What are your favorite things to keep in (barn tool box, etc).......greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread |
...the barn tool box & livestock first aid & med ket?It has taken us almost 4yrs to get thru all the garbage in our barn. The last 20 (large) bags are waiting to be picked up. I do keep a small tool box in the coop storage area (we have hens, pullets, turkeys & ducks) & a small first aid kit for me(being a nurse helps) The barn is a separate building from the coop (too far away) & should have its own box & kit. So, besides the usual wire cutters, screws, screwdrivers, nails & hammers, what are your suggestions - also the livestock first aid & med kit. I can't thank you enough for all the other posts, I try to keep up with all the info, there's so much!!! My thanks in advance for help & suggestions. Late summer/early fall we're getting goats & sheep, & we would like to be ready for them.
-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000
What we keep in our barn supplies is rather sparse,but here goes.Tools-a hatchet(it has a wide end for nailing, would like to have a hammer down there too)a can of various nails,all different sizes and thicknesses,baling twine,electric fencing twine,for repairing the fence in a hurry,wire,and a pitchfork.The medical and animal care supplies include bag balm,a jar of clean olive oil(for lubrication when examining laboring goats),a bag of soft,clean old rags(these really come in handy),a utility knife or two,with disposable blades(for hoof trimming,they are very sharp and can have the blade changed as soon as it gets dull),diatomaceous earth,for fly control and fed free choice for worming,a bottle of dish soap,maybe the antibacterial kind,would come in handy.Here are some more things that should be in the barn,but we have them in the house right now- cayenne pepper(for sudden,profusely bleeding wounds like broken scurs),wound and eye powder(I think it may be a bloodstop powder) alchohol,iodine,molasses(for just kidded does and does that are acting ketotic),cider vinegar,probios,corid(for coccidiosis,haven't had to use this since we stopped watering the goats out of the pond,which had ducks in it).We also have an assortment of needles and syringes which are rarely used,and a bottle of pennicilin,and a tube of naxcel in the fridge ,which are probably old and should be thrown out.We just don't use those things very often because our goats rarely get sick.
-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), May 18, 2000.
In the house refrigerator we have penicillin, epinephrin, & 3-way cat vaccines. In the barn we have goat & sheep Nutri-Drench, blood stop powder, clean terry towels, paper towels, tamed iodine spray, peroxide and electolyte powder. I keep the Ivermectin, Tramisol, and de-lice in the house where I can keep track of them and also the needles & syringes. I also keep gauze pads & vet-wrap on hand. Oh, and a really good pair of wire cutters. That's all I can think of right now.
-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), May 18, 2000.
I have a large rubbermaid box at the barn that I keep hoof trimmers, wire cutters, collars, clips, disbudder, castrater, tattoo outfit, and bungy cords in. I have a rubbermaid container in the house that I keep all my vet supplies (thermometer, vet wrap, gauze pads, tape, sutures, bolous, tubing, weak kid syringes, ob wire, stethascope, I.V., and a surgical kit. This box goes to the barn in emergencies and to other farms. I keep 99% of my drugs and wormers in the fridge and Naxcel in the freezer, only frozen does it have a shelf life. The only things that are kept in the drug cabinet in the house is un- opened Corid, Ammonium Chloride, Iodine, and my syringes and needles. I also have a bucket just for kidding supplies with a neat padded lid for me to sit on. Keeping very little out at the barn because of the humidity here. Vicki
-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 18, 2000.
Everything stays in the house, unless it's lambing time. Then I have a kit set up in the barn. Most of the stuff is mentioned above or in a good livestock book. Our barn isn't that far from the house, and I keep supplies either in the fridge (meds) or beside *our* first aid stuff in the bathroom closet. If we need to get out of the house fast (earthquake) I can grab both sets (animals and ours) and get out, if I am around. It makes sense to keep either duplicates or the basics in the barn, but I don't want to spend $$ for sets of both, and don't feel good about leaving anything where it could be accessed by someone else, or forgotten (it happens!) by me.
-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), May 18, 2000.
Ladies! many thanks for your response! There were already several things you mentioned we have on our list & the remainder will be of great help getting it all together. Bag balm is 1 of my favorite items since it has wonderful healing qualities, ie:my hands, they get very dry & chapped esp. after a quilting frenzy! Before going to bed, I'll slather some on my hands, then put on a pair of cotton gloves, it really helps! Vicki, I sure like your bucket with the padded lid idea, something I know I can use even now, you are quite inventive. Again, many thank yous to Rebekah, Jean, Vicki & sheepish, for your most welcomed help! God bless & take care!
-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), May 20, 2000.