Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Rubber eggs and stuff





Once again I hit the ground running this morning and didn't make it home until after dark. I'm getting a lot done which is a good thing.

When I watered and checked the chickens and looked for eggs I found a very strange thing.


My guess was this -- the hen had low calcium, the hen was stressed, or it was just one of those things that chickens do from time to time.

Mom looked it up on the interwebz (her pre-lookup conclusions were very similar to mine) and found that the hen either had low calcium or stress or it was one of those things that chickens do from time to time.


Thank you for that algore. Without your own personal invention of the internet, the computer, electricity, sodium bicarbonate, and hypocrisy, we'd have never figured it out.

Well, we did ask. And we asked the interwebz. But I also felt like taking a gratuitous shot at the algore. Some experts (such as mr algore of course) call these thin-shelled eggs "rubber eggs." Or at least that's what Mom told me the interwebz said.

Directly after mr algore solved our problem I hurried down to the Cederburg pasture to check cows and to see how my stock tank float adjustment had worked.

I found the cows busy doing their cow jobs and enjoying the day.



I double checked the north tank just in case the character of physical law had changed over night. It hadn't and the float still needed adjusting. It wasn't running over but the level was right at the top. On a calm day. Add a touch of wind and it would be running over for all intents and purposes. Sigh.  I did get an unexpected early Christmas present though!



Then I headed over to Brig's Tank to see if I'd done a proper job or made a proper mess of a simple job. It was the latter of course.



So I went and changed boots. While I was at it I had some town errands to run including having lunch with the Snow Girl whose Snow Brother has already rotated back into treatment. It's a process. The girl has taken some lumps but she's got a new job and is enjoying it so far. She's also asking good questions and more importantly doesn't seem to be afraid to ask good questions. If I had a magic wand I could wave and fix things for her I would...break the firetrucking magic wand! Life can be tough and she's had a harder go than many, but also a softer go than many. There are no guarantees but if she keeps suiting up and showing up and taking responsibility she'll one day be a real shining example to others. She's got potential. As does her brother. As do we all.

Then I went and drained both stock tanks in the Cederburg pasture. After shutting the water off of course. Here's how you start the drain. Sorry about the wind noise.



And here is how you drain the tanks with a two-piece plastic drain plug. Kinda. Setup:



Conclusion. Sorta.



It takes thirty minutes to an hour or so to drain tanks, so I fixed fence rather than sit idly by like a bump on a noggin. I did take a break to shoot a video tutorial on cow slobber.



I once again shortened the chain on the float in Brig's tank. Replaced the drain plug. Did the same on the other tank. Turned the water back on. Red supervised.



Over at the other tank the water was flowing. Which was good.



And that was pretty much it for the day, except for all the parts I left out or forgot to mention. In the morning we'll know if I did any good on the tank floats or if I screwed everything up like usual.

I think tomorrow Mom and I will make a seasonal shopping excursion. That'll be fun.

Be well and enjoy the blessings of liberty.




14 comments:

  1. I once frostbit both of my front oaws, so getting them cold and wet actually hurts. I would zip tie a wrench to a piece of pipe, so I wouldn't have to submerge my paws. I suspect a ball valve would not work, as a cow would step in it. But, perhaps reversed, with the valve on the inside of the tank, with a home made reacher downer, to open/close it from above water?

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    1. That must be a real pain. Fortunately for me I don't have that malady. Unfortunately for me (or perhaps fortunately) I'm no good with rigging up clever extensions. I need to go by feel, even if its groping around in unpleasantly cold water. Plus I get to brag about how tough I am. Win-win!

      Also I finally broke down and purchased new two-piece steel plug units for those tanks with plastic plugs. Three bucks apiece plus shipping, why did I put it off for years?

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Scott!

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  2. Tanks for the post. (Hee hee hee.)

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    1. And that wins the interwebz for the day. :-)

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sarge!

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    2. Wait! You can win the interwebz for THAT! I might have a chance. Anyway, I'm here and reading. Just not saying much right now. We're rooting for the Snow Children. Keep on ranching and posting and we will keep reading.

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    3. BTW, no disrespect to Sarge intended, but, if being punny is the goal, I would have a chance.

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    4. Mark - Punny is good, heck, I live for good puns. (Bad ones too for that matter.) 😉

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    5. Thanks for being here and reading and for rooting for the snow children Mark. I'll keep on keepin' on. Probably should consider opening up a punning section.

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  3. It's mind numbing work, but necessary work. The question is, how 'easy' will it be to put in concrete pads in the field? Good news on the 'snow girl'!

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    1. Won't be easy at all, which is good. Little bit of spade preparation, knock up a frame, mix the quickrete one bag at a time. I've done it before. I agree on the good news.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  4. How far apart are the stock tanks? Do you just have the two or are there others in different fields? To put in concrete pads on a number of tanks would take a lot of time and effort ( not to mention the monetary cost ). From where do you get the water that fills those tanks? Will the cattle have access to adequate water if one tank is down while a pad is being poured and setting? All questions that probably should be considered before the undertaking of the task.

    Well, that's my two cents ( or more like two bucks ) worth. I make a pretty fair sidewalk supervisor, no?

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. The good thing about sidewalk supervision is that if you don't dismiss it out of hand you can often learn something from a different person's perspective. In this particular pasture there are just the two. The job would be done in the spring when no cattle were in the pasture or relying on water from those two tanks. The labor is free, or more properly has the value I set on it since it's my personal labor. Cost of materials is negligible when you factor in utility of the fix and longevity. And subtract the cost of pumping wasted water. And unless something changes drastically with my physical health I like doing hard labor. There won't be any cattle present (probably) between February 1 and June 1. Give or take. There are three other metal tanks at the home place, no, four actually, which could use the same treatment.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  5. Good to hear that the snows are doing better. Try is very important.

    Steel drain fittings are a good choice, hate those plasticy ones, they don't hold up well in temperature extremes. LOL, ask my kids, when they were little they had 15 tanks to clean every other day in the feedlot.

    Looking forward to getting a solid base under me...

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    1. One foot in front of the other is always better than standing still and waiting to be gobbled up.

      The steel ones are great, not being plastic.

      Solid base aye!

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting Brig!

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