Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road
- Thread starter jblnut
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
cliftonbros89
Well-known member
I have to say, people say I’m busy all the time. It looks like you’ve got a lot more going on than I do.
It gets to be a challenge to keep everything floating some days but I have a wonderful wife and a VERY helpful father
That all being said, last week I became a dealer for the Poultry Hawk system I installed in the barn. First dealer in the Midwest. Hopefully I can sell a few and scale back on a few of the other things I do.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
It's turned into quite the lengthy read over the last few years !!
I was down your way last summer when we went to the Deere dealer between Ames and Nevada to bring home my International 884 !! It was rainy and crappy the whole trip so we didn't get to snoop at all the nice land down that way
Yes I read that. Im just north of Nevada. Case has a training center there next to Vetters Equipment that is really an impressive facility. One of my college buddies worked there and then returned later as a teacher for Case. And the VanWall John Deere dealer down the road just finished expanding and putting up a new massive lean-to for additional machine storage.
cliftonbros89
Well-known member
It gets to be a challenge to keep everything floating some days but I have a wonderful wife and a VERY helpful father
That all being said, last week I became a dealer for the Poultry Hawk system I installed in the barn. First dealer in the Midwest. Hopefully I can sell a few and scale back on a few of the other things I do.
That’s pretty awesome. I’ve actually been trying to think of something I could get involved with too. Something to make a little money on the side would be nice.
The chicken barn will easily replace the income I get from my in town job once it's paid for and I'm trying to diversify the income streams I have now. Selling/installing/servicing the Poultry Hawks will help a little. The chicken barn helps, I need to find another income stream before I can "retire" from working off the farm full time. Plus, three little people in daycare hits the bank account pretty hard every week. We pay almost twice as much for daycare right now as we did for our first house ...
ford33
Well-known member
Chickens look good.
What else will you be doing differently with this group?
You said the chicks could get sick from the ammonia? How and what keeps you healthy?
What else will you be doing differently with this group?
You said the chicks could get sick from the ammonia? How and what keeps you healthy?
The chicks are happy and healthy so far !! They are very active and on track to drink almost 350 gallons of water already the first day here. That's awesome !!
I messed around with the controller a lot last flock and learned a ton of different things it can do that we were not doing. I'll be doing a few things differently with the ventilation to keep it more even in the barn. We'll also be culling heavier the first few weeks. It's a lot less work than waiting until the last week when they weigh 5+ pounds !!
A lot of the things we will do differently are how we do things when we clean the barn out and get it ready again. Nothing major but a few things we've heard about or figured out the hard way will definitely be done better this next time !!
The ammonia level needs to be under 25ppm when the chicks arrive. We were at 2ppm so no worries there. The fans pull the smell and humidity out of the barn that the heaters bake out of the bedding so it stays fairly pleasant in the barn through the entire flock.
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68400BIRD
Well-known member
Just finished all 63 pages of your thread. Looked at it almost every evening for about a half hour until I was done. I think I learned a lot over the last few weeks. Love your work ethic, your humor, and your logic. The only thing I can complain about is that I'm all caught up. I'll look for your big shiny building the next time I'm on my way down to Iowa for work or my sons soccer games. LOL
gt05254
Member
Well, I just spent from 10 a.m.-ish 'til right now (4:48pm) reading this entire thread. What a phenomenal job you've done of not only handling your day to day chores and family life, but bringing us all into the loop, too.
I spent my summers on a dairy farm near Arcade, NY, and got my B.S. (wildlife science) at Cornell, on the Ag. campus. Also, prior to that, got an A.A.S. at one of NY's 2-year colleges in central NY, where my work-study job was on the college's dairy farm.
I just can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your work. Thank you for sharing your time with us.
Gary
I spent my summers on a dairy farm near Arcade, NY, and got my B.S. (wildlife science) at Cornell, on the Ag. campus. Also, prior to that, got an A.A.S. at one of NY's 2-year colleges in central NY, where my work-study job was on the college's dairy farm.
I just can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your work. Thank you for sharing your time with us.
Gary
When people tell me they've taken the time to read through this whole thread it humbles me a little. I enjoy what I do at the in town job, on the farm and love my family like there's no end in sight. I also very much enjoy showing others what the farm life is all about. I like knowing where my day-to-day common goods come from and I like being able to share with everyone the little bit of the food chain that I am a part of !!
I am getting REALLY antsy for spring to arrive so I can take a few weeks off and do what I really enjoy .... driving tractors !!! I'm really just a big kid I guess
We've had a few days of this **** and it doesn't look like winter is ever going to end as we're suppose to get another 5-6" on Sunday. Argh.
I got home yesterday and this **** was built up around my wheels. Almost impressive really how it can build up that much !!
Today we started another ID project on a farm. I'll throw some more pictures up tomorrow of the equipment. We got into a few gnarly spots today to run the wires where we needed too. This is Mike the electrician. He volunteered to go in here and I did not fight him for it !!
This is a neat simple trick I like to use to hold my impact when working off a ladder. A pair of screws and a long 1/4" driver hold it right nice.
I got home today and this was sitting by the front door. A brand new Ryobi brushless sawzall. This thing feels like it weighs twice as much as Ol' Blue. I tore through a couple 2x4's and it's quite the machine. TONS more power than Ol' Blue !! Ol' Blue will go in the chicken barn and this one is going to live in the shop.
I got home yesterday and this **** was built up around my wheels. Almost impressive really how it can build up that much !!
Today we started another ID project on a farm. I'll throw some more pictures up tomorrow of the equipment. We got into a few gnarly spots today to run the wires where we needed too. This is Mike the electrician. He volunteered to go in here and I did not fight him for it !!
This is a neat simple trick I like to use to hold my impact when working off a ladder. A pair of screws and a long 1/4" driver hold it right nice.
I got home today and this was sitting by the front door. A brand new Ryobi brushless sawzall. This thing feels like it weighs twice as much as Ol' Blue. I tore through a couple 2x4's and it's quite the machine. TONS more power than Ol' Blue !! Ol' Blue will go in the chicken barn and this one is going to live in the shop.
National Beer Day yesterday. I had to make sure I was ready with the glass bottles of beer flavored water I like so much !!
We worked on getting the other half of the barn ready again today. Dad got all the feeders turned from feed to flood. Takes about a half hour when we put them waist height.
We take the sight glasses off the water lines when we raise them to clean the barn. They'd hit the ceiling and break off otherwise. We put these plugs in to keep them from leaking until the sight glasses go back in.
To flush the lines out I run a peroxide solution through them to flush out anything that may have built up last flock. The solution sits in the lines for a few days until we run clean water through them the day before the birds move over there.
I found these wild turkey tracks between the chicken barn and the steer barn. Good grief. I couldn't imagine dealing with turkeys, they get huge !!
I wonder who put that square there and what will go there one day
We worked on getting the other half of the barn ready again today. Dad got all the feeders turned from feed to flood. Takes about a half hour when we put them waist height.
We take the sight glasses off the water lines when we raise them to clean the barn. They'd hit the ceiling and break off otherwise. We put these plugs in to keep them from leaking until the sight glasses go back in.
To flush the lines out I run a peroxide solution through them to flush out anything that may have built up last flock. The solution sits in the lines for a few days until we run clean water through them the day before the birds move over there.
I found these wild turkey tracks between the chicken barn and the steer barn. Good grief. I couldn't imagine dealing with turkeys, they get huge !!
I wonder who put that square there and what will go there one day
red
Well-known member
National Beer Day yesterday. I had to make sure I was ready with the glass bottles of beer flavored water I like so much !!
I wonder who put that square there and what will go there one day
Definitely not someone celebrating national beer day . . . lines are too straight
Everything is as OK as is can be. I've been busier than a termite in a sawmill this last week.
I purchased 28 508lb calves on Tuesday. They look super sharp. I decided to ask if I could get them direct off the farm this time instead of buying them through the cattle sales barn and it paid off !! They brought them right out to me and they are happy to be here.
They are on the far end of the barn. We stock them deep because we sell them cheap !!
I got a glimpse of my next project at work. This is my newest server closet I get to fill up with networking stuff. This project is MUCH closer to home so no BS out of town overnight ****.
I started a GEA CowScout activity monitoring system last week Thursday and finished it Tuesday. It all turned out pretty nice and worked right away when I put power to it !! This is one of the antenna assemblies.
This antenna is remote mounted in a barn 1,000' away from the others and will have a wireless link back to the other system.
The antenna needs 24v DC power as does the Ubiquiti NanoStation I'll be installing so I got creative. Using an Allen Bradley 24v DC power supply I can power both devices at once. It'll use a MikroTek inline power injector to power the NanoStation. The NanoStation isn't hung yet and will plug into the other end of the power injector. Should work and be trouble free for years.
The ol' man van has really gotten dirty the last few days with all the slop and mud !!
OMG the mud is something awful !!!!
Going to back drag the entire chicken barn driveway to hopefully smooth things off a bit and get rid of some ruts.
The next thing to tackle was this stupid lake on the turn around pad for the chicken barn. It's only a few inch's deep but the feed trucks need the area to turn around and I REALLY don't want them getting stuck out here !!
Lots of frozen junk in the ditch to be removed.
It was fairly deep in spots.
I dropped the bucket and pushed a bunch of water a few times through the path I made and it worked great !!
The fish eye leans on the ol' smrtfone makes things look goofy !!
We're forecasted to get a 10-12" of snow today-sunday and it has begun
It went from a few flakes to a damn blizzard in about 2.5 seconds.
OMG the mud is something awful !!!!
Going to back drag the entire chicken barn driveway to hopefully smooth things off a bit and get rid of some ruts.
The next thing to tackle was this stupid lake on the turn around pad for the chicken barn. It's only a few inch's deep but the feed trucks need the area to turn around and I REALLY don't want them getting stuck out here !!
Lots of frozen junk in the ditch to be removed.
It was fairly deep in spots.
I dropped the bucket and pushed a bunch of water a few times through the path I made and it worked great !!
The fish eye leans on the ol' smrtfone makes things look goofy !!
We're forecasted to get a 10-12" of snow today-sunday and it has begun
It went from a few flakes to a damn blizzard in about 2.5 seconds.
ford33
Well-known member
Seeing all that snow in April it made me think of a few questions for you.
With snow falling in mid-April what is the length of your crop growing season? Does it limit you in the crops you can grow?
Is poultry and dairy farming the primary business for farmers in your area due to the cold weather?
Also, with your experience with cows and chickens, how difficult would be be to also farm pigs?
Thanks.
With snow falling in mid-April what is the length of your crop growing season? Does it limit you in the crops you can grow?
Is poultry and dairy farming the primary business for farmers in your area due to the cold weather?
Also, with your experience with cows and chickens, how difficult would be be to also farm pigs?
Thanks.
The growing season is always different every year. We will be planting less wheat and oats this year because they should be planted in April if possible. They will grow if planted later but neither crop likes the hot dry weather in July/August so it's ideal to plant them early so they are not doing any major growing when they are stressed by the heat.
There is A LOT of dairy farming in this area. There are also a lot of chicken/turkey barns in this area. Dairy farms need a fair amount of land to produce the feed needed to feed that animals as well as land to spread the manure on. There are dairy farms up in Canada that deal with more cold/snow than we do and survive just fine.
I know a few people with dairy cows, a chicken barn and a pig barn so I would say it isn't that difficult. A contract pig barn is about an $850,000 investment so I won't be able to build one for a while even if I wanted too .....
I went out to the barn to check the steers this morning and was greeted by a 3' drift. This winter BS is getting OLD !!
There is about 6" of snow that blew into the West two pens. The cattle are all wet and look sad.
I pushed the snow out of the pens and brought in some soybean straw. They are much happier now !!
Since it is 20F, snowing and blowing like crazy we figured it'd be a perfect day to go to an auction and stand outside.
The auction was roughly 20 miles North of us and not a single snowflake had fallen there so far. I was able to purchase a nice deep bucket. It'll go on the grapple. I'll show y'alls why it's gonna be nice to have a narrower and deeper bucket next time I clean out the barn.
The steers are all full of snow again. Man this *****.
On a fun note, I made Leo a 75' CJ5 Jeep Wrangler to play with. He approved !!
There is about 6" of snow that blew into the West two pens. The cattle are all wet and look sad.
I pushed the snow out of the pens and brought in some soybean straw. They are much happier now !!
Since it is 20F, snowing and blowing like crazy we figured it'd be a perfect day to go to an auction and stand outside.
The auction was roughly 20 miles North of us and not a single snowflake had fallen there so far. I was able to purchase a nice deep bucket. It'll go on the grapple. I'll show y'alls why it's gonna be nice to have a narrower and deeper bucket next time I clean out the barn.
The steers are all full of snow again. Man this *****.
On a fun note, I made Leo a 75' CJ5 Jeep Wrangler to play with. He approved !!
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Jeez, look at all that white ****! 
The snow really *****, but it's even worse when the wind blows it everywhere you don't want it. I'm spoiled right now, all my white **** has melted & the grass is getting green.
Boy, Leo sure is getting big, isn't he?
The snow really *****, but it's even worse when the wind blows it everywhere you don't want it. I'm spoiled right now, all my white **** has melted & the grass is getting green. Boy, Leo sure is getting big, isn't he?
Well I guess we should consider ourselves lucky to only get around 8" total snow. South of us a few hours in Canby, MN they had an official measured amount of 23.5". Good grief what a mess that must be !!!Jeez, look at all that white ****!
Boy, Leo sure is getting big, isn't he?
This weekend Leo perfected the art of pulling himself up onto EVERYTHING and standing/wobbling next to whatever he could. Before long he'll be telling me what to plant where and other crazy things like Ford makes the best truck or that he won't drive anything other than a Versatile and we need to get one. Crazy kids
XJSuperman
Well-known member
We've got 3-5" of snow predicted here in central Iowa today, but so far, nothing is accumulating in DesMoines. Up north of Ames its like a whole different region sometimes so we'll see what thats like when I get home.
Tomorrow will be almost 50deg out. Mother Nature can **** it.
Tomorrow will be almost 50deg out. Mother Nature can **** it.
Good grief we had an unneeded adventure last night. About 11:30pm I got a call from the feed mill saying the feed truck was stuck in my yard. I went to investigate and almost immediately determined there was no way I could safely pull out a fully loaded truck. He was mired in up to the start of the rims on all six axles and he hadn't even gotten to the worst spot yet. I called the feed mill back and said I wouldn't be able to get him out so they called a wrecker. He had to tug pretty good but he came out.
cliftonbros89
Well-known member
It looks like you’ve been having a lot of unwanted excitement lately
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
They're making a delivery at 11:30 PM? 
Whodathunk.
Whodathunk.
sublime68charger
Well-known member
so who gets the tow bill on that?
wont be cheap that is for sure.
it could have been worse you get a call and the feed truck is tipped over in your yard!
Be glad this happened on a night you was at home and not in a hotel room 150 miles away.
wont be cheap that is for sure.
it could have been worse you get a call and the feed truck is tipped over in your yard!
Be glad this happened on a night you was at home and not in a hotel room 150 miles away.
ford33
Well-known member
You had mentioned that you wanted to fix that turn around. I guess you have to move it up the list.
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Looks like it's time to asphalt the place!
STClurker
Well-known member
was that Tobie or Rob that got him unstuck?
STClurker
Well-known member
They're making a delivery at 11:30 PM?
Whodathunk.
seems like thats the only time they get stuck, I've been out later than that getting the out
They deliver feed 24hrs a day Monday - Saturday.They're making a delivery at 11:30 PM?
Whodathunk.
The feed mill picks up the tow bill. They will be coming out during the day from now on so we can hook a tractor to the front of the truck to keep him moving without getting stuck.
He got stuck before he got to the bins !! There is a new soft spot that needs attention before next year.
I was thinking 12" of concrete with fiber, mesh and rebar should do the trickLooks like it's time to asphalt the place!
cliftonbros89
Well-known member
We just got started in the field yesterday. Nice to be getting something done for once. Kind of a weird year. Some guys are already planting corn and others haven’t even started working ground.
This morning I leveled off the area by the barns again with the 7400 and loader. It is drying up pretty quick now that it's warming up finally !! The poor tractor is in dire need of a bath though ... it is VERY dirty !!
We changed oil on the 884, 7400, 7810 and 7630 today. This is the front driveshaft protector on the 7400. I'm guessing you can imagine how well this works !!
Yup. It makes a mess.
If you've never used a strap wrench this is a good example of when one is useful. My grandfather made this one out of some square tubing and an old seatbelt. Works splendid.
The 7630 will be getting new tires this week so we took the duals off.
I'm very impressed with this Ryobi 1/2" impact. It loosened all the lug bolts on both duals. They're put on there with a 3/4" drive breaker bar with a 4' pipe that I sit on. Do the math if you'd like, there's a fair bit of force tightening them.
Next onto another project. The front passenger side brake is constantly sticking on the Ranger and I've disassembled, cleaned and reassembled 3 times. It's time for some new parts. I gotta get it out of the holes it's sunk into though !!
Old stuff coming out. I decided to do pads and calipers on both front's so they pull the same and are the same age.
The pads on the passenger side had heated up so hot a few times and literally fell apart when I took the caliper off.
All Ford OEM Reman stuff I got off Rockauto. If I remember correctly it was $88 shipped for both calipers and a set of front brake pads. I didn't think that was too bad.
The brake light wasn't on before, now it's on letting me know the new brakes work !!!
We changed oil on the 884, 7400, 7810 and 7630 today. This is the front driveshaft protector on the 7400. I'm guessing you can imagine how well this works !!
Yup. It makes a mess.
If you've never used a strap wrench this is a good example of when one is useful. My grandfather made this one out of some square tubing and an old seatbelt. Works splendid.
The 7630 will be getting new tires this week so we took the duals off.
I'm very impressed with this Ryobi 1/2" impact. It loosened all the lug bolts on both duals. They're put on there with a 3/4" drive breaker bar with a 4' pipe that I sit on. Do the math if you'd like, there's a fair bit of force tightening them.
Next onto another project. The front passenger side brake is constantly sticking on the Ranger and I've disassembled, cleaned and reassembled 3 times. It's time for some new parts. I gotta get it out of the holes it's sunk into though !!
Old stuff coming out. I decided to do pads and calipers on both front's so they pull the same and are the same age.
The pads on the passenger side had heated up so hot a few times and literally fell apart when I took the caliper off.
All Ford OEM Reman stuff I got off Rockauto. If I remember correctly it was $88 shipped for both calipers and a set of front brake pads. I didn't think that was too bad.
The brake light wasn't on before, now it's on letting me know the new brakes work !!!