Do you adjust feed times after Daylight Savings time?

pheasantplucker · #1 11/04/12, 08:44 PM

Wondered if others here adjusted the feeding times for their animals after daylight savings time. I know our dogs have an internal clock, and even though the clock says one thing, their stomachs say it's time to eat...NOW! I normally feed the dogs at 5 (their second meal of the day). Today at four they were all whiney to eat...I fed them at 4:15. I might do that for a few days, then bump it back to 4:30, etc. till late next week they'll be back to eating at five. Do you all adjust for cattle, goats, chickens? etc.?

suitcase_sally · #2 11/04/12, 08:47 PM

I would feed them on the "stomach" time. Forget about the clock. They can't read a clock.

Silvercreek Farmer · #3 11/04/12, 08:52 PM

Give them a week, they'll acclimate. My children were begging for food an hour before dinner too! Our lives are built around our work schedules, so everyone just has to adapt.

Alice In TX/MO · #4 11/04/12, 08:55 PM

My goats and dogs don't change their clocks.

MO_cows · #5 11/04/12, 09:06 PM

We do our evening chores at dusk so the chickens will be in to roost and we can close up the coop for the night. So the time change doesn't affect our animals, just the gradual lengthening and shortening of the days. No problem. Our dogs get fed after we eat our dinner, which varies an hour or two daily anyway. So there is no stress at our place with daylight savings time.

farmerDale · #6 11/04/12, 11:12 PM

Is this a real question? For real?

susanneb · #7 11/05/12, 01:48 AM

I hate changing for daylight savings and standard time, and since I'm self-employed, I don't change anything for my animals or for us. My husband does have to get to work, so we do change the clocks, but otherwise life goes on as if we hadn't.

Barn Yarns · #8 11/05/12, 06:00 AM

feeding times always vary around here.

Maura · #9 11/05/12, 09:42 AM

I don't feed at a specific time, just more or less. The clock doesn't effect us.

CountryWannabe · #10 11/05/12, 10:37 AM

I feed and milk during daylight, so the times are always changing somewhat.

Mary

meanwhile · #11 11/05/12, 11:50 AM

We plan ahead and "re set" the dogs's and cat's "clock" for feeding and nite time lock up. We start about a month ahead and delay meals and bedtime by 15 mins. It is hard for them but by the end of a week they are used to the new time. Then, we delay another 15 mins and so forth. By the time the clock changes back, the animals are ready for the new time.

It is annoying. Sometimes I wonder if we should just wait and do a shock to them of a whole hour but that seems mean to me. At least it would not work so good for us but it would probably work for other animals. Just depends on the animals and the family.

Ozarks Tom · #12 11/05/12, 12:04 PM

I love my dogs&cats, and like my other animals, but our schedules are set by the clock, not their stomaches. I truly wish the time changes stopped altogether, and we could just settle on one time standard.

**highlands** · #13 11/05/12, 12:09 PM

Ours free feed. The vast majority of what they eat is pasture/hay year round. We supplement that with dairy for the pigs and meat for the chickens. Food is always available. Daylight savings time is artificial and I don't pay much attention to it.

lmrose · #14 11/05/12, 02:25 PM

We just set our clocks back Sunday. Our house cat has a habit of meowing and rattling the bedroom door handle at 5:00am sharp! Now he does it at 4:00am! We go to the barn at the crack of daylight to feed the hens and goats and milk. They are closed in at dusk for the night. So feeding times vary according to the length of days. Summers the horses and goats come and go as they please to the pasture. I guess clocks don't affect us much except if we have to keep an appointment in town.

Awnry Abe · #15 11/05/12, 08:20 PM

I tell my animals "welcome to the machine better known as the Industrial World." As much as I would love to buck the system, I've got to be at work by 8. They adjust fairly quick, just like we do. Interestingly enough, the time change happens very quick starting around mid September. The rapidly shortening days in October always force my hand and chore times are out of phase with the setting sun during that month.

mary,tx · #16 11/05/12, 08:33 PM

Chores are sunup and sundown, no matter what time that is. The animals did get fed an hour late this morning because I still had my regular run to town first, which was by the clock. They let me know about it.

TxHorseMom · #17 11/06/12, 01:37 AM

The livestock always got fed according to the daylight and when it is cooler. In the summer dawn and dusk due to the heat. (those animals who got grained, or supplemented.) In the summer they have pasture and in the winter there are roundbales. The dogs are fed in the morning enough to last the day. I've never had dogs whining for food due to the time change. They pretty much sleep till we get up for work.