A "Moving" experience....

.....For the chicks, anyway!

My neighbor came over with his Minneapolis-Moline tractor this evening and we moved the brooder house to it's final location. It has been damp lately, so we had to wait until things got as dry as possible so his tractor could "get traction". It is supposed to rain again on Wednesday, so we figured it had to be done soon.

We hooked a chain to both ends of one of the logs under the shed and spun the whole thing 90°, then "walked" it backwards until it was where I wanted it. It didn't really take very long - only about 45 minutes. It all worked out easier then I thought.

I had unhooked the heat lamps before we started, so I had to turn them back on and make sure the chicks were not scared to death. We were jerking the building around pretty good for awhile.

Since the shed was on the logs and leaning a bit, I had put a small board under the downhill side of the waterer in with the chicks. I was surprised when I opened the door and found the waterer not only upright, but still on the board and the floor was still dry around it! I figured it would be tipped over and empty!

I hooked up the lamps and called it good for the night. The chicks went right back to the "feed bunk", so I guess it wasn't TOO terribly traumatic for them.

I still need to jack the building up and pull the logs out from underneath, but at least it is where it needs to be. I will need to get it on the ground soon, though, the logs migrated a bit to one side and the wind rocks the shed a little (nothing serious). I will be glad to get it all done.

I also got 4 more Buff-Cochin chicks today. It seems that people buy them for Easter, then don't want them after the holiday....

I have also been working on putting a bed on the trailer I got from my BIL, Mark a few years ago. I FINALLY managed to get a new tire on one side (I've had the tire for years....). It was a fight (took two of us), but it got done.

As for the bed - I used some of the 2x6 lumber I got out of the old barn. It ended up being about 11 1/2' long and I made it 7' wide. It is a single axle, but with heavy springs. It will come in handy hauling lots of the wood from the barn home. It will also be used to haul hay this summer. It will be a LOT easier to back into the barn then a 4 wheeled trailer.

We've been trying to train the new milk goat nannys to milk. So far, they are doing rather well. They don't seemed to mind being in the stanchion, and aren't bothered by us touching them. I even milked a "squirt" out of each teat on both goats. I didn't bother catching it, I just "shot" the cat. We will need to work with them for awhile, but it looks like they are at least acceptable to the idea...