The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Paul and Caroline on February 28, 2018, 09:04:16 am
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This weeks cold weather has seen our water supply cut off because of freezing (this morning). Defrosting is not an option for us so we are going to have to wait it out. My question is how much of a sheeps water needs is met by grazing (grass). Fortunately we do not have a single flake of snow and the grass is plentiful..... normally although we leave water tubs out we see very little consumption direct from those tubs and we usually have to refresh almost full tubs rather than leave it to get dirty.
Can I leave it to the grass to supply their water (hopefully only for a day or so) until the thaw sets in?
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most of the time they get most of their moisture needs from the grass, but in very cold dry weather they seem to get thirsty - so I would try and have something to offer them. Is there a running stream somewhere you could dip water out of perhaps?
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If the ground is frozen they won’t be able to get much from the grass, so I’d be feeding hay or haylage. And they must have water if they’re eating hay.
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Old feed buckets, washed out milk containers full of warm water and a kettle of hot water, at least twice a day. Providing clean water for stock is not an option, it's a necessity.
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Ours knocked both of their water buckets over sometime yesterday morning. They were all very thirsty indeed, by the time I refilled them in the afternoon.
I guess if they're on hay, it must be a bit like trying to eat Jacobs crackers without a drink!
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Are they in-lamb? If so, then you need to be putting water out daily. If not, you can get away with less often.
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Well I have over a foot of snow, so that's where they will get their water from...
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Can I leave it to the grass to supply their water (hopefully only for a day or so) until the thaw sets in?
I don't know where you are, but temperatures are not forecast to get back above zero until Saturday lunch time, so waiting isn't really an option, an alternative water source is needed now.
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Old feed buckets, washed out milk containers full of warm water and a kettle of hot water, at least twice a day. Providing clean water for stock is not an option, it's a necessity.
I do take your point however mine was that I have no water - at all - on my smallholding - so to the Supermarket it is to buy them out of their 5 litre containers!
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This morning I filled 3 5 gallon containers using the bath tap.
My in lamb ewes where very grateful but OH did his back in getting them out of the bath ! bless
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I think ewes get a lot of moisture from the water on the surface of grass, dew or rain. Sometimes when I've put water out for sheep its been weeks and they haven't touched it. When its dry like this I think they need water
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Fearing do a huge bag that fits into a wheelbarrow and can be filled from a hose.
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Surely you know someone where you can go and fill up from their outside tap, or a stream or river.
In the meantime do you know where the freezing issue is occurring ? You need to get it resolved with extra lagging or whatever. It really hasn't been that cold, your supply to your house should not be frozen in these conditions.
Lagging / burying a pipe to the correct depth only has to be done once. You are going to be carting lots of water over the years if the current temperatures which have only been just below zero have frozen you up. This is going to cost you lots of time and money.
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Our sheep have been drinking a fair amount of water since they upped their hay intake. We're going to have to carry buckets to and from the house for the next few days though as the taps on the land have frozen but thankfully we still have running water inside the house!
If your house hasn't got a water supply at the moment then I'd second the suggestion of going to a neighbour/friend for some water.
Dans
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If you leave a tap running (just a little bit) in your house (once your water supply unfreezes), it will prevent it from re-freezing. Running water freezes at much lower temperatures than static water. And then buy some more pipe lagging!! :)
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Surely you know someone where you can go and fill up from their outside tap, or a stream or river.
In the meantime do you know where the freezing issue is occurring ? You need to get it resolved with extra lagging or whatever. It really hasn't been that cold, your supply to your house should not be frozen in these conditions.
Lagging / burying a pipe to the correct depth only has to be done once. You are going to be carting lots of water over the years if the current temperatures which have only been just below zero have frozen you up. This is going to cost you lots of time and money.
We are situated on top of a hill and the water, by the time it gets to us, has zero pressure. It sits in a holding tank behind the house and has to be pumped into the house from there. The water appears to be frozen between the tank and the pump so until it thaws we are stuffed. First time it has happened and is now an urgent project to prevent it happening again. Meanwhile we have several 5 litre water bottles plus a neighbour has a 5 gallon drum for us to pick up and fill from his supply (2 miles away). We watched a full lick bucket of fresh water freeze over in about 10 minutes so I am not sure that's it's 'not all that cold' . We only have 6 sheep at the minute in a 4 acre field so sometimes they can be hundreds of yards away from the water - we always put the water in the same place and they haven't come looking for it.....
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We had -12 last night in Norfolk..., definitely cold for these parts.
A black trug with a tennis ball to move in the wind can dekay freezing.
Sounds like you’re gaving a difficult time. Good luck!
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It was down to -10 degrees here last night and lower forecast for tonight. We bring the poultry drinkers inside and have bowl drinkers bolted to the pigsty walls so they can be filled from outside with a watering can when the water pipes freeze. The buckets of water for the sheep were freezing over in less than 10 minutes today, despite a kettleful of boiling water being added.
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. The buckets of water for the sheep were freezing over in less than 10 minutes today, despite a kettleful of boiling water being added.
Just a point................. boiling water freezes faster than cold water (something to do with water molecules and movement)
P and C total empathy with you this morning .... just got up and turned on tap ....nothing! Well that's decided my jobs for today!
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We add boiling water to drinkers that are about to freeze over, to keep them liquid for just a bit longer. The waste water pipes that run underground from our veterinary room have frozen so we're having to bail out the sinks. Definitely the coldest Winter hereabouts for many years. Bracing ourselves for the sound of hissing pipes as the thaw reveals splits in the alkathene .....
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I'm sure the OP has weighed up the options of how to get water. Not only for the sheep but themselves. And will sort the problem out for another time. So he doesn't need all the "helpful" comments on how to get water - his question was how much did the sheep get from grazing.
Yesterday evening I was outside for two minutes and the ends of my hair which were wet got icicles in it! It is that wind. Gets in everywhere. This is what winters used to be like!
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If you have snow then you don't need to worry about the sheep as they'll eat snow. You didn't say if they are in lamb - if they aren't I wouldn't worry about them - focus on getting *your* water supply defrosted.
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Hi Foobar, Does their behavior depend on the breed perhaps? I know our Manx Loaghtans used to dig through the snow with their hooves to get to the grass, and also never seemed to drink water except when lactating.
However, although our Zwartbles prefer even poor grass to hay, they won't dig through to get at it, and as I said above, went mad for a bucket of water after they had been without for an afternoon.
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If you have snow then you don't need to worry about the sheep as they'll eat snow. You didn't say if they are in lamb - if they aren't I wouldn't worry about them - focus on getting *your* water supply defrosted.
Hi - sorry they are not in lamb - they are last years lambs and I tend to wait until they are 18 months old before tupping them - no snow whatsoever here - just 50 mph winds and a wind chill factor of a gazillion degrees below freezing! I am now reasonably happy that they are getting the vast majority of what they need from grazing and have also left a few 'lick bucket lollipops' out for them should they want them. I am just glad I don't keep pigs over winter.....!! We have a neighbour - well he us 2 miles away but that still counts as a neighbour here! - who has a 5 gallon flaggon and is filling it up with water for us and that is proving a massive help....
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I'm glad to hear your managing to get some water from somewhere, fingers crossed things improve for you soon. It must hard on you as well as the sheep! It rarely gets below freezing here but my outdoor taps have frozen for the first time since we moved here four years ago.
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I have had my water turned off in the barn since the last cold spell and 40 odd ewes seem to have coped well I do collect a lot of rain water off a few farm buildings and this always comes in useful .
Rented to someone with horses once and the amount of water required was a nightmare.
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My sheep were desperate for the warm water I took them yesterday. They’re at grass with hay and haylage. There was snow on the ground. They’re mainly primitives and cross primitives.
It makes me cross when people say sheep don’t need water. They need water to digest hay, so if they’re on hay then not giving them water is the same as not giving them enough to eat.
In my experience, sheep pretty much always drink some water if there’s clean fresh water offered.
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My sheep were desperate for the warm water I took them yesterday. They’re at grass with hay and haylage. There was snow on the ground. They’re mainly primitives and cross primitives.
It makes me cross when people say sheep don’t need water. They need water to digest hay, so if they’re on hay then not giving them water is the same as not giving them enough to eat.
In my experience, sheep pretty much always drink some water if there’s clean fresh water offered.
You are right, feed intake is related to water intake and the drier the food the more water needed. Soaked beet pulp is a handy way to get water into your sheep and give them some extra energy in this weather.
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My zwartbles ewe lambs from last year are eating large bale hay and get a shared scoop of grass nuts. They have a large field trough which I am breaking the ice on twice a day and they then drink. The 7'x2' trough has dropped about 4" since the feeder pipe froze four nights ago. There are 7 sheep.
The rams have small bale hay in a rack and a 3'x2' water trough and they are a good third of the way down. There are 3 rams.
Today I noticed that the rams are keeping a pet field mouse, it was sat looking up at me when I lifted the hayrack lid to fluff up the remaining hay before they get a new bale tomorrow. I moved its portion of hay over and did the rest of the rack. It was still watching me when I closed the lid.
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Up our top shed we have around 60 sheep in lamb due over next three week.
They are drinking 100 liters every 4-6 hours. On haylage and treats.
The ponies are drinking probably 25 liters a day each.
This cold has been very dry. We have snow now so its warmed up - but the last few nights have been bad - lots of blown pipes all over the farm.
They say its an old wives tale about leaving the tap running - but I still do it - you just have to watch that your drains dont freezing and break or block.
Luckily we still have a house tap - but water has become one of the most important jobs of the day -milk bottles in your pockets and a water jack in each hand.
Currently transporting well over a few hundred liters a day by 25 l water jacks
Animals need water - even the farm cats need bowls of defrosted water and the wild birds - my dogs can't find adlib water around the yard so need bowls in the kitchen and not the shed.
I hope you manage to get a supply and the thaw comes soon. Its a real problem, I cant imagine what we would do if our house tap froze - would be a long quad ride and would literally take all day.