Hi I’m Mike.
The project list has become a staple of our Wyoming life.
Every Tuesday we take a look at the board and it helps us find a direction for our week.
Today we add to the board some big projects, get a start on them and take a look back at
what it has help us accomplish on Our Wyoming Life.
Welcome back as we once again tackle the project list, explore the ranch life and escape the
ordinary all in one fell swoop.
As you can imagine there is a never ending list of things that need done on the ranch,
and the project list helps me keep a reign on things, keeping things from slipping between
the cracks and keep us on track.
The problem with it is, that it is never done, one thing comes off and another goes up.
Its part of the joy and the headache of running a ranch by yourself, because there are plenty
of things on the list that we could outsource, but with limited funds and time we are stuck
prioritizing things and making sure that what needs done right away is always at the top
of the list, even if its buried in the middle.
Don’t forget to subscribe, each person that does helps us spread our message about how
important the truth is about where your food comes from and the work that goes into getting
it to you.
This week we are doing things a bit differently, we have a couple big projects that are just
on the horizon that we have to start getting ready for.
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying “If you fail to plan, you are planning to
fail!” although I am sure there are many others that had the same message in different
forms.
My dads favorite was do your homework, but it still falls in the same category.
Most times here on the ranch, as many of you probably deal with, is that the planning sometimes
takes place on the fly.
We get started on projects and then have to come up with solutions as we go along.
We know where we want to be at the end and getting there is where creative ideas and
solutions that are sometimes unorthodox come to the rescue.
Today we start a big project on the ranch and that project has all to do with the chicken
house.
Over the past few months we have been dealing with predator issues, they are the easiest
prey on the ranch and once word gets out about their location and abundance it quickly becomes
a difficult situation to solve.
To keep the chickens safe we had previously built this chicken run for chickens to live
in when they are outside.
A space of about 800 square feet for them to be able to get fresh air and stretch their
legs.
Unfortunately, it was discovered by badgers, who have no trouble digging under the fence
and picking off chickens for their own ends.
Our chickens are raised soley for egg production although the badgers thought otherwise and
since this loophole was discovered, the chickens have been locked inside, much to their disappointment
as they love roaming the ranch.
This problem needs solved and if you have followed the project list for a while, you
know that solving problems is the name of the game.
In reality the project list began long before we ever gave it a name.
The list has existed in the shop for years and one of the first problems we solved was
an issue with gates and cattle guards.
Cattle guards are all over the ranch to keep cattle from moving from one pasture to the
next but still allowing roads to stay open and without having to open and close gates.
The main gate that we go through everyday will slow you down and when we are constantly
driving through it we decided to take a quicker and easier route.
This involved building an cattle guard but doing it a bit differently and taking it above
ground.
Building a ramp that the gator or a four wheeler can quickly navigate.
It was put into place and has been used on a daily basis since.
Its saved time while transporting calves during calving, or when you have to get out to the
pasture in a hurry, and saved some cold fingers from having to get out and open a gate.
That project started us down a road of featuring the project list in a whole new way.
Taking the issues we deal with everyday and coming up with a better, sometimes, easier
way to manage them.
Trying new things, like plastic welding a tank to save money on having to buy a new
one, trying viewer suggestions, such as adding
jugs full of salt water to stock tanks to keep them
from freezing, and creating new ways to insulate hydrants
to keep them thawed during the cold winter months.
We have learned a few things along the way, like net wrap is highly flammable and cant
be stored near the incinerator, as it will combust from the heat
And the best way to deal with a well that has had a broken water line in the pit, causing
flooding and damage to all systems inside requiring new plumbing and a new pressure
tank.
Needless to say the project list is always an adventure and this project, I’m sure
will prove no different.
This is probably the worst time of the year to take on this project, due to weather, but
we are going to be not only expanding the chicken run, giving them more room to move
around we are also going to be making it safer for the chickens that live in it.
To get started we are going to be removing as much snow as we can, clearing the area
for new posts and a trench that will bury chicken wire about a foot deep in the ground,
in order to prevent digging from those pesky badgers.
The plan is also to enlarge the chicken run to fully surround the chicken house.
Increasing the size of the run from 800 square feet to almost 4000.
Back when I build the chicken house years ago, one of our neighbors called it the chicken
taj mahal, soon its going to be the chicken house fort knox.
But there is a lot of work to do before we are done and over the next few project list
videos, I hope to take you along as we build a safer, stronger and more secure area for
our chickens to live.
To be perfectly honest, we don’t make money off the chickens or their eggs but just like
every animal on the ranch, they deserve the best we can give them and a bit of work, along
with materials we probably have laying around here already will hopefully do just that for
them.
Most of the issues we are going to run into are going to be solved on the fly, but that’s
ok.
Because sometimes you don’t even know your challenges, until you try.
I hope you are looking as forward to this project just as much as I am.
As you know, the chickens are Erins baby, so we hope to get her out here to help, it’s
a great way for the kids to come out and lend a hand as well.
We are expecting a bit of break in the weather and doing some of this prep work now will
hopefully, make things easier as we really dig into it.
Literally.
Thanks for coming out today, its two degrees out here, I am going to get back in the tractor
and keep moving snow and soon we will break ground and make a bunch of chickens and Erin
very happy.
If you cant get enough of the ranch, check out our podcast, you can find it where ever
you listen to your favorite podcast, its on about 14 different platforms, I think.
Itunes, google play and of course anchor.fm Each Friday we post a new episode that really
gives you a candid look inside the ranch, our business and our lives.
You can find it by searching for beyond the ranch.
Please subscribe here on youtube as well, Erin has a new video coming out this week
as she takes us into her composting program and the tips and tricks that she uses to make
some of the best growing medium around.
Until we see you again, have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.