Shed addition

jimmyj · Sep 7, 2009

Here's some more weekend projects.

1. We made a "car port" type addition to the Donkey shed. It's 12 wide by 25' deep and had multiple gates so we can isolate animals if needed.

Our ground is all rocky so the BH was great to dig holes for the posts and level the area out so the grade was more even.

2. Hay shelter. I made the run in shed previously but was sick of wet hay. So, I made a shed to go over it. I pulled the hay feeder out to paint it yesterday but it fits great and there is just enough room all the way around for the animals to get in there. Used the BH to dig a trench (shallow) and the shelters are both attached to buried heavy timbers.

Love that tractor!

tugboat-2 · Sep 7, 2009

Very nice Jimmy!! I always admire your workmanship and things always seem to look orderly and tidy around your spread. Must admit, a nice touch I've often noticed at your place is the use of "birdhouses" hanging here and there.

CHEERS!
. . tug

jimmyj · Sep 7, 2009

Thank ya Tug. I was wondering if this was gonna be a single post thread

I love the birds and we have very many houses on the place. We get so many different types of birds and it is very lovely to see them fledge etc.

I am greateful for your comments.

Thanks

Jimmy

tugboat-2 · Sep 9, 2009

We enjoy them also. My wife has several feeders hanging outside the big sunroom window. I also love to watch the ducks and geese land and take off from our lake (pond) and usually get to watch the younguns learn to fly but this year, either a coon or the cyotes took the entire family, (momma and ten) as they were getting used to me and the tractor working along the shore daily

Just park and watch for a while as the little fluff balls get up and run along the surface flapping away then stop abruptly and almost crash on their face. Rest a minute and get up and try again,....SOOooo much fun to watch!!

Also love to observe the Canada Geese break off formation, circle in pairs, check the wind direction and speed, search for any traffic on the surface, with blanket permission to land from me, they continuously honk their landing horns as both pilots come in side by side, tree top level, then drop down fast and smooth...landing gear down and locked,.. Splashdown!!..BEAUTIFUL!.. taxi to shore and look around for some place handy to grab some grub and good night's rest before heading out in the morning,...ha, ha, ha!

Talk about precision flying WOW!! OH Man I love to watch them come in on the water!!! Perfect splashdown landings side by side "every" time!! They must also have their "Instrumentation" as they do equally as well at night!! NO landing lights but they keep the landing horns going all the way in !! (I often wonder if the horn is some type of "sonar" type navigational aid ???)

OOOOoops Sorry Jimmy,...just got carried away in thought there!!!
CHEERS!
. . tug

studor · Sep 9, 2009

Nice sheds -- when you say buried heavy timbers were they treated in any way? I have been using flat rocks for woodshed foundations and the like and am thinking about buried six by six treated for the back of one shed.

JohnDeere4300 · Sep 9, 2009

Nice work Jimmy!

Glad you had a backhoe with all the rock you have.. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a backhoe.. It's helped me in so many ways. One spring we ordered 30 trees and I had planned to dig all the holes with my 'hand operated post-hole diggers.'.. After digging 4 holes in hard clay, I laid them down and got my tractor, and dug the rest with my backhoe.. So much better

Hope your hay stays dry now.. I've had wet hay before and I hated to mess with it also.

You said you buried timbers.. could you explain some more info about that ?

Thanks for sharing your projects!

jimmyj · Sep 10, 2009

Regarding the timbers. I took Pressure Treated 6x6's and buried them under the front and back walls. Then I spiked the bottom plates (PT 2x4's) of the walls to them. I figure that is not bullet proof but they will really settle into the dirt (and freeze there in the winter). The top edge of the timbers is flush with the surface height of the soil.

The little lean to in the photo has been rolled over 2x by the wind in bad storms but just barely (before there were timbers). The timbers should give enough anchoring to prevent any more problems. If the wind is so strong that they are not enough, then I'm out of luck because probably not much would help with little sheds like these. I will spike some heavy steel bar such as rebar through the timbers to give extra anchoring but I have not got around to that yet.

With regard to the hay, the sheep and goats pull so much of it out it's very frustrating. It was worse when we had the few cows, but the waste is awful. We have tried darned near every type of feeder and short of flake feeding small square bales (which is quaint but a pain) I have at least 25% waste. It's not really waste as I compost it but still it bugs me. I hope the small shed will reduce this as the animals can't really spread it as much and they have to mostly stand to eat vs lay down in a nice hay bed. We'll see if that works but already I'm finding less soiled hay on the ground and that I re-feed or give to the poultry in the aviary.

Thanks for the interest folks.