The only thing on my list today was to get the 58 bales hoisted up into the hay loft.
Which by the way I am now firmly committed to buying one of those conveyor system things first friggin chance I have to find a good used one. I am too old to be throwing hay bales up into the loft and the pulley system or the electric wench setup I have are both way too slow.
Anyway. Getting the bales unloaded and then baling up the small front field and the bottom half of the back main field were all I had on my agenda for the day.
Mission accomplished.
108 bales from the back and 24 from the front. This is also the third cutting off the front field and I have been grazing the sheep in the back field for some months now. All in all not a bad haul considering all the difficulties this year has wrought.
It took me a little over two hours to bale the back field and that including having to take one side of the knotters apart when the knuckles and cutter got clogged up as one strand of twine doubled up at the end of the roll. I managed to switch the twine out and finish baling with only needing to re-bale maybe five bales this time.
The old Ford baler seems to be hitting her stride. She seems to work best at about 500 RPM on the PTO rather than 540 more than likely due to ground speed rather than baler speed I imagine. Still it is damned slow work compared to modern day balers.
Today's bale count brings total cost per bale for the year to $7.56 per bale. Still way North of what it would cost us to buy the hay outright but we are getting closer to a break even and then saving rate now. There is light at the end of that tunnel.
The Redtailed Hawk was back. I think he or she is actually out there enjoying one of my hens as a snack as I once again seem to be minus one hen. This is getting almost comical at this point. I picked up eight more hens yesterday as I mentioned and they seemed to be getting along fine all day. No squabbling, we are getting eggs again and all the hens appeared happy. The new eight were all free range and you could tell it, they seemed to breath new adventurous life into the flock. Then after I got done baling I noticed a line of feathers behind the barn. No body anywhere but one of the new Buff hens is now AWOL. Not sure I can blame the dogs either as I haven't seen em down there all day and the last hen they killed they left the body.
Maybe the dogs are getting smarter and hiding evidence now?
Oh well now that I can take a breather from hay for a few days chicken security can move up the priority list. Hopefully they will learn the ropes of this area before they are all gone because I want these chickens as much for bug control as I do eggs and meat.
So tomorrow I have another 138 bales to put up and then finish the back fence and start picking up the mess around here. I got tools, fuel cans, twine rolls etc. scattered all over 25 acres that need picked up.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!
bro - don't overdo it! i know that you like to keep busy...and trust me, you sound really busy! but don't run yourself in the ground! you've got the entire rest of your life for that! but congrats on all of the hay baling!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
Kymber - Well the tractors and implements do most of the work although this heat wave we been having maybe excellent for haying it sucks all the moisture out of one's body. This is the busiest time it should be getting gradually easier after this. One more round of baling starting Wednesday or Thursday and then maybe one more cutting off the front field and I am done for the year.
DeleteThat is so neat that the hay project is working, don't worry about the price per bale as it takes a year or so for even a fast food place to make a profit, that is how things work.
ReplyDeleteWe had chicken drama this evening as I got 4 hens on craigslist for free, they were only about 1 1/2 years old but the bad news is that they came with a rooster. I waited until dark and put them in with the other birds so there will be a big surprise in the morning or they won't notice new birds, it could go either way with hens but the roosters will know something isn't right.
Sf - There really is a learnign curve getting to know the field and the implements and how they work together. I am betting as I get used to it I will increase the yield by a bunch.
DeleteOOOOO two roosters lol. This new batch of hens fit in nicely it seemed. They accepted Rocky right off the bat but they were free range with a rooster at their home which is only about five or ten miles North of us. I really think something besides the dogs got this latest one or I would find more remains nearby. I may have to start looking for predators during daylight.
I spoke too soon, the new rooster was pulling feathers out of the old hens and roughing them up just for the hell of it. The roosters were fighting as well so he was put out of the gene pool and is now re-entering the food chain and will be soaring high above before long.
DeleteSf - After my little experience with two roosters I will never doubt your word again. More than one is too many.
DeleteSoon you will look outside to a blanket of white....
ReplyDeleteRob - Believe it or not I am kinda looking forward to Winter this year.
DeleteI don't think it was the Redtail. They don't tend to bother with larger hens. Orps are pretty heavy. A Cooper's Hawk, maybe, but it would just leave it lie. I would guess it was a coyote, fox or bobcat. Whatever it is, it will be back.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious of your hay operation you got going there. Sounds like you made a good haul this year. Congratulations.
hobo - I agree with you actually although I think that Red Tail could carry off a full grown hen the line of feathers makes me think coyote or fox and more than likely a fox. My neighbor down the road about 300 yards has had a number of his hens pilfered by a fox over the years and there has been a breeding female in the area (including two years ago my pasture) for a few years now. I am betting she snuck up and swiped that girl from the weeds on the side of the barn. That's an area I haven't cleared out yet. I am going to block the hen access to the front and side to try and keep them in the barn lot fenced area. I think I can stop fox and coyote predation as long as the hens are halfway wary. What concerns me most is if a coon figures out they can get into the barn from the back where the dogs can't get to them.
DeleteI figured I would lose a few until I get all the angles of attack covered.
Great post. Very motivational. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tom!!!! I will :)
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