Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[sumi]

Depends on the PJs? I know how you're feeling though. And that moment when you step out of that hot shower…

 

[hqueen13]

yeah, we've had crazy cold here, and it's not fun! It took me 2.5 hours to do the turnout for 5 horses and muck only 1 stall. I had to deal with ice in the troughs because, god love my friend, she can't run electric to her fields to put in tank heaters, so they freeze. It SUCKS. VERY grateful I have to do chores this afternoon and then not again until Sunday when it will be SLIGHTLY warmer... (though of course morning won't be, but still)

 

[Denim Deb]

Here's an idea, don't fill the tanks that full, then just add a bit of water each day. Or, see if you can find someone to make the old fashioned kind of tank heaters that you make a fire in, or buy one.

https://www.farmshow.com/a_article.php?aid=5916

 

[Mini Horses]

East Coast is frigid....same here, much earlier than norm for these temps and they are just hanging! I'm tired of 5 in AM and only 25 late day. Hot water hauling is old. Yep, I let the tubs drop and add hot, hot water in AM. I've had to pull the big layers out of tubs, some 3" thick! I have heated tubs but it's a huge expense and some I cannot run the cords. Really a messed up time. What else ??? 6" of snow tomorrow night! I am so cold. Takes forever to do feeding chores. Even with barns and heavy bedding animals looking at me sadly. NONE of us are liking this.

You guys up North --- We just are NOT used to this.

 

[Denim Deb]

We're getting ready for a Nor'easter, so that meant I had a lot to do. I was able to clean my bathroom this morning. Then I went and fed b4 heading to work for 1 1/2 hours. When I got back, since it was the warmest it's been since Christmas, I was able to clean most of my field! There were still a few piles that were frozen to the ground, but most of it is up. And I also saw that, even though the horses have hay-which they're not always eating, they're still trying to eat the grass and are tearing up the field. I hope that once it warms up again, the grass will still grow. I only have a half bale of the old stuff left. I'm not sure how well they liked it. I may wait a few days B4 putting that out.
W/the field clean, I fed Stormy his lunch, then while he was eating, I put straw in for the chickens. I've never used straw w/them B4, but think I will start using it instead of shavings. It's cheaper for the straw and I had some left over. Plus, it will probably be better in the garden. Since the horses were trying to eat it, I put the rest of it out in the field. Then, I gave them all water. I didn't try when I got there because it was so cold out, it would have just frozen right away. W/that done, I checked on Stormy and left. I stopped a few places on the way home to pick up wood that was by the side of the road.
Got home, took a short break, and started on firewood. The wood holder in the basement is full. I'm hoping I don't have to do more B4 Sunday.
W/the wood done, I went back to the farm. I fed, then gave the chickens more water, fed them and looked for eggs. I filled the stock tank while I was doing everything. Normally I bag Stormy's feed on Thursday. I bagged as much as I could today. I'll need to bag a bit more, but that means I have that much less to do tomorrow. Since it's supposed to get windy, and they're calling for 4-10" of snow, I put hay in the hay nets and hung it in the stalls. KN is planning on being there in the morning, so she'll feed my guys and put out more hay. I have 6 hay nets, so I filled the other 3 so they're ready for the morning.
Got home, fed animals and gave them water, then got the rest of the wood out of the back of my truck. It's all in my wood shed. I covered the piles I was working on in the yard. Got the trash out and some kindling in. Cleaned up as much dog poop as I could, then was finally able to stop working around 7:10. I've now had a shower, cooked some frozen pizza and can finally relax.

 

[sumi]

Busy day for you over there! I was thinking of you and Callie yesterday evening. I read an article in a magazine (I'll check if I can find it online somewhere). A woman and her daughter got into trouble swimming in the sea and a passing dog walker went in to help them. He had a Labrador and a Spaniel with him. The Lab pulled the woman to safety and the Spaniel rescued her daughter

 

[hqueen13]

The issue is that my friend who runs this farm doesn't have $$. And in addition, many of the fields are far away from the barns. This is part of why I don't want Storm there for very long. It will suffice right now, but it is NOT ideal, and it is costing me a lot of time and money, too. Hopefully I can inspire my BF to start working on the field at the house so we can get it into working order and get the shed built, and put in fencing. I've got to research that, too, to figure out how much posts are going to cost and how many I'm going to need. I'd LOVE to find somebody with a fence post pounder that we could rent, but I don't know that I'll find that... Tamping posts is NOT my idea of fun...

 

[Denim Deb]

Try CL for fence posts. Are you going w/T posts, or 4x4s? I prefer the 4x4s. As long as I'm not hitting rocks, it takes me about 10-15 minutes to get a post in the ground and the hole filled back in.

For the heater, I wasn't talking about electric, but the ones that work on wood.

 

[hqueen13]

Yeah, I've put out some feelers for fence posts. I won't do T-Posts. I've known of too many horses that have died on them. Nor will I do high tension wire, either. I think our dirt is mostly sand and gravel. I'm checking into renting a fence post pounder because I seriously don't want to tamp an entire 2 acres worth of fence posts. The BF can run it, so that's not a problem, it's a matter of getting the job done.

I haven't seen the ones that work on wood. The link didn't show me any pictures.

 

[Denim Deb]

Sorry about that. Another option for water is the automatic waterers that don't use electricity. LF has one, and that's the kind I want. It basically works like a frost free hydrant. Hubby's wondered if he could make one for a lot cheaper than the $400+ that they cost. Even when I get my own place and have one, I'll still have a stock tank for back up. I just don't know that I'd have the size I have now. It would mainly be for emergencies. I like having 2 sources of water for just in case.