The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: bigchicken on December 07, 2011, 07:34:23 pm
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I hate this rain and the mess the fields are getting into, plodding through mud to get to the chickens, plodding through mud to feed the sheep and ponies. Most of this done in the rain or the dark or the wind and the winter is just starting. The animals must be miserable. there that's my rant for today.
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The fields haven't been as wet as this for years here. Love visiting and feeding the animals but it does take some of the pleasure away when you are slipping and sliding and sinking into liquid mud. Haven't yet fallen face first but bet it wont be long. Have to keep moving or you just sink and get stuck and extremely difficult tomget going again. :wave:
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That's just how I feel :-\ And yes, what will be like by April :P
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Haven't yet fallen face first but bet it wont be long.
Today, moving the branch that holds the gate open when I go to check the ponies and three lots of sheep. :-[
Have to keep moving or you just sink and get stuck and extremely difficult tomget going again. :wave:
Today, usual spot - while chivying cattle around into the pens. (Do they know? You betcha! >:( ::))
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yup, same here too ... :/
okay, so minus 18 and 4 foot of snow this time last year wasn't exactly fun either for accidential smallholders either!
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we are frozen solid here, our road is sheet ice after the melting snow last night. looking less forward to the 90mph winds supposed to be hitting us tomorrow
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I thought I hated the rain, mud and slime, but on reflection I think I hate the snow and freezing temperatures more. Last year - no water for 4 weeks, no drainage for same, electricity outages, high gas bills. So far this year, new wellies, rubber mats in duck run, wood burning stove. Yup, prefer the flooded back garden and the mud..
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The walk with Zip this morning wasn't too nice with the snow pelting my face but once we turned around it was fine and fine - melted a bit here but frozen solid now - I just think of the sheep poor feet when it soggy so think frozen is better even if I have to carry water and more water and more water ...... it does get done eventually!!
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and today its going to get even worse! a red warning for high winds and snow/sleet.
my ponies live out, and every night i fret for them, can't wait for daylight so i can check they are ok, the fields are soddon, they have less and less solid ground to stand on, i feel so sorry for them. i do have a garage for use as a stable, but cloudy panics if i put him in.
the chickens, ducks and geese seem ok, they take themselves to bed around half 3 these days!
the dogs are going out for the necessary only, then back to the fireside, even the collie! who usually has to be enticed in during the day, she;s an outside kinda girl.
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In the blizzard yesterday lunchtime I caught one of the two horses and then it took me 40 minutes to catch the pony as every time she turned to let me put the headcollar on she got smacked on the bum by the driving and very hard snow and thought I was smacking her and exploded off around the field. Then I tripped over the electric fence line (white on white!) and fell flat on my face. All this when I had already put my back out lifting water buckets.
Forecast is much worse todays so the horses are staying in today!
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Mud here in Devon! Liquid mud in every gateway and the pigs telling me "Hurry up. Hurry up" and trying to walk between my legs. I come home covered!!
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Same here violent winds and horizontal rain, pigs all had breakfasts in bed this morning, god knows where i'll find the trugs and buckets when i get home from work. left the dog on the sofa as he refused to go out to kennel! Batten down the hatches folks supposed to get worse later today and we're the lucky ones supposed to be much worse further north of us.
Stay safe everyone
Mandy :pig:
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Got flooded overnight and spent a couple of hours diverting water from the chooks and house into the hay :( Now got the winds and the living room west window is actually rattling so I'm a tad worried in case it blows right in, closely followed by the chickens whose pen it looks onto :o
So no I don't prefer wind and rain to snow and frost - right now I'd rather have those and be able to move around outside, however slowly..
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I'm in West Yorkshire and my hen run is turing into quagmire, we've had so much rain recently. Today is absolutely foul ;) high winds & driving rain
I've got a makeshift shelter in one corner lined with straw and they huddle in there together. One unfortunate little hen is moulting, so she'll be feeling the draught :(
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I also live in West Yorkshire, mud is dreadful! Shetland ponies have been having a hard time walking through it, so they are in and not happy, but they are soooo wet that i am scared of rain scald. they can stay in until they are thoroughly dry before they go out again, they are all too old to cope well with this weather. ' My 'big' horses are happy to be out of the weather.
Not bothering the sheep though.
my thoughts are turning to TASers farther north, .......hope everythning is ok folks
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My sheep are starting to suffer as patches of wool are starting to snap shorter with the weight of the wet wool.
My poor horse looks like a mud monster and it is far too cold to hose him down and get rid of it but he comes into his stable on a night for warm sugarbeet, lots of nuts and as much hay as he can eat.
Moving through the field gates is nigh on impossible as the mud now sloshes up to mid calf height and is like quick sand.
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Poor you all! :(
So far, we've not had it too bad. No snow; frozen solid until Tuesday night when we had rain, so yesterday morning was a bit slippy underfoot, but it was nice and sunny; heavy rain last night and very windy today, but not terribly cold (in comparison to the start of the week). And it's sunny, so it doesn't FEEL so bad.
Forecast of rain this evening then full sun until Monday. Hope it's right :) and hope you all have a few days of full sun too.
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I can do without the sun and would welcome the windy weather to dry things out a bit as long as the RAIN stops :(
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Just got back from the daily 6 mile yomp , very blustery and very WET . The land is like the Somme ! But anything rather than snow , I hate that b*stard stuff ! Still , soon be spring now !
Hope you are all safe and warm , take care .
Cheers Russ
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Windy ! blew hay feeder over trapping a ewe neighbour spotted and rescue, he phoned me and I went over and checked the ewe she is OK just a bit muddy but no stiffness. Anything no tied down was all over the place my chicken feed store was blown over. Sheep were busy eating the fallen pine branches Ponies munching away on the grass chickens doing the sideways windy walk. But as a friend said its no that bad.
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This is when I am glad I chose Greyface Dartmoors! these sheep just ignore the weather and get on with grazing. I turned up to feed them in an absolute hoolie this afternoon, fully expecting them to be under the hedge but no - they were all over the field grazing like it was a sunny day! I was like a drowned rat when I got in.