Monday, September 10, 2012

Hay delivery system and room to move...


Saturday I went to a feed mill to get some noms for the alpacas... it was amazing to see an operation of that scale.  I am hoping that by feeding the boys the same stuff they get now, it will ease the transition a bit.

Sunday was Farm Day and it started as usual with John and I going over our plans while eating breakfast.  We decided to replace the big gate and leave the upper and lower pastures open to each other until spring.  Before winter we will seed both and hopefully come spring the boys will have some yummy grass to much.

The work started with procurement of a hay delivery device.  So we went down to The Stagecoach West and picked up this lil beauty:



This threw John into deep thought:


Oh and yes, it was easier to transport upside down:


Here it is right side up in the driveway:




The goat is adjusting well to all the improvements.  He is older and I think he really appreciates the stall mats we put down.  The alpaca feeders are just a bit out of reach for him.  That does not stop him from sniffing each one in hopes of finding some yummies in there.  When John opened the fencing to the new pasture, the goat was in his glory.  He clearly thought he was getting away with something and being naughty... which I am sure made it all the more fun for him!

While John was working on the fence, Hank and I were in the barn... with a sledge hammer and crowbar.  Hank is a retired welder, and while he is excellent at that... what that man built in wood refuses to surrender!  So then we got the chain saw....  I will admit for this desk jockey, there is something very rewarding about swinging a sledge hammer...  All I can say is that it was good Mom stayed in the house or we both would have been in trouble :-)

We had to take down a wall and move it.  This wall however was more like a large shelf built to hold a lot of weight for a very long time.  And it did it's job very well.  So when we decided to reassign it, it wasn't going without a fight.  All I could think about was the boys and how in the winter they will be reluctant to leave the warmth of the barn... so I wanted to make it as roomy as possible for them.

The old section:


The wall Hank and I moved, is the long upper piece to the left in this photo.  Originally it was in line to where the brace beam is with the underside open.  There is a rabbit hole in the exterior wall from when we had bunnies...



John was back at it today.  You can see the stall mats John installed after he and Hank put down a layer of gravel to even out the floor.

And lastly the hay delivery device was altered a bit with the addition of coated wire to help keep the hay in:


Now all it needs is a lid  :)


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