Close the door Nesi!

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The sun shining bright right now, it is currently about -1 this afternoon. It's warm enough that a fox was sunning himself on top of one of my hay bales. Look like he was really enjoying the sun. I tried to take a picture through the window of the pickup, but it came out blurry.
 
DNelson said:
when it gets -43f propane gels and heaters etc stop working. even at - 30 while outside doing chore (fast) the inside of nostrils will feel like they freeze with each breath and eyelids freeze open sometimes when just looking through two holes in a face mask. Its only -14f here at this time so not s bad as those out west.
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Does firewood ever stop burning?

Ken
 
Silver said:
They stay open as long as they continue to drink. If they leave the hole alone for a time it will definitely freeze over. If they are due for water generally you open it once, the herd drinks then they survive until the next day.
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Thank you for making that explanation so short!
 
cfpinz said:
Seems to me the holes would freeze over in short order at those temps. We've had to do that here around 0F and it doesn't last very long.
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Chop the holes about 2 hours after feeding, that's when they want to get a drink, then they're good for the day and it can freeze back up and it doesn't matter.. they can lick snow if they're really thirsty
 
Dad talks about when he spent a winter out on the Sweetwater they would chop a trough in the ice with an ax, carry sand with their chaps to scatter out on the ice, and then take a bar to poke a hole through the ice. The cows would get their fill, and it all all start over the next day. They also gathered that desert in January, and not one single cowboy quit because of the cold. I guess they just didn't know any better.
 
9 inches of snow on Friday. Another 3 inches on Saturday. Shrunk down some but none has melted. It was -5 on Saturday morning. Warmed clear up to 10 this morning. Up to 20 here at 2:00. Had a new calf on the ground this morning. It was dried off and looking good. Last year the sale yard vets missed and I had a lot of April and even May calves. This year we are missing the other way. This is my 4th January calf.
 
Silver said:
They stay open as long as they continue to drink. If they leave the hole alone for a time it will definitely freeze over. If they are due for water generally you open it once, the herd drinks then they survive until the next day.
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So, after 3 days of breaking ice, I remember before we had a well in that pasture, that's how it worked. Calves were basically trained to drink when I broke the ice, which I did twice a day. And there was a slight learning curve with the heifers currently in that pasture, but they figured out if they didn't get a drink right away, they were SOL. Thankfully, we finally got the pipes replaced (late yesterday) and working well enough I can fill the tank with a hose. Breaking ice isn't as fun as it used to be; I feel like I've been hit by a train!
 

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