Hey ya’ll!
Hope everyone is doing well this winter! Weather-wise, it’s literally been like riding a roller coaster, hasn’t it?!
Are we in the ‘Winter Twilight Zone’ or what?! I’ll swanney, (that’s what all the ‘ole folks here in the south say) it’s been 70 degrees and sunny one day, and the next it’s 35 degrees. It’s no wonder folks constantly have the sniffles! I think the weatherman is just as confused as the weather itself is, lol.
Some days, I just have to dress in layers. It will be 19 degrees when I get up to go feed the calves, and by the time I’m finished feeding them and the horses and collecting eggs from the feathered ladies, I’ve shed two layers! By lunchtime, it’s 70 degrees!
Winter is a little more labored for us when it comes to feeding times. We have to keep the hay rings full, we feed some grain in the winter to keep the ladies’ figures full and shapely, and of course, the very cold temps call for water trough patrol to keep the ice broken so they have plenty to drink. Also, we try to make sure everyone has some kind of shelter for the few times we might get some freezing rain or snow, which by the way we have had both already this winter.
My Hubby is my Master builder around here. He is excellent at building strong, sturdy, good looking structures for housing of our babies. We have in the plans to build an actual structure in each pasture so wherever they might be they will have a place to get out of the weather, hot or cold. As for now, some pastures have DIY make-shift shelters. They’re not pretty but they work.
Have ya’ll taken advantage of your USDA office for help around your Ranches and Farms? They are a great resource for all of us Ag people. We have applied for and received two cost-share automatic waterers for the cows. YA’LL, they are a game changer, I’m telling you! They supply constant water supply, they don’t freeze in the winter, easy to clean and maintain, and it takes no time for the cows and calves to learn how to use them! I absolutely LOVE them! If ya’ll aren’t familiar with them or how to find out how to get one you can message me on my contact page and I will be glad to point you in the right direction.
I still have to use regular troughs in a few places, but for remote pastures where you would have to haul water to the stock, they are priceless. I’m fixin’ to apply for another for our Bull pasture for the boys. There are a few different brands and different sizes. If you would like my opinion on the brands I have and would like to know what they are, shoot me a message on my contact page and I will be glad to help!
Well, enough about the waterers, sorry, I just get excited about things like that that make life easier.
Winter is a great time to clean those fence lines! I have two pastures I am working on. We have one of our pastures that backs up to our neighbor who also has a few cows and a bull. We had trouble this past summer when I put our girls in that pasture, with Mr. Romeo from next door sneaking over to visit the girls. Well, he didn’t really SNEAK, he actually made his own entrance through the fence, lol. So, I have to do some tree trimming and installing a Bull deterrent (electric fence) to help convince him he should stay home with his own girls. And, it will keep our Bull, Rocky on our side of the fence.
It’s a great time to knock down those pesky weeds, saplings and skin-ripping briar bushes. Man, I hate those things! Next to barbed wire, they are my most UN-favorite things I have to deal with. Seems like they grow everywhere too! I know the deer and birds and the like enjoy them when they grow the berries on them, but dern….do we need so many!?
Back to the point I was going to make. It’s a good time to clear those fence lines because most everything is dormant and you can actually SEE what you’re doing, and things come down easier when they are dead or dormant. It’s easy to spot that occasional feed bag that the wind carries into the woods or off into the wild blue yonder too.
One of our biggest problems we have here in the winter is our feeding area or sacrifice area. If you have a few cows or a lot of cows, then you know, wherever you put out hay, or feed, it’s GONNA get muddy! It’s just a fact of Ranch/Farm/Cow life.
One of the Universities did a study, or experiment, if you will, with cattle feeding areas. They came up with some very helpful information on where to feed, and what type of feeders to use. You can find the article at tncattle.org. It’s very interesting and very informative. They did different designs of hay feeders on the fence line and give results to help us better plan and design our feeding areas to eliminate most of the mud most of us deal with in the winter.
We ourselves have already done the grain feeding area, and boy is it so much better! For us and the cattle. Next we are going to try the hay feeding area and see what we can come up with. We kind of have an idea of how we’d like to approach it, but haven’t made up our minds totally yet. I will let you know when we do, and how it works out though.
First on our list when we get a little warmer and dryer weather is the installation of our scale! Yes, we got a scale late summer last year and are getting ready to install it in our alley in our work pen. It will be so helpful in us becoming more profitable and we are excited about that!
Scales are used to weigh the cattle so we can measure meds for correct dosage, weigh calves at birth, before and after weaning and again before they head to the sale barn. Important information can be obtained from the weights to help us figure out if we need to tweak our feed, feed more or feed less, and many other helpful insights to improve the business.
Winter is also the time that I start making my list of the things I want to accomplish for the coming spring and summer, like fencing. I love building fences! I know, I’m crazy, right!? I don’t know what it is about it, I just enjoy doing it. It’s hard work, but so rewarding to see it done, and be able to utilize a new pasture. The cows LOVE to change pastures! I’m sure they get bored seeing the same ole scenery all the time, AND the new pasture has more grass! They’re like kids in a candy store!
This winter, I am in the midst of building a new chicken run and coop. I almost have the run done and I have placed a temporary house for them until I can build the new actual coop. The old run is very unsafe for them right now so I will feel better once they are in the new one. The old coop is an old metal grain bin, which in theory is great for a coop. Only problem is, in the summer all that metal heats way up and the poor girls are laying boiled eggs! It’s not a healthy environment for them to try and hatch babies because it gets like 110 degrees in there and they would die of heat stroke, so I have been pulling eggs when they start to set.
With the new coop, we will be able to let them hatch new babies! We just acquired a beautiful Lavendar Orpington Rooster and he will make some gorgeous babies. His name is John Henry. He’s a beauty, but let me tell ya, don’t turn your back on the old fella or he’ll get ya!
Talking about mud earlier…..oh gosh, all the trucks and tractors and any equipment we have to use is covered in mud. Whenever we get a couple dry days that aren’t super cold, I try to wash them off some, but then soon as we put out more hay or have to use them for anything, they’re covered up again!
Spring will be here before we know it, and here in Tennessee we don’t get much of one before the hot temps of Summer are upon us. The one good thing about winter is there are no bugs that are constantly pestering the cows and horses! (see….I CAN be positive about winter)
Hope ya’ll are having a good winter, and hopefully, if you have stock, they have also fared well this winter. Take care of those babies and hold on until Mother Nature gets done with her ‘fits’.
Until next time! Be Safe and Be Blessed!