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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Just Need the Cows Now

As readers may know from previous posts, we have been renovating our old barn to have a milking parlor (herringbone 8- which means milk 4 on a side at the same time in a herringbone pattern). This has been a long process as we have been doing the work ourselves with very little help. We did finally end up hiring someone to come for a few weeks to help with things that I am just not able to do or was working off the farm and wasn't able to help with. I can't lift the very heavy objects or go to high places, although I did suck it up a time or two in spite of the vertigo.

When we bought this farm in 1998 it was workable, but in bad shape. We have made repairs over the years but quit milking a few years later as milking under the pipeline with just one person (the hubs had started an outside job by then) was a difficult task and the kids were growing up and moving out. As a result of just using it occasionally to raise bottle-fed calves that eventually went outside to live, it went down hill like an unused home. The roof needed work, which we knew, just not how bad. The room that had been originally for the purpose of raising calves was in terrible shape when we bought it and my husband had used it to free-stall (let them run loose) the calves at one point,, promising to keep it cleaned up, but somehow didn't and wouldn't let me - since it was his mess! The outer walls were already rotted out at the bottom where it had not been constructed properly by whomever built it. There was a shed on one end where someone had put yet another poorly built wall to divide it off from the calf room. We had to shore up the roof and take out the two walls with this project.

Over the years, the winters had been hard on the floors of the barn and the milkhouse, which we thought was small, but since have seen much smaller and cramped conditions. The concrete was broken, literally, and heaved up off the ground. Apparently no one ever heard of re-bar! When we broke it up we found junk, actual junk, thrown into it to make it 'stronger'. It just made it harder to break up into pieces we could cart off. There are still a few aesthetic things that need done, but they won't stop us from being licensed to milk again. It's just for our peace of mind and remedy keeping the barn warm enough to keep the waterlines in the cow quarters (formerly where they were milked under a pipeline) from freezing. This has always been a problem.

We started out by demolishing the old milkhouse and breaking up all those chunks of concrete floor and outer pad (for some reason you have to have a porch-like concrete pad outside the milkhouse). We found where someone had another milkhouse built where the outer pad was - two previous layers. Talk about a pain to get out!

Then we poured tons of concrete for new flooring and porch, built a new milkhouse with an actual re-barred and concreted in foundation. (The old one- no). Then we demolished the that old calf-raising section, tore out that concrete, dug a hole for the parlor pit, lined it with plastic and Styrofoam sheeting and poured more concrete. There was a LOT of concrete work involved. We put up walls and the equipment and cleaned like crazy. We discovered that the people who sold us the parlor system (used- right out of their barn) were not completely honest honest about how well the system worked. HINT: If someone says it worked the last time they used it, ask if they sold parts off of it or if they were actually using all of it! We had to re-build or replace way more than we should have of it. We expected to replace gaskets, that is a given, but not electrical parts because they sold pieces out of it earlier, or they broke down and they just bypassed them somehow. We also discovered they had not actually washed the system, but rather rinsed it only, when they quit milking. That was really bad! I am the equipment scrubber and a lot of acid and elbow grease had to be used to get that old and rotted milk fat out of the system. You can shiver now! But it is clean.

Here are some shots, not previously shown, of before and after. Other pictures have been posted in previous posts.  There have been mostly shots from the milkhouse build so I'll concentrate more on the parlor here and finished inside of the milkhouse.

Not even kidding about how bad this room was. This is actually cleaned up some. The far right is where the re-entry walkway will be for the cows to go back into the barn. The old steel dividers and feed bunk are gone. They were really bad.

Tearing off the milkhouse.
Before the wall was knocked out. Still needed a little debris removal though.
  Knocking out the that rotted wall. The one on the right also got taken out.
Those walls are gone and the pit extends into the what was the heifer shed. The one wall is rebuilt (left side) and the other one is the original heifer shed wall. We did put up another wall between the far wall and the pit, and on the right side for the cow exit section.

Outside of the parlor. We did enclose the rest of the wall. We still needed access from the outside to that area for larger things that wouldn't make it through the other end. That open end is where the cows will exit the parlor and return to the living quarters. We put up tin on the outside to match the rest of the barn. The milkhouse got vinyl siding.
  

Inside the milkhouse. Plumbing cannot go inside the walls since they will freeze and access would be nearly impossible if need be. We put in a closet so the waterworks (pressure tank and heater) wouldn't be just sitting out in the open.
More milkhouse.

   Inside the parlor with the milkers in place!
Both sides from up-to where the cows will be.

 Parlor looking to the entry end of the pit. Ready to go. There are sliding doors at the opposite end of each side for the cows to exit.

It's been a long and hard road. We're looking for those ready-to-milk cows now to run through it. We have ten heifers that will be coming in in late January and early February.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

New Roof- Bad Bull

Well, what can I say? The bull is no longer seeing me in a favorable light. After making sure my poor non-cow dog was securely in the barn, I went out to gather a few needed fence posts- the deer are decimating our corn silage bag. That goofy Jersey bull started following me again and when I turned around he was close enough that I poked him in the nose with a fence post. That, of course ticked him off and he decided I was the enemy. I had not yet realized this because the heifers had gathered up to me at that point and just getting to another post was difficult. As I was setting up the post puller (yes, there is a tool for pulling posts out of the ground) I realized the bull was after me and not in a warm and fuzzy, isn't he cute kind of way. He put his head down and came running. I moved the first time and then deliberately slugged him with the fence post. Just so you know, that isn't entirely an intelligent move. It just made him more mad. I got the post up and here he came again. Now, I was truly surprised when one of my Holsteins pulled a move straight out of his book. She ran in between us and knocked him on his butt. Hmmmm. Good girl. I think she gets a special treat. I always did like number 18. She actually stayed between me and the bull as I walked backwards to the gate back into the barn. I told my husband the next time that bull came after me, I was going to shoot him. He said I couldn't do that because we needed him to breed back the cows after they calved. Then he'd send him to market. We'll see. If he hurts me, my husband will shoot him. He said he'd be too gamey to put in the freezer because of the testosterone in his system. I'd enjoy the first bite anyway.

                         Sure he looks all innocent here. Jersey cows good- Jersey bulls, not so much.
                                          How would you like this coming at you?
                                                            Good girl! My protector.
  With all the corn still standing in the fields, why do they have to destroy the silage bag? Pretty sure I didn't bag it for the deer.


In other news... the barn roof that was causing a hold up on finishing the milk-house is finally done. Yay! The Roof Doctors out of Phillips, Wisconsin did a really good job and will most likely get the job for the other side next year. We also got a lot of the interior board done in the parlor. It's coming along, but too slow. Our son came last weekend and helped. This week the ceiling material (white tin) should be in so we can work on that next weekend. Help! I don't do heights and that parlor ceiling is really high up.

        
                                                                 Roof in progress
                                                   Roof done. It's a thing of beauty!


                    One of the walls. Still need to clean and paint some posts, but that won't take long.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Cow Punching and Barn Update

Cow Punching- Literally

My husband decided that since the cows I hand raised had been outside for a year and only come near him if he has feed (even then they stand back and wait until he dumps it out to go near it) that I needed to reacquaint the heifers with people.  I talk to them through the barn gate all the time, although for the most part they just ignore me, except for a couple of them. But that darn Jersey bull is a royal pain. He has taken to butting the ladies away from the barn and anyone who gets near them. So, I made friends with the bull.

First, I unloaded about fifteen bags (plastic burlap type) of feed into the feed bins (a/k/a metal trash cans with lids), and then I stuck my feed scented gloved hand out the gate as I scolded him for running off the other cows. He came at the smell and stayed for the scratching of the ears. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he sticks his head over a gate at the silo room when he hears my voice with an expression my husband describes as love struck. I told him I wasn't a cow, but he doesn't seem to care. I almost gave his nose ring a yank just to get him a little scared of me.

Flash forward a week and Chaos (the awesome companion Labrador retriever- not cattle dog) are out in the woods which are part of the cow's field marking dead trees before the leaves all fall off so we can make fire wood. She is wandering off and being older, she is going deaf and blind, and also having a penchant for chasing skunks, I was busy trying to get her to stay with me in case one was holed up out there somewhere. Next thing I know, I am surrounded by the cows and one love-struck bull. Everywhere I moved, there was that stupid bull! I kept a small tree between me and him in case he suddenly decided to charge and always moved backwards in order to keep an eye on him. Chaos finally decided to come to mama and she for some weird reason decided she was a cattle dog. Now, if she had been trained to move cattle I wouldn't have worried about it, but she isn't - she's a hunting dog, so I told her to get behind me when the bull pawed the dirt at her. She actually minded me and did it (trust me- there was a reason this amazed me). He wanted that dog bad. I finally reached out and just smacked him on the nose. "No dog! No dog!" I yelled at him. He actually looked disappointed. Hmmm.

I told Chaos to go home and she started that way, but hesitated when I didn't follow. I was keeping an eye on that bull as I walked slowly backward. There are a lot of holes out there and other cows, and I didn't think falling was a good idea. I was still taller than the bull and being on the ground could be dangerous. The cows finally meandered off, losing interest, I thought, and I was able to get to the pasture part of the field and we headed for the gate, not running because that could be trouble. Almost there and I hear the sound of hooves running. I turned around and those silly cows were running to beat the band to catch up. I held up my arms and yelled 'stop' and to my surprise, they did. Feet splayed out in front of them, they literally skidded to a stop- every last one of them. After I finished laughing at that ridiculous sight I backed up again, very slowly, because I was coming up on that very hot electric fence. I was too low for the dog to go under (and as stated before- I was not getting on the ground to do it either) and too high for me to go over. I got out my cell phone and called the husband. "Please turn off the fence for a minute so the dog and I can get out of the field. The cows won't leave us alone and the bull really wants Chaos." He asked what only once when he heard me belt that bull right in the nose. "I told you to leave that dog alone! Now leave us alone!" I yelled. He was crowding us to the fence. I heard my husband say real loud it was unplugged. I left the line open and pushed the wire down enough to get over it and then raised it for Chaos and then told him to plug it up quick. I knew when he did it because that bull hollered when he hit it.

I really don't think I want to go out there for a while. Maybe I'll carry a ball bat or something. I apparently am too good at making friends with the cows.

Now, onto the barn!

We finally have the siding up! I helped even though it like to have scared me to death once we got to the higher up part on the front. Heights and I do not get along. I got dizzy and nauseated. Yuk! But, it came out nice. We haven't quite finished the inside as we have to re-roof the barn first (it leaks into the new part- dang!) We are getting along on the parlor though. All the concrete work is done and we got the concrete sealer (garage floor coating) done yesterday. We still have to clear coat both the milk house floor and walls and floor of the parlor pit. I learned how to lay concrete block (foundation for the walls so the wood doesn't sit directly in water when we clean) and how to run a cutting torch (the steel grating for the guttering where the cows stand while being milked). I have epoxy in my hair, though nail polish remover got it off my hands and arms. I think I'll just let it wear off my hair; I just don't think acetone belongs on hair.

Pictures!
                                                        Siding going up- partially done

                                  Siding done! Yay! We had to push the bulk tank out to do the floor.
                          Some of my friendly cows! The bull cannot be disturbed for photographs.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Barn Update



We have made some progress on our barn project. The concrete is almost all poured. Some of it has to wait until other steps are completed. It is going way too slow, however, as my husband has done the majority of the work by himself. The help he had hoped to have is by necessity busy with their own farm work and I am at my factory job nine to ten hours a day. He doesn’t have the heart to bring me out there to help after being on my feet that long, but sometimes I don’t give him the choice and he doesn’t have a choice. He has to have help. We also have our own farm work that has to be done, like baling hay and putting up silage, building fence so the cows can go to other pastures, etc. As a result, he has lost about twenty or thirty pounds. At his old job he had become pretty sedentary and needed to lose that weight, but not all at once like that. He works in rain and in extreme heat. I’m not home to make him sit down in the cooler areas and rest and drink something so he is getting over heated. Is that a man thing?



We got the plastic sheeting on yesterday. The blew it all around me. Did I ever mention I'm claustrophobic. This was a problem!


(I did notice this morning that since he isn’t working that stressful job he retired from his hair that had gone almost all white is actually turning black again. He isn’t using any hair products either. How fair is that? I’m going grey and he’s going back to normal! Ugh!)

The weather has also been a factor. At first, we couldn’t buy rain, and the crops really needed it, even if it did interfere with building. At this point there isn’t anything he can do alone inside the barn (the parlor) by himself when it rains, so we need it to stop so he can do the outside stuff. We also really need to dry-in the milk house. We are going to put one of those chemical resistant garage floor finishing kits on the floor of both the milk house and the parlor pit (walls too in there) but the temperature has to be above a certain point and the humidity below a certain point. Now that the concrete that will be coated has reached the curing time needed, the rest is not cooperating. Some days it’s hot and others it’s too cool, but it keeps raining and the humidity is too high.

I helped put the underlayment on the outer walls and the plastic sheeting (to stop wind from getting through) on the walls and put the windows in yesterday. My brother-in-law came today so the tin is going up, albeit with difficulty because that wind is really cooking out there. Next will be the vinyl siding and the doors. Then, we can get down to the inside of the milk house and finishing that parlor. Yeah. Still, we at least a month behind schedule. That’s one more month for me at that factory I loathe. All I can say is it is a job. 

I’m taking a break to get some laundry done, so don’t worry; I’ll be back out in a few minutes!
In spite of severe vertigo in high places, I am going up and down a very tall ladder to hand tools and whatever is needed. I’m the gopher! 

Putting on the roof.

I also take cold beverages to the guys, because they won’t take a break when they need to, so I have to enforce some sort of safety. Speaking of safety…Yes, there is a reason I told my husband to keep track of all the nails that got pulled out during destruction of the old building and ones they drop or that get bent. I don’t want anyone to step on them, much less the dog who has no sense of danger until she lands on something that goes through her paw and that would just about kill me if she got hurt. Yesterday my husband comes in the house and declares he needs my help in the bathroom. I raised an eyebrow. Something was up. Yep, he stepped on one of those 16 penny common nails. It went right through the boot and into the bottom of his foot. Boot and all went right into the bathtub. He is on blood thinners due to three stress related heart attacks so I am panicking, even though I am trying to remain calm on the outside. Ever see arterial spray on one of those crime shows on T.V.? That nail hit a vein and it squirted something awful. His boot had about a cup of blood in it. We applied pressure using a clean but old (a/k/a didn’t mind throwing out) wash cloth and then I put a cotton ball treated with antibiotic ointment on it and taped it six ways from Sunday. A simple bandage wouldn’t do the trick, and it was right up where two toes meet the foot. After making sure it wasn’t soaking through the cotton ball, he actually put on a different boot and went back to work. *Writer shakes head* He is a tough old goat! He wouldn’t go to the ER of course, but we got it to stop bleeding. I would have really appreciated him getting a tetanus shot though. I’m going to keep a close eye on him, although I think once they show signs of the illness; it’s pretty much too late. This is why I’m so fussy (we’ll be nice and call it that) about safety. I even wear ear plugs when he’s running the power equipment or hammering on things- it makes my ears ring. We wear steel-toe shoes in case we drop something. They are awful evil things to wear, but necessary. Are you being safe while working on household projects?
 There used to be a grain bin here, but it rusted out and was in the way, so it had to go.

                           The old feed bin and a peek at the pile from the tear down. Gonna be a heck of fire one of these days.


Yes, I did brave the ladder and go as far as the trusses to get these shots. Hard to believe my kids used to sit on top of that old feed bin just look out at the countryside. They aren't afraid of much.



Saturday, August 2, 2014

Darn Weeds



Weeds are persistent little buggers. I mulched my garden to within an inch of its life with several inches of old corn silage. We hadn’t used it in years and there were no weeds growing in it at all; not even corn. It should be free of weeds now; I should be sitting pretty with my huge garden and nary a weed – right? Wrong!

My gardens have always had a particular penchant for growing weeds in spite of many back-breaking hours pulling them up and spraying deterrents between the rows being careful not to hit the veggies I wanted. Of course you can’t get anywhere near tomatoes with weed killer, such as Round Up™ because it is related to a family of weeds it kills and they will be dead just being near it. I spent days working the soil, amending fertilizing nutrients into the soil, planting the garden (three times in some places that still didn’t come up- writer growls) and mulching the plants after they came up. I tilled fervently between the rows until the plants were big enough to mulch and hoed weeds between plants. I plotted where everything had been planted so I could identify the plants from the weeds. We got too much rain at first, hence the replanting, and not enough warmth, and then the rain pretty well dried up, but there is enough moisture to hold out for a few weeks before I have to irrigate. We had a couple of hot days where the plants really took off. And then it happened.

We began a building project that took most of the weekend every weekend when I had off work to do any real time consuming work. I couldn’t even get the lawn mowed until a couple of our nephews came to help on the project so that I had a few hours to at least mow the hay field, I mean the lawn. It rained every day, which made the grass and the weeds take off they were part of a race and within two weeks there were so many weeds I couldn’t find the garden. They came up primarily in the rows with the vegetables. They still did an excellent job of invading the mulch, but mostly they turned my vegetables into a jungle. I told my husband the lamb’s quarter (most prevalent) was edible; I should just harvest it and call it a day. He said he wasn’t a cow and would not eat it. Well, darn.

I spent hours pulling weeds and not making much progress. I filled bucket after bucket on the tractor and dumped them on what will be a burn pile from the tear out of the old building materials from the barn. I looked at the carnage that had once been my garden. They take as many good plants as they do other weeds because they have intertwined their roots with the good plants and their branches with the other plants’ branches. 

The weeds are still there, waving their leaves hello. If they could talk, they would be taunting me, “I thought you were getting rid of me! Hey, where’s the vegetables?”