Today's Chores

[randiliana]

Today, we had to start feeding the cows. The snow just got too hard for them to dig through, especially with so many 2 and 3 year olds, and the fact that they are due to start calving around 2 months from now. It is hard to tell if there is much left out there for them or not. Whatever is left, will be there for them in the spring once the snow melts anyways.

Heading to the stackyard

The Bales

Backing up to them

Cows coming for the feed

Dog, doing his job, keeping them away while we cut and pull strings

Food Time

Anyone want a fork??

We also had to feed the replacement heifers today.

The Triticale bale. They seem to like the stuff...

3 Sisters

Another Sister

And another Sister

 

[rockridgecattle]

Loved the pics! Thanks for sharing.
I have a question. Is the bedding area separate from the feeding area? Your feed area looks so clean? As well, our cows are used to bush for shelter. What do yours use for shelter or are they tough?

 

[hillsdown]

Your hay looks great Randi ,lots of leaves. I bet the cows are saying yum yum yum with every bite they take .. ;-)

 

[SRBeef]

Great photos, as always, Randi. Thank you.

When you unroll hay like that, how much do you intend to put out 1 days worth, 2 days or more? Are you unrolling this from a pickup truck bed unroller?

I love seeing cattle outdoors in the winter. They look great. Healthy. Is that fence in the picture with your dog a windbreak or snow fence? A dog like that might make me more of a dog person. My good neighbor has a dog that is sometimes pretty helpful around cattle.

Thanks again - Jim

 

[Angus Cowman]

Great photos, as always, Randi. Thank you.

When you unroll hay like that, how much do you intend to put out 1 days worth, 2 days or more? Are you unrolling this from a pickup truck bed unroller?

I love seeing cattle outdoors in the winter. They look great. Healthy. Is that fence in the picture with your dog a windbreak or snow fence? A dog like that might make me more of a dog person. My good neighbor has a dog that is sometimes pretty helpful around cattle.

Thanks again - Jim

Jim
I am not Randi but I unroll my hay as welll
right now I am only feeding 1 herd daily and the others herds get fed every other day as they have some more picking of stockpiled fescue that they can eat and we have no snow
we usually unroll what they can eat in a 24 hr period to cut down on waste, so yes we do have to feed everyday it also helps on the manure distribution
if I know it is going to rain or be bad weather I will unroll what they can clean up in a few hrs then I set a bale out intact to last them the rest of the 24 hr period
usually in the shelter of some trees and out of the pasture so it doesn't leave any bare spots in the field or a high concentration of manure and wasted hay where it will kill the grass for the next yr
when unrolling hay it seems like the most efficient way is to roll out daily to maximize the hay and minimize the waste

 

[angus9259]

They sure look to be in perfect condition (bcs) for those conditions. You must have done a great job culling over the years.

 

[randiliana]

Great photos, as always, Randi. Thank you.

When you unroll hay like that, how much do you intend to put out 1 days worth, 2 days or more? Are you unrolling this from a pickup truck bed unroller?

I love seeing cattle outdoors in the winter. They look great. Healthy. Is that fence in the picture with your dog a windbreak or snow fence? A dog like that might make me more of a dog person. My good neighbor has a dog that is sometimes pretty helpful around cattle.

Thanks again - Jim

Thanks, Jim

We feed enough hay to them for one day. 150 head of cows, = 4 round bales (1200 lbs) If we are going to be away, we will roll out enough for a couple days, but put the second day's feed a ways away from the normal feed ground, so that they will have to search it out. This way they don't eat/sleep on it all in one day.

The fence in the picture is 8' high windbreak. Kit is a pretty good dog, but it has taken a while to get him where he is more useful, than a pain in the butt. He still is a problem sometimes, but yesterday, he brought a calf that was out back up to the gate by himself, I was so excited, cause there was no barking or nipping (that I saw). He is about 7 years old now.