Hope your new year is off to a good start! We really welcomed the cold weather and snow at the farm. While warm temperatures make many things easier, the mud gets pretty tiring. As soon as the ground freezes we are able feed the cows on the hilly parts of the farm. These areas need the fertility from the hay and manure the most because when the farm was tilled in the past there was lots of erosion of the topsoil.
After the snow I unrolled a few bedding hay bales for the animals to lie on. One of the great benefits to feeding in the fields is it is very easy to keep the animals clean. There is mud and manure around the feeder but they have the whole field to pick a clean dry spot to lay on, which they do.
After the 30-day sheep breeding season I moved the ewe lambs into the greenhouse for the rest of the winter. The ewe lambs were born this spring. We'd like them to grow well this winter so they can be ready for lambing in May. In the greenhouse we can give them a bit better feed, they don't have to deal with the elements as much, and they don't have to compete with the full grown ewes for a spot at the feeder. All that means they grow faster and better.
Thanks for reading,
Leith, Mary Kate & Norah MacKenzie
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