I've been doing some research into the Crush Protection Device that is now recommended for retrofit to quad bikes.
At first I wondered if the CPD (or Quadbar), would add another level of risk to the rider with this 'thing' sticking up from the back of the bike.
So I read some more current research papers and looked at footage on YouTube of quad bikes with and without the crush protection device.
The video footage actually sealed it for me as to the benefit of fitting a quadbar. If you have a look at the links below you will see that the quadbar actually changes the trajectory of the rolling quad bike. Of course, nothing is 'fail safe', but it does change the way in which the bike rolls and at times stops the bike from rolling altogether.
The majority of deaths on quad bikes are from what is called 'mechanical asphyxia':
- bike rolls onto rider
- bike too heavy to push off
- rider can't breathe
- rider asphyxiates
Although the bar might protrude and 'maybe' add another element of minor injury risk, I think the benefits of the bar far outweigh this.
http://youtu.be/fbHunv6NNxI
http://youtu.be/ECzO_Z-X_mo
This is the website for the quadbar, the guy still runs a property in Queensland, his name is David Robertson.
http://www.quadbar.com.au
I will now be ordering one for our kids quad bike, grandpa may take a little extra convincing, but we'll have a go!!!
Farmers - Get yourselves a quadbar, they're only $627, they were actually designed by a farmer - nuf said!
So this is how our meat supplies arrive on the farm, in an esky, ready to be bagged up and frozen. This delivery was a little smaller than usual, but you get the picture.
We have mobs of sheep called ewes, wethers, hoggets, lambs and then there are the 'killers'.
It's pretty straight forward people, we kill 'em and eat 'em.
Yeah! Not so fantastic when you have young lambs!
Over the years we have had several visits from nosy foxes. They come right up to the house and 2 of them have even been camped on our front verandah!
Looking out of our lounge room window (mind the 'Geleez' on the glass!), the kids had a fascinating look at this thriving pest introduced to Australia by the English many years ago.
Whenever we have a visit I always make sure the dog is at work with the hubby or locked up in the ute tray. Our dog (Max) has run foxes down but we don't want him to get mange or get injured by one so we try and avoid an altercation.
This fella looks in pretty good knick, hopefully he hasn't got into our lambs. We do bait for foxes but you can never get them all. If hubby was home this cheeky little bugger may have met with the end of a rifle.
Well, what an unfortunate nickname, but the poor old sheep just can't help it. They attract blowflies, especially if their backsides are covered in poop and urine, hence why farmers 'crutch' their sheep when it's not time to shear the whole animal.
Sheep have the personality of a wet flannel! Except, when they are lambs, they are energetic, skipping and jumping around the paddock with the other lambs, tails flapping. They are so cute and funny at this point, BUT they are a commodity, not a pet.
Later this week our Merino lambs will have their tails docked and will be mulesled. Mulesing is a very unpopular practice for the animal libbers and we don't particularly like doing it either, but, I would rather give them the best chance against fly strike that we can. Other alternatives are being trialled and would be welcome as long as they are cost and time effective for a farmer. I'm definately in favour of pain medication, but again, it must be cost and time effective, otherwise, some farmers with sheep will walk away from the industry, some already have, they will crop if they can or change their operation to cattle. But I guess that would be pleasing to certain aspects of the Australian community who see the world through rose coloured glasses.
If you have never seen a fly struck sheep, perhaps you should. The maggots dig into the sheeps flesh - they are actually wriggling inside it's meat, eating the sheep alive basically! As you cut away the wool to treat the struck area, you can see them wriggling and squirming into the flesh, it's cruel.
Being a person who has lived and travelled over most of South Australia, I have noticed quite a difference in fly populations. Many years ago I moved from Whyalla to Murray Bridge and the lack of blowflies in Murray Bridge was so significant, I commented on it to family and friends, I have always remembered noticing that. So I think sometimes many people have not experienced blowflies in the numbers we have here on our Eyre Peninsula farm and throughout a large part of SA. Some people have never been north of Gepps Cross!
We do have a paddock of 'killers'. These are the sheep that can't be sold for whatever reason and when we need to fill our freezer, we kill a sheep or two and that sustains us for another few months. Again, they are a commodity and you have to depersonalise the vision of a cute little lamb and see the end product which feeds our family.
Shearing wrapped up last week. We only have about 1500-2000 sheep these days so shearing only goes for just over a week, weather permitting.
We get professional shearers in to attend to the job and the hubby, his brother and father are the shed hands, wool classers, wool pickers and sweepers.
Up until he was 72 years old my father in law use to shear one sheep on the hour for the shearers as an old fashioned good will gesture (the shearers are paid per sheep they shear). He has slowed down quite a but in the last 12 months but still wont retire. Actually, I think if he left the farm he would die, it's been his whole life, he loves it.
Little Benny bruiser loves to help sweep in the shearing shed, so does our 5 year old daughter, although she's now at primary school so only gets a turn after the school bus.
Ben is now trying to shear me!!! He asks me to get on the ground and then he pretends to 'drag' me out of the pens, swings the leg over and pretends to shear me!! He has been taking so much notice of what the shearers do, it's amazing.
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