Back Yard Breeder?

[OH Breeder]

You know I was thinking the other day about our farm in comparison to some of the others in the area. As Red and some of the others know, we are have quiet a few prominent breeders in our neck of the woods. When some one ask us about our farm, I would have to say, we are not fancy at all. We do'nt have big corrals or fancy barns, tons of pasture with pretty board fence but what we do have is alot of FUN.Some folks on here I suspect do have pretty nice places. Had a family stop in yesterday that is just getting started. I think they found it unsual that we have lawn chairs set up in the barn to sit and have a cup of coffee. I guess to most noncatttle  folk that might seem strange. I would like to hear about some of your set ups you all have out there. This may have been done before with "what breed or tells us about yourself" But I am talking about how you move and handle cattle etc.

Our barn was built by my grandfather and is great. It is a block barn is always 10 degrees cooler inside than out. We basically have little more than 5 acres of pasture at one farm and 20acres we have to move the cows to for the summer. One squeeze chute to work cows in and pipe gates to move them around. This is our little back yard farm. But, we are proud of it. We only have about 15 cows, 4 show heifers and a couple of steers. Not counting my 10 new babies.

 

[red]

we have 2 new pole barns. One is for the show calves & the other for the cows & is used as storage. One is done in OSU colors.

Both are very comfortable & have chairs & a swing in front of one.

Red

 

[Jill]

I guess you could say we are the cream of the crap. (clapping)
We have a nice barn that took 20 years to build, we have jobs that we work at for a living, but this is our choisen life.  Not big breeders, just trying to raise some nice ones to show and sell enough to pay the bills.

 

[BCCC]

I guess you could say we are the cream of the crap. (clapping)

Thats what I would say about us ;D

 

[DiamondS]

People kinda laugh when they see our facilities.  We are a large commercial and purebred operation.  All together we have 700 plus or minus cows running around here.  When you pull up to my facilities (I manage the ranch) there is a old barn completely done in used tin.  It has a lean-to on the east and west side.  There's an old set of WW pens, that are in desperate need of overhead cross members that a horse can be ridden under.  Saddle horn in my gut gets old!! 

However, under this old run-down looking barn is a completely hydraulic silencer tub, alleyway, and chute....  2nd one in the country.  This is completely enclosed by a room made of see-through tin.  There's enough holes in the old tin that it still rains in the barn and then runs across the see-through tin and into the room!!  Kicker is that we have no electricity and it's all run by a ex-hospital generator.  Also we have no running water in our pens.  It's all hauled by tank.  There is a creek that runs most of the way through the whole ranch.  I have one pen that I made under the lean-to on the barn and one side of the pen has an ancient dozer for a wind-break that is my calving pen. 

It could be worse for sure!  But the best part is, that we almost always have a cold drink or beer for ya, and time to shoot the breeze! 

Dawn

 

[oakbar]

We have small barn that we built in 1993 and added on to just this winter.  Nothing fancy, just functionable.  We do enjoy the scenery and wildlife at our place.  I've attached a couple of pictures showing the view from our patio door back towards the pond.  Rainy day sorry its not brighter.    The second picture was taken last spring when the local kindergarten class made their annual trip to Oakbar to see the calves and bust holes in the horizon as they make a lap around the pond and woods.  Here they are enjoying their lunches while resting in our backyard.  Hope I got the attachments right!!

 

[red]

Oakbar- I'd love to farm out myself to do landscaping!!!!

Red  (clapping)

 

[CAB]

  Oakbar, I Love an Oak grove!! That is just beautiful, and Red if you were closer, God knows we need help here. Ask Terry. LOL. Our facilities are a prayer & hope. You must be a graduate student of Temple Grandin to get cattle to work here. I know it's not any warmer in our barn than outside most of the time, but A least it's DRIER inside most of the time. The best thing about here is that it is home and anyone is welcome anytime.

 

[oakbar]

Hey Red, Thanks for the offer.  When can you come??  Actually, We set up most of our landscaping to be pretty low maintenance but we do have a bubbling boulder, a huge oak in our back yard that we can light up like a huge green canopy at night, and even a 180 yard golf hole(actually pasture pool--we haven't built a green just put in a cup & flag and mow the hillside to look like a green).  I'll send a picture once we get it set up for summer--we just started mowing the lawns yesterday for the first time this year.  We have interesting rules--you usually need to hit your drive over a cow or two(I told you it was pasture pool) and if you hit one you automatically get charged extra strokes or a free beverage and congratulations depending on how that particular cow has treated the Iowegian lately!!

CAB, etal.--    If you like oak trees, whitetail deer, turkeys, eagles, and a few cattle--make sure you stop by if you're in the area.  We keep beverages on ice at all times.  You'll probably find me on the lawn mower and I'll be looking for a reason to stop and talk cattle.

 

[red]

Hey Red, Thanks for the offer.  When can you come??   Actually, We set up most of our landscaping to be pretty low maintenance but we do have a bubbling boulder, a huge oak in our back yard that we can light up like a huge green canopy at night, and even a 180 yard golf hole(actually pasture pool--we haven't built a green just put in a cup & flag and mow the hillside to look like a green).  I'll send a picture once we get it set up for summer--we just started mowing the lawns yesterday for the first time this year.  We have interesting rules--you usually need to hit your drive over a cow or two(I told you it was pasture pool) and if you hit one you automatically get charged extra strokes or a free beverage and congratulations depending on how that particular cow has treated the Iowegian lately!!

CAB, etal.--    If you like oak trees, whitetail deer, turkeys, eagles, and a few cattle--make sure you stop by if you're in the area.   We keep beverages on ice at all times.  You'll probably find me on the lawn mower and I'll be looking for a reason to stop and talk cattle.

I love the rules! A little to far from Ohio!!

Red  (clapping)

 

[OH Breeder]

This makes me feel a whole lot better. Sounds like the board has some down to earth folks. Red has a handy husband and I will tell you, I would like to have her gates. I think we own stock in TSC, they know us on a first name basis. Great pictures folks beautiful places. Thanks for the comments.
Dawn, that beer is going to sound pretty good when the Ohio summer hits. yuck......

 

[DiamondS]

This makes me feel a whole lot better. Sounds like the board has some down to earth folks. Red has a handy husband and I will tell you, I would like to have her gates. I think we own stock in TSC, they know us on a first name basis. Great pictures folks beautiful places. Thanks for the comments.
Dawn, that beer is going to sound pretty good when the Ohio summer hits. yuck......

If you ever get to KS, we'll have one waiting for ya!  However, my drink of choice in the summer is a good ole lime margarita!!  There's alfalfa going up around here.....  Just doesn't feel like summer yet!

 

[chambero]

One big difference down here is most of our lots and pens and small pasture fences are made out of pipe and either cable or sucker rods.  Lots of that stuff down here available due to the oil industry.  Its actually cheaper for us than wood and infinitely easier to maintain.  I built my show calf barn a couple of years ago  before I built my house.  Everything is made out of pipe with tin on the outside.  Someone tore down very old building (probably built in the 30s) and we conned them out of the tin.  It's the old heavy duty stuff and was nailed down, but not rusted at all.  We used it on my calf barn.  It gives it a unique look.  It has a million nail holes in it, but back then they actually nailed tin on the ridges instead of the valley, so it doesn't really leak at all even with the holes. 

 

[gatorbait]

One big difference down here is most of our lots and pens and small pasture fences are made out of pipe and either cable or sucker rods.  Lots of that stuff down here available due to the oil industry.  Its actually cheaper for us than wood and infinitely easier to maintain.  I built my show calf barn a couple of years ago  before I built my house.  Everything is made out of pipe with tin on the outside.  Someone tore down very old building (probably built in the 30s) and we conned them out of the tin.  It's the old heavy duty stuff and was nailed down, but not rusted at all.  We used it on my calf barn.  It gives it a unique look.  It has a million nail holes in it, but back then they actually nailed tin on the ridges instead of the valley, so it doesn't really leak at all even with the holes. 

Yeah I made it out west on our judging team this spring first thing I thought when I say all the steel pens is that all these here folks most be some kinda rich. My teammates had to explain to me that it was cheap for ya'll. Our pens are made out of old half rotten pallets rotten posts rotten cypress poles and rusted out wire thats been patched and re-patched. We never clean the fence rows cause briars make pretty good blinds and if ya clean'em out there ain't noth'n else there. What I wouldn't give for offshore drilling in FL then maybe we could have some decent pens and cheaper gas (haha yeah right). And if I put tin on anything other than a house its definitely been used is rusty and has plenty of holes. Also our barn has feed sacks stapled up the upper quarter for a "wall". We would just rather spend money on cattle than infrastructure.

 

[SWMO]

Oakbar,  do you have any trouble with the cows and lost golf balls?  My son is constantly wanting to practice driving (golf and well as truck) in the pasture but we have worried about all the lost golf balls and won't let him. 

 

[oakbar]

NO--They're all on the green in a small circle right around the flag---Ha, Ha!!

Seriously, We've never had any problems with the cows eating the golf balls if that's what you mean.  At least not that we know of!!
We usually have a ball finding expedition with my grandnephews right after we hit em so hopefully we're finding most of them.