This Old Barn Needs Some Work | Retired Dairy Barn Tour 

Nice to see a young women with so much joy in her face and wanting to learn about farming geating to be a lost thing for women now adays so happy for your husband found gold when he found you !

Back in the late 60's, early 70s, my parents bought a 142 acre farm that we turned into our little homestead. I became fast friends with a girl that lived on a full dairy farm a few miles down our dirt road. Her father mentored my parents and was a godsend to our homestead as we were city slickers trying our hardest. Anyways, his dairy farm was exactly like yours with all the milking stations in the basement. His cows were let out for pasture time after milking with a door leading to a pasture. If I remember right, he milked twice a day. I used to love letting the teat holders suck up onto the cows teats! So cool. I remember him just calling out and his cows would come in to be milked. The little block building was where he processed the milk, and it was always kept pretty clean compared to where the milking was. Thank you for stirring up those long ago memories I was a teenager back then, more concerned with my friend and I and our horses but I hope some of my recollection helps you. Good luck!! Oh, when you first walked into the basement, I swear I could smell the cow manure like it was way back when!! Really!

That barn if walls could talk? You would have many stories to tell. It's amazing what a human being can save to recycle or reuse. God bless you both. Too bad there weren't any volunteers to help with a clean out.

I'd feel the same as you, that barn and it's contents are a Treasure! Most old dairy farms would and still do, run the cows down a lane into the barn for milking, then back out to various rotated pastures. Such a huge blessing that it has a great roof too.

What a beautiful barn - so much history. Love the notes left along the way, what a treasure!

What a beautiful barn!!!

You might consider watching 'Chateau DeMontmagner'. In their early videos Lisa learns how to mix lime morter, stack rock walls in their Chateau basement and out buildings. She has done a massive amount of laying stone, pointing and everything stonework.

WOW!!! That is an awesome barn. I love it. I'm glad you asked for advice. I have redone dozens of old houses. I now live in a house built in 1940. It is totally brand new inside but the outside looks like a 80 year old house. I won't go into all I did to rebuild it. My advice would be... The very first thing would be to figure out what or how to eliminate the water from getting into and on the stone wall. Mortar and stone will last forever if kept dry. No matter what you do, if that stone isn't protected, you will be wasting time and money. The roof being sealed up is a huge blessing! I subbed and looking forward to following along with you guys and seeing your progress. If you have need of suggestions, I'm always available... Thanks for sharing!!!

you could sell all the milking stalls,to help finance pointing,refirb etc,as scrap not much,but to dairy farmer setting up invaluable

you could dig fire pit and burn contaminated straw

Once you clean a spot up good get a sprayer and spray it down with water mix and crealeen or detol and water mix kills all germs and fresh doesn't hurt any animals or you as well

All that old hay can be burnt. Beautiful barn

Look up using lime and mortar. Many ppl in France are doing a lot of repointing. Saying the lime really helps. Just a thought. If any way to load in dirt in the low spot could help keep the rain out?!

That old wells would be first on list so dangerous

We did that for years and chicken house as well even house dis doing calf pull clean chains dis everything step in nail soak your feet in detol and warm water it works best thing to have around just seen please fill them old wells in proper with kids around

old hay great to make compost

Advice dont use regular mortar when you point your stones , I have seen that the wall needs to breath and therefore, you need lime mix , that allows that to happen, which mortar does not.

You ever thought about making a burn pit and burn a lot of that and the bad hay?

You for sure dont need any heat for baby pigs except maybe in the winter time , but otherwise no for sure. Also i noticed that you have exposed light bulbs in your barn, and that is a fire hazard. It is not even ok to put in an exposed light bulb in a ceiling closet. It is just not safe.

Watch Sean's World in rural France he is repointong the over 200year old cottages he is an expert using Lime with his mixtures

Can you burn the hay and all the wood items you don't need to save the $700 for the bin?