Having clergy meetings all week in Casper, I ducked home afterwards to check on things. Of course, I found a little ranching to do.
Just give me an excuse to get this old chute up and running.
The cows have been doing good. But ole Methuselah developed a bit of hoof-rot in her left rear foot, right below her dewclaws.
She need doctored, so it was time we put our new old chute into action.
She was almost ranch ready when we got her two years ago. But the head catch needed some attention.
The two doors are meant to work together, but were so loose that I doubt they would catch a cow.
After cutting off the bottom plate, we exposed the strap iron that they used to replace what would have been cables. It was super loose and wouldn't allow the doors to swing wide open.
The cable concept is really the way to go. But not having any cable and being short on time, we reverted to working with chains and welding a threaded end to them.
We had to drill out the original holes, after cutting off the old strap iron.
Threading in the one end of the chain, we then weld on the other.
Honestly, I’m surprised it worked. To get the doors to work together you wrap one chain around the front of left door then behind the door on the right, and vice versa with the second chain.
The concept is a bit confusing to describe, but in the end it works! We then welded on a plate so the cows don't step on the chains when they leave.
Finished cleaning it up and hauled her down to the corrals. Because all the leavers are on the right side, we just chained it up to the fence and wired on a couple panels for an alley.
Then grabbed the old girl and walked her in.
Standing about 14 1/2 hands high and having gnarly horns, she really wasn't the best test candidate. But it worked and we got her doctored up.
Back to business.
So fun. I love a good challenge, but only with the help of the Lord. This could have easily been an all day project. But with a little gumption and a lot of grace, we got the job done. God bless America!
No comments:
Post a Comment