The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: Womble on January 09, 2022, 10:21:07 pm
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OK, I'll admit it. I am a serial user and abuser of buckets.
I've been through them all from the reused licky bucket to the orange B&Q bucket to the expensive but hopefully worth it builder's bucket...... but they all seem to either crack or lose their handles far too quickly for my liking.
So, good people of TAS, please help me in my quest to find my forever bucket. (Or perhaps help me to compile a bucket list of possible candidates). My ideal partner in buckethood will be robust but still reasonably lightweight, and standard bucket sized (about 14 litres). Looks and personality are unimportant.
Thanks in advance!
Womble.
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Have you tried the flexible tug trug style? I've got some old ones from my horsey days that are still going strong.
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They just dont make them like they used too!!!
Just befriend a local decorator and collect his old paint pots with handles (large plastic ones) ...... not they wont last forever but you will have a free supply of replacements.
Alternatively I just love an opportunity to sing 'theres a hole in my bucket dear Liza' ...... if you are too young to know this look it up!
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Modern buckets are rubbish and expensive. If I do treat myself to a new one I pinch where the handle goes through the bucket to prolong the time before the handle comes out and wont go back in. I buy round lick buckets and find they are pretty long lasting as water carriers.
My oldest buckets I bought in 1997. They were called Jumbo buckets and were marketed as unbreakable. I did lose the handles at some point but the buckets are fine. They are used for horses and pigs. They get kicked and rolled but they wash off and go again. At the time I think they were somewhere between £5 and £10 but they have been worth it.
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You obviously don't take care of them as well as you do your Zwarbs :innocent: :roflanim: :roflanim:
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Stubbs Jumbo. It's 25 litres, but you don't have to fill it. We've had one for 20+ years and it's still going strong.
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You obviously don't take care of them as well as you do your Zwarbs :innocent: :roflanim: :roflanim:
Let's just say that a B&Q bucket can't stand five Zwartble heads being inserted simultaneously ;)
I did date a trug for a while, but she cracked up pretty quickly. We also have some feed bowls made from recycled tyres which are bomb proof, but too heavy to be my ideal bucket.
Recycled licky buckets could be ok but the lick we get comes in square tubs without handles. I have rescued round ones from ditches before (we grow tomatoes in them), but I don't want to use them with the sheep in case we import orf or whatever.
[member=1]Dan[/member], thanks for the Jumbo suggestion. My forever scoop is a Stubbs one that has done 10 years so far - well, until I lost it last week ??? . It turns out they also do a 14 and an 18 litre bucket that's similar, so they're currently on my bucket list.
Any more for any more? ;D
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Am sure this thread should be called
Add to my Bucket list!
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It’s here
https://www.engelbert-strauss.co.uk/container/building-bucket-7200090-5278012-0.html?ItemOrigin=SEARCH
All their stuff is great. Unless you want to buy women’s curvy shaped overalls and clothes. My builder bought some as he claimed my buckets were better than any he could get.
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We buy €1 buckets from a DIY store chain called Weldom. They look just like the ones in the link below and we haven't broken any yet. Only drawback is the lack of a handle grip, which with that shape of wire, can't easily be retro-fitted. I've put fuel pipe on some though.
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Stubbs Jumbo. It's 25 litres, but you don't have to fill it. We've had one for 20+ years and it's still going strong.
[member=1]Dan[/member] you beat me to it ;D
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^ Awwww, finishing each other's sentences. How cute :D .
Edit: [member=28951]Steph Hen[/member] thank you for that link - they look excellent for the price. I've just ordered four buckets, a brush and a shovel from there for the price of one Stubbs bucket. I will report back in due course to say how our first date went :love: .
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I'm the same but with wheelbarrows!
By beloved died last year, whilst lugging A load of Mary's poo to the muckpile. Didn't help that I have the tendency to fill above capacity!
It was a B&Q builders barrow, orange, bloody thing only lasted 8 years. 30 quid it cost me in 2012! I don't know, just can't buy quality these days!
A barrow, like a bucket, HAS to feel right, balanced! I did go back to B&Q the next week to get a 2nd but it was wonky! It's seemingly impossible to find a nice barrow for what you want these days, they are all standard sizes. I bought a well-known "suitable for equestrian use" one. Useless. Obviously horses don't poo!
I loaded this snazzy barrow full of you know what and struggled to get it to the muckpile. Why? The weight in the pan, pressed it down onto the tyre meaning pushing became more of a chore than usual.
My 2 current farm barrows, both with the wheel pan support but so bulky. Yet I have an older 90litre model with wheel pan support, that is similar size to my orange barrow. But I don't like it. It doesn't feel right when full of muck.
Some folk are fussy about buckets, me, wheelbarrows (and hats! I used to crochet woolly hats but now due to my hands, I buy them, beanies with visors or trapper hats with visors (I have sensitive eyes!) I'm getting old!
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You obviously don't take care of them as well as you do your Zwarbs :innocent: :roflanim: :roflanim:
Let's just say that a B&Q bucket can't stand five Zwartble heads being inserted simultaneously ;)
I did date a trug for a while, but she cracked up pretty quickly. We also have some feed bowls made from recycled tyres which are bomb proof, but too heavy to be my ideal bucket.
Recycled licky buckets could be ok but the lick we get comes in square tubs without handles. I have rescued round ones from ditches before (we grow tomatoes in them), but I don't want to use them with the sheep in case we import orf or whatever.
[member=1]Dan[/member], thanks for the Jumbo suggestion. My forever scoop is a Stubbs one that has done 10 years so far - well, until I lost it last week ??? . It turns out they also do a 14 and an 18 litre bucket that's similar, so they're currently on my bucket list.
Any more for any more? ;D
Why are you letting any sheep put their big thick powerful heads in your bucket - let alone 5 Zwartbles? In my experience there isn't a man made substance produced that will stand a stupid, thick, food obsessed sheep pulling one way and a ST man pulling in the opposite direction. :relief:
The solution is simple Womble. :idea: Buy a cheap bucket and keep the sheep's head out. That way your cheap bucket will far outlive the most expensive receptacle because nothing will stand this pointless daily tug of war.
At feeding time you pour the food into a trough and don't let the sheep anywhere near the bucket. You've only got 5 sheep for heavens sake so how difficult can it be to hold the bucket high enough so they can't reach? :thinking: I've managed it with 50 sheep at a time and I'm only 5' 4". (I assume you are considerably taller.) The trick is to have sufficient troughs scattered about - with 50 sheep I needed 9 troughs, well apart. Then I had a small shovel in the bucket. Obviously you can't initially pour feed from the bucket into the trough because it's full of sheeps' heads and the food will go everywhere. But you can manage to get a scoop between them and thus a small amount of food into the trough, and simultaneously all 50 sheep (or 5 in your case) will attempt to get in the trough. This will divert their attention for at least 3 seconds from tripping you up, and allow you to race to the other 8 troughs (or 1 in your case) and to tip some food in each trough before the sheep (who are always one trough behind) get there. If you're fast enough you can then fill all troughs in complete safety and the sheeps' heads do not need to be anywhere near the bucket, and the bucket will last for ever. :thumbsup:
SIMPLES. :excited:
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. Then I had a small shovel in the bucket. Obviously you can't initially pour feed from the bucket into the trough because it's full of sheeps' heads and the food will go everywhere. But you can manage to get a scoop between them and thus a small amount of food into the trough, :
SIMPLES. :excited:
Expense of a scoop????? ....... what is wrong with a hand? ...... 1 handful thrown towards nearest trough works whether you have 2 sheep or 50 ......
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[member=194324]PipKelpy[/member] I too, have a favourite wheelbarrow. Everybody else HATES it though! When it needed a new tyre I splashed out on a new wheel with a needle roller bearing (https://www.rosscastors.co.uk/accessories/bearings.html), and the difference is amazing - it's just so easy to get going now.
(https://www.rosscastors.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/193x174/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/s/ss-bearing-20x12x43.jpg)
SIMPLES. :excited:
OK, I'm stupid, but I'm not THAT stupid!
The latest bucket got cracked because I put it on top of a tall strainer post whilst I emptied rainwater out of the troughs. One Z stood on top of another Z's shoulders to get to it and knocked the bucket to the ground. They've never tried that before!
But you can manage to get a scoop between them and thus a small amount of food into the trough
Oh for the days when we only had five sheep that actually had a thing called a 'scare radius', but yes that's pretty much what I do. However, you missed the part about keeping your feet and knees together to avoid being hoisted off the ground and dumped in the mud (that's how the previous previous bucket got cracked).
I have grand plans for a thug-proof trough design, but haven't had time to weld it up yet. When I do though, it will be the saviour of Zwartbles keepers worldwide! :)
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. Then I had a small shovel in the bucket. Obviously you can't initially pour feed from the bucket into the trough because it's full of sheeps' heads and the food will go everywhere. But you can manage to get a scoop between them and thus a small amount of food into the trough, :
SIMPLES. :excited:
Expense of a scoop? ??? ? ....... what is wrong with a hand? ...... 1 handful thrown towards nearest trough works whether you have 2 sheep or 50 ......
Very true Backinwellies! However, whereas a handful will keep 5 sheep diverted for 3 seconds it will most certainly not be enough to keep 50 sheep off long enough to escape to the next trough. Hence the scoop. But you don't have to actually buy one. (perish the thought!) Any old food container/tin will suffice.
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[member=194324]PipKelpy[/member] I too, have a favourite wheelbarrow. Everybody else HATES it though! When it needed a new tyre I splashed out on a new wheel with a needle roller bearing (https://www.rosscastors.co.uk/accessories/bearings.html), and the difference is amazing - it's just so easy to get going now.
(https://www.rosscastors.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/193x174/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/s/ss-bearing-20x12x43.jpg)
SIMPLES. :excited:
OK, I'm stupid, but I'm not THAT stupid!
The latest bucket got cracked because I put it on top of a tall strainer post whilst I emptied rainwater out of the troughs. One Z stood on top of another Z's shoulders to get to it and knocked the bucket to the ground. They've never tried that before!
But you can manage to get a scoop between them and thus a small amount of food into the trough
Oh for the days when we only had five sheep that actually had a thing called a 'scare radius', but yes that's pretty much what I do. However, you missed the part about keeping your feet and knees together to avoid being hoisted off the ground and dumped in the mud (that's how the previous previous bucket got cracked).
Apologies if I appear to have misjudged you Womble. I have great admiration for your inventive powers, but you said yourself you are a serial abuser of buckets, and I have to agree. :thinking:
To be honest you don't seem to engage your powers of reason to their full ability when dealing with sheep, as you do when dealing with an engineering problem. ( I really like the new wheelbarrow wheel. Could you add a link to it?)
I thought the 5 Zwartbles' heads in the bucket was your main problem, but now realise that it's only part of it. You have to always bear in mind that unlike machines - sheep are unpredictable. If it's possible to do something detrimental to you or to them or to their bucket then they will do it. The fact that they have never done it yet is no guarantee that they won't do it next, so you have to be one step ahead.
Of course they will go between your legs if you allow room for their head, and carry you of to the next patch of mud. But surely that only happens once? And after that you keep your legs together sufficiently to prevent a rematch. :thumbsup:
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I have grand plans for a thug-proof trough design, but haven't had time to weld it up yet. When I do though, it will be the saviour of Zwartbles keepers worldwide! :)
I already have the answer :idea: - no need to weld anything!
You know those 200litre blue plastic barrels that you can buy 2nd hand for @£10? Well if you cut off both top and bottom to a height of @ 4" or 5" then you have 2 circular troughs that can fit a max of 6 sheep round. They are super easy to fill as you just stand in one place while pouring food into the centre. So no need to move along the trough in order to fill it and so give the animals a chance to trip you up or carry you off.
They are made of really tough plastic and having used them for about 25 years can confirm that they are virtually indestructible. I have actually run over one with the tractor and the side just bent in a bit and then came out again. In addition - they are just the right size to put a Rumenco feed block in (other makes are available) so saving further money in buying the purpose made container.
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That is a very good point, [member=6533]landroverroy[/member] . The troughs we have are quite narrow and low to the ground, so firstly the sheep can crowd me out for getting that first scoop in, and secondly they tend to step in the trough, which makes it muddy.
I'll see if I can find some plastic barrels, but in the meantime I wonder if I could fill one of the tyre trugs outside the field and then drop it, to give me some cover to fill the other troughs. I'll give it a go tomorrow :thumbsup: .
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I don't particularly like feeding half a dozen tups with giant horns, so I devised a method which works for me. I line up the bakies/wooden troughs/whatever you want to call them, about 3-4 feet out from the fence, so the sheep approach from one side only, then I stretch over the fence and pour the feed in while walking along. Sometimes some goes on their heads but their chums will be all too delighted to pick it off; meanwhile the job is done and I'm unruffled.
For ewes I have a different trick but it's not one you're likely to be able to copy. I use my scoot to trundle along one side of the row of bakies, while tipping in the food as I go. The ewes are slightly wary of the scoot because I also use it when we're rounding them up, so they stand off a bit. Also Hebs are clearly more polite than Zwartbles
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I get a bit pushed about by my bunch, only 19, but with all that wool I don't think they actually realise they are pushing me over.
Just been thinking.
If you have 2 troughs alongside each other, put a post in the ground at each end, cut a 8x4ft board into 2 8x2ft, or if rich use 2 8x4ft? Fasten one to each side of the posts so there is a gap between boards, tip feed along the gap, so feed drops down divides into the 2 troughs? Bucket hopefully high out of their way?
Does anyone think that would work? May also stop muddy feet or poo in the troughs?
I do throw a handful in a trough first, but my lot run to the next trough with me to see if there is anything better coming up ;D
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OK, it's time to report back:
Huge thanks to [member=28951]Steph Hen[/member][/size] for recommending the Strauss buckets (https://www.engelbert-strauss.co.uk/container/building-bucket-7200090-5278012-0.html?ItemOrigin=SEARCH).
Advantages:
- Very tough.
- Just flexible enough to give if needed, and not crack
- The 13 litre version is a handy size for most thing, and the 20 litre version is fantastic if you need something just a little bit bigger.
- Approximately 1/10th the price of anything comparable that's marketed for farm or equestrian use.
Disadvantages:
- The handles are bare metal, and do cut into your hands a bit. I solved that with a bit of hosepipe and some duct tape.
So, for the price, we have a clear winner. (The 13 litre version is only twice the price of a B&Q orange flimsy, whilst the 20 litre version is cheaper than a Big Mac meal!)
Thanks again, [member=28951]Steph Hen[/member], and to everybody else for your suggestions.
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Glad I could help ;)