@Djones , does the timer work in cold climates? I’m just curious whether the valve will freeze in place?
@Alterration maybe try a timer like this? It’s got an extra loud ring that she’d be able to hear, as long as she hasn’t already driven away. I’d bet you could drill a small hole through the edge of the timer frame to attach a wire loop, and hang the timer from the hydrant handle, so she can’t turn the water on first without moving the timer.
You could institute a requirement that she text you “The hydrant is off” prior to leaving every shift --make that the equivalent of clocking out / recording her hours. And if she doesn’t text, or if you find it wasn’t actually shut off, her pay gets docked. She may magically become less forgetful if there are consequences.
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I can’t answer that. I would suggest reading the reviews on Amazon or elsewhere. I’m in balmy Alabama where it’s 74 today.
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LOL it’s going to be minus14 here. Thanks anyway
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Alterration I have five of these mechanical timers in place right now- the horse barn, the cabin garden/sprinkler, the side garden, two in the back yard). They are all just doing their thing, one of them leaks very slightly from inside the housing when it’s letting water run, so I just put the cat bowl under it LOL.
The mechanical one (not the programmable one) is literally just a twist it ‘up’ and dial to x number of minutes. In the AM I turn it to 10 minutes to top off paddock A, then hay the horses and move the hose to paddock B, and do the same thing. It’s dead simple. If I want to bathe a horse, I just turn it to ON (twist DOWN) to ON. Just don’t teach her how to turn it ON lolol
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Maintenance Free (LOL) Farm
One word - to solve the puzzle = LEGO
LEGO - ‘Horse Stable and Pony Care’ Kit = $29.99
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do your fish eat algae?
Not as much as I’d like them to 
Tank gets pretty gross over Winter.
But, gives them something to eat, right?
Spring means dump, scrub & refill.
I use a clearing agent from Lowe’s that does a so-so job.
Goldfish are dirty.
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What is your review of the Ramm fence in terms of performance (the “no painting” think is pretty awesome 
Do you mind if I ask how the price compared with wood or top rail with no-climb?
Thanks!
My farm is pretty low maintenance but I also have a fairly small herd - 4 large horses and a mini. My barn is tiny and it’s kind of in the middle of the pasture, with a grass barnyard. This means that my rodent control occurs naturally with birds, snakes and foxes. I think a feral cat comes by too. I keep the grain in the garage and bring in hay weekly so there’s no hay stack for mice to hide in. I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a mouse in the barn in the 10 years I’ve been here. If I can’t see poop, or mouse damage, I’m happy. I also see snakes very rarely but I know they live under the barn. On separate occasions I have seen a mouse and a snake brush up against a grazing horse, and the horse didn’t flinch. I’ve also seen a fox hanging out in the pasture and I often find bones in the pasture. I think that by keeping it as natural as possible, I can rely on nature to keep the rodents under control. It’s great to not have a barn cat, because we have so many coyotes around here and I would be worried about the cat all the time!
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I have centaur fencing (the same as ramm) and I’ll never use anything else. It’s beautiful, extremely safe, practically unbreakable, and my maintenance amounts to a few ratchet clicks once a year.
If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!
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