Friday, January 7, 2011

My wheelbarrow runneth over

Under normal circumstances, taking care of all these animals by myself is perfectly manageable. I enjoy the time I spend outside cleaning up and feeding ... and cleaning up and watering ... and cleaning up, then cleaning up some more.

The key to managing these chores is to never miss a day. Ever
Which is exactly what happened on Wednesday when I found myself in town all stinkin' day.

I think the herd conspires to poop extra while I'm gone just for spite.


Yes, Hank, I'm talking about you.


And you, too, mon petite poopère.


My wheelbarrow runneth over with two day's worth of poop.



But my corral is clean.


Wait...Alan, what are you doing back there?


A rancher-woman's work is never done.

39 comments:

  1. OK, what do you do with all that poop? Just make the pile, somewhere, growing bigger and bigger each day? Do you compost it for future use? Can that be done with 7MSN poop like you can do with cow poop? Just wondering ... curious minds want to know!

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  2. It's like doing laundry, a never ending job. Everywhere you turn somebody is pooping at the donkey sanctuary where I volunteer. Our wheelbarrows are always running over. It' s fun in the winter they are like hockey pucks. Lol

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  3. Hee hee, only you could do a post about poop and actually keep it entertaining! Glad it was in black and white too ; )

    What do you do with all that poop anyway?

    Sharon

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  4. You do a stellar job of poop patrol! I've never seen cleaner quarters. (How about if you just take them all to town with you when you go?) Kidding...

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  5. Since two out of the first five commenters today are wondering what happens to all this poop, I guess I need to do a sequel to this post. Pat and Sharon, come back next week for all the poop on the poop.

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  6. Would it be easier to WALK them, like dogs?
    Prob'ly not, huh?

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  7. Gosh, Linda, I missed you yesterday! No post! ACK! What am I supposed to read with my morning coffee? Yes, you'll have to do another post on poop!!! We ALL seem to be interested!

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  8. It seems someone would have invented some kind of poop vacuum or something. Maybe even a solar one, to go with the heated water tank. Hmmm...

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  9. You did it. You made poop pictures look good. Say that 5 times. Pretty pictures from piled poop patrol.

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  10. Oh, I feel your pain. There are 3 of us mucking most days, for 6 equines, but 2 of us do not utilize quite the same standards that one of us does, so the one of us is usually doing her share plus.

    But it works.

    When I'm here alone doing all the mucking, it is critical not to get behind - because once you do, it usually means a gargantuan effort to catch up, which means ice pack on back that night.

    Those days I fantasize about a "horse toilet" that they could go stand over, let it drop, and then somehow they would get rewarded with a pellet for "flushing."

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  11. I'd be tip toeing around all that poop and hiring someone to do the poopy job of cleaning it all up cuz I'm way too much of a girly girl. hee hee

    DI

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  12. I'm with the rest of 'em - what in the world do you do with it? I'm thinking you have a compost pile....

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  13. Your animals are lucky. Many folks would just let it sit, since it's not in a stall or anything----let the elements take care of it.
    Giant pile of compost gold. Looking forward what you do with it. Maybe you heat your house? :)

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  14. Yep, I want to know, too. I got a trash can's worth of poop from the horse guy down the road last summer and here I am 6 months later and I still have most of it. I use it on the garden and when I plant new stuff, apparently so Little Pete can locate every piece and carry it around for a bit.

    Glad you're back, and can't wait for the next bit of poop info.

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  15. I'm betting that you DO compost--if only to amend the soil in the yard and/or garden--It would take a lot of poop to do much for your pasture.
    I did a post of my composting system (5-7 horses) last fall. Feel free to visit:
    http://mountaintrailmusic.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-gold-orpiles-o-poop.html
    (Or Carson, feel free to edit out if you'd rather not include the link.)

    @flartus--They do make a manure vacuum. Way more expensive than the solar water trough!
    And, Billie, there have been folks who trained their horses to "eliminate" in a particular spot. There was a guy on a suburban So. Cal. lot (think 1/2 acre, with neighbors) a kazillion years ago, that created a big French drain, the trained (a la clicker training, but it hadn't been invented yet) his two horses to stand there when they peed. Don't know if he added something to reduce the smell, but his neighbors were happier.

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  16. I don't clean daily so when I do I get an average of seven or eight wheelbarrows at a time. Now that's a workout!

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  17. Holy Cow! Those are some pooping machines!! Please do tell us what you do with all that poop. :)

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  18. Looking forward to hearing about more poop! (I never thought I would see the day when I would type that :D)

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  19. I would rather scoop horse/donkey poop than cow poop. It collects quickly and then what to do with all of it. As we patiently wait for the next episode of the poop mystery..........

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  20. That is a truly fantastic picture of Hank. He is clearly plotting something.

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  21. What a mountain of ... stuff. :)

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  22. Oh I'm hearing that! Don't miss a day here either or you'll be out there all morning scooping poop. My routine is to do a loop feeding, then start cleaning pens and work my way back. With my 2 xtras this week, I'm cleaning 7 pens. If I let horses out in the yard (that's a 1 acre "yard"), then I make another loop w/wheelbarrow thru the yard. Then I grab the dog poop cart and do that loop. Takes me about an hour on a normal day just to feed and scoop poop. I consider myself an expert now, lol. I'm betting you are too :)

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  23. I can relate to the poop patrol. When I had my two St.Bernards (to answer your question, because I am insane) I sometimes cleaned up twice a day in the backyard. When my granddaughter came to live with us we assigned her the poop patrol because she also brought a dog, but she vowed she would only pick up the "smaller" ones. I laughed and agreed. That's a load of poop you have to deal with and like the others.....what do you do with it. I will await your answer next week. The Olde Bagg, Linda

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  24. OK---I won't even ask and will patiently wait until tomorrow for the answer
    gramps

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  25. oooo - I cannot wait for the scoop on the poop- Happy New Year --!

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  26. Can you wheel some of that wonderful fertilizer over to my garden up here please, thx!
    signed
    Theresa in Alberta

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  27. I was just looking this AM at the mess my crew has created...especially the cows...and it's all frozen solid. Our lil' tractor will get to work overtime when it thaws out!

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  28. what? no maid service on Wednesday?

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  29. Oddly enough, when I was working as a stable hand, I found the pooper scooper element of my job the most relaxing and meditative. I know....lock me up before I hurt myself. *smirk*

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  30. I think a methane digester is in your future. Power from poop.

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  31. Boy do I hear you! We muck twice a day and it's pay back if we miss one of the times much less a whole day. Then it's exhausting!! Have you seen the cartoon of a horse eating money and pooping it out the back end? So accurate!

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  32. I use to do that for my Dad's horses. I imagine you have a lovely garden ...

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  33. you know....the first response should be "ewwwwwww" but horsey poop really just doesn't bother me.....unless I was scooping it up all day long :)

    although the saying I saw on a shirt once holds true for me: "I know a girl who would rather muck a stall than clean her room."

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  34. Judging from the responses, looks like poop has hit a nerve. It could be a blog all of itself and what FUN it would be to claim THAT name! Let the contest begin! (But what about the prize???? Oh....I should stop here...hee hee!)
    Feel free not to post this!

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  35. LOL!

    Meadow Muffin removal ~ the Unglamorous side of owning critters.

    ~:-)

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  36. What a gorgeous lot of fertiliser! You must have some very healthy plants and good muscles :) Love it!

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  37. Yes it is true, poop never takes a holiday.

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  38. Ahh, poop, the never ending story... now imagine digging it out, kicking it, prying it loose in 16 degree weather. FanTASTic, couldn't imagine anything more fun :-)

    Petra Christensen
    Parelli 2Star Junior Instructor
    Parelli Central

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