"Pazutski"...

One of the daily jobs that needs to be done, regardless of the weather, is cleaning out the cow gutters and spreading "pazutski".

Have you ever heard of "Pazutski"? 

Pazutski is another name for cow manure, cow poop, or anything else you might want to call it!  I have no idea where the word came from, how to spell it for sure, or if it's even a word...it's just what my family has called it ever since I was a little girl...

We don't have a manure pit, so each morning, Jim backs the manure spreader under the elevators and turns on the barn cleaner.  Behind each row of cows is a gutter about ten inches deep.  Laying in the gutter is a heavy chain which makes a complete circle...through the barn, up the elevator and back down again.  Paddles are attached to the chain about fifteen inches apart.  When the chain moves, the manure moves through the barn, up the elevator, and falls into the manure spreader.  Jim stands on the edge of the spreader and scrapes the paddles clean.  Then we spread corn fodder or straw in the empty gutters.  This makes more bulk and helps the manure to move up the elevators more easily.  It's also great for the soil...



The trusty old Farmall M is the work horse for this job.  Jim's dad bought the tractor many years ago, and it's still going strong!  (It's a 1950 something)  It has no power steering, so it's a bear to steer, and it's the only tractor we own that  I don't know how to start or drive.  I'm happy to keep it that way...that way I can avoid doing this job!  :)

Regardless of the weather, this job needs to be done.  So, you can imagine that in the winter time, this can be a challenge.  Sometimes Jim has to plow a path under the elevators and through the field to get the tractor and spreader through.  In the single digits this morning, he said it was FREEZING on the tractor!  Right now he's spreading on some rental ground about a mile away, so has a cold ride!  On his way home, he's usually heading into the wind, and is glad for the cold weather gear!



So...as long as cows keep making pazutski, we'll have something to do!  It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!