My new mate has arrived, Wally the Australian Shepherd. It's rather strange the history of the breed shows they were actually developed in the USA as a ranch dog. My thinking on the breed for a small farm is that they are just a little more passive than the Australian Kelpie which I had before, a bit more homely and not so much a wanderer - we will see. Right now Wally is just a pouncer on chickens type of dog and completely scared of the horses, cattle and alpacas but mind you at 10 weeks old he is just a little fella. Let the training begin I say - Wally, Wally, Wally where the bloody hell are you.
Bath Tub for Water Troughs
I don't know if this happens else where around the world but an old bath tub makes a good size water trough and you can usually pick them up from renovators for free. Unfortunately they are often just tossed in the paddock and the water is attached through a hole drilled in the wall of the bath. That's what happened on my farm and a few years on now the bottoms are rusting out of the tubs and the constant leaks are becoming a concern. I like to to things a little different. A mate of mine who renovates old houses had a bath he didn't want so I used it to replace the worst one I have. I put some plumbing in so it could always be drained and cleaned then poured a slab of 2 barrow loads of concrete over top. I then built a frame around the bath like you would when installing it in a house. A bit of 3 ply wood as the cover on the sides and a few layers of paint I now have a great looking water trough -- very swish indeed.
Comments
Post a Comment