Hay Feeding Time!!

 A familiar scene in the morning. They are hollerin' cuz it is really cold on this mornin'. Their caretaker, ME, needed to hurry up and get them fixed up! The temp was 11 degrees! Our weather has been crazy lately. Temps from the 70's to the teens within a week or two. Crazy. Some of you know what I am talking about with the snow in areas that are having their first snow ever!!
Hay and water coming up!

M.E. in the shadows

yes this farm girl drives a tractor....hay is coming girls and boys

P-Nut is here to keep everybody in line

When we stick the bales out, we always have to cut the strings. What strings? Well, the bales have continuious strings on them to keep the hay from unraveling. When they are baled up in those funny box looking balers. The hay is packed in wide rows which are then wrapped up into a bale. At the end the strings wrap around the bale ...kind of like wrapping a ball of yarn.

We, then, have to cut these strings off so the critters don't eat them. They will, if you don't, especially cows. Silly, I know, but they can't tell the difference when they are eating it. String in the gut(s) can cause havoc we just would rather do without!

As an added measure I usually run my hand down the middle just in case a string is deeper.

 Not sure what I could do with all this string. It usually is pretty wore when we get to this point. At our place, it gets trashed.
With all our critters we feed a lot of hay in the winter months. We have purchased about 36 bales thus far. Depending on the winter that should get us through. If it gets colder, we will probably need more for sure!
Their water had to be broken up. It was an inch or more thick with ice. When it is this cold, morning and evening is breaking water time. When it is cold, animals don't drink as much. The cows 'tank' up on water once a day. We like to keep the options open for all our critters by breaking water twice a day when it's this cold! Brrrrrrrr

Stay Warm or Cool, wherever you are in this world!
Thanks for stopping by today...Toodle Loo!


Copyright © 2017 M.E. Masterson All Photographs Copyright © 2017 M.E. Masterson