[AT] Somewhat off topic: Pull behind lawn vacs

Cecil Bearden crbearden at copper.net
Thu Mar 24 07:14:17 PDT 2016


I have American Blackbelly sheep, also called Barbado sheep.  They are a 
3 way cross.  They do not climb on machinery and vehicles like goats 
do.  As long as you do not let them breed they are not a lot of 
problems.  I worm them twice yearly with a feed based wormer.  Since I 
have only adult ewes I have not had to vaccinate in several years.    I 
used to raise them, but every lambing season I would have some lambs 
abandoned and would end up raising them on a bottle.  I gave that up in 
2010 and have been much happier.
In some locales there is a market for them,  here in cattle country the 
market sucks.   I sold a lot of them for $25 to some Latino friends the 
last few years.   When I first stated I got $60/head at the sale barn.   
Then it went to $11 after the sale barn got their cut.    I have about 7 
acres that is fenced with hogwire and has a lot of machinery scattered 
over it.   I have about 55 ewes and 7 wethered rams.   I am overgrazed 
and must supplement them.  I started to sell several a few years ago, 
until I found that my wife had named 75% of them...  They are pets.  I 
probably feed them a 4x5 round bale of hay a week average.    The 
experts say that you can run 8 sheep in place of 1 cow.  If they are 
raising lambs that drops to 5.  For 3 acres I would recommend getting 10 
to 12 and plan on feeding 6 to 8 round bales each winter.    My sheep 
are fat, that is my veterinary plan.  I keep them in good condition.  
The average age is about 8 years, I have had a ewe that lived as long as 
20 yrs and had twin lambs the last year of her life..    You would need 
a shelter for them, I have a 9x18 and a 16 ft diameter oil tank that 
serve as shelter.   They also have a 10 x 20 steel porch floor that is 
about 3 ft off the ground that serves as shelter.    My case is extreme, 
but it illustrates how little care they really require.   We have native 
grass a combination of buffalo, bluestem and bermuda.  They keep it 
grazed down to about 1/2 to 1 inch in height.  The grass really got 
thicker about 2 years after we got the sheep.   Sometimes I run the 
fertilizer spreader across the pasture while going to the other fields...

If I bought a mower to take care of this it would cost about $5000, plus 
a weedeater, and then probably a 25 days a year to maintain it....    I 
built the shed many years ago for about $300.  The oil tank I had, I 
raise and sell hay, and they do ot have to have the best hay.   I  do 
feed them some corn gluten pellets during the winter just for extra 
energy.   However, wheat hay gives them enough energy boost they do not 
want the pellets.

They will go through a barb wire or even an electric fence, so it has to 
be some type of woven wire.

Cecil in OKla



On 3/24/2016 8:27 AM, Richard Fink Sr wrote:
> On this subject what is maintenance with goats, i have 3 acres to mow,
> and is getting to be to much at my health stage and age. My ground is
> about 90 % fenced rest would take couple hours finish. Have been
> thinking about some kind of help beside just letting grow. Have a small
> barn to house them.
> R Fink Sr
> PA
>
> On 3/23/2016 8:46 PM, charlie hill wrote:
>> I'd like to do that Cecil but then there is the fence to build and the
>> vet bills................  If I ever move back over to the home place I
>> might
>> do it though and throw in a Jerusalem Donkey or two to keep the sheep
>> safe and happy.  Maybe even a couple of goats.
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Cecil Bearden
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 11:14 AM
>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Somewhat off topic: Pull behind lawn vacs
>>
>> I have not mowed my yard in 20 years, my environmentally friendly mowers
>> keep it down to a golf course height and I only have to fuel them with
>> some hay in the winter. I have Barbado sheep.
>> Cecil in OKla
>>
>>
>>
>> On 3/23/2016 9:58 AM, charlie hill wrote:
>>> I understand Dean.  It's not a perfect solution but it works for me.
>>> If mine gets too high I just cut such that I'm throwing the clippings
>>> to the outside of a circle or rectangle where they wind row all in
>>> one streak when I'm finished.  In my yard there are places that I
>>> can blow them into where it doesn't matter.
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Dean VP
>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 1:21 AM
>>> To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Somewhat off topic: Pull behind lawn vacs
>>>
>>> Charlie,
>>>
>>> I have gator blades on my Garden Tractor but the first few mowing in the
>>> spring just overwhelm the mower such that I need to use a Grass collection
>>> system to avoid killing the grass due to too much residue.  It would help
>>> if
>>> I started mowing earlier but it is hard to leave sunny and warm AZ to
>>> return
>>> to cold, windy and wet WA any earlier than we have to.
>>>
>>>
>>> Dean VP
>>> Apache Junction, AZ
>>>
>>> It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 2:19 PM
>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Somewhat off topic: Pull behind lawn vacs
>>>
>>> My solution to grass catching is Gator Blades on my mower, open the guard
>>> on
>>> the deck so that the grass will blow out freely and don't mow the grass so
>>> short that the bits and pieces show.
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Howard Weeks
>>> Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2016 2:19 PM
>>> To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Somewhat off topic: Pull behind lawn vacs
>>>
>>> I have had a DR vacuum for several years and I live in Georgia where I
>>> have
>>> mostly pine trees.  I wanted something to pick up pine straw and pine
>>> cones
>>> as well as grass. It picks up and chews up those items pretty well. But,
>>> there is a gotcha for me anyway. Those pine trees drop a lot of small
>>> twigs.
>>> Have a couple oaks here that do the same. The hose that connects the mower
>>> deck to the trailing vac system is about 6" in diameter. The twigs hang up
>>> in the hose and then effectively stop it up when the straw and grass hit
>>> it.
>>> It is a time consuming pain in the butt to disconnect that thing and clean
>>> it out. As a result, it is an $1800 tool that sets and rarely gets used.
>>>
>>> If it could handle the twigs, I would use it all the time.
>>>
>>> Howard in GA
>>>
>>> On 3/19/2016 3:35 PM, Greg Hass wrote:
>>>> For almost ten years I have wanted a pull behind lawn vac. I know I
>>>> could get buy without it but would like one. I have a sweeper, but it
>>>> just doesn't do the job. Much of my lawn is what used to be a barnyard.
>>>> I never seeded it but have just what grew; mostly quack grass. Some of
>>>> it grows so fast that no matter how often I mow the clippings can't
>>>> settle fast enough. I could just let the clippings stay; sometimes
>>>> they are are 2 inches deep and a day after cutting I will go over them
>>>> 2 or 3 times to try and spread them out but thats not the answer. As I
>>>> said I could get by as is but I enjoy such things and don't have
>>>> outside hobbies. I would just consider it like buying a $1200 crossbow
>>>> to hunt deer a few evenings a year. My reason for posting is I wonder
>>>> if anyone has one or knows someone who does and if so, do they work
>>>> and what brand would be good. I have looked online and read many
>>>> reviews but they don't help much. Those with fabric hoppers say they
>>>> tear and those with solid hoppers say they don't dump well and that
>>>> the back doors keep popping open and they have to add bungee cords to
>>>> keep them shut. Also, most companies are loose with the truth. DR
>>>> power equip. for instance advertises free shipping  all over their
>>>> website but when I tried checkout to see how it worked I find that
>>>> free shipping is only to the freight depot where you must pick it up.
>>>> Delivery to your home or a business is an extra $100; well OK, $99. I
>>>> would love any help or advice this list can give me.
>>>>           Greg Hass
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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