holiday season

Some very tasty rack of lamb created by the skilled hands of my daughter

Teaching my brother in law how to operate a Skid Steer Loader.

Not a typical Christmas day activity.

video of sheep eating same bale from feeder 9 days later

Day 9 and bale is not done yet!

Its day 9 and I estimate that 10% of the bale is left to be consumed

solving problems one bunge cord at a time

Here is my solution to sheep climbing on the bale while in the feeder.

Tie the net to the top of the feeder with a bunge cord.

See the red arrows in the picture below.

one week for the bale feeder

Overcast

-30°C

Feels like -38

E 8km/h

Wind

09:13

Sunrise

16:56

Sunset

It is now a week for this bale in the feeder. 

I had to move whats left of the bale into a position for the sheep to eat without standing on their hind legs.

and then a big surprise!

The sheep are thinking that if they pretend not to notice, that maybe I won't notice either.

4 days nibbling at the bale feeder

Its hard to judge whats left of the bale, but I suspect that approximately 1/2 the bale is consumed.

  That's one hungry dog to eat that much alfalfa

video of first time bale feeder

The sheep seem to like it just fine.

We will see if this bale lasts longer than a week with a lesser amount of wastage.

 

New bale feeder in action

Almost in action.

Tried to load video but technical issues (slow internet) prevented loading.

Here are some still photos until I get the video loaded on this site. 

Its like playing with a new toy.

This summer I bought a few old and distressed pieces of equipment for a rebuild project.

By far, the most ambitious project was the  2250 Thomas Skid Steer.  

You have to ask " how could so many things be wrong at the same time"?

This Skid Steer had a seized engine, a flywheel ready to fly apart, stripped gears in gearbox, and a broken shaft on a hydraulic wheel motor .

The project is complete.
 Now the fun begins!

Here are my input costs for the project.

we will not count the time spent as it is like a hobby
 

pro rated cost and transport		$682.50
gasket material		$40.00
used gears		$340.00
engine oil and filter		$20.00
final drive oil		$102.00
hyd oil		$100.00
ignition parts		$57.00
hyd hose		$30.00
gas filters		$10.00
gearbox bearings		$105.00
hyd sight glass		$9.00
spare parts machine		$1,000.00
hyd filter		$17.00
orange paint		$25.00
engine seals front and rear		$20.00
hyd hose brackets		$20.00
total		$2,577.50

Its still a 1974 machine , but it's my machine.

Moving the new bale feeder to the corral

 Feeder is in position. 

Waiting on the sheep to finish their bale of alfalfa before I give them another.

Less is More

Just a few sets of lights and a few ornaments and its ready for the season.

Even at -30C,  they seldom go into the barn.

We have a problem here.

 

There is too much feed wasted by not having a round bale feeder.

The feed is being spread out by the sheep and used as bedding.

This is an experimental bale feeder that I have built.

The two nets are on rollers that are spring loaded to insure that the netting stay tight in contact with the round bale.

The sheep will have to eat through the 4 in squares of the netting while not being able to drag  or trample the feed.

I hope this unit is complete before I have to feed the next bale.

Another Breathtaking Sunrise

 Last night we brought our Christmas tree inside the house

 And one hour later it was open

Life is a Vacuum?

The final stage, cutting and wrapping of the five lambs from summer.

View from kitchen window

Sunrise at 9:01

Must check the water for the sheep

So far no problems

We have finished that round bale in 7 days. 

Next bale PLEASE!

-29°C

Feels like -41

NW 16km/h

Wind

09:00

Sunrise

16:55

Sunset

Fri. Morning

Variable cloudiness

-29°C

Feels like -41

P.O.P: 20%

Wind W 15 km/h

Wind gust -

Humidity 100%

Fri. Afternoon

Variable cloudiness

-24°C

Feels like -34

P.O.P: 20%

Wind W 15 km/h

Wind gust -

Humidity 83%

Fri. Evening

Variable cloudiness

-26°C

Feels like -36

P.O.P: 20%

Wind W 15 km/h

Wind gust -

Humidity 69%

Fri. Overnight

Cloudy periods

-30°C

Feels like -41

Large Square Bales

 I bought some straw square  bales for bedding. 

We will see how these large square bales work out.

They sure stack easier than round bales, They are like giant lego blocks.

Feeding the Sheep

The girls are getting their daily oat treats. 

 Broken shaft on final drive of hydraulic motor of skid steer loader.

I have been robbing parts off of a identical machine that I bought for $1000

 Rebuild almost complete.

 Just checking for leaks, installing the roll cage and installing the floor boards.

December 1 2013

Got the final shipment of alfalfa today.

A total of 35 bales weighing about 1500 lbs each.

How did she get up on the bale? I thought that only goats do that.

Looks like I better hurry up the construction of some round bale feeders.