farm people......

[Denisemomof4]

I have two issues I'd like help with in my barn. First of all, the cobwebs! We blow, dust, etc, and a month later, it looks like moss hanging out of our ceiling. There are SO many and they are SO thick. Getting them down truly is hazardous to our health! I need a mask. But really, does it have to be done EVERY month?

 

Odors. Now that my barn is 8,5 years old, we have odors, especially in the spring, and usually after a good soaking rain. How to minimize them or eliminate them? We have stone dust piled down and then the thick rubber stall mats on top. I don't use shavings anymore as the animal's stall doors are kept open for them to go in and out and they made a MESS out of them. When we had shavings for the horse and pony, the llamas always went in there and got them stuck in their wool. Anyway, for expense reasons, we only used them on nights like tonight, where's it's VERY cold and we have all the animals closed in. Should we pick up the stall mats and sprinkle down something for the odor? The animals *usually* go to the bathroom outside but on bad weather days the usually will go in the barn and hang out. And go to the bathroom.;)

[kiana]

Cobwebs: We really don't worry about them much. They're not really that unhygenic and since spiders eat flies, we encourage the spider population in the barn.

 

Smell: Is it urine? We've had good results with simply neutralizing the pH for urine.

[Catwoman]

No answers here. I just love these farm threads.

 

Don't get me wrong; I know what barns look like and everything, and my aunt had a farm when I was a kid, and I went there once a year for a family picnic, but that's about as far as it goes in terms of actual knowledge.

 

I also think llamas are way cool, if that counts for anything. :001_smile:

 

Cat

[Denisemomof4]

Cobwebs: We really don't worry about them much. They're not really that unhygenic and since spiders eat flies, we encourage the spider population in the barn.

 

Smell: Is it urine? We've had good results with simply neutralizing the pH for urine.

 

but mine are HORRIFIC! We got all the webs down a few months back but now, it looks like something out of a Halloween scene in there. I've *never* seen cobwebs this bad in anyone else's barn! It surprises me, too, since we don't have the dust from the shavings anymore.

 

The smell is urine. The pigs urine smells the strongest but the entire barn smells in the spring when all the snow melts. How to you neutralize the ph? What do you put down?

[Denisemomof4]

No answers here. I just love these farm threads.

 

Don't get me wrong; I know what barns look like and everything, and my aunt had a farm when I was a kid, and I went there once a year for a family picnic, but that's about as far as it goes in terms of actual knowledge.

 

I also think llamas are way cool, if that counts for anything. :001_smile:

 

Cat

 

I really love having my llamas! I really wish I could post pics here! I have some VERY funny pictures of my animals. Every time I try to post a pic, I'm told it's too big. I've shrunk it as small as I can and still, it won't post. :glare:

 

My four llamas names are Larry, Curly, Moe and Shemp. My first two potbellies were Charlotte (black, we still have her) and Wilbur (pink).

 

I just love having a farm. Tonight we were out there preparing for an extremely cold night. It was so fun tucking everyone in and reading them a story. Well, not really, but that's what it felt like. I sometimes leave classical music on for them and give them hot sweetened tea or high balls. :tongue_smilie: The vet calls our farm a country club.:lol:

[kiana]

The smell is urine. The pigs urine smells the strongest but the entire barn smells in the spring when all the snow melts. How to you neutralize the ph? What do you put down?

 

We usually lime. It does a fairly decent job, you do have to clean the wet out first for optimal results.

 

Other people have said they use pine-sol, just for odor reduction. We've used that for delicing chickens but not for the barn.

[FaithManor]

Denise, I'll take a stab at this but I'm unsure with pig urine. Unfortunately, it's just hideously strong! My American Paint horse has very strong smelling urine. I use "equine fresh" pellets in her stall. It's a pine pellet that pulverizes when wet and gives off a nice scent plus it's very absorbant. What do you use for bedding? Straw just doesn't cut it and neither does regular dirt.

 

So, if you have a tree service nearby, find out if you can buy sawdust...I've found this to be absolutely superior for bedding, absorbancy, and smell. Since pigs will pick and corner and make that their toilet spot, spread a bag of equine fresh pellets or whatever brand pine scented deordorizer your farm supply store sells, in that corner and moisten until it just begins to soften. Spread a sawdust about four-six inches thick over that and then every couple of days turn that spot with a pitchfork and add fresh sawdust. See if you can make it a week before having to muck the area out. With my horse, I get ten-twelve days out of the bedding with the combo of equine fresh and sawdust. But, the horses are turned out to pasture even in the winter except if the wind chill drops below zero and gusts over 15 miles per hour. If your pigs stay inside all winter and don't have a fenced run outdoors, then I don't think you'll get that kind of lasting power. But, if you go in every week and muck out that corner and spread more pine pellets, you might find that the barn smells better in the spring.

 

As for cobwebs, I just don't know what to think. We've never been able to get a handle on them. I suppose if I power washed every single day or some ridiculous thing, the barn would look good. But, I've given up and since we don't have time to manage more than one knock down every four weeks, I just shake my head and try not to think about it.

 

Faith

[LibraryLover]

I try to avert my eyes to the spanish moss hanging from the rafters, really. We do shop vac them each season, but beyond that, bring it on.

[Denisemomof4]

 

As for cobwebs, I just don't know what to think. We've never been able to get a handle on them. I suppose if I power washed every single day or some ridiculous thing, the barn would look good. But, I've given up and since we don't have time to manage more than one knock down every four weeks, I just shake my head and try not to think about it.

 

Faith

 

wow, I just can't do it every four weeks! I'm left coughing and choking and I feel like I'm going to vomit! Then I come inside and blow horrific stuff out of my nose! But they just look SO awful.

 

My horse is such a messy, messy animal. He's a hard keeper and I just gave up on the shavings because I was going through a bag every two days. He'd get water all over (I can't close him in and not give him water) and he poops where ever he wants, then he'll walk through it and get it all over. Really, he's so messy that I just gave up. Only on cold nights do I put them in there. I've also tried those pellets on him and they were a lot more money, but I still had to clear out his stall too soon. I can't remember how long they lasted, but several people I spoke to said they never heard of a horse going through so many. So we stopped putting bedding in his stall. He does go in at night, but often times he will sleep outside with all the other animals.

 

The pellets may work for my pig, though! I had the odor in the spring after the winter thaw before my big pig came, so it's not all him. :001_smile:

 

Thanks!

[Denisemomof4]

I try to avert my eyes to the spanish moss hanging from the rafters, really. We do shop vac them each season, but beyond that, bring it on.

 

dh brought the shop vac out there and within 2 - 3 weeks, WOW. It look just awful! I guess I need to learn not to be embarrassed when we have people over and I see them looking up there.

[LibraryLover]

Do you live a barn? Shut the door, and forget about it. :D

 

dh brought the shop vac out there and within 2 - 3 weeks, WOW. It look just awful! I guess I need to learn not to be embarrassed when we have people over and I see them looking up there.

[Denisemomof4]

Do you live a barn? Shut the door, and forget about it. :D

 

No, I've been behaving so I get to stay in the house.;):lol::lol::lol:

[FaithManor]

Hi Denise, Wow...you do have a messy horse. I don't use shavings either...too hard to muck out. The farm owner buys sawdust (as in the fine stuff) by the trailer full. Pine Shavings are a pain in the rear with a messy horse.

 

The bummer of living where there is severe winter so the critters can't stay out most of the time.

 

Faith

[Audrey]

Umm.... it's a barn. It's supposed to have cobwebs and smell. Honestly, I wouldn't do a thing about the webs. Spiders eat flies. Flies are disease ridden, disgusting little critters. Cobwebs = good.

 

For the urine smell, I'm afraid I don't know what to say. Our pigs are in a barn with a pit, so that has it's own odor issues, but can be dumped regularly. For the cattle, we just use straw and we muck stalls regularly. I know you say it's cold, but even in the cold air flow is important. Animals in a confined space exude a lot of moisture. It gets to -40°C here and we still air the barn during the day. If you don't the ammonia builds up and is awful. Also, not airing the barn regularly lets mildew build up -- a whole 'nother stink.

[zaichiki]

but mine are HORRIFIC! We got all the webs down a few months back but now, it looks like something out of a Halloween scene in there. I've *never* seen cobwebs this bad in anyone else's barn! It surprises me, too, since we don't have the dust from the shavings anymore.

 

The smell is urine. The pigs urine smells the strongest but the entire barn smells in the spring when all the snow melts. How to you neutralize the ph? What do you put down?

 

We leave the cobwebs alone.

 

In the spring, when everything melts, we lock animals out of the barn and change pastures/pens around to get everyone up out of the wet. Once things are dry we rotate back.

 

Right now we're just trying to keep everyone from freezing. Don't care what smells.

[LibraryLover]

Umm.... it's a barn. It's supposed to have cobwebs and smell. Honestly, I wouldn't do a thing about the webs. Spiders eat flies. Flies are disease ridden, disgusting little critters. Cobwebs = good.

 

 

 

That's what I think, and yet. In the blistering nasty heat of August, spiders are my friends. But why do those webs get so dang huge and fall so low (kinda creepy), even in January? I don't even see any spiders. And there are no flies. It's below freezing out there.

 

My (teeny tiny) kingdom for moderate winters.

[Denisemomof4]

Umm.... it's a barn. It's supposed to have cobwebs and smell. Honestly, I wouldn't do a thing about the webs. Spiders eat flies. Flies are disease ridden, disgusting little critters. Cobwebs = good.

 

For the urine smell, I'm afraid I don't know what to say. Our pigs are in a barn with a pit, so that has it's own odor issues, but can be dumped regularly. For the cattle, we just use straw and we muck stalls regularly. I know you say it's cold, but even in the cold air flow is important. Animals in a confined space exude a lot of moisture. It gets to -40°C here and we still air the barn during the day. If you don't the ammonia builds up and is awful. Also, not airing the barn regularly lets mildew build up -- a whole 'nother stink.

 

for the horse, pony and llamas, their stall doors never get shut. They can go in and out anytime they want. Sometimes I see my horse sleeping outside in the snow. It SO pretty. He's an old guy now, older than his age (24) and does it less, but still does it. Tonight it's going to get 20 below, up to 40 - 50 below with the wind chill so we closed them all in. I put down some light bedding for the horse and will have to remove it ALL tomorrow. The pony had a ton of hay to bed in (leftovers) so I will just remove it tomorrow.

 

A pit INSIDE the barn? How COOL!!!!

[Audrey]

A pit INSIDE the barn? How COOL!!!!

 

 

Most smaller hog barns were built that way. Nowadays the regs here mandate a lagoon (yuck). The hogs are on concrete and concrete slats, the pit is below. All the waste falls between the slats into the pit, plus you use a scraper to push any "leftovers" into the pit. You have to have a thorough ventilation system for that type of barn though. It's a convenient set-up for waste disposal, but I will admit that it isn't the nicest way to keep hogs. These are hogs for market, so it's not like we keep them long, KWIM?

 

What we call "the old barn" is a regular old-style wood frame 3 story barn with a hip roof where the few cattle and the chickens live. That has a dirt floor and we use straw in there.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Audrey

[BeachGirl]

On our 4-H farm, we use something called Sweet PDZ. It comes in a big bag and it really cuts down on odors. We had a hog last year on the farm and the smell would have been unbearable if we hadn't used it. I don't know how many animals you have so it might not be cost effective for you. Maybe you just want to use it in the spring when your animals are indoor/outdoor animals. Good luck.

[katemary63]

Well, I understand that you don't like the smell of the pigs. But the only way to make your barn not smell like pigs is to keep the pigs out of it. :lol:

 

We keep our pigs in their own pen with a small run-in shelter way across the barnyard from my horsebarn. Even then, I can get irritated when the pigs smell up the whole barnyard in the summer. And we only have 2! I would never be able to stand the smell of my horse barn if there were pigs inside it! Happily, we only keep 2 pigs from April to Sept and then.....it's into the freezer.

 

As for cobwebs, we have plenty. It never occured to me to try to remove them. But then I even have a hard time remembering to sweep them down in my house! (except when company's coming!)

[Catwoman]

Do you live a barn? Shut the door, and forget about it. :D

 

You know, my Aunt Mary was raised in a barn.***

 

Cat

 

***Ok, not really, but I just wanted to stay involved in the conversation. I don't even have an Aunt Mary, but I'm sure that if I did, she would be a lovely person. And of course, she would know a lot about barns, what with having been raised in one and all.