Tractor Pto Auger
Keeping Large Numbers Of Cats
My wife and I have been actively involved in cat rescue in the North of Scotland for the last eight years. Our home is a two bedroom cottage to which we have added a 40X20 yard cat run to keeo our 14 cats happy and safe. We've had to make some compromises to get along, arguably the worst of which is having a hatch open into the garden almost 24:7. Only very strong Northerly winds in mid winter force us to close it off for a few hours.
The conditions here are brutal with 100+ mile per hour winds and wind driven salt spray, so we opted for concrete security posts as the most long lasting solution - these were concreted into holes in the ground with their angled portion facing inward to create and overhang. As the rock here is within inches of the surface, a powerful Valtra 4X4 tractor was brought in with a steel PTO drive auger. The tractor burned out one auger in the process. Chain link fencing, suppored on horizontal wires tensioned by raddles made up the main fence, onto which nylon netting, similiary supported was added at the top and scaffolding protection mesh at the bottom tied down with stainless tent pegs. The nylon top netting needed replacing after a year and we opted for galvanised mesh which is still going strong after three years. Grass and weeds soon grew into the scaffolding mesh, making a permanent obstacle to the cats and small animals. This served us well until we brought in a pair of young Toms who found a way to get out. No matter how many escape routes we blocked off, they would find new ones. The solution was to fit the cat run with an RF antenna around its border which gave off a signal registered by collars fitted to the two Toms. The system can be set for to allow the cat to get within a user defined distance of the wire and gives the cat a warning beep, followed electric shocks, starting with a very mild one and then ramping up. This system, which cost about £400 all in, has been 100% reliable and successful. One of the Toms is so clever that, if we let him out without his collar on, he escapes immediately.
It isn't desirable to have so many cats in such a small area and there was always going to be conflict. We found that some commercially available preparations really helped with getting some of the more problematic male cats to get on together. Feliway and Bach's Flower Remedy were the two most succesful by far. We would strongly recommend both products. When we have lapsed in their use, problems, paricularly manifested themselves. No single approach worked against this and we adopted various strategies simultaneously. We bought more litter trays dispersed them through our home - we couldn't reach the magic ratio of one tray per cat +1 but we're not far off. We stick to the same brand of non-scented wood based litter, scooping at least once a day and washing the trays thoroughly every three or four - enzyme based cleaner is best, but it is expensive. When we discover cat urine we clear it up and clean the area immediately with an enzyme-based product. Sometimes a cat will opt to pee in a specific place, most often a female cat in a corner - although we have tried putting down double sided tape and baking foil, the best solution by far has proven to be putting a food or biscuit bowl in the location - cats avoid peeing where they eat. We also replaced all the carpet in the house with wood-effect lino, sealed against the skirting board with bathroom sealant and painted all the walls with water resistant emulsion.
There are always enough bowls of food and water down, placed far enough apart that the cats don't disturb each other whilst eating. Two feeding stations elsewhere in the house give the cats the option of snacking on water and getting a drink. All the cats get attention every day so that they all feel valued. The cat run gives them the option of going outside to play or relax at any time of the day and night without harming birds and other wildlife. We love our location, but we can't move again now, because we can't face the effort of building another cat run!
Wood Splitter run by Tractor PTO
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Screw Type Log Splitter Powered From Tractors PTO or Skid Steer Hydraulic Auger $425.00 |
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Howse Light-Duty Post Hole Digger - Model# PHD25 $499.99 The Howse light-duty post hole digger is designed for use with Category 0 or 1 subcompact tractors of 25 HP or less. U.S.A. Auger Type: PTO, 3-Point, Auger Diameter Capability (in.): 6, 9... |
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SpeeCo 2-Pt. or 3-Pt. Heavy-Duty Digger, Model# 2404600 $729.99 The SpeeCo heavy-duty digger is a versatile, heavy-duty post hole digger works with Category 1 and 2 tractors and several auger sizes. Auger Type: 2-Point, 3-Point, Digging Depth (in.): 40... |
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Howse Medium-Duty Post Hole Digger, Model# PHD45 $569.99 Medium-duty post hole digger for tractors with 35 HP or less. Comes with #2 metric driveshaft. Augers sold separately. U.S.A. Item is on backorder until mid-June. Auger Type: PTO, 3-point, Rated Power (HP): 35... |
