Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[misfitmorgan]

Thanks guys

 

[misfitmorgan]

Atm I'm kind of terrified that they are going to lamb outside and we will have dead lambs. Dh suggested putting all the sheep in the barn too but there isnt much room in there for all of that. The pig stalls and duck pen take up half the barn already and the jugs are suppose to go on the other side. He is thinking it would give all the babies the best shot though because that many stock in a mostly closed building will help it stay warmer. The stock that is in there now will generally keep it 10-15F warmer then outside.

It would only be for a few weeks so I am considering it. We need to build jugs, we have 11 that could go at anytime and 1 due the 15th, the other 3 wont be until later on. I think we can fit 11 jugs around the perimeter of the barn and still leave the center of the main floor open, that would work in theroy but its going to be tight quarters and we only have 3 heat lamps and one barrel to turn into a heat barrel. We will have to see how things go. We may need to change plans and make a lamb creep area and a kid creep area with lights/heat barrel and leave moms on the main floor, only thing then is i would worry about kids/lambs getting beat up.

A lot to think about. If we do bring the sheep in all the females are getting their butts sheared esp the mutts.

 

[Bruce]

Not much of anything to like @misfitmorgan! I can't even imagine losing 2 animals that close together let alone all that you lost. Things just GOTTA get better!

 

[Baymule]

The livestock is a hit. Losing animals is never easy, you wonder where you could have done something different, how you could have prevented the loss. If one has enough acreage, we haul dead animals to the back for buzzards and coyotes to clean up. Small animals get buried. We only have 8 acres, and have 2 old senior horses. When they go, we'll probably have to have them hauled off and buried.

Lucas. I would take it hard too. Lucas was your DH's best buddy, his friend. You get a lot of family history wrapped up in a dog over 14 years. I bawled my eyes out when ours died, and still miss them. I know there is an empty place in the house without Lucas. I am so sorry that he is gone. I like the funeral pyre idea. You can't bury him and you want to honor him, so that is the next best thing. I get it.

I would definitely get the sheep in the barn. Those lambs would be frozen when they hit the ground. I cannot imagine such temperatures. How in the world do you function in such extreme weather? Girlfriend I am keeping my southern self right where I'm at! I'll take the 100* over -27* any day! I can pay the electricity bill for air conditioner, buy I don't know how I would cope with your winters!

This is me last winter, it was 14 degrees, I was bundled up to go out the feed the animals. We got 2 inches of snow. It was gone in 4 days. Now, I can handle THAT kind of winter!

 

[misfitmorgan]

The livestock is a hit. Losing animals is never easy, you wonder where you could have done something different, how you could have prevented the loss. If one has enough acreage, we haul dead animals to the back for buzzards and coyotes to clean up. Small animals get buried. We only have 8 acres, and have 2 old senior horses. When they go, we'll probably have to have them hauled off and buried.

Lucas. I would take it hard too. Lucas was your DH's best buddy, his friend. You get a lot of family history wrapped up in a dog over 14 years. I bawled my eyes out when ours died, and still miss them. I know there is an empty place in the house without Lucas. I am so sorry that he is gone. I like the funeral pyre idea. You can't bury him and you want to honor him, so that is the next best thing. I get it.

I would definitely get the sheep in the barn. Those lambs would be frozen when they hit the ground. I cannot imagine such temperatures. How in the world do you function in such extreme weather? Girlfriend I am keeping my southern self right where I'm at! I'll take the 100* over -27* any day! I can pay the electricity bill for air conditioner, buy I don't know how I would cope with your winters!

This is me last winter, it was 14 degrees, I was bundled up to go out the feed the animals. We got 2 inches of snow. It was gone in 4 days. Now, I can handle THAT kind of winter!

The picture of you bundled up is great! I do know we have thicker blood, it helps with the cold. As far as dealing with it, you just do because there isnt another choice. To do chores i wear rubber barn boots, my old jeans, and old winter coat, sometimes knit clothes. If its really windy out i will put my hood up to keep my bangs out of my eyes/face. The faster you move the warmer you stay and the quicker chores get done, once you're in the barn and there is no wind it's not really bad.

The pyre was DH's idea and i think it was a good one. He said lucas deserved more then being stuck in the ground. As far as burying things, it is possible in winter but you need equipment or a dang good reason because for the first several feet its all frozen. We did once in the past make a large bonfire which we let burn for several hours then put it out and dug where it had been...that works we got down 2ft before we hit frozen ground again.

This winter thankfully has been mild, last winter was too. I love the mild winters. Those sheep need to cross their legs, we are building pens but it takes time, DH and I are both on overtime atm.

 

[Baymule]

I got a feeling that next year you will keep the ram away...…..until you can time lambing for spring.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I got a feeling that next year you will keep the ram away...…..until you can time lambing for spring.

For marketing and breeding we need them born in February, March at the latest. Even lambs born in March are not sellable to the 4h market. Spring here is not until April which also makes the kids/lambs only 7 months old when winter hits and they have a very hard time with it. We usually get our last big winter storm/freak storm around Mothers day.

Our biggest problem is needing a better set up. Jugs, creeps, more heat lamps/barrels, etc. We really just need a barn for just goats and one for just sheep and a few pastures. We will get there. The mutt sheep we have no control over breeding anyhow, since they came likely bred.

We also need a chicken coop and a duck house and buck/ram houses/sheds...and ...and ...and

 

[Bruce]

This is me last winter, it was 14 degrees, I was bundled up to go out the feed the animals.

14°F is nothing to sneeze at even here Bay! Most often if it is below 20°F I'll toss on my Carhartt insulated coveralls. Above that if I'm not staying out long, jeans and my Carhartt jacket (non insulated) are fine. In either case I have my insulated rubber boots that go up almost to my knees. Even with the jacket that leaves only about 2' of jeans exposed.

 

[Baymule]

@Bruce, my 14 degrees is an unusually cold winter, even so, it only lasts a few days. Then it goes back above freezing. Right now we are in the low 20's at night and have been the past few nights, above freezing in the 40's during the day. It's warming up to the 50's day and 30's nights.

@misfitmorgan count your blessings! You HAVE a barn! We got a doublewide with not even a fence, overgrown, people drove by here and didn't even know that there was a house here. We moved in on February 14, 2015 and it snowed 11 days later. I felt bad for the horses, there was no shelter for them. It rain continually after that, enough that my son filled the 300 gallon galvanized tank when he brought the horses up here and I didn't add more water until May. We had a barn built that fall/winter.

Sure, you need more and better shelters, but it will all come in time.

 

[misfitmorgan]

@Bruce, my 14 degrees is an unusually cold winter, even so, it only lasts a few days. Then it goes back above freezing. Right now we are in the low 20's at night and have been the past few nights, above freezing in the 40's during the day. It's warming up to the 50's day and 30's nights.

@misfitmorgan count your blessings! You HAVE a barn! We got a doublewide with not even a fence, overgrown, people drove by here and didn't even know that there was a house here. We moved in on February 14, 2015 and it snowed 11 days later. I felt bad for the horses, there was no shelter for them. It rain continually after that, enough that my son filled the 300 gallon galvanized tank when he brought the horses up here and I didn't add more water until May. We had a barn built that fall/winter.

Sure, you need more and better shelters, but it will all come in time.

Yes we do at least have shelters of some fashion even if not ideal.

I'm really hoping this is the last of the bad news i need to post for awhile. Hereford had her litter, 5 piglets yesterday at some time before we got home from work, no survivors. I assume it was to cold for them, it was 34F yesterday here but she may have had them overnight when it was anywhere between -12 to 22f.

We have decided to move the sheep into the shop, so more stall/pen building will commence. Those mutt sheep will not use the shelter, if they have lambs outside and refuse to use the shelter the lambs will die. We got home yesterday and there were the mutt sheep outside, with a foot of snow around each of them. They were literally in snow holes.