We're in for a cold winter. The last two weeks haven't gotten out of the the teens, generally single digits, and fluffy snow falls steadily. (-14/-7 for the Celsius users)
We don't have all the long term wintering infrastucture in place yet, and the less cold hardy among our livestock have struggled; but most of our animals seem content and even frolicsome as the snow piles onto their backs...
An old English adage is that barns are for the benefit of the farmers, not the animals.
We don't have all the long term wintering infrastucture in place yet, and the less cold hardy among our livestock have struggled; but most of our animals seem content and even frolicsome as the snow piles onto their backs...
An old English adage is that barns are for the benefit of the farmers, not the animals.
The cattle goats and sheep live in Echo Base when they choose, but prefer to spend their time quietly rooting through the morning hay we throw them from our horse trailer.
When the weather was a balmy 20F the pigs rooted extensively through the snow and leaves, aerating immense areas and snuffling up nuts and roots. Since the cold spell the pigs seldom leave their bunker except of course for feeding time. There are currently 3 sows and one boar on pasture, and I had to give Hoss (the boar) credit for chivalry/shivery. This morning found him with his broad back to the doorway, blocking the wind for his ladies. His gentlemanliness stops at the feed trough, where spent brewery grains have been the pigs' sole food source for quite some time.
The piglets continue to dwell in the barn till we can prepare more living space in the woods. They happily cuddle with our Nubian goat (one of those who didn't fare well in the cold). One of them has caught the Christmas Spirit!
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