No one I know enjoys cleaning the barns. The summer cleaning is winter's poop and hay that has begun to compost. In the old barn with a wooden plank floor, the manure sticks to the wood and becomes part of it. Getting it off when it is dry is nearly impossible. There are holes in the roof, great big ones, so the rain comes right in and the snow comes in during the winter. The only dry spot is the centre and that is where the sheep sleep on cold nights to get away from the winter wind.
The goat barn was last used by about 30 ducklings and goslings. I ordered some Blue Swedish ducklings, Pekin ducklings and Swedish goslings from Berg Hatchery. They were in the livestock trough for a long time, then graduated to the barn, but they spent their days outside in the aisle. Then they were big enough to free range during the day, but I herded them back to the barn for the night. Then they graduated to the main yard. There are several coops there for them to take shelter in, however; ducks and geese tend to sleep outside in the open.
Tomorrow the last barn, the small cow barn, now being used by the goats and sheep for the summer, will be cleaned. The goat barn and sheep barn will remain empty and unused to air them out. The sheep had keds and were treated with pour on Ivermectin which knocked them right out. When they were sheared there was no sign of keds at all. Still, the barn cleaning and the remaining time empty will reduce the chances of any surviving keds in the hay. The chickens will scratch through anything left in the barns and remove worm eggs and other tasty treats, if you are a chicken, that is.
Travis helped with the sheep barn, which was really nice. Cleaning the barn is hard work. I am glad it is done and thankful for the help. Whew!
The goat barn was last used by about 30 ducklings and goslings. I ordered some Blue Swedish ducklings, Pekin ducklings and Swedish goslings from Berg Hatchery. They were in the livestock trough for a long time, then graduated to the barn, but they spent their days outside in the aisle. Then they were big enough to free range during the day, but I herded them back to the barn for the night. Then they graduated to the main yard. There are several coops there for them to take shelter in, however; ducks and geese tend to sleep outside in the open.
Tomorrow the last barn, the small cow barn, now being used by the goats and sheep for the summer, will be cleaned. The goat barn and sheep barn will remain empty and unused to air them out. The sheep had keds and were treated with pour on Ivermectin which knocked them right out. When they were sheared there was no sign of keds at all. Still, the barn cleaning and the remaining time empty will reduce the chances of any surviving keds in the hay. The chickens will scratch through anything left in the barns and remove worm eggs and other tasty treats, if you are a chicken, that is.
Travis helped with the sheep barn, which was really nice. Cleaning the barn is hard work. I am glad it is done and thankful for the help. Whew!
The only stall that is still with a floor. Everything else has rotted through.
The heap of manure and straw from the middle section only.
The scraper was used to clean the manure stuck to the floor boards. Now the barn will dry and the boards will shrink opening the spaces and hopefully destroying any bugs or worms over the summer.
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