Farm tip of the day

greenhorn · #41 08/01/09, 12:21 AM

Assume any animal on a long lead (dog, goat, calf) will manage to get that lead around your leg just as they decide to bolt away. This will usually happen at night or when you have your arms full of something (like a 2 y.o.)

Also, any turkeys not securely locked up at night will NOT return in the morning unless they are a black Royal Palm.

Also (and this was referred to before) do not stop by the barn "for a quick check" on your way to work! everyone will be asking "what's that on your shoe" or "why do you smell like chevre"

copperhead46 · #42 08/01/09, 06:13 PM

I'll second that one, I never get somewhere on time if I check the animals first. We had friends visiting from Houston one summer, and she ask me what we do all day.....I said, all we have to do is walk outside, and there will be something to do, so we walked out the door, going to town to have some dinner, and there stood a bull in the front yard..............like I said, just walk out the front door, there is something to do!!!
P.J.

PKBoo · #43 10/05/09, 10:00 PM

[QUOTE]I was using a push mower to cut the grass under the bottom electric wire. All was well until I got a wheel caught in the wire. As I tilted the mower to free it, a girl suddenly screamed loudly in my ear.

A quick look confirmed that there were no girls around. It was me!

Genebo
Paradise Farm [QUOTE]

I kept trying to read this to my DH, and couldn't finish because I was laughing so hard!

lupiefarmer · #44 10/06/09, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheryl aka JM

We had that for the tip of the day several weeks ago~

No matter how hot it is roll the windows in your nice car up. Because the chickens want to know whats in there~ and they will check as soon as you turn your back. Usually they leave gifts~ if your lucky the gift is an egg where you find it right away......if your not lucky its chicken poop on the drivers seat.....if your REALLY unlucky its an egg under the drivers seat.....sitting quietly like a little sulpher filled time bomb in that very HOT car...........

Oh, and if you are really unlucky you are like I was during the summer, we found one of our Ameracunas dead in the car. She had snuck in somehow when we were getting out and it was 90 that day. We always roll up the windows for just this reason. They lay eggs everywhere - shoes in the car are their favorites! She died. It was horrid. So I guess you can add to this always check for farm animals when you roll up your windows at a farm lest you have locked them in!

francismilker · #45 10/06/09, 10:13 PM

Always shine a light back and around the bend in the haystack where the chickens like to hide their eggs. Sometimes reaching back in there blindly will discover a huge chicken snake. It's a rude awakening. I'm not "afraid" of snakes, but if I reach back into a blind hole to get eggs and grab ahold of one I usually end up screaming like a girl and running about 60mph for a few feet until I come to my senses.

genebo · #46 10/07/09, 12:42 PM

There are times when it's best to keep your mouth shut.

I learned this while spraying manure off my boots with a garden hose.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

DairyGoatSlave · #47 10/13/09, 06:53 PM

When trying to break psycho heifer, just give up and buy a donkey or a new heifer!!!!

also when washing said heifer dont lean closer for a better look at her leg, her legs are longer than you think! I learned that one yesterday, I have a hoof print on my face and my arm!

bigmudder77 · #48 10/14/09, 09:49 AM

ok some of this has been said already but i just thought id make my list of what i did or seen happen over the years

if your trying to get accrost the fence dont back you gator or 4 wheeler or what ever so close that it touches the fence you will get shocked no the tires dont make it so you can touch the fence

when working on the fence dont keep jumping over it to get to the other side when a jersey is standing there watching you (at night that jersey that watched us do that was in the front lawn)

when feeding a new calf to the bucket dont get a stool and sit there in front of it and when it sticks its head up dont just keep your head level with it there heads hurt

when having a fence thats not working dont keep putting it off when you see a cow leaning on it to get to the grass on the other side they will get out

when cleaning your barn and your the only one there lock the cows some where else dont try to open the gate go out then run back and close it the cows are faster than you are

when taking strings off a round bale that is getting attacked by cows dont try to walk around the bale wrapping the string around your arm they will go inbetween you and the bale and the string will get stuck on the bale and you will get a nice burn on your arm

when your cows get out dont let your crazy 8 month old pitbull try to help you herd them in he just trys to get in front of them and then will get ran over

also when letting him out to go potty make sure you watch him one they like cow poop and 2 he thinks they want to play when he jumps in the air and they stick there head under him and throw him in the air

dont try to ride a month old calf thats still in the pen with your milking cows they never run faster than when they hear that baby cry and get pretty mad at you

when hauling them down the road make sure your door is closed i had to get a guy to stop by getting in front of him cause his back slider door keep opening and closing when he would hit a bump

if you get a mini horse for your kids and its kinda wild dont try to show off by letting him out of the pen and trying to rid him around they yard

when trying to get your hay put in the barn and its dark and there are no lights that work any more up there remember where the holes are

when cutting down trees in your pasture make sure you dont knotch them the wrong way and have it go through the wooden fence you just made

when feeding cows and they have to stick there head through the head locks and you have never had them locked in there before dont think thats a good time to try they will all try to back up and then get locked and fall and some with fat heads will get stuck

when picking up hay that didnt get in the wagon dont try to get in all at one time with the gator then after you get 20 bales stacked up there dont think your gonna back up the barn hill with out having them fall on top of you

when pushing snow in piles and then thinking it would be fun to take the gator throug the piles think about what might be hiding behind the snow

when your drive way is all ice and you get mad and try to fly out the drive in the truck and there are a line of round bales at the end the each feild all the way down the drive and you loose control your gonna hit them and they wont move but your truck will be pretty messed up and you will be even more mad

dont leave any thing in the pens that you dont want licked or have half chewed food in (trucks roll up your windows if you go in to drop off a bale)

when its raining out side some times the red fence things that you use to open the electric fence up to drive in some times they dont work and you get shocked

when spraying bees nest during the day dont be any where around there i was 15-20ft back and a bee got me

when dealing with barb wire use a coat even if its 90 out side and gloves some times when your not paying attention they come undone from the roll and wrap your arm

when riding a dirt bike for the first time to go get the cows in and one is slow dont try to follow it going as slow as she is unless you can reach the ground with your feet when then bike is standing up

if you have a crick where your cows are and it has been raining alot and there is a stupid cow that crossed it and is now on the other side get a tractor and go fast through it dont try to walk through it dont try to drive the tractor slow walking you will get stuck and going slow with the tractor thats not 4x4 you will get stuck and have to call some one with a bigger tractor to pull you out

if you have mice by where the cows eat there grain in the barn dont set a mouse trap by it

and if you use sticky traps for inside the house and you have a cat make sure he cant get in to them

i can keep going but im getting tired of typing and im sure every one is gonna get tired of reading

lonelyfarmgirl · #49 10/15/09, 08:06 AM

Dont step through, over, or under the electric fence while it is on??
PISH POSH!

I and my husband both do this 10-20 times a day, no problem, half the time while carrying full 5 gallon buckets. We have gates in needed places, but going around to and opening the gate is many times inconvenient. In the year and a half I have been here, I have only been really shocked 3 or 4 times, and none of them were while crossing the fence line.

lonelyfarmgirl · #50 10/15/09, 08:07 AM

Oh, heres my tip. do not go out and hand feed a bucket full of apples and pears to your herd of horned beasts, then return just after dark, and with no bucket. 2 dozen horned hairys rushing you in the dark can be a bit frightning. Its a good thing they always stop at a reasonable distance.