Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road

[jblnut]

Mick, Home Depot sells 40-pound 12" concrete pole barn biscuits:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/40-lb-Round-Concrete-Pole-Barn-Biscuit-407300/202525062


BUT Hansen [Pole] Buildings doesn't recommend them:
https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/08/hurl-yourconcrete-cookies/

Meh. It's pretty clear the Hansen Pole Building guy has an agenda. He makes a few good points but overall he's trying to sell his product and he does a good job of it. These cookies are 24" diamater and 6" thick if you'd like to to the math. The bottom of the holes is pure untouched clay so a cookie is just fine with me. They drill a 30" hole and set the cookie in it. The guy that built the hay shed and first part of the steer barn used a 24" bit and poured 6" of mud into it. Same exact product in the end. Both work and both make me happy. We have a bunch of sheds that have been around on the farm for 40+ years with nothing under the poles. Drill an 8" hold and throw a 6x6 into it and away we go. They are all still in great shape so having a 24" cookie under it is great in my opinion !!

Just made it through 96 pages over the last few days. I grew up in the country and spent a lot of my youth cutting, raking and bailing. Fantastic thread here with a look into parts of farming I'm not familiar with. Thanks for all of the great detail, pictures and comedy.

I work in tech as well, but have to say, your job looks far more fun. Years back I worked for a wireless internet provider and installed repeaters and subscriber gear on lots of silo's in the southern Michigan area. I had no idea that farm tech had gotten as advanced as it has.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking forward to more!

Brian

Hopefully I get to post some more pics of cutting, raking and bailing both corn straw and meadow hay this year yet. Tomorrow I hope to stalk chop 20 acres of corn stalks and 20 acres of meadow and get them baled on Saturday if all goes well. Things have frozen up nicely in the meadow and there is very little snow out there so it should work !!!

Thanks for following along and I appreciate the kind words

 

[jblnut]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want the feed room put together in the barn addition. I should be able to get about 700bu in there when all is said and done. Because the corn will be in there now and not in the gravity boxes I'll be able to keep the feed alley open and put the gravity boxes back on the road hauling corn.

Dad and I finished setting the chicken barn up this morning. Chicks are suppose to come around 3pm today. This is "water line paper". It's a cross between toilet paper and that really thin paper used for packing gifts and I can't remember what that **** is called at the moment. Anyway, the paper makes noise when the chicks step on it and the noise attracts more chicks so they drink more water. If they don't find water and feed soon after being in the barn they won't do as well the entire flock.

While we were waiting for chicks to come we got some odds and ends done. The auger was still up on top of the last bin we filled so it came down, got serviced and put away until next fall.

I also got four fence posts put by the bridge in the meadow. Last spring the meadow flooded and the bridge floated up and traveled a few hundred feet away. We found it just about into the creek this summer. I tied a piece of twine to each post and each corner of the bridge to keep it in place. Hopefully it works.

The chicken carrier basket we built back in post #1465 needs a trailer to ride around on so I repurposed an old trailer that had already been repurposed from a popup camper into a trailer. It had a stupid 1-7/8" ball hitch so that had to go.

Not sure where this stub of a hitch came from but it'll work great !!! Three 1/2" cheese-grade bolts should hold just dandy

When in need for something I don't have, such as a pair of big washers and a REALLY big washer I do what anyone would do. Head to the closest scrap pile and rummage around until you find what you need !! An old pulley, a large round piece of plate and an old chisel plow point will work nicely.

Annnnnnnnd the chicks are here !!

Cute little fuzz balls for a few weeks at least. This little guy fell off the cart somehow so I brought him to the other end by the rest of his buddies

Leo was so excited he just kept pointing and yelling chicken sounds at the top of his little lungs. It was hilarious !!!

It took him about 3.5 seconds to work up the courage to touch the baskets. I didn't get a picture of him trying to scale the stack to the top because I was busy dragging him against his will over to his mother so she could keep an eye on him !!

Once that commotion was over we set out to get the 884 and skid loader in the little shed in a shed. I want a tractor large enough to run the generator inside a warm building so I can pull it out ASAP when it's needed and it's warm and ready to go. The shed in a shed looks quite large when it's empty ...

But fills up fast with the 884 and skiddy in there !! They fit and that's all that matters.

The mailman brought me something that is almost as good as a solid gold bar. Panduit tools
Er'ma'gawsh these are sweet little nippers !!!

 

[Farmall450]

That 884 is a sweet little unit.

Plenty of buildings are doing just fine on biscuits.

 

[jblnut]

Yesterday was a mash up of a bunch of stuff. We hauled some hay over to put in the steer barn so we didn't have to haul a bale or two every week. Plus it freed up space in the hay shed by dad to store more machinery.


26 bales fit in the barn without being in the way. Should be enough for a few months.


We like to get all the chaff and fines cleaned up under the dryer before it gets wet and frozen but hadn't yet so that happened. Good grief what a nasty mess it gets to be when it sits and gets wet !!



I'm not sure if anyone else on here has a Morton's Building with sliding doors but they use really stout deals in the concrete where the doors meet. As nice as they are to keep things secure they destroy tires when you drive over them. Dad built simple pyramid shaped ramps years back and they work amazing !!


Speaking of things that are amazing this little rocker switch in the skid loader is the best money you can spend with buying a skid loader. Hydraulic quick attach aka "Bobtach". No getting out to flip the levers on the buckets !!


I hooked the chicken basket trailer up after Dad screwed some pallets down to the floor. The pallets will keep the basket up high enough to clear tires while hauling the basket.


I brought the girls along to pick the basket up from the guy I own it with and the girls both fell asleep within 5 miles of home. They slept for almost an hour on the way down there, loading it up, and back home. Little loafers


Now that everything is fairly well frozen up I was able to munch down some grass and brush with the skid loader mower. The more I use this thing the more I like it. It eats everything I throw at it. That being said, I did find it's limits. There were a few brush clumps by my mailbox that needed to go and at the center of them all was a 3" diameter tree. The mower knocked it down and chewed it up but it stopped it when it wrapped around under the mower at one point !!

 

[jblnut]

That 884 is a sweet little unit.

Plenty of buildings are doing just fine on biscuits.

That sweet little unit of a tractor needs a T/A, parking brake and some clutch work. I was quoted $6,000 from a guy who fixes strictly older IH stuff and $8,000 at the local dealer. My $9,500 884 will now be worth exactly $9,500 after I stick $6,000 into it. Or sell it for $4k (maybe) and look for something else that will have it's own set of issues.

Gonna fix it and keep it. Not going to fix the parking brake but the T/A and clutch will be done after the current flock of chickens goes out. Should be around 1-7-19.

 

[peth]

Hydraulic QA really is one of those options you will never do without once you've used it once. Especially if you are switching buckets all the time and things are frozen up.

 

[Bob Heine]

I brought the girls along to pick the basket up from the guy I own it with and the girls both fell asleep within 5 miles of home. They slept for almost an hour on the way down there, loading it up, and back home. Little loafers

I think it's a side effect from working two jobs. Day job cleaning out the pantry and night job growing.

 

[jeepxj]

Did you mount the generator on a 3pt setup?

 

[jwith68]

That sweet little unit of a tractor needs a T/A, parking brake and some clutch work. I was quoted $6,000 from a guy who fixes strictly older IH stuff and $8,000 at the local dealer. My $9,500 884 will now be worth exactly $9,500 after I stick $6,000 into it. Or sell it for $4k (maybe) and look for something else that will have it's own set of issues.

Gonna fix it and keep it. Not going to fix the parking brake but the T/A and clutch will be done after the current flock of chickens goes out. Should be around 1-7-19.

I'd for sure fix it and keep it. I'd be lost without my 574, your 884's smaller, but older, brother. Having a good clutch is a necessity, but I think I'd consider fixing the parking brake and not the T/A. I know your ground is flatter than mine in MO, but I can't get along without a working park brake or lock. You may already be aware of this, but the park brake in the 74 & 84 series IH can be changed through the side cover, no splitting needed. It would be helpful to have very skinny, 12" long fingers, but it can be done with normal hands in a pinch. The T/A is the big dollar item anyway, at least from a parts standpoint.

 

[Farmall450]

That sweet little unit of a tractor needs a T/A, parking brake and some clutch work. I was quoted $6,000 from a guy who fixes strictly older IH stuff and $8,000 at the local dealer. My $9,500 884 will now be worth exactly $9,500 after I stick $6,000 into it. Or sell it for $4k (maybe) and look for something else that will have it's own set of issues.

Gonna fix it and keep it. Not going to fix the parking brake but the T/A and clutch will be done after the current flock of chickens goes out. Should be around 1-7-19.

That seems excessive on one of those little guys.
Sounds like a good winter project for you

 

[jblnut]

Hydraulic QA really is one of those options you will never do without once you've used it once. Especially if you are switching buckets all the time and things are frozen up.

Using Dad's S185 really makes me appreciate the chunk of pipe I use to actuate my quick attach levers on my 763

I think it's a side effect from working two jobs. Day job cleaning out the pantry and night job growing.

When asked "when did you get so big" they always reply "in my sleep, duh Dad!!"

Did you mount the generator on a 3pt setup?

I reread that and I want the tractor that will run the generator to be in a warm building. I guess it reads as the tractor will run the generator in the warm building. My bad. I'm only a wordsmith level 4 so I've got a long way to go to master this goofy language.

I'd for sure fix it and keep it. I'd be lost without my 574, your 884's smaller, but older, brother. Having a good clutch is a necessity, but I think I'd consider fixing the parking brake and not the T/A. I know your ground is flatter than mine in MO, but I can't get along without a working park brake or lock. You may already be aware of this, but the park brake in the 74 & 84 series IH can be changed through the side cover, no splitting needed. It would be helpful to have very skinny, 12" long fingers, but it can be done with normal hands in a pinch. The T/A is the big dollar item anyway, at least from a parts standpoint.

We did the parking brake on the 784 we no longer have back when and I'm pretty sure the fuel tank had to come off. I remember it being not much fun. That brake worked less than it didn't and we learned to deal with it. It's not often it can't be shut down in gear or parked on a levelish spot. I have no ideal why it's so spendy to fix the T/A .... Good grief.

That seems excessive on one of those little guys.
Sounds like a good winter project for you

Winter of 2045 by the time I'll get to it if it gets put on the list right now. So it seems some days anyway.

 

[Farmall450]

Eh, you don't really need a parking brake anyhow

 

[jeepxj]

ahh so you leave the genset outside and just hook it up when needed. Sounds cold. get that all pre hooked up

 

[jblnut]

Eh, you don't really need a parking brake anyhow

We managed with the 784 for a few decades so I'm sure we'll be okay with no parking brake on the 884 for a few decades as well

ahh so you leave the genset outside and just hook it up when needed. Sounds cold. get that all pre hooked up

It may be a PITA, don't know yet. Haven't needed it when it's cold yet

 

[jblnut]

This time we pulled the short straw twice. We got a split flock of chicks so 12,400 came Friday and the other 32,600 came yesterday. We pulled the short straw twice because we didn't get the moffet truck the second time. We used the basket I built a while back.


The last 4 stacks coming in. I can fit 8 stacks or 8,000 chicks at one time.


Loaded up ready to travel again if needed.


All 45,000 little peepers are in here now !!


We were hoping it would freeze up and dry down enough so we could make some more corn straw and it did so away we go !!


Ommm nom nom chopping those stalks !!


I decided to try chopping some of the frozen meadow as well. No way you can get anywhere near the creek in the summer !!


The stalk chopper is a giant flail mower and does a really nice job of grinding the meadow hay up.


Sure makes a dusty mess though !!


When I got back to Dads farm to put the tractor and chopper away for the night (it was 11pm after all) I noticed a tire was flat.


Nice little pin sized hole in the tube.


Time to break out the tube repair supplies !!


The entire time I was doing this all I could think of was oldironfarmer and him running tires so far down that the tubes would wear through


Throw the valve stem securing device on and stuff the tube in the tire !!


And another set of lug bolts the $79 impact took off and put back on without issue. Continually amazed with this thing for the price.

 

[jblnut]

A neighbor was able to bale some more bedding and meadow for us yesterday.
There were 101 bales total. 81 corn straw and 20 meadow. Rather disappointing that there weren't more in the meadow.


As much as it seemed like there was out there it didn't yield very well. Maybe it packs together better when it's all chopped up. Who knows ??

 

[C_F]

Does your "water line paper" seem to be working well, with the little chicks?

Since you continue to be impressed with your Ryobi impact, I think I may now have a new item on my Christmas list.

 

[jblnut]

Does your "water line paper" seem to be working well, with the little chicks?

Since you continue to be impressed with your Ryobi impact, I think I may now have a new item on my Christmas list.

The baby chicks are attracted to noise so the rustling of the paper while they're walking on it attracts them to it so they drink more water. It works very well. When you look down the barn the water lines that have the paper under them are completely full with chicks drinking. The two lines that do not get paper because they are lifted up so we have room to drive in and out while unloading the checks are only about half full.

I bought a Ryobi tool set back when they were still blue and they are all still going. Because of this, I have added more Ryobi tools to the collection over the years and it made sense for me to give their impact a try before I bought a different brand. That being said, we have all DeWalt 20 volt Max stuff at work and although that half inch impact is pretty sweet I haven't found something this Ryobi won't do at home.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Looking good!

I think the paper name you were trying to think of is tissue paper, confusing when compared to toilet paper.

Do you use baby powder in your tires to help the tubes slip when you cycle the air out and back in?

I liked seeing you pick up that one chick. He appreciated it too.

 

[jblnut]

Looking good!

I think the paper name you were trying to think of is tissue paper, confusing when compared to toilet paper.

Do you use baby powder in your tires to help the tubes slip when you cycle the air out and back in?

I liked seeing you pick up that one chick. He appreciated it too.

Tissue paper !!! That's it !!! Way more like tissue paper than toilet paper. Only similarity the water line paper has to toilet paper is that they both come rolled up. Most tissue paper I see comes in boxes of stuff my wife wears

I usually use baby powder but the 11pm time frame made me dissremember it. Baby powder helps tubes set soooooo nicely !!

Every little chick counts. They all need a chance to grow up to be proud chicken wings covered in BBQ sauce !!

 

[jblnut]

Time to bring the bales home before they get snowed on


If you want to make sure your bones are all still connected firmly to each other drive a skid loader across a frozen corn field. Goodness it's rough !!!


Pops was going pretty slow with this first load as it was leaning badly. Someone didn't stack it very well


If the frozen corn field didn't rattle all my fillings out the meadow sure did. Holy bumpy Batman !!


I think I've said "Well good, now we're done for the year" at least three times already this fall but we're done now for sure. Time to take the winter off and just feed the chickens and steers and wait for things to warm up. Already looking forward to when the snow is gone

 

[Farmall450]

Well, don't hold your breath {for the snow to be gone}.

 

[jblnut]

Well, don't hold your breath {for the snow to be gone}.

Snow isn't good for much but it does give us some downtime to get ready for next year I guess.

 

[jblnut]

Last Friday I pulled the short straw and had to drive 4.5hrs away to preform surgery on a Lely A3 milking robot. The roads were better up north than they are down here !!

Somehow a spunky heifer got into the robot room and busted up a bunch of stuff. The worst casualty was the main control screen for the robot. Without it the robot is dead in the water.

I ordered myself a new "Jet Blower" to use in the chicken barn when I didn't want to start the backpack blower. Mostly to use if/when needed while the birds are in the barn.

I made a quick and dirty 90 for the end to direct the air on top of the heaters. Unbelievable how dusty it was up there !!

Saturday I loaded up the 4-wheeler and thought "why not bring the yard trailer along as well?" If it looks stupid but it works than it's not stupid !!

Dad and I set our sights on a couple trees that needed to come down and be turned into firewood.

It doesn't look very big but when I tried to hug the trunk there was about a foot between my fingers. Lots of wood in this one !!

Loading up the first load of big splitter chunks.

Eight pieces and the trailer was screaming that it was full !! Dad and I struggled to lift a few of them into it.

I hauled five loads of splitters and there is still more out there.

 

[Riley]

Always read the updates. Nice to be able to reflect on the idea of a work ethic equals success. Thank you and your family for everything you do!

 

[XJSuperman]

I think this is called "Minnesota doubles". My understanding is that it applies to atvs, yard carts, campers, and boats.

 

[C_F]

Looks like you have an endless supply of firewood in that spot.

 

[oldironfarmer]

I'll be impressed if you can back that rig over five feet.

Heifers traditionally have difficulty learning to use touch pads.

Nice trees. Red oak?

 

[Terrick down Under]

I'll be impressed if you can back that rig over five feet.

That sounds like a challenge to me...….being so short it would be very challenging to do.

 

[cvairwerks]

I'll be impressed if you can back that rig over five feet.

The question is, was that with or without jack knifing one or both of the trailers....

 

[jblnut]

Always read the updates. Nice to be able to reflect on the idea of a work ethic equals success. Thank you and your family for everything you do!

Thanks for following along !!!

I think this is called "Minnesota doubles". My understanding is that it applies to atvs, yard carts, campers, and boats.

It's bonkers how many tri-axle 5th wheel campers with a monster ski boat behind them rigs I see going down the interstate up here. Something about it seems questionable especially when the driver is probably used to driving a Ford Focus on a daily basis

Looks like you have an endless supply of firewood in that spot.

We are lucky to have an abundance of nice wooded land we can pull from when needed !!!

Heifers traditionally have difficulty learning to use touch pads.

Nice trees. Red oak?

The cut up trees in the pictures are indeed Red Oaks.

I've never tried to train a heifer to use the E-Link screen. That'd be a bit weird though, a cow milking itself .....

I'll be impressed if you can back that rig over five feet.

That sounds like a challenge to me...….being so short it would be very challenging to do.

The question is, was that with or without jack knifing one or both of the trailers....

The first thing a farm kid learns how to do growing up is how to back trailers. I had a 2-wheel trailer (think boat trailer or any normal trailer you'd pull with a car or truck) mastered while still riding my pedal tractor. I learned to back a 4-wheel trailer (two pivot points) from my Grandpa while driving the Farmall H I now use in the chicken barn. Two 4-wheel trailers is tougher but not impossible. A 2-wheel trailer with a 4-wheel trailer hooked behind is REALLY hard but a 4-wheel trailer with a 2-wheel trailer behind it is quite easy. The Ranger, 4-wheeler and yard trailer would not be an issue.

One day I'll back this post up with a few videos

 

[Zexx]

Did you ever get the brake light to go off on that Ford?

 

[oldironfarmer]

Full disclosure, I can't back a four wheel trailer anywhere except relatively straight. My cousins on the farm could but we left the farm when I was 3.

During a refinery turnaround the contractor was using forklifts to move exchanger bundles on four wheel JD trailers fitted with half circle saddles to hold the bundles. Standard refinery procedure. On this job we had a dead end alley with a 90 degree branch part way down, a couple of hundred feet total. They would back the trailer in with several laborers, then drive the forklift in and hook it up to pull the load out. Going back in was going to be worse but they would probably pull the bundle in, lift it off with the crane, then hand back the trailer out. I wandered up and asked the foreman why they didn't back the trailer in with the forklift. He said you can't do that. I suggested they ask if they had any farm boys on the crew who could back a trailer. To my surprise he immediately asked his immediate crew and a young man volunteered. Of course he didn't have forklift certification. The foreman really surprised me then, he said he would personally monitor him operating the forklift if the guy could really back the trailer and told the crew to back it around the 90 degree corner. The boy says why can't I back it from here. It was fun watching a new hire laborer show the experienced guys how it's done. They were all watching with their jaws dropped.

Hijack over...

 

[jblnut]

Did you ever get the brake light to go off on that Ford?

Sort of. I put a piece of TLFET over it. (Trouble Light Fix Electrical Tape)

Full disclosure, I can't back a four wheel trailer anywhere except relatively straight. My cousins on the farm could but we left the farm when I was 3.

It was fun watching a new hire laborer show the experienced guys how it's done. They were all watching with their jaws dropped.

Hijack over...

I welcome hijacks !!

I must admit that I enjoy watching people try to back trailers. We have a new hire at work who is an overly confident fellow and was trying to back the skid loader trailer into it's parking spot a few days back and couldn't get more than 15' without jackknifing it something horrible. I knocked on the window and told him I could do it without turning my head around to look out the back window. He laughed and hopped out. I hopped in and didn't once move my head and put that trailer right where it belonged. I hopped out, handed him the keys and told him I must have gotten lucky

 

[jblnut]

Last night the chicken barn called me and told me it was grumpy. Seems Temp Sensor #2 has disappeared from the screen. Hopefully the chickens didn't eat it !!


Seems as if moisture had gotten into the wire nuts that connect the sensor wire to the wire that runs to the controller. I put some electrical schmoo in the wire nuts and it has been fine since !!


While I was in there and sweaty I decided to pick up the small starter feed trays. There are 396 of them and by now they're filled with shavings and pooooooop.


Nasty sweaty job working in 83F heat and 67% humidity. A good standing by the fan is a welcome thing !!


Big pile ol' pile of feed trays !!


I also pulled the dividers out so they can go in the whole barn now. Lots of room to roam about !!!


Just for giggles I went around to the fan side of the barn and saw some yummy looking icicles hanging from the fans.


When they turn on it sure makes a steamy mess !!


In the interest of not spending $6-8,000 to fix the 884 I decided to do it myself. A good start is to go over the service manuals to see what I'm in for !!!

 

[Sifan]

LOL old farm boy here When I was 13, my Dad put my cousin and I to work loading out semi trucks for the grain elevator he managed. The remote government bin site was made for tractors and wagons, no room to turn a semi around. Lane was on the west side of the bins and you had to back in and make a 90 to back into the lanes between the rows of bins. It all started very innocently when one of the drivers saw what he had to do and said I'll never back it in there. Being the confident 13 yr old that I was, I said I can back it in there for you. Guy asked me if I had ever driven a semi and I truthfully said no, but show me first and reverse and I'll back it in there for you. After a couple of attempts and finally figuring out how soon I needed to move the front wheels to get that long tail end to turn, I stuck it in there. Guy was so happy, he flipped me a $5.00 bill. Now keep in mind I was only making $1.25/hr shoveling corn and this guy paid me 4 hours of work for 20 minutes!! During the down time between trucks, my cousin and I figured out we needed to start offering to back trucks in for $5 and about hald the drivers took us up on it. Ching ching ching we were in business! But we couldn't leave well enough alone, oh no. We soon figured out the white fence posts along the lane were exactly 10' apart and if we counted posts we knew exactly when to start turning, when to start straightening out, and shazam we could back it in perfectly in one shot. Then the $5 back your truck in turned into and double or nothing we can do it in one shot. Ching ching ching we're really making money and were talking about subcontracting out the corn shoveling Then .... one of the drivers happened to say to another driver, while scaling out at the elevator, with my Sunday School teaching Dad running the scale "Let those kids back your truck, but don't bet with them, they'll skin you" And what was a thriving business opportunity came to a sudden halt.

 

[Sifan]

Does this help?

 

[jblnut]

LOL old farm boy here When I was 13, ....... a thriving business opportunity came to a sudden halt.

Smart money making and 13 nonetheless !!

Does this help?

This guy is hilarious !!! I looked and he doesn't have one particular to replacing/rebuilding a T/A because the donor machine in the videos didn't have one.

I work with a fellow that is going to help mid January after the chicken barn is cleaned out again and chicks are back in the barn.

 

[Sifan]

My bad, I didn't see it said "pto" LOL but if the guy can work on a tractor in his open air shed in Canada that should be a confidence builder

 

[drivesitfar]

JBL: sorry I haven't been around since you started building the big (or HUGE) chicken coop, but looks like you are still working hard and plenty of critters to look after now.

I used to cut trees and chop firewood by hand or with wedges with my Gramps in my younger days, but really don't do much now even though i have a huge fireplace next to my recliner.

that said some friends of ours do so any chance I get to pick up a bunch of rounds and drop them off in their alley i do and they rent this splitter for $60 for 4 hours and get about 3-5 cords split which probably lasts them all winter. they have an insert in their fireplace and mine is just a heat sucker. with all the cool tools and barns and sheds and shops to store stuff I'd guess you could use a splitter too if you don't already have one.

anyway hope all is well in your world and keep up the great work.