***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Elwood Lightfoot]

I was wondering if anyone had ever or had thoughts about adding sugar to the drinking water to lower the freezing point? you can't use antifreeze but I figured the freezing point of water is lowered by adding salt or sugar, I had stumbled across a post somewhere about hummingbird feeders not freezing as quickly or hard enough to break the glass I think the ratio for them was 4:1 probably too much for long term drinking water for chickens but a little bit might be okay for them? would a little sugar help warm them up like an energy boost maybe? I have a heater for the main coop but some like the pigeons, I have to dump ice and refill a couple times a day and same with the rabbits, I was just wondering what your thoughts might be? fair or fowl?

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Be careful out there this morning it is ridiculously cold I went out for a peak at everyone a bit ago and looked in on the chickens they are doing all right but I could hear hens teeth chattering, The ducks and goose are standing out on the ice of the pond that is completely frozen over I'm going to bust an area of it later this morning so they can have water and thankfully no baby goats yet, I sure hope they wait till it's at least above freezing just in case I have to crawl into their house and hang out helping.

 

[mjgigax]

Be careful out there this morning it is ridiculously cold I went out for a peak at everyone a bit ago and looked in on the chickens they are doing all right but I could hear hens teeth chattering, The ducks and goose are standing out on the ice of the pond that is completely frozen over I'm going to bust an area of it later this morning so they can have water and thankfully no baby goats yet, I sure hope they wait till it's at least above freezing just in case I have to crawl into their house and hang out helping.

 

[artsyrobin]

Well, spoke too soon on our cow that's due. When we checked the ponds earlier, she was coming back from the creek looking okay. Then, we had lunch and I worked on a quilt. Hubby decided he wanted to take the tractor down to clear some snow back from around the hay feeders and put out some new hay so they cows would have a cleaner surface for laying down...#612 had her calf and it was pretty cold. We brought back the car and loaded the calf in the back and brought it to the house to dry off and warm up. It eagerly took a warm bottle and although the front ankle and knee joints are still stiff, he does try to get up and down on his own. Roger is out moving hay and will pull an old truck out of the barn near where the cow is so we can put them together in that shelter.
Here is the bull calf with Roger using a hair dryer on the legs and our helper cleaning him up after his bottle. Calf probably weighs in at 85 - 90 pounds//Red weighs 84.





Resting after warming up til we get the pen finished in the old barn. At least it has electricity and I can hang a heat lamp outside one of the cattle panels.


.

amazing shots ! keep us posted on the little guy-



Bill, yes i do add sugar to the water- it helps, gives them an extra boost too


stay safe everyone, dangerous weather

 

[Kassaundra]

Kass...hope you made it home safely.

Haven't been outside yet this morning...dogs aren't up yet.
Update on SIL. Joan is home and improving.

Not yet, still have one more 24 to do today, this will be 72 by the time I finish

Hope your calf is doing well

 

[NanaKat]

Calf is doing okay..still not outside. Just put heated rice bags on his knees and worst ankle while he is sleeping. Circulation is not good after freezinbg so Im hoping this therapy will help some.

Ice on the water tubs was 1 inch thick this morning and all the water containers in the barn had ice in them except the two under a heat lamp. Hot water was a big help.

Tips for those lugging water outside. Wear rubber gloves under your regular gloves...keeps your fingers dry if the gloves get wet. My gloves actually froze this morning but my fingers were dry. I use the sterile gloves that were packed with Rogers trachea tubing. Gloves saved from those hair coloring kits or surgical gloves and if you don't have gloves wrap your hands with saran wrap and wear mittens.

 

[muesky]

Well, spoke too soon on our cow that's due. When we checked the ponds earlier, she was coming back from the creek looking okay. Then, we had lunch and I worked on a quilt. Hubby decided he wanted to take the tractor down to clear some snow back from around the hay feeders and put out some new hay so they cows would have a cleaner surface for laying down...#612 had her calf and it was pretty cold. We brought back the car and loaded the calf in the back and brought it to the house to dry off and warm up. It eagerly took a warm bottle and although the front ankle and knee joints are still stiff, he does try to get up and down on his own. Roger is out moving hay and will pull an old truck out of the barn near where the cow is so we can put them together in that shelter.
Here is the bull calf with Roger using a hair dryer on the legs and our helper cleaning him up after his bottle. Calf probably weighs in at 85 - 90 pounds//Red weighs 84.





Resting after warming up til we get the pen finished in the old barn. At least it has electricity and I can hang a heat lamp outside one of the cattle panels.


.

OMG!!! I love baby cows!!!! I want to get a Guernsey for milking and I am looking forward to a baby cow....It is a bonus!

Our dog, Louie, is part Husky. He loved playing is the snow today.

My chickens were not impressed with the snow. I put Udder Balm on my Blue Marans roo's comb tonight. I still worry about the cold even though all the folks up North say on the "How cold..." thread that their birds do fine without heat at -25!

Jack's ewes seem to be not ready to drop their lambs. They usually have them around New Year's.

That is one thing I miss about Pyrenees is they love the snow.

I was wondering if anyone had ever or had thoughts about adding sugar to the drinking water to lower the freezing point? you can't use antifreeze but I figured the freezing point of water is lowered by adding salt or sugar, I had stumbled across a post somewhere about hummingbird feeders not freezing as quickly or hard enough to break the glass I think the ratio for them was 4:1 probably too much for long term drinking water for chickens but a little bit might be okay for them? would a little sugar help warm them up like an energy boost maybe? I have a heater for the main coop but some like the pigeons, I have to dump ice and refill a couple times a day and same with the rabbits, I was just wondering what your thoughts might be? fair or fowl?

I totally did not get my heating systems set up for the waterers...

Calf is doing okay..still not outside. Just put heated rice bags on his knees and worst ankle while he is sleeping. Circulation is not good after freezinbg so Im hoping this therapy will help some.

Ice on the water tubs was 1 inch thick this morning and all the water containers in the barn had ice in them except the two under a heat lamp. Hot water was a big help.

Tips for those lugging water outside. Wear rubber gloves under your regular gloves...keeps your fingers dry if the gloves get wet. My gloves actually froze this morning but my fingers were dry. I use the sterile gloves that were packed with Rogers trachea tubing. Gloves saved from those hair coloring kits or surgical gloves and if you don't have gloves wrap your hands with saran wrap and wear mittens.

The rubber gloves is a great idea~~~

 

[NanaKat]

Looks like I'm going to have a resident in the kitchen for the next several days...BIL came today to help Roger feed cubes to the cows where he cleared snow yesterday. He agrees with Roger that it is too cold to put this calf out...even in the barn. So they are going to fix a rubber mat pen in the kitchen/laundry area for the next several days. Larry doesn't think the seasoned cow will dry up over that period of time and she takes calves easily (fortunately)..so milking her when it is a little warmer should bring her milk back down for the calf. If that doesn't work, I'll be bottle feeding a calf in the stall in the barn here at the house when it is a little warmer. I told them they better fix a warmer box for the heat lamp out there because if they don't I'm gonna make one of them sleep with it if I'm giving up my kitchen for a week. The calf is up right now, not hungry. Just like a kitten, you have to stimulate a newborn calf to eliminate. So I'm using the dog's curry brush for that.

Bardies and others , Best book I've found for cattle is Essential Guide to Calving by Heather Smith Thomas which addresses every topic imaginable and is a good read because of the personal stories used to illustrate the topics. Some of the information could translate to horses, goats and sheep. Especially helpful right now is the section of chilled newborn calves and possible freeze damage to limbs with suggestions for treatment.

 

[mjgigax]

Everyone near Jones ok after the earthquake? We were eating near Meridian and Reno and I thought I felt one then thought it was somebody bumping the booth.

 

[Poco Pollo]

DH read about the quake on the Internet. We didn't feel anything here.