how are your animals handling the blizzard?

lonelyfarmgirl · #21 12/13/10, 12:05 PM

its 5 or 6 right now, and supposed to be -2 tonight, zero tommorrow and then a little warmer after that. Hopefully it will stay sunny. there is alot of digging still to do and that pig will have those babies sooner or later..

7thswan · #22 12/13/10, 12:42 PM

It was 5 this morning. We had a new calf in the barn, thank goodness she had it in there.The rest of the cows take turns going from behind the Privacy fence to eat at the round bales. I had taken the rabbits and put them in the greenhouse- they are having a Party! The chickens are all ok.Our wind came right out of the east,instead of the NW as usual. We are in the Thumb. Supposed to get 5-6 more inches today.

digApony · #23 12/13/10, 12:49 PM

My poor doggie almost froze to death. I feel terrible. Friday night we had a hard and very cold rain. She got tangled somehow, but finally got herself loose. It must have been early in the morning when it happened. She was trying to get into her dog house.

I found her on my back porch shivering in the morning. I felt terrible and I still do. I dried her off, she wouldn't come in the house for some reason, and fed her a hefty meal. We had a light snowfall all day Sunday, and was in the 20's. I got up regularly last night to check on her and she was warm and toasty in her cedar chips and doghouse.

But I still feel bad about it!

digApony

byexample · #24 12/13/10, 02:30 PM

So sorry to hear about your troubles and losses from the blizzard. Hope things improve soon and that you find your missing critters.

Be well!!

Kevingr · #25 12/13/10, 04:43 PM

I remember the blizzard of Halloween day in 1991, it was worse than this storm. I now make sure everything is ready for winter before hunting season really gets rolling the first week of October.

Everybody faired well and the horses were happier after I cleared out some drifts in their pen and dug out the outdoor trough. They still had fresh hay in the run in shed though.

mnn2501 · #26 12/13/10, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevingr

I remember the blizzard of Halloween day in 1991, it was worse than this storm.

I remember that, I lived in rural western Wisconsin then, I moved south the next year.
People may complain about the heat in Texas but you don't have to shovel 100 degree temps.

farmgal · #27 12/13/10, 05:40 PM

Fowl have to be the stupidest animal. They never know when to come out of the cold. Hens laying in cold puddle with chicks.. like DUH'. I remember my 1st cold winter here. 20 degree's colder than where I was raised. This was when we learned how leaky all the old barns here were. well -20 wind chill was upon us, the barn was awful. Chickens combs were freezin. So I decided I better put the birds in cages and put them in my garage. I laid a tarp in my garage, placed the cages on them. I had a garage that was under the house. House on hill, and you could pull under the house. anyway, I filled it with cages of chickens. One night we were having our wine party, and the birds started like singing. anyone ever hear when they do that? They all start singing together in such harmony, they really do sing great. OMG it was so loud in the house. I about crawled under the couch. My company was like what is that?...lol They sang for about 5 minutes, non stop. There must been 50 birds under my house for about 2 weeks...lol

ronbre · #28 12/13/10, 05:44 PM

well they say these are record storms, but I am sure I've seen a lot worse..

our paths continue to drift back in when we get them cleaned out..and the cats don't want to go out of the house for more than a few minutes..even on the paths..

kinda glad I didn't build any barns or put in any domestic animals this year..maybe we'll be able to next year

Farmerwilly2 · #29 12/13/10, 06:08 PM

Everything did fine in this part of KY. Spent Sat. finishing up water lines and hydrant. Made for a miserable day shoveling frozen dirt and sticky clay---then around 2 pm came the rain. I finished by 6 pm under tractor light. Went back out a bit yesterday to shovel in some that had settled. This morning it was several inches on the ground, 12 wk old bassett puppies playing in the snow, buddah buddah the turkey running toward me for a grain handout, and the water still working at the hydrant. I suppose tomorrow morning will tell if I did a good enough job on the water lines since the temps are to be bottoming out tonight.

jd4020 · #30 12/13/10, 07:09 PM

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope things get better.
Usually I have enough chickens for my the size of my house for them, that they keep it warm enough both for themselves and to keep the black rubber water bowl from freezing.
However, one winter a few years back, with the wind chill it was -50 below. Several of my hens froze to death. Sad day. Now, if it gets below 0 with the wind chill, I turn on a heat lamp for them.
All our critters are doing o.k. No one is shivering, so far. Keeping food and warmer water in front of them, blocking the wind and extra bedding for everyone.
I don't really mind being out in the weather if I know I'm making a difference in caring for our livestock.
jd

melissa78 · #31 12/14/10, 12:23 PM

We only have about 6" total here in central VT. We have actually been quite lucky, a few times we have gotten rain, but if it had been four or five degrees colder it would have been snow. For right now, it is just the right amount for the dogs to go tearing out the door like, "YEAH, BABY! WOOHOO!"

PrincessFerf · #32 12/14/10, 01:35 PM

Last night the temps dropped to -6, not sure what the wind chill was. I'm so glad I put an extra whole bale of straw into the chicken coop last night and gave them some additional treats. I usually let the chickens scratch through the straw and distribute it wherever in the coop... but last night I pulled it mostly apart myself to make sure we had additional coverage in the corners and "bedding areas".

The older hens sleep on their roosts snuggled next to each other. But my younger, 16-week old chickens snuggle together in a straw nest on the ground.