A sign of the times

This autumn feels rather dichotomous.. 

The only rain we really had this year, fell recently,

giving the grass a boost.

The grass looks spring green and yet the leaves are turning into the warm shades of fall.

And then, look what we found this weekend,
we are a few weeks away from the first snow and we get a baby calf.

Baby Blackie is doing well.

The sheep had an added bonus from this new, fresh grass growth.
They are happy to be grazing and of course our guardian dogs are energized by the evening coolness.

Fall is  the time of
stunning sun sets, northern lights and dramatic morning skies.

I love autumn, it truly is my favorite season.

Being Born is a Messy Job

As we head closer to Christmas,

nothing is more appropriate than sharing births in the barn.

When I look at these photo's of this little guy,

I think this is just so sweet, and cute, and tender,

so slimy and so bloody,

 and, oh so messy.

But, his momma loves him and that is all the counts
Both are doing  well.

The birth of the twins.

I love how the steam rises off this lamb.

Lamb 2 was a bit messy,

but his momma loves him.

We moved them into a nice warm lambing jug, where the bonding and cleaning could continue.

The ewe will lick them clean and dry,

this will stimulate them to get up and go and suck.

A good momma is the key to survival.

Hi there..

And then, a few days later..

Wishing you a loving and happy Christmas!

The Perfect Christmas Tree

Perfect, is perhaps a stretch,
but every year Eric and Roy normally go out into our woods,
 to look for a Christmas tree.
As Roy is away in Europe this Christmas,
I decided to go with Eric this year to see if we could find a tree!

Now,  when Eric and Roy go out,
 they cut a great big spruce down,
then later just cut out the top of the tree,
 to bring into the house.
However, this year I asked for a smaller tree,
 that will actually fit into our house.

So, out we went..

No this one is too small,
too big,
too lopsided,
too young,
too old,
too..

It was the moment, when I truly realized,
that I am such a tree-hugger,
that I could not bring myself to commit to cutting one tree down,
(We have a forest full...)



I suggested that maybe,
 we just get a fake one.

That did not fly with Eric.
So, we settled on a little tree,
 that would have battled,
 to make it into a big tree due to its poor position,
 next to a bigger spruce.

I made peace with myself,
and accepted that perfection was not attainable.



Eric cut it down,

He posed with his trophy,



tied it down onto the  front end loader of the tractor,
 and we headed back home.



On the way back,
growing along our fence line,
 was a bigger and better candidate,



so Eric, hopped off the tractor,
saw in hand
and de-limbed this spruce,
and by doing this,
the spruce could live on,
 and grow big and tall.
The severed limb will go on to be the Christmas tree for his office.



A future Christmas tree candidate?

Once home, the tree was placed in its traditional spot,

and the decorating could begin.

Photo Friday

“Sunrise paints the sky with pinks and the sunset with peaches.
Cool to warm.
So is the progression from childhood to old age.” 
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Brain Freeze part 2

Chrissy, commented  on my last post about the brain freeze:

"C'mon, you seriously don't provide some sort of liquid water to all of your animals? Creek, pond, anything?"

I would like to elaborate on this comment.

We live in what is called a Sub Arctic Climate.

Our winters, if we are lucky last for 5-6 months,

if unlucky we can see up to 8 months of cold and snow.
We have abundant snow during winter.

Normal 4ft field fence.

We have experienced temperatures as low as, -52.2C, that is -62F.
The temperatures rarely go above freezing point during the winter.

All lakes, ponds, pools, creeks and rivers freeze over.
The ice thickness can vary from 1 - 5 feet thick on lakes.
We build ice fishing villages on the lakes, drive our one ton pick ups on the lakes and even make highways over frozen lakes to transport big heavy oilfield equipment further north.

No where, on the landscape is flowing/liquid water. All wildlife has to survive on snow during our winters.

Some of the areas, where our animals are fed in the winter, only have water pools available in the summer,
Once these freeze, the stock transitions to snow.

We have never noticed any disadvantage to them eating snow as a water source.
We have noticed that the animals prefer to eat snow than walk to a heated stock waterer.
At the start of winter, we do chop holes in the ice of ponds to allow the stock to drink until sufficient snow is available.

We do move our animals as soon as they calve or lamb to an area that does have access to liquid water, through heated stock-waterers.
Any animals that are compromised in any way, weaker, thinner, too young are moved to the barn where they have access to water.
Animals, who are on a high dry matter diet ( high grain content) also are in areas where water is available.

Our dogs are offered liquid water, however as winter progresses they stop entirely with drinking liquid water, they only want to eat snow.
Also with the dogs, should any be injured, weak, or compromised, these dogs are also placed in our barn, where they have access to water in a liquid form.



Of course, in the summer the animals have access to liquid water, or when the snow melts and none is available for the stock, we provide water for them.

There have been numerous tests/research done on whether or not,
 stock should and can be watered on snow.

Here are some links and some conclusions:

CONCLUSION

Without any apparent stress, dry pregnant ewes and

beef cows can use clean snow as their sole source of

water. This watering alternative may be used for an

extended period of time or when there is a disruption

of the normal winter water supply. Clean snow is a

safe and economical option as a source of water for

Ontario sheep flocks and beef cow herds.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/beef/facts/09-065.pdf

Conclusions

• Research shows that snow can be the sole source of water

for cattle without affecting performance negatively.

• Maintaining the health and welfare of snow fed cattle

should be a top priority.

• It is essential that snow be available in sufficient quantity

and in a form that is easily accessible by cattle.

• Management practices must be in place to ensure good

nutrition at all times. A backup watering plan is also

essential to deal with the scenario of snow becoming

unavailable at any time throughout the winter

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/production/beef/pubs/bjb05s21.pdf

and

Snow as a Water Source

	After a short adaptation period, pregnant beef cows will consume snow in amounts equivalent to the water intake of cows receiving liquid water. Through extensive testing in the early 1980's, the University of Alberta found insignificant differences in cow performance or body stress levels when asked to eat snow as their sole water source. Wintering beef cows are able to consume snow as their sole water source given that the snow is in a form that the cows can easily eat. The snow must be soft and friable so that the cows can lick a significant quantity into their mouths for melting. Once cows are used to consuming snow as their sole water source, they will consume small amounts of snow throughout the day during their free time. Cows can be seen licking snow before, during and after their primary feeding times. Although it takes ten times the amount of energy to melt a gram of snow from it's solid state to it's liquid state compared to heating the similar quantity of a liquid one degree Celsius, the key to energy use difference is found in the rate of consumption. Cows eating snow take all day to do so. Cows drinking cold trough water will consume their daily needs within minutes. Because of the slow and ongoing process of eating and melting snow, cows in effect use their waste heat to melt their snow. Because the melting process is such a slow process, the cow's body temperature never drops below it's critical point. Hence, the body's metabolism never needs to kick in to raise it's temperature as it does when a cow drinks large quantities of near freezing water from a waterer. The best indicator of whether a herd is getting enough water from melting snow is to monitor feed consumption. As long as feed consumption is adequate and consistent from day to day, the cows are getting enough water from the snow. Should feed consumption drastically drop over a short time period, water shortage may be the cause. The biggest stress for cattle eating snow is the transition period. Cattle that have never needed to eat snow and have only consumed water will vocalize to show their discontent. Following a day or two of discontent, the herd soon learns from the early learners that snow can be licked with positive results. Once cattle have learned to eat snow, the transition period is much shorter. Eventually cattle will eat snow without little discontent. Once cattle are accustomed to eating snow, they will often stay out in the fields where the feed is placed rather than walk home for water. The observation is that animals find it easier to eat snow rather that expend the energy to walk home to drink water. Fact Sheets Beef Cattle Consuming Snow as a Source of Water - in PDF format Overwintering dairy cattle: animal health issues - in PDF format Replacing Water with Clean Snow for Ewes and Beef Cows - in PDF format Winter outdoor livestock watering: It's all about the energy choices - in PDF format Research Papers Average daily gain and water intake in growing beef calves offered snow as a water source - in PDF format Effects of ingestion of warm, cold and frozen water on heat balance in cattle - in PDF format Effect of snow as a water source on beef cows and their calf production - in PDF format Ingestion of snow by cattle - in PDF format Is Snow a Sufficient Source of Water for Horses kept Outdoors in Water? A Case Report - in PDF format Lactation and water turnover in ewes relying on snow as their water source - in PDF format Liveweight and behavioural response in cattle ingesting snow as their water source - in PDF format Liveweight of individually fed beef cows receiving snow or liquid water - in PDF format Response of lactating ewes to snow as a source of water - in PDF format The performance of pregnant beef cows relying on snow as a water source - in PDF format Will cows eat snow? - in PDF format

Photo Friday

No time to write anything in detail today,

so, it will be another photo Friday.

Fall will be done this weekend,
 with "high" day time temperatures reaching -9C.
Snow flurries have just started so time to head out and finish up chores.

Here are some photo's from this past week, 

a little bit of this and little bit of that.

I love black chickens,
simple because of the lovely iridescent green color found on their wings.

We have more coloured chickens,
but,  of the chickens we have,
the black ones  are my favorite:

Cow  stare down

The cows, the sheep and trusty Lad.

Puppy Shara

One directional movement

4-H started again,
Roy picked out his 4-H steer,
a black Angus from our herd.
He will also be doing a few sheep projects this year.

 Django.

A little muddy and a little scruffy,

 and standing a little awkwardly like only a weanling can.
He will be weaned in the next few weeks.
Poor baby.

Hope you have a great weekend.
Jess is much better, she is Toronto now,
representing Alberta at the National 4-H Convention.

We will Remember!