Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[misfitmorgan]

I feel the same way about the heat lamps,... the horror and guilt that I would feel having them trapped in a fire sure outweighs the thought of the frigid weather killing them, ...I guess I would rather nature being their demise than by human error...
We use them.. but secure them like, crazy, and I can't wait to turn them off and put them away....

The people with the sheep farm that burned have not gotten over it, they sold all the livestock they had left and had their house for sale. They raised sheep there for 18yrs and I think that was the last straw maybe.

The pig farmer killed himself 2 weeks after the fire. I have no way of knowing but assume it was more the money lost thing then guilt over the fire itself....He didnt have livestock or accessory building insurance.

I feel bad when mother nature kills something but if I am directly responsible it's so much worse.

Even on the brooders there is mesh the heat lamps rest on, then i tie the lamp itself up to 2 different points so nothing can knock it off the brooder.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

The people with the sheep farm that burned have not gotten over it, they sold all the livestock they had left and had their house for sale. They raised sheep there for 18yrs and I think that was the last straw maybe.

The pig farmer killed himself 2 weeks after the fire. I have no way of knowing but assume it was more the money lost thing then guilt over the fire itself....He didnt have livestock or accessory building insurance.

I feel bad when mother nature kills something but if I am directly responsible it's so much worse.

Even on the brooders there is mesh the heat lamps rest on, then i tie the lamp itself up to 2 different points so nothing can knock it off the brooder.

I guess one can never be to cautious especially when it comes to fire, such a horrible way to go .....
I feel so bad for the people you mentioned, I think I would sell out and move too, sure wouldn't want to live with those memories in my face daily

 

[Baymule]

On my baby chicks I use a 100 watt bulb. I have heat lamp bulbs, but have rarely used them.

 

[misfitmorgan]

On my baby chicks I use a 100 watt bulb. I have heat lamp bulbs, but have rarely used them.

I thought about that esp close to the end of brooding when it is warm weather out. The batch from spring the last 3 weeks we had to go out and turn off the brooder lights around 10am and turn them back on about 10-11pm otherwise it was to hot.

 

[Bruce]

I use a Mama Heating Pad brooder for the chicks I get. But then I don't gets dozens at a time.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I use a Mama Heating Pad brooder for the chicks I get. But then I don't gets dozens at a time.

I have thought about the heating pads I just didnt think they would work very well. Glad to know they do. We usually only have 10-25 chicks per brooder so if it could handle that it might be something to look into.


The two lambs are still going! It was -14F last night, those rams are going to be some good breeding stock making some tough lambs when they grow up. Last night was the last day of our cold snap, the rest of this week is in the mid to upper 20s and next week is all in the mid to upper 30s. This weather is nuts, next tuesday is going to be 39F!

 

[Baymule]

Tell me about nutty weather! LOL LOL You will have some tough sheep! I’m glad it’s warming up for you. We got more snow last night, 3” on top of the 7” we already had. Texas weather has gone nuts.

 

[Bruce]

We usually only have 10-25 chicks per brooder so if it could handle that it might be something to look into.

One XL pad can handle 10, for 25 you would need to make a cave long enough for 2 XL pads. Make it wider, not deeper.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Tell me about nutty weather! LOL LOL You will have some tough sheep! I’m glad it’s warming up for you. We got more snow last night, 3” on top of the 7” we already had. Texas weather has gone nuts.

Hope you guys are doing well in your crazy weather.

One XL pad can handle 10, for 25 you would need to make a cave long enough for 2 XL pads. Make it wider, not deeper.

Thank you for the info!

Our weather report was wrong...today is gonna be 41F now they say, yesterday and the day before was 35F. The little ram lambs are still doing fine by all appearances. We also had a girl lamb born on Saturday, she is doing well and good so far. Seems she is the big ewe's baby. I thought one of the rams was because she kept being mothering to it, i'm thinking that was just her pre-labor hormones. Oddly though she will let them both nurse, so she may be good for orphan lambs down the road. So I really have no idea whose baby the second ram lamb is. The first ram lamb is 310s baby. All 3 are full suffolk and none are small. I have gone out there several times to try to see who the other ram lambs mom is but everytime they see me or DH they just gaher around the fence and complain about needing more grain. Thats normal and fine but they ignore the lambs so I can't tell who mom is, so we mostly watch them out the window and try to figure it out. I think this weekend we are going to have to go flip some ewes to get it sorted out.

 

[Baymule]

One week ago it was -6, today it will be 75F. Our freeze is over, snow is melted and gone. We did not lose any animals, all lambs survived the cold. We have friends that lost calves to the cold.

Hope you figure out who mom is for the lamb!