Winter is a hard time on the farm. There are no electric waterers. All winter water must be transported in 5 gallon buckets to the animals. When there is adequate snow, the buckets go four at a time on the toboggan. That is 200 pounds! Once the snow is packed into a trail, the hauling is easy, but the first two times on new snow, it is very hard.
Now, when there was snow and it has melted leaving snow patches and mud, is the most difficult time to bring water to the critters. The wagon gets stuck. The toboggan does not have enough snow. I could use the lawn tractor and a wagon, but the best way I have found, is the truck. I leave the tailgate down and load 8 buckets of water, then drive as near as I can to the places it needs to be delivered.
Two sows have 20 piglets between then and are producing a whole lot of milk for those greedy little gaffers. They must have 10 gallons of water per day, which includes a fair bit for the last pregnant sow. The dairy cow with the calf also requires huge amounts of water. She would easily drink 40 gallons a day by herself, but there are also the other 3 cows. I bring 80 gallons to the cows! My Riggit Galloways and the Highland eat snow because they have retained their primitive instincts, but the dairy cow cannot eat enough snow to satisfy her requirements.
The sheep are fine eating snow, but the goats are not. They do not like cold water, nor snow. As a matter of fact, they prefer warm water in winter. I do not have a way to provide warm water for them, so they get tap water from the well, which is still warmer than the snow.
The chickens will eat snow quite readily because they are hardy breeds, but the ducks and geese need water to clean and moisturize their eyes, every day, and they do much better with water than snow. But when it is 40 below, the water freezes on their feathers and they are walking ice balls. Then they go inside and preen, which helps spread the oils of their feathers and in turn keep them warmer.
Watering takes several hours and when it is cold outside, it is not the most pleasant chore. Modern farms rely on electricity to keep waterers thawed and to pipe water to barns and pens. Since my farming stint was only to be ten years in total and I have nearly complete 6, the huge investment for extravagant watering was not feasible. So, I do it the old fashioned way! It works, I work and the animals drink. All is well.
Now, when there was snow and it has melted leaving snow patches and mud, is the most difficult time to bring water to the critters. The wagon gets stuck. The toboggan does not have enough snow. I could use the lawn tractor and a wagon, but the best way I have found, is the truck. I leave the tailgate down and load 8 buckets of water, then drive as near as I can to the places it needs to be delivered.
Two sows have 20 piglets between then and are producing a whole lot of milk for those greedy little gaffers. They must have 10 gallons of water per day, which includes a fair bit for the last pregnant sow. The dairy cow with the calf also requires huge amounts of water. She would easily drink 40 gallons a day by herself, but there are also the other 3 cows. I bring 80 gallons to the cows! My Riggit Galloways and the Highland eat snow because they have retained their primitive instincts, but the dairy cow cannot eat enough snow to satisfy her requirements.
The sheep are fine eating snow, but the goats are not. They do not like cold water, nor snow. As a matter of fact, they prefer warm water in winter. I do not have a way to provide warm water for them, so they get tap water from the well, which is still warmer than the snow.
The chickens will eat snow quite readily because they are hardy breeds, but the ducks and geese need water to clean and moisturize their eyes, every day, and they do much better with water than snow. But when it is 40 below, the water freezes on their feathers and they are walking ice balls. Then they go inside and preen, which helps spread the oils of their feathers and in turn keep them warmer.
Watering takes several hours and when it is cold outside, it is not the most pleasant chore. Modern farms rely on electricity to keep waterers thawed and to pipe water to barns and pens. Since my farming stint was only to be ten years in total and I have nearly complete 6, the huge investment for extravagant watering was not feasible. So, I do it the old fashioned way! It works, I work and the animals drink. All is well.
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