Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[cheeka]

round bales are a huge (no pun intended) business up here, almost everyone uses them for all kinds of creatures. most weigh up to 1100 lbs! my horse would take a month to go through 1 of those.

it's a bit warmer this morning - just a bit - no wind, so the -3 below temp is also the real feel temp.

the back pen waterers usually have 3-4" of ice on them in the morning.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Round bales are moved with a tractor and a "Round Bale Hay Spear".(search those words for picture) The hay spear mounts to the back of a tractor and is just that...a spear. Back the tractor up to the round bale until the spear goes completely thru the round bale. Then use the hydraulic of the tractor to pick it up till it is off the ground and drive to the destination. Usually another pasture where the animals to be fed are kept. Hardly ever see farmers around here use anything but round bales for cattle. They also make a special trailer for transporting round bales longer distances

We used bale forks that attached to the three point hitch of the tractor. Looked kind of like a curved forklift. Never, never try to pick one up with your front end facing uphill.... over you go! Which was always lots of fun when the bale rolled down the hill and came to rest on the stream bank, since uphill was the only way to orient the tractor. Scared the crud out of me as a teenager.

 

[Scrambles55]

No eggs yesterday. And I am supposed to bring deviled eggs to the Super Bowl party.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote:
I just noticed that the 2 almost hatched eggs have shiny eyeballs looking out. They're already looking for something to eat!

On second look, I think I'm seeing the eggtooth on the end of the snout. So they're sniffing for food.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

round bales are a huge (no pun intended) business up here, almost everyone uses them for all kinds of creatures. most weigh up to 1100 lbs! my horse would take a month to go through 1 of those.

it's a bit warmer this morning - just a bit - no wind, so the -3 below temp is also the real feel temp.

the back pen waterers usually have 3-4" of ice on them in the morning.

The Timothy hay is for one small minirex rabbit. We break up the bale and store it in big plastic tubs in the shed. Takes Chicory (the bun) a year to get through the bale, but the same amount of hay bought in pet sized portions would cost me a lot more. Guess we need another bunny. Hubs keeps finding Flemish Giants on craigslist. Sherman used to eat like a horse!

Have to ask, is there a point at which you can't tell the difference in cold temperature changes? Much over 95* and I can't really tell if it's actually hotter without a thermometer. I haven't had the joy of being in cold much lower than 20*. I imagine once it gets close to zero I wouldn't feel the difference unless it was cold enough to freeze my face. Sending warm thoughts your way!

Quote: I knew about loading the bales on a pole, but not the pitchfork attachment. Rolling a tractor is scary. At least you didn't have to fish the bale out of the water! Most of the tractors around here have a very narrow wheel base so they can squeeze down the vineyard rows. About 20 years ago, my dad sold is old 9N beast of a tractor, which we sometimes used on a very steep hill, with much trepidation. I would never want to try that on one of those skinny tippy tractors!

No eggs yesterday.

And I am supposed to bring deviled eggs to the Super Bowl party.

Oh bummer. Maybe potato salad with a few hard boiled eggs in it would do. Or, even better, bring extra beer and no one will notice the lack of eggs!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Look OK! Baby Rogers...

aww baby Rogers!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Cheeka, since you are an avid EE fan, I think you will enjoy and appreciate this old thread. I haven't gotten past the first page yet. Maybe you will have a little more time in front of the computer while escaping the frozen outdoors.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/402512/quechua-tojuda-ameraucana-easter-eggers-in-vino-veritas

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: YIKES~ that would have been scary!
Exactly what we have for the tractor.
We are feeding the pigs, cow and goats so are using a lot more hay now.
Nothing expensive just grass hay.
the 6x6s are almost too big for our tractor tho its a JD790.
It has the wider front wheels, not the "V's"

No eggs yesterday.

And I am supposed to bring deviled eggs to the Super Bowl party.

oh noo!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

YIKES~ that would have been scary!
Exactly what we have for the tractor.
We are feeding the pigs, cow and goats so are using a lot more hay now.
Nothing expensive just grass hay.
the 6x6s are almost too big for our tractor tho its a JD790.
It has the wider front wheels, not the "V's"

oh noo!

Never rolled it, thankfully. Had the front wheels come up awfully high a few times... we were baling high-moisture alfalfa, so the bales were heavy. I was using a Massey Ferguson 250--the smallest tractor on our farm, with no roll bars.

 

[cheeka]

Lynda, I can tell you that when the temps are above 20*, I need no coat. just a sweatshirt... from 0-20* I wear a light jacket. below zero and I pull out the heavy duty gear... I can tell the difference between 0* on down to -45* because different parts of me get affected. 0 through -10 and my fingertips burn after a few minutes working without gloves. -10 through -30, my snot freezes, and I can only go without gloves for about 30 seconds before it hurts. once it hits -40* or colder... any exposed skin starts to frostbite after about 30 seconds... if you get exposed to that for more than 2 minutes you can be in big trouble! I have had the moisture in my eyes freeze! I use my old ski goggles when it gets that cold, but it's pretty rare for it to get/stay that cold. in 2004, we endured 42 days in a row with temps at -30 or colder. it never went above -30. I got used to it toward the end, still bundled up of course, but... if it wasn't windy, I didn't think it was that bad... the wind is what makes everything burn so badly! lately, my face freezes every morning (and my boogies too...

)

6 Eggs so far - and 3 are still sitting - BR Betty, Marans Cosette, and EE Topaz... hoping to find all 3 of those and maybe 1 more so I can have 10...

I have a bunch of tiny - really bantam sized - eggs... that I'm starting to believe are bantam Marans Esther's eggs. she's 7 months old... looks ready too

she's so buxom... and adorable... the eggs are not dark brown, but the lady I got her from as a chick said that they may not all lay dark dark eggs...
if those eggs belong to a Cochin, I would think they would be bigger by now...
Guess who braved the cold to demand snacks?

I know it's Wilma... because she's got the white ankle tag... and Betty was in the nest... I had peeked...

Oh! and the boys are getting used to the Bag Balm applications - today went very smoothly, except for the white rooster, he still runs. I will go back out in a few to get the last eggs and see if he's roosting, it's easier to apply when he is...