Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

Burns

Burns

Avatar of War Slayer
7,967
15,229
For the hobby/small farm size: This guy tested a few different fly traps and found fly paper wrapped around drums/bins to still be best and cheapest. He even made a cheap movable cart so he can keep it close to the where the cattle are:

 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users
Sanrith Descartes

Sanrith Descartes

You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
<Gold Donor>
46,688
131,119
Blazin said:
Started seeding last week and like to get a pic while everything is actually clean. I do clean equipment during the season but when I put it away for winter I like it to be like new kind of clean. All maintenance stuff done on tractor/zero turn etc. , as much as I like spring can suck thinking about how many hours of mowing sometimes.

Went through a lot of hay this winter so glad to see the alfalfa is off to a pretty good start.
View attachment 582217
Click to expand...
That is some serious white supremacy you got going on in that pic. Where are all the homeless people and immigrants at? You could be housing thousands of socio-economically challenged people on your homestead.
 
Foler

Asshat Foler

Kenya jusbeh kew?
<Gold Donor>
48,901
40,295
Blazin said:
Started seeding last week and like to get a pic while everything is actually clean. I do clean equipment during the season but when I put it away for winter I like it to be like new kind of clean. All maintenance stuff done on tractor/zero turn etc. , as much as I like spring can suck thinking about how many hours of mowing sometimes.

Went through a lot of hay this winter so glad to see the alfalfa is off to a pretty good start.
View attachment 582217
Click to expand...
That’s one mighty clean tractor you got there B… How do you clean it? Seems like many advise not to pressure wash.
 
Blazin

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
7,400
37,268
Foler said:
That’s one mighty clean tractor you got there B… How do you clean it? Seems like many advise not to pressure wash.
Click to expand...
Many are stupid. Pressure wash but I use a spray nozzle , soap water sponge . Just important to regrease when done. Storing equipment with mud and rotting plant matter is horrible on metal.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user
Foler

Asshat Foler

Kenya jusbeh kew?
<Gold Donor>
48,901
40,295
Blazin said:
Many are stupid. Pressure wash but I use a spray nozzle , soap water sponge . Just important to regrease when done. Storing equipment with mud and rotting plant matter is horrible on metal.
Click to expand...
Iirc Messicks had a good video on washing. For cleaning the grease zerks - do you degrease around them and grease points then regrease? It’s super dirty around my zerks. Tractor needs a good cleaning…
 
Sludig

Sludig

Potato del Grande
10,290
11,032
BrutulTM said:
Flies are tough. Especially in a small area where you can't move the cattle away from their own feces which is where flies lay eggs. Ivermectin is mainly for internal parasites but I've heard it can help with flies as well. Oilers and dust bags are kind of old fashioned. We used them when I was a kid but I haven't seen anyone using them in decades so I'm guessing they weren't too effective.

What I see people doing these days is using insecticide ear tags or giving them mineral supplements with insect growth regulator (IGR) in it. You can also get mineral with garlic powder which is supposed to help with flies if you want something more natural.

Fly traps and giant sheets of fly paper by the water tank can help as well I've heard. Moving the herd daily is supposed to help too but obviously that's not going to be an option for you.

If you use the ear tags, you're supposed to rotate the tags you use with different active ingredients or they can develop resistance over time. I've tried a lot of this stuff and it's hard to tell how well any of it works so ymmv. Some individual animals also get flies worse than others for some reason.
Click to expand...
Ya, many id just done the iver for worm purposes but got to see how they react poorly. Saw the ear tags, but didn't want to buy a gun and i don't have chutes. The block and loose mineral i mentioned where the ones with regulator. Also share the field with goats though they generally don't have much fly issues

I think i want to build a stall into their shed shelter to try and be able to bait one in at a time and close a gate locking them in to medicate or milk. Need to evaluate of my wall will hold up or kinda make a stronger box than just cattle panels.

Certainly limited not wanting to spend a fortune as a wage slave hobby farmer so jury rigging is the name of the day.
 
Sludig

Sludig

Potato del Grande
10,290
11,032
Blazin said:
Many are stupid. Pressure wash but I use a spray nozzle , soap water sponge . Just important to regrease when done. Storing equipment with mud and rotting plant matter is horrible on metal.
Click to expand...
grease whole surface or you mean just the zerk fittings. I've wanted to find a cheap grease for coating a bunch of random metal tools etc.


Also been curious about used oil and diesel mixture for wood handles of shovels etc, climate out here seems to not be great on them even usually stored in the shop.
 
Blazin

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
7,400
37,268
Foler said:
Iirc Messicks had a good video on washing. For cleaning the grease zerks - do you degrease around them and grease points then regrease? It’s super dirty around my zerks. Tractor needs a good cleaning…
Click to expand...
I clean excess around zerks but dont wipe around fittings unless its obviously too much.

My ZD1211 diesel zero turn is having a power issue, did spring maintenance but I don't think it's related. Haven't tracked down issue yet. Issue right at start to mowing season kind of sucks.
 
  • 1Thoughts & Prayers
Reactions: 1 user
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
15,066
-1,076
Sludig said:
Ya, many id just done the iver for worm purposes but got to see how they react poorly. Saw the ear tags, but didn't want to buy a gun and i don't have chutes. The block and loose mineral i mentioned where the ones with regulator. Also share the field with goats though they generally don't have much fly issues

I think i want to build a stall into their shed shelter to try and be able to bait one in at a time and close a gate locking them in to medicate or milk. Need to evaluate of my wall will hold up or kinda make a stronger box than just cattle panels.

Certainly limited not wanting to spend a fortune as a wage slave hobby farmer so jury rigging is the name of the day.
Click to expand...
It's really nice to at least have a head catch somewhere. If you look around at auctions/craigslist/facebook marketplace you might pick one up pretty reasonably.

Something like this can be operated by one person. I wouldn't call it easy to use but it gets the job done.

headgate.jpg
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
15,066
-1,076
People use these things in milking stantions, but this is only for cattle that are tame and calm. If they start freaking out in one of these, they will probably break it, which can be a dangerous situation.

20160922_073511.jpg
 
Borzak

Borzak

Silver Baron of the Realm
26,548
35,328
It also depends on which species of pine. I would not burn longleaf inside. Until a century ago it was grown and scraped for turpentine. Where fat pine or lighter pine comes from. Burns incrediably hot because it's basically full of turpentine. It's not common at all nowdays, the US is down to 5% or so of longleaf it had a century ago. No longer needed to produce turpentine, but I grow it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.