Cementing the Manger

The manger before.  The cement was too low for the cattle and they had to kneel to eat. 

I'd never seen this kind of cement mixer before that hooked onto the back of the tractor.  It's a lot smaller than a big cement truck and can therefore fit into smaller places than a big truck but doesn't require the manual labor than a small electric one does. 

Gravel and cement powder...

...mixed with water (this trough was set up only for making cement because if it was left out, the cattle would break the hose and the hose would freeze)...

...and mixed at this speed...

...and poured over old, broken pieces of cement removed from the barn...

...will cover all of the above sand on both sides of the middle walkway...

...to make a smooth manger like this!  A lot of work but worth it and way cheaper than hiring in professionals.

New Railings for the Manger

Weeks ago before all the cement work started and before the really cold weather hit and while there were no cattle in the barn, my son took the old headrails out of the barn manger and welded new ones.  Headrails are the bars that the cattle put their heads through into the manger to eat and they keep the feed in the manger and the cattle out unless you have an old, run down barn like ours and the bars are completely gone or very loose.  When the calves would first arrive at the farm or when it was needling time or any situation that got them riled up, they would be up and over the bars and into the manger.  Somehow, it was easy for them to jump into the manger and difficult to get out.  The new ones are solid, much higher and by keeping the cattle out, they help to keep the feed clean (cows pooping in the feed isn't the best idea!) and prevents injuries that might occur when jumping the railing.

The above finished bars are also called 'slant bars'.

Above is a metal band saw for cutting the pipes for the bars.

 Both the railing on the right and the railing on the left were just newly done but the railing on the right was made from steel that had sat around for a year and had lost its oily film that most new steel comes with.  The pipes will then form a light layer of rust that is easy to paint over.  The pipes on the left will have to wait until next year to be painted (until the oil is gone) unless we want to use some sort of chemical solvent to remove the oily film right away.  I'm not very keen to do that in a barn that either has cattle in it now or soon would.  Waiting a year, though, will mean a little extra work as there will be lots of manure on the rails that will have to be pressure washed to get them clean before painting.  The paint color is John Deere Green but I'm not sure why we had it sitting around as we certainly cannot afford John Deere equipment.  Oh well, it's as close to John Deere as we'll ever get!

The equipment safely sequestered from the new cattle that had just arrived that day.  We had hoped to wait to buy more calves until after the barn work was completed but DH was worried that prices would rise in Dec. so we got them anyway.