Out Around the Barn

Well, we have done it, we have made it through our goat birthing season.  I am now at ease.  It began on Christmas Day with our first birth.  Barbie went into labor during the coldest weather, 0 degrees, and lost both of her twins.  It was so cold that she didn’t have time to clean them up before they froze.  Two days later, Noel gave birth to triplets and she lost hers as well.  By the time we got the rags and some warm water she had delivered all three and they were all still born.  Not a good start to my idea of increasing my herd.  Five days later, Polly delivered one baby, still born.  It was difficult to deal with.  I had been looking forward to the new kids and was losing them all.

It didn’t seem to matter what we did, nothing could have saved them as I look back on the situation.  I started watching my remaining four nannies on a schedule.  Checking them in the morning, at noon, afternoon, evening and before bed.  I wanted to have something set up where they could have warmth and a dry place to deliver.  So we brought in some fresh straw and with the pitchfork, scattered it around the barn and in the two jugs that we set up with the fencing supplies we had so that we could separate them and their babies would be safe from the rest of the herd.

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Today, 11/12/09,  we mourn the loss of our Belgian, Duke.  He was one of the most gentlest, big horses I have ever known.  He had a long life of 20  plus years and had competed in many horse pulls.  He was what I would consider a “Big Teddy Bear” of  horses.

My 2 yr. old niece, Kalissa, rode for the first time on Duke, as well as others over the years.  Allen’s daughter used to ride Duke and I have seen him with 5 young riders on him at one time and not even care.  He was that gentle.  Allen would just place his hand on the side of his jaw and he would go wherever, most of the time Duke would just follow him without any halter or lead rope at all and the kids just sat on his back without fear. 

When I first began being around the horses and livestock after an absence of 15 years, I had some fears to face.  I do not mind saying that Duke really intimidated me and it took me a couple of months to realize that he would not ever intentionally hurt me.  That doesn’t mean that I didn’t need to be cautious but, I could, at least, ease some of my fears.  Here we are 8 yrs. later and having conquered some of the major fears, I can now feed every animal on the farm and feel confident.  I do not, by no means, throw caution to the wind but, I do keep focused when choring and working with the animals.  Having Duke helped me conquer that fear, mostly because of his personality and his size.  I learned to work around him and therefore, it helped me with the rest of the livestock.  Now I am out there everyday and loving it, for that reason alone, I’ll remember Duke and his gentle way.

In the past year Duke’s age really began to show.  He acquired arthritis in his joints and there were days that he struggled to get around but, he continued on.  We supplemented his food with joint supplements and vitamins and I believe that one small part of his diet kept him up and going.    We knew the day would come yet, had not expected it to come so quickly.  A few days ago he got down and didn’t come to the barn.  Allen went out and helped him up and brought him to the barn.  His appetite had decreased some but not so much that it concerned me until two days ago.  I don’t have the insight that Allen has with animals and I believe he knew the worst was coming.  Two days ago it came to the point that he did not have enough strength to get up and even with help, he could not accomplish that one task.  It was then that it sank in, it would not be long before he just gave up and he did.  He just closed his eyes and slept, peacefully without pain.

So, now he is in Animal Heaven and we will miss him but, we will keep him in our hearts.

The question has been asked so I will do my best to answer.  I am no expert when it comes to building things.  I have tried my hand at tables, benches, cabinets and gates.  Those projects turned out okay but far from professional.  They did do the job they were built for but, I did learn a few things along the way.

To begin with, you need to know exactly how you want your barn built.  Will it be a Pole Barn, all open inside; will it be built with a hay loft as a second upper floor or just on one or both sides; will it have stalls to board horses and cattle or will it store farm equipment?  In other words, you will need a floor plan or blueprint.  Are you building this yourself or hiring a contractor?

If you are hiring a contractor, he/she can help you determine exactly what you will need in the form of materials like posts, screws, bolts, nails, hammers, drills, saws and etc.  The right kind of lumber makes a big difference.  It is, of course, your preference on what type you use but do make sure it can withstand the weather and if it is treated or not.  They will also be able to help you with the type of roofing materials you will need. 

One of the best ways to decide what you want is to look around your neighborhood.  Look at your neighbors barns and decide what layout you like.  Look through farm magazines and online to see if anything catches your eye.  Visit your neighbors and see how functional their barn is and if it will meet your farm needs.  Then the next thing is to jot down your thoughts on what you like and dislike.  This will help you determine what you will need in order to have a fully functional barn for your farm. 

When thinking about the layout; think about how you will use the barn.  For example; we have 5 stall on one side of the barn and 4 on the other.  The south side with 4 stalls also has a head shoot.  That side of the barn is set up for sorting and loading livestock, whether it be cattle or horses and on the outside is a catch pen.   The north side with a feed room, where we store our livestock feed, vitamins and supplements  and 5 stalls is used for our horses that we put up every evening  and if needed we will use these stalls for the bulls in the leasing/breeding season.  It, also, has a sorting corral outside.  Our stalls in the center of the barn are directly across from the other so we can run the horses straight through the barn to their pasture.  It makes it easy to move them if we need to.  Above the 5 stalls we have a hay loft and it is easy to feed the horses hay in the winter.  The rest of the barn is open to the roof for storing big hay bales, farm equipment and whatever we need to keep out of the weather.  In the front center of the barn up by the head shoot is our tack room with saddles, harnesses and all other tack close at hand.  For us, it works quite well but, even now we can think of things that we could have done differently.

So, all in all, you really just need to know what you want, talk to your neighbors and ask to see their set ups, check out magazines and online, speak with contractors and carpenters on what they would suggest as to their preferences for the materials and then go from there.  Then if you are ready to start your project, grab your wallet and go for it.

Photo is from Tri-County Barns. distributor of Barnmaster Barns, Inc. in Texas.

If you do not live on a farm or if you have never been on a farm this question is not that silly.  I was always told that no question is silly if you do not know the answer.  To someone like me, the first time I was asked this, I was surprised.  It seemed so funny that y0u wouldn’t know what is around a barn.

I guess the first thing most of us would say is animals.  Whether it be horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or whatever livestock we raise.  Then, of course, there is the feed, horse feed, cattle feed, salt blocks, minerals and cat and dog food.  Also, there is the hay for the animals to eat and straw for their bedding.

Then the next thing would be the equipment, such as, tractors, wagons, combines, disks and maybe plows.

Of course, there would be all the neccessities of farm life such as fencing supplies, shovels, rakes, pitchforks, manure spreaders, buckets, log chains, hammers, wrenches and all other kinds of tools.  

It may be surprising what you find out around the barn.  You might find lumber, where someone has been building something or horse shoes lying on the ground where they have just finished shoeing a horse, halters and bridles hanging and saddles on saddle racks in a tack room.  There will be lead ropes and sorting sticks and sorting paddles used for herding the livestock.  You might even find a skull or two of bulls or deer. 

There is just no telling what you may find.  I do know that a farm is a great place for a treasure hunt. 

Any how, these are just a few of the things you will find on a farm, out around the barn.