........ :/

I was thinking about researching the duck breed that has the most down production...maybe a large breed. I love runner ducks! I think they are the most comical, graceful breed out there but I really want a dual-purpose animal on the place.

I ruled out the geese project, as they are too noisy, too messy, too aggressive. I like the quiet on my place and value my peace too much to have mouthy waterfowl!

I was thinking about a rectangular pond! Does that sound weird? I saw a beautiful coy pond that was large, rectangular and deep. I think the regular shape will go well with my fencing needs and I think it will be easier to build/construct with this shape....but I may change my mind. I just like to be different, ya know!