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This fall I moved the oldest sheep into the lamb paddock. It's small, but the grass is
was thick, there's a cute little shed and best of all, having the
oldsters gated away from the pigsters, they could have free access to as
much hay and grain as they wanted.
With
the weather turning so cold I decided to move everyone back into
the "big barn". Surely it would be warmer tucked into the inside stall,
they could go drink from the heated water tank... Elizabeth had
complained about moving to the retirement home...for about one day. Now
she wanted no part of moving back.
Okay.
So I
stapled heavy plastic around the outside, cutting out the wind blowing
through the cracks. I added extra straw to keep them further up off the
cold ground. The water...that was the problem. We do have a heated
bucket, but I get very nervous plugging anything electric like that into a
barn.
On
nights when it was only getting down into the 20s I was having good
luck tucking their water bucket into mound of straw. I knew that wasn't
going to work in the single digits. I again asked Elizabeth to move
inside.
"NOOOO!!!!!"
"O-KAY!!!"
I'd
read somewhere that you could build a box around your outdoor stock
tanks and stuff it with horse manure to insulate. Yeah, sounds gross, but if
you've ever dug into a pile of compost on a cold day...you know why they
recommend that. I decided to try it with a couple buckets.
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I used a manure/sawdust mix (Thanks, Hickory ;-) for the bottom 4 or 5 inches. I couldn't bring myself to use that around the drinking part though, so stuffed as much hay and straw in there as I could and hoped for the best.
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It got down to 10 last night and this was all the ice that had built up! I tapped that hole with the corner of my feed scoop. Maybe 1/4 of an inch of ice and I'm guessing she and Jester had access to water most of the night. Sweet :-D.
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Now I just carry the whole contraption into the barn, stick a temporary immersible heater in it to warm it up and back out to the little barn it goes. Animals will drink more water in the winter if it's warm plus I figure it can't hurt to warm up the insulation a little too.
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"Thanks!"
Actually, that's the "Hey are you going to give me a cookie?" face.
To which I of course said, "Sure, as soon as I get done with the rest of the chores."
And then forgot :-(.
Looks like cookies for lunch today :-).
To which I of course said, "Sure, as soon as I get done with the rest of the chores."
And then forgot :-(.
Looks like cookies for lunch today :-).
19 comments:
Insert the twilight zone theme song here. I posted on a very related topic -- POOP -- just now. But I forgot to include this use. I have thought about doing this, but haven't felt like I have the right physical space to make it work. I may rethink that. Frozen water buckets are the bane of my existence.
oh my, you are such a good mom
I always think bout animals in barns...how do they survive in the cold
my husband laughs at me..."wool coats"
...oh....
They probably don't drink a lot of water during the night anyway so if they have warm water when eating they can probably get thru the night. Can't be too cautious with critters and electrical cords and waterers. I have one ram that everytime I tie panels back together with hay rope and he watches me he will then come chew it to pieces. Don't know what he would do if he had access to electrical cords.
Have had 8 straight nights below freezing here in sunny CA.
That is so smart.
So clever! And i love her face! She's awesome, and i assume.. happy now? Lol
That is an ol-l-l-l-d-dd sheep face. You are giving her such a good retirement. We're with you on the no cord/no heater policy in the barn. But the immersible under supervision is smart!
I think you need to keep cookies in your pockets just in case....
Elizabeth has the most hypnotic eyes! :-)
Elizabeth must be your oldest sheep...I hope she got her cookie LATER! Genius waterer solution:)
I love it-poop as an insulator!! Maybe you could train Elizabeth to actually poop into that little 1" space between the water bucket and the outer bucket, thus cutting your work down even further!
I guess EVERYTHING gets recycled and repurposed.
I'm going to have to try this, hauling hot water to melt the frozen is NOT fun.
Ingenious!
Talking with my sister Lynn (Carolina Trekker) this evening. She said don't you just love the last picture on the 2012 calendar? Jester...catching the snowflake with his tongue.. She said she got a frame and put it in her kitchen. When I went to her house last May she has a lot of your calender pictures in frames hanging in almost every room of her house.. I think that is so cool~!
Love all your calendars and all your pictures and stories.. Just loved reading this one and all the hard work you do to keep everyone happy... Have a blessed day~! ta ta for now from Iowa:)
She knows her mind that old ewe! I'm sick of the sub zero temps and the teens and yearn for some 20's.....
Ooooooooo good idea!!!! Because, well, I have plenty of "compost" around here. :-)
Ooooooooo good idea!!!! Because, well, I have plenty of "compost" around here. :-)
Great solution ~ You are such a good mom! Elizabeth is such a sweetie - looks so happy, as they all do :-)
Great story and I am sure Elizabeth said everything just as you recorded it :)
Elizabeth is such a beautiful old girl. Please hug her (or give her a cookie) for me. Old sheep are a wonderful treasure!
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