Today started out with a blast of cold air that hit me in the face as soon as I opened the door to head outside. We are due to hit 72 hours below zero starting tonight, so I wanted to take a look around the farm to see what our animals needed to withstand these unusually cold temperatures. I noticed yesterday the heater for one of the field water troughs was not holding its own. There was a thin layer of ice over the top and with temperatures due to dip even more I knew it would not survive. This meant a trip to the feed store was in order.
I headed out to get feed and a replacement heater, but I was not the only one preparing to make sure my animals had ice free water. When I arrived at the feed store, the tank heater I had been using was sold out, so I settled on a floating plastic tank deicer. I will let you know how it works. How do you all keep your animals water from freezing when temperatures drop so low?
The next task on my agenda was to take hay out to the run in shed for the horses. I plan to turn the horses out for several hours each day, and ensuring they have adequate forage is essential. Eating hay, having warm unfrozen water and run in shed to protect them from the wind and snow are all critical factors for allowing such cold weather turn out.
The goats seem to do very well in the cold weather, we bedded their pen with extra straw to help keep them warm and insulated. Although today it was only in the 20's the goats were outside exploring and coming to the house to beg for treats. We bought several pounds of bananas that were very close to expiration at Rodger's auction this week. The girls have each been coming to the back door to beg for treats each day since!
Ivy even broke into the house while I was handing treats out!! Stay warm and happy goating!