Deep snow (pics)

[IluvABbeef]

For those of you who don't have snow, here's some pics I took this morning of that nice, white stuff that's been hanging around here for a while now (you might need a sweater just in case you get chilly just lookin at them):

Huge drifts piling up against the fenceline...buried majority of the wires (4 wire fence)

Drifts behind the bales in front of the fence...

The company that wanted to come along with me, lol...

The old IH truck that's buried under feet of snow...and the cats, of course :roll: ...

And this gives you an idea of how deep it is in most places.

And yes, I'm home on a weekday, surprise surprise...I'm finally done my exams (all four of them), so I have a couple weeks off to enjoy the holidays, and the snow. And the kitties. AND the cattle.

So, as always....enjoy 'em!!

P.S. Dial up's slow, as usual, so more pics are coming on in a bit.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Here's some more:

snow level to the trees

veiw thru trees

Spider's getting a little rambunkchious here, lol...

And Button...oh boy, she's got that "I didn't do anything" look... :roll:

Lichens on an aspen tree.

:heart:

 

[glover36]

i really want that snow lol and cold

 

[Alice]

Had a little snow, did ya'?

Beautiful pics...thanks.

Alice

 

[cowboy44]

For you that have cattle in this part of the world, what do you do with your cattle for the months that the ground is covered with snow like in these pictures. Do they just stand around in the snow and wait for you to feed them or do you provide some kind of shelter for them, just curious because we very seldom face these conditions, looks like it would add an expense we do not have in this area and it would be hard on the cattle

 

[glover36]

when we "have" snow ours have a huge cedar forest they can go into

 

[IluvABbeef]

For you that have cattle in this part of the world, what do you do with your cattle for the months that the ground is covered with snow like in these pictures. Do they just stand around in the snow and wait for you to feed them or do you provide some kind of shelter for them, just curious because we very seldom face these conditions, looks like it would add an expense we do not have in this area and it would be hard on the cattle

It depends on the farm/ranch.

For my place, we have lean-to shelters for the back herd (one that's sorta being used, but they're pretty hardy, these cattle, they've got thick winter coats on and as long as we put a thick bed of straw out for them every couple days or so (or less, if it's snowing like crazy) in a somewhat sheltered area, and keep them fed and watered, they do pretty good.

And, it depends on the breed, 'cause the breeds that are more adapted to the hot-weather climate like brahman and even longhorn, they'd freeze to death pretty darned quick out in -20 degree C to -45 degree C if there wasn't a warm barn to take shelter in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (I assume you know about that already).

We don't put them out (or leave them out, for that matter) in the pasture that I was taking pics in, because one, the snow's too deep and gets conglomerated too quickly for them to move around, two, it's way too open, which means drifts and hard snow, and hard snow is really difficult to travel on for a 500 to 1000+ pound bovine...other wild ungluates (ruminants) face the same difficulties, as you could imagine...and there's a chance that an animal would get stranded from exhaustion of travelling through hard-wind-packed snow that comes up to their bellies...and I know what that feels like. So corrals solve that problem, and even then half the space of the corral isn't even used/walked on because of the deep snow or the drifts.

Feeding is simple...dress up warm, get on the tractor and get a bale or bucket of silage...gets drifty where the bales are too, so there's a 50% chance of getting the tractor stuck...but water...we use automatic waterers, have to keep a light bulb going in there to keep the water lines from freezing, as well as in the pump house. Even then there's a chance that the waterer's are gonna freeze on you, its the fact of winter. Some people use their dugouts and pump water from there, but I don't have much experience with that.

I guess you could say it adds as an expense, if you're thinking of all the fixing that might have to be done, and the nursing you'd have to do if you had a few sick cattle. But, it doesn't seem like it to me. I guess it's because I've been through many many winters through my life.

Anyway, that's what we do to look after cattle in these Alberta winters (or Canadian, for that matter). Hope that answers your question.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll swap ya... snow for drought!!!

 

[Bek]

I'll swap ya... snow for drought!!!

Yeah I'll swap ya for that aswell!!

great pics

 

[Victoria]

For you that have cattle in this part of the world, what do you do with your cattle for the months that the ground is covered with snow like in these pictures. Do they just stand around in the snow and wait for you to feed them or do you provide some kind of shelter for them, just curious because we very seldom face these conditions, looks like it would add an expense we do not have in this area and it would be hard on the cattle

We are blessed (sometimes - except when it is flooding) to be in a river valley so we have lots of trees that provide some shelter. Yes, ours do stand around and wait to be fed. It adds an extra cost when we have a year with lots of snow. Some years we've had to feed 8 months out of the year. We find the worst years on the cows are the ones where it has severe weather changes and then they can't acclimatize very well. Then they really become hay burners.There can also be an increased chance of arthritis in the old cows. We make sure that there is a little bit of bedding to sleep on before calving and then after the calves are born we put out lots of straw so that every animal has a deep bed to sleep in and calve in. We also have a couple of calf crates for the babies. Some breeds fair better than others and looking for a good hair coat is important here. We also like to see our cows go into the winter a little fatter. In the fall they get turned out on the hay field. We do only one cut a year so that there's quite a bit of feed on them in the fall usually. It gets their weight up so that when the cold hits they have a bit of added insulation. It is pretty hard to fatten an animal up in freezing conditions.
Really though the cold is more of a problem than the snow. Snow is an insulator. In fresh powdery snow about 93% of it is air. So if you dig a hole in the snow it will keep you warmer not make you colder. The old crusty, icy stuff has less air and feels much colder. It's when there is no snow and the ground is icy and cold that the cows really need protection from it.