Cold weather

[Huckleberry]

Wow, going to dip down to 6 degrees tonight! We are not used to seeing it that cold here. Wondering what everyone is doing for their goats to keep them toasty when the temps dip down.

My husband is on his way out with their third round of hot water for the day and extra hay to keep the tummies warm. Haven't seen anyone shivering yet and they're all puffed up like snowballs. My four kids look like giant fur balls, they are so fluffy and soft We renamed Boulder, our sannen, Peter rabbit. He looks like a fluffy snowshoe hare! I should try and post a pic tomorrow. So cute, I want to scoop 'em up and bring them inside to cuddle.

[Charlie Horse]

My goats seem to be doing well, but when the cold blast first hit, I saw Victoria sticking her head out of the goat-house and she was actually shivering. I poked my head in there... Shelby GT and Amelia Goat-hart were piled in there too and it was warm and toasty. There's no door flap but its insulated and essentially a deluxe goat residence. I think Vickie was just not quite adjusted to real cold yet so she shivered. Now they all seem to take the weather just fine. Woodstock is half boer and is fat and round and fuzzy.

[Nanno]

Our temperatures have been hovering down around zero recently. Cuzco has been shivering constantly. I think it's his age--he never used to be this cold. He would be warmer if he would share his shelter with the other goats, but it just ain't happnin'. The babies start shivering after they come out to eat in the morning, but they seem warm enough in their sheds. The PolyDomes I use aren't insulated, but I've bedded them with deep straw and left a straw bale against the wall in each one so they have something warm to rest their backs against. They're very draft-free and surprisingly warm inside, especially when several goats pile up in them.

All the goats have been wearing blankets lately. The first morning when we woke up to this sudden temperature plunge combined with high humidity, I brought the blankets out and everyone came flocking over and tried to get theirs on first. Nobody protested--even Lilly, who hates blankets, and Cuzco who protests everything. Cuzco also wore his earmuffs for a couple of days, not because I'm concerned his ears will freeze but because the whole goat is cold right now, and I figure I'll cover up as much of him as I can. I haven't had to dig these out since Lake City where it got to be -20 degrees and he lived outside with no shelter. But now that he's older he just can't seem to keep himself warm like he used to. My dad complains of similar problems.
   

And miracle of miracles... Lilly has learned how to keep her blanket ON! Day before yesterday was the FIRST morning that Lilly came out with her blanket on and only her neck poking through the neck hole. Usually there's at least one leg as well. I thought it might just be a fluke, but yesterday and today she's had it on properly too, so it seems this cold snap has been a good teacher. Still, the phenomenon was so unusual at the time that I had to snap a picture.
   

The babies warm themselves with vigorous exercise.
   

[Huckleberry]

I love the earmuffs! I was going to get a picture of Boulder, but this is Bruin. He won the "most puffed up" goat award this morning


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[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

Am so happy we got two big bales of that corns stocks. Hardly no true food value there but with full bellies all day long, it sure does help to keep them warm. That and making sure all their shelters were wind proof is about all we could do. Oh that and water heaters in every bodies water buckets... which isnt cheap to buy or to pay for electricity wise but WORTH IT! We did try to put a blanket on Gabe yesterday but all the goats where like "OH lets beat up the special needs goat" so we had to take it off of her

[Taffy]

Nanno - how old is Cuzco?

Would giving him a bucket of warm water a few times a day help him keep hydrated and warm him up? After all the adventures and incidents in his life that I've read about I love him as if he were my own.

Taffy

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I'm ready for this deep freeze to end. My goats seem to be doing fine. With their hair coat standing out for extra warmth they sure look fat! They use their shelters (old fertilizer tanks) and I have tank heaters in all of the water troughs. They are eating more but that's to be expected.

I finally have to own up to the fact that I'm a crazy goat lady. Even though it's cold I've been taking the goats out for hikes on our farm. They get frisky and run around and seem to enjoy the chance to get out and move. Their antics are quite comical when they get to running and kicking up their hooves!

[Nanno]

Cuzco is almost 12 years old. He has a heated water bucket, and all the goats are offered hot water from the tap every time I bring it out to thaw the horse trough, but only Lilly and Petunia seem to enjoy it at that temperature. I've rarely known Cuzco to go for anything warmer than what's in his electric bucket. Last year I tried making his mash with hot water and leaving it next to the wood stove to keep warm while it soaked, but he still preferred it cool. He just doesn't care for warm vittles I guess. I also catch him eating snow fairly often, which can't help his body temperature. He's got no reason to eat snow, so I'm thinking it's just an old habit from his horse pasture days that won't die.

[Huckleberry]

Our Togg loves to eat snow too, he's done it since he was a kid. He's also the one that can't seem to keep his nose out of anything. My big guy, Basil, doesn't like his water warm either and prefers to drink it once it's cooled down. I guess they all have their ways.

[Charlie Horse]

I just got in from sleeping out in the back yard. It was -1F and very windy. I fed the horses and goats an extra feeding to burn in their furnaces since this may be the coldest night of the year.

I wanted to test my equipment.

My $25 Ozark Trail nearly disposable Walmart tent did ok, but its a flexible-pole X pattern and it bows and bobs and rustles in the wind. It was actually windy inside the tent since plenty of air goes under the rain fly and through the mesh top.

My ancient Thermarest pad has a slow leak so I lost a lot of padding half way through the night. I'm going to try to fix that or chuck it out this week.

What I really wanted to test was my Wiggy's sleeping bags. I got them at a super great price I found online through a Mormon prepper's group (AVOW). One is a big fat winter bag and the other is a matching lighter-weather bag that slips over the other. I also have their ground insulation mat/pad. I was 100% warm and toasty. What makes Wiggy's bags nice is they're compressable long term if you want and they have silicone coated fibers that wick-away moisture. My bag is too roomy and I may give it to my dad and have him buy a size smaller for me. I dunno. It is so comfy!

Sasha did ok but not great. I had her on a folded blanket, covered by another blanket. She got out from under that blanket in the night and started shivering. I put her back under it and she did ok but I dont think she was really that comfortable.

So far the goats have only popped out to see whats going on and then gone back to their houses. They certainly dont like this level of cold, except to go eat. I think they're peeing in those houses. I havent put flaps on the doors because of that. The fumes build up pretty bad.

[joecool911]

Nanno,

I love your goats ear muffs! Very cool. You should offer them for sale here.

Joe