Coffee's Ready, Come and Sit on the Porch

[frustratedearthmother]

Not a dry spot on the farm. I’m outside multiple times a day, tending to the animals.

Ditto! Where did our drought go? Sounds good right now, lol!

 

[CrealCritter]

@murphysranch

Hey there I wanted to show you the bottled brine in chicken waterer results. Overnight it hit a low of 17F. This morning it was brisk I let the chickens and ducks out. Like every morning they first go to the waterer. They pecked the layer of ice to get to the unfrozen water in the bottom of the tray.

Here is my finger that I easily poked through the thin top layer of ice to access the unfrozen water in the bottom of the tray.

Only thing I can think to try...

1) Increase the salt content in your brine.
2) Ensure the brine in the bottles is topped off to eliminate any air in the bottles.
3) increase the number of brine bottles inside the waterer.

We have 4 pint bottles in our 5 gallons waterer that sink to the bottom of the waterer.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

On second cup of coffee. Pouring rain. Not a dry spot on the farm. The shelters I have for the sheep are wet inside. The ground is saturated, everything is wet and muddy. It’s been awful for the animals. I feel bad for them. The shelters I have have been adequate, until now. Who could’ve predicted Noah’s Flood? It’s been raining fro 2 weeks.

My road yesterday. Road was flooded in 5 places, I’m 1 7/10ths of a mile from the pavement.

View attachment 22520

Ewe and lamb pen yesterday. It will be worse today. This is the one I fell down in and wallowed about. Poop soup.

View attachment 22521

This is my front yard where Cooper and 8 ewes are. Their shelter is wet inside too.

View attachment 22522

Not a dry spot on the farm. I’m outside multiple times a day, tending to the animals. Reina gets eye drops 6 times a day, she goes back to the vet Saturday. A friend with 4 wheel drive came and pulled my trailer out so I can take her. It’s been raining for 2 weeks.

This is a cow panel hoop shelter. It works well, unless the entire farm is saturated, standing(running) water. It’s deep bedded, as all the shelters are, but is still wet.

View attachment 22523

One more day. Just one more day. Rain will clear out this evening followed by 4 days of sunshine. Just gotta make it through today. As bad as these pictures look from yesterday, this morning it will look worse.

Looks like some drainage ditches need to be cut to redirect the water to the pond.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

It’s 33F and pouring rain again. It’s coming down in buckets. If I was in Lindale, I’d be snowed in. I’m just on the edge of the rain or snow line. Crockett, 20 miles away, has snow. The sheep pens are awful. Pastures are in standing water, well, right now, running water.

I have my last day of therapy this morning. I don’t know if I can even get out. Water runs over the road just past my driveway. I’ve driven through it before. The school bus runs at 7:00, it’s still dark. I don’t envy that bus driver, traveling all these country backroads in bad weather, in the dark. At least I’ll be able to see, if I can’t see the bottom, I’m going back home.

It is storming and it’s going to do it again tomorrow. Then finally we will get some sunny days and cloudy days but no rain.

Talked to @Devonviolet yesterday. Tree limbs were breaking off from the ice load. They are only 163 miles north of me. A big branch fell on their goat shed. I hope they keep power.

I am so ready for a real barn for my animals. I’ll have to haul in dirt to build it up before I build the barn so it doesn’t become a swamp.

Whole farm is a swamp.

My friend Chris came over yesterday with his 4WD truck and pulled my trailer out where I can hook onto it.

As I was feeding yesterday evening, my boot got stuck in the muck just as I was navigating a turn, and down I went in the liquid poop and mud. Fortunately I landed on my butt. If I had of done a face plant, my screaming curses would have peeled bark off trees for a mile away. Dogs thought I wanted to play. By the time I rolled around to get up, I was fully saturated. Finished chores, stripped in utility room, put clothes in washer and headed for a shower.

More rain storms tomorrow then 6 days of no rain.

Have you considered having a trackhoe dredge the pond for dirt?. Most likely clay at the bottom of the pond might even be riffraff (rock) also is good to build up a cement foundation for a barn. Plus you'll end up with a deeper pond. Kind of a win/win. If you build the barn near the pond then you can additionally save on cost to move the dirt and have handy access to water from the pond for the critters. Ofcourse consult with someone who knows dirt better than I do first.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[The Porch]

@murphysranch

Hey there I wanted to show you the bottled brine in chicken waterer results. Overnight it hit a low of 17F. This morning it was brisk I let the chickens and ducks out. Like every morning they first go to the waterer. They pecked the layer of ice to get to the unfrozen water in the bottom of the tray.
View attachment 22526

Here is my finger that I easily poked through the thin top layer of ice to access the unfrozen water in the bottom of the tray.
View attachment 22527

Only thing I can think to try...

1) Increase the salt content in your brine.
2) Ensure the brine in the bottles is topped off to eliminate any air in the bottles.
3) increase the number of brine bottles inside the waterer.

We have 4 pint bottles in our 5 gallons waterer that sink to the bottom of the waterer.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

Maybe after the flocks roosts for the night ,, bring the water in the house

 

[The Porch]

On second cup of coffee. Pouring rain. Not a dry spot on the farm. The shelters I have for the sheep are wet inside. The ground is saturated, everything is wet and muddy. It’s been awful for the animals. I feel bad for them. The shelters I have have been adequate, until now. Who could’ve predicted Noah’s Flood? It’s been raining fro 2 weeks.

My road yesterday. Road was flooded in 5 places, I’m 1 7/10ths of a mile from the pavement.

View attachment 22520

Ewe and lamb pen yesterday. It will be worse today. This is the one I fell down in and wallowed about. Poop soup.

View attachment 22521

This is my front yard where Cooper and 8 ewes are. Their shelter is wet inside too.

View attachment 22522

Not a dry spot on the farm. I’m outside multiple times a day, tending to the animals. Reina gets eye drops 6 times a day, she goes back to the vet Saturday. A friend with 4 wheel drive came and pulled my trailer out so I can take her. It’s been raining for 2 weeks.

This is a cow panel hoop shelter. It works well, unless the entire farm is saturated, standing(running) water. It’s deep bedded, as all the shelters are, but is still wet.

View attachment 22523

One more day. Just one more day. Rain will clear out this evening followed by 4 days of sunshine. Just gotta make it through today. As bad as these pictures look from yesterday, this morning it will look worse.

I am sorry you have all of that to deal with,, this is exactly how it in here in western Washington Oct- end of May

 

[CrealCritter]

Good 9:45am morning,
I have been busy yesterday and this morning, made more kombucha, mixed up some sourdough starter, roasted up the last of the beef stew bones and made a great pot of beef and veg stew with canned vegetables from my garden, got all the laundry done, baked a bunt cake
All the rain flaps are up on the coop covered run, they love the morning sun when we have it,
Having a late breakfast—- have good rest of your day




View attachment 22528

Now I'm hungry

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[murphysranch]

Someday we'll run electricity down to the coop. Luckily its going to be warming up a tad, since there is rain coming in tomorrow.
I can't get down to the coop in the dark. Its kinda steep and I've already fallen once - plunk on my backside due to slipping in the mud, with my bad knee folded under my body. Took several days to get over the ache of that fall.
I'll try a larger salt water container in the waterer.

 

[Sammster]

Well, it's Groundhog Day... again! One of my favorite days of the year.
46 days Until spring!!

Clouds, now - but earlier, it was incredibly bright. DH drove me to a "new to me" feed supplier, in a nearby town. Family owned. Very nice folks. Then we stopped for breakfast at the coney. Came home and spent a couple hours out with the chickens. Just didn't want to go inside. It was 32° and felt so warm out, after what we've had, recently.

 

[Sammster]

Good 9:45am morning,
I have been busy yesterday and this morning, made more kombucha, mixed up some sourdough starter, roasted up the last of the beef stew bones and made a great pot of beef and veg stew with canned vegetables from my garden, got all the laundry done, baked a bunt cake
All the rain flaps are up on the coop covered run, they love the morning sun when we have it,
Having a late breakfast—- have good rest of your day




View attachment 22528

Wow! You have had a busy couple of days! I've always wanted to try. Kombucha. I have no idea how to get started. Where to get the starter... what do they call that? The mother?