John has been working hard to get the winter barn, our other barn across the creek that is really a ditch, up to code for the winter. We prefer this barn for the animals in the winter as it has a dirt floor. The concrete floor in the home barn, like our temperatures, gets SO cold. Dirt is better. John has made new gates, patched walls, replaced corners and installed new windows – the maintenance on these old barns is never ending. But if we want to use the original barns then we need to work to preserve them.
Of course not everyone can go over to the West barn for the winter. Lady Astor, Alex (the new Dexter heifer) and Naomi will stay close to home for lots of training. Plus Tima and Tane the old married kunekune couple. And Sheila of course. My barn would be a misery without Sheila.
We have built Manu (the Hereford Boar) his own apartment, with an adjoining apartment for Poppy (the Hereford Sow) though she will not move in until January when she will be ready to begin another round of piglets.
Queenies Bobby, and Aunty Del have their own space in the barn with a concrete pad that leads out to the fields.
And Carlos IV (the Dexter bull) will join them when he arrives in a week – though initially he will be staying in the corner pen to get used to the smells and sounds of his new home. He is going to look very small against these two.
Manu (the Herford Boar) and Carlos IV (The Dexter Bull) will live in the palatial Winter barn for ever. The girls will come and go but this is the Boys Home. There is less disruption on the home farm if the men have their own pad. And when the time is right the girls will be trucked across to the boys to stay a while.
And here is Hugo’s last job. Stacking 50 bales of straw and 50 bales of good alfalfa hay into the West Barn.
And as an interesting aside it appears that beavers have moved into the creek that is really a ditch.
They will go about their work of cleaning up the waterways of weed trees and so forth and building their dams for babies in the spring and the ducks in the summer. I love it when wild animals camp close by.
I don’t know much about beavers (other than they mate for life) so I look forward to researching them. I would not mind seeing one sometime either – hopefully with Camera House in my hand! Thank goodness there are not fur trappers around here (I hope).
I hope you have a good day.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
39 responses to “The winter barn”
oh beavers! How exciting! Oh please have camera house if you spot them. Can’t wait to see them.
You have it all arranged! I love the idea of the Batchelor’s Quarters until it’s time for the Brides to visit. You have gone from a very girl-heavy situation to one where there are more boys; perhaps all the testosterone in the air will make breeding easier. Can’t wait to see the Dexters, I’ve always found them very cuddly in appearance but quite determined.
Sounds like you are playing chess with all that moving around LOL. Do you keep a board somewhere to keep track of where everyone is?
Although I have been prepping for winter too, it has been very mild here, and they say this trend will continue through to the end of the year. I am not complaining as I have lots of winter veggies in the garden (Kale, Collards, Broccoli and Cauliflower) which I hope to be picking for a long time yet.
Glad to know the preparations are going to plan. Beavers! a new interest for us , but we will all miss Hugo. When does he leave? I wish him peace, comfort and a bright future ahead. Being young is not easy these days.
Watch for your beavers at dusk! We have some in the creek near our house and they seem to be most active around that time.
Sounds like everyone will have wonderful winters quarters, with company, which is so important! And beavers! That is really exciting! And wonderful! xo
I am envious of your barns! We lack in quantity of good facilities. With time, though, we may get there. In the meantime, we go back to the drawing board (like you – I think) and rearrange plans; consider what is working and what is not. (I feel your pain with the cattle-breeding and wish you luck with your Dexter.)
Yes, thank you – i will have smaller animals but that is not such a bad thing… less room and feed needed.. c
There are two times that it is easiest to watch beavers. EARLY in the morning – just dawn – and then again at dusk. That is when they make the trek in and out of their dens. Hmmm…. I see a dam … but somewhere they’re going to need to build a lodge. I wonder if they’ll build it right into the side of the ditch/creek. With beavers on your side your ditch may very well become a pool by the spring!
A pool would be nice for the birds!.. c
Considering that the year is winding down, you have lots of excitement in preparation. I’d love to see the beavers, and also a BIG picture of the little Dexter bull. I don’t think I’ve seen Manu either.
It will be a sad day when Hugo goes – I’ve felt reassured by his hardworking presence taking some of the load from your shoulders.
Lots of love,
ViV xox
The bull calf comes Monday week so you will be sure to get a picture,, c
Beavers might be exciting to watch, but they’re a nuisance for me at the cabin. They will travel quite a distance to take down trees. Round the cabin they move form the river about 5 acres in any direction. They seems to prefer the young pines but they have taken down a cottonwood with a trunk of about 2 ft. Also, be on the lookout because this year all the eggs and two chick sandhill cranes were lost to them at the bird sanctuary. Of course, once you get the hang of living with the flappy tailed buddies, and once you protect the trees with wire mesh, they will be loads of fun to watch…until they build a lake from the stream that was a ditch. 😀
This is ditch is HUGE, I cannot even cross it, more power to them if they can flood it- the dam would by about 30 feet high and just as wide! At least!.. and no trees around here to speak of so I don’t know what they are thinking. So few trees.. c
I hope Manu and Carlos IV become good friends – they’ll want you to install a club house complete with bar and pool table 😉
I can see Manu playing pool – he would have one of those visor shade things on..,,c
Ha ha – if you could get his legs up on a pool table, with the visor on, it would make a great Christmas card 😉
Perfect! with a lit cigar in the ashtray in the background!
Definitely!
Does Hugo know how much he will be missed by all of us?
Always so much to do on the farmy.
🙂 Mandy xo
I agree with Veronica beavers are fun until they remove your fruit trees and flood the fields. You might want to start with the mesh real soon as I am guessing you will have the best trees and closest ones for the beaver family to use as building material. Also unless family owns both sides of the ditch and is agreeable to letting the beavers stay don’t be surprised if their dam and lodge gets broken up in an effort to encourage them to move on in the spring. Most people don’t hunt them they just keep making it difficult for them to live in an area. If they stay the best way to get to see them is to plan to spend some time quietly sitting and waiting. Make sure you don’t make noise or cast a reflection or shadow onto the water. They are very aware of what doesn’t belong outside the water. If the water is clear enough you might be able to see them checking you out from the safety of their pool.
It is great plan to separate the males from the females. While concrete is cold it also is easier to clean and disinfect. Hopefully you limed the dirt floor of the other barn because wasn’t that where the sick calves started out? Your adult animals should be strong enough to not be affected but having livestock there can keep the viruses alive. So maybe think about setting up footbaths for the returnees when they go to visit and make sure they are clean when they return.
Yes it was cleared right out and limed but I still feel worried about it, it is a corner stall and there has been nothing else in there since the calves – but even so – c
This is most interesting about the beaver. We don’t have them here on our farm, although they do live about three miles from us in the river bottom. I know very little about them. Thank you for sharing.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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Well, you certainly are going international. Your Canadian readers will be pleased you have “imported” one of our national symbols. Yes, please do mesh up your trees, otherwise you won’t be thinking kindly of those industrious little furry folk.
Chris S in Canada
Yes, I have been thinking exactly the same… and, above here, Jeanne and Veronica described the situation well. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if neighbours cleared the little devils out very quickly. As cute as they can be, as fascinating as it can be to watch them, they will soon take down good trees and turn your DRAINAGE ditches into big round ponds to the point the creek is useless. When I was a kid my family had a summer cottage and we used to take the canoe off the lake and up the river at dusk to watch the beavers at work. It was fun, yes, and they DO slap their tails on the surface as a warning to others that intruders are on the scene and the babies are darling…. but you really don’t want them setting up housekeeping too nearby.
Hugo, your last job??? Yes, you will be missed! Hope you have had a wonderful time and that you did, in fact, learn enough English to get by. Please keep us up to date on your future wanderings. ~ Mame 🙂
Yes, Hugo. I, for one, would also love to know of your future travels. Join us in the lounge, why not? Otherwise, Tu nous manqueras. Love, Gayle in sunny Sacramento, California…I lied. It’s dark out now.