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Project Discussions:  Animal Husbandry  |
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl
1846 Posts
Shannon
Rozet
Wyoming
USA
1846 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 08 2019 : 10:27:26 AM
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| So I was thinking.... many of us raise at least one kind of animal... I was wondering if any of you would be interested in sharing about your animals and recommendations for others? I know with our extreme temperatures right now, we are struggling caring for some of ours... |
~ Shannon, Sister #5349
Farmgirl of the Month January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2019 : 12:56:47 PM
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Shannon, that could be an interesting topic. I know we are not as cold as you are but we are sitting at 29°, up from 26...at least the wind is less. But it is so cold. I broke ice on tubs of water in my yard for calves, dogs and roosters to drink from...that was about 7:30 am. They were frozen harder when I went to the barn to water my sons horses. There the hose as well as the faucet are frozen solid. My son and his crew drove out west...an hour and a half away to work today. They got a late start because of the frozen water. Right now I'm about to load up kitty litter jugs filled with water and go back to the barn. Problem is horses can drink so much, I'm not sure it will be enough.
I'm not too worried about the arena horses because he has no freeze faucets down there. I feel for you! I really do! |
Texasgran |
Edited by - TexasGran on Feb 08 2019 12:58:53 PM |
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hudsonsinaf
True Blue Farmgirl
1846 Posts
Shannon
Rozet
Wyoming
USA
1846 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2019 : 1:17:02 PM
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| Call me crazy, but I've never heard of no freeze faucets! We might need to look into those! We've been going through a cold snap, though not nearly as bad as what I've heard North Dakota has been! Our high Wednesday was -4... but with windchill, we saw the -30s! It was pretty chilly! We moved our ducks out of their pen and put them in the brooder section of our stationary chicken coop. Some of the poor ducks literally had ice on them! Thankfully I think they will be alright! Our goats have been a real trial this winter. The girls have done great, but the boys... not so much. We lost our favorite buck a few weeks back. Thankfully we used him for breeding, so hopefully we will get a son from him! We also lost one of this past year's bucklings and a wether! While my girls grew in thick fluffy coats for the winter, my boys haven't! I'm not sure what has caused the difference!?!? Maybe with it being breeding season their energy went to that rather than growing thicker coats!?!? |
~ Shannon, Sister #5349
Farmgirl of the Month January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2019 : 3:14:12 PM
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It is always sad when you lose an animal. My son lost two horses this summer, both males, neither one was an old horse.He said he thought one had a heart attack. The horse was fine that morning and when he came home at noon the horse was dead. Our high today was 31° which lasted maybe 15 minutes before it dropped back to 29. My husband came home and helped me get water for the barn horses, unhook 150' of rubber hose and put it inside the barn apartment to thaw out so I can fill troughs tomorrow. Then I took water, scratch and crumbles to my four chicken pens. It was warmer in upstate New York and New Hampshire than it was here today...go figure!!!
I thanked God for bringing my son and his crew home safely...Now if he will get some new tires on that truck, I won't think about their safety so much. |
Texasgran |
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GinghamGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
895 Posts
Joyce
PE
Canada
895 Posts |
Posted - Feb 09 2019 : 04:31:01 AM
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Winter and barn faucets are a challenge. We get extreme cold weather - right now it's -22 celcius (which is -8F I believe) and the way we keep our tap thawed is heat tape wrapped around it, and a box around it, with a door. The door is kept closed, with a light bulb on 24/7. The other thing is that our water does run from a well close to our house...and it's far enough under ground that it doesn't freeze underground, it's just above ground that it starts freezing.
We've been keeping heat lamps on our mini-pig, rabbits and all other vulnerable creatures. It's amazing the chickens are doing so well. |
Joyce Hein
Sister #6071
April 2016 Farmgirl of the Month |
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Project Discussions: Animal Husbandry |
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Animal Husbandry
