[SallyintNorth]

I'm so sick of mud.

 

Same here; Meg-pig hates it too, the little stones get between her cleats if she walks about, so she doesn't, much    I took pity on the ponies so they have access to a bit of well-draining ground so they don't have to be paddling all day every day.  The sheep will miss that grass come lambing, though...

Good luck with the scan 

[cloddopper]

It's hovering on the edge of snow and rain, so for a few hours it snows, then it rains on top of it.......Just had a sleet downpour. Gotta gather sheep for scanning in a minute, please let it stop for a while.

My poor sodden, limping sheep.

I'm so sick of mud.

A couple of miles from here the low land area has sheep on it up to there ankles in water .. there is no sensible dry ground for them . Yet the farmers are happy to see the stock in water , I wonder how many will get foot rot and half starve or die of hypothermia trying to eat the small amount of grass available whilst on their knees .
 

It wouldn't be quite so bad if the farmers used hay tumblers & raised troughs to put in some dry fodder or feed for the sheep.

[Kitchen Cottage]

  Beautiful sunny day in Essex.  Blue sky and not a cloud in it.  I've almost finished putting my secondhand shed up.  Its absolutely glorious.  A bit nippy but your spirits lift in the sunshine

[SallyintNorth]

Yet the farmers are happy to see the stock in water

Don't be ridiculous, of course they're not happy to see their livestock in these conditions.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if the farmers used hay tumblers & raised troughs to put in some dry fodder or feed for the sheep.

They may be constrained as to how they can feed the stock, very often environmental schemes prohibit any feeding and certainly the use of feeders and troughs.

Plus, unless you can provide the correct amount of space for each animal, the use of feeders and /or troughs can be very unpleasant for the livestock, some may even get trampled and/or suffocated.  It's generally better with larger numbers to spread hay out along the ground, and if feeding hard feed, use pellets that can withstand being on wet ground for a few minutes.

Even if you have the space for feeders / troughs, they can cause their own problems, such as poaching of the ground and the resultant foot problems, not to mention the length of time it can take for the ground to recover.

Please do not assume that because you see farmed animals being treated differently to how you would treat your small number of animals, that the farmer is doing anything other than the best that can be done for those animals in those conditions.

[Marches Farmer]

Absolutely.  We need to move field hayracks but they're axle-deep in mud and we won't be able to until we get a heavy frost.  We can't feed hay on the ground - it would just get submerged.  The scanner is due tomorrow and I found myself thinking that if the stock rams had been infected with Schmallenberg at the wrong time and were infertile I wouldn't be that fussed.  It would take away my main headache, of how to keep the ewes from eating a lot of mud in with their grass - our soil is high in molybdenum and iron and inhibits the uptake of copper, which can lead to swayback in the lambs.  We bolused them before tupping but it may not be enough in these conditions. 

I always shut up the turnout field in September but I've let the ewes in to graze it for the first time ever, on the basis that if the grass rots in the standing water there will be nothing for them to eat anyway.

[MelRice]

We've had a strange winter here too....only 8 days long so far and now we are back in the +'s and the snow has almost gone. In our bit of Germany its normally 6-8 weeks of snow with highs of -2.


The long range forecast says that there should be more snow here for the locals to enjoy their cross country skiing during the two week school break in mid Feb.

[jaykay]

Yet the farmers are happy to see the stock in water

Don't be ridiculous, of course they're not happy to see their livestock in these conditions.

Oh good, I'm glad someone else has said it, I was coming back to say just that, that comment had bothered me since i read it. I know how stressed I am about trying to keep my animals healthy, if not hapoy, in these conditions.

It's a good plan, it seems to me, of beginning with the assumption that other people are as well-intentioned and intelligent as yourself - and only budging from that with firm evidence. I often say to a certain person in my life 'well, since you know me to be both intelligent and capable, there must be a good reason for me doing X mustn't there, even if you can't at this precise moment, see what that reason is'.

[SallyintNorth]

It's a good plan, it seems to me, of beginning with the assumption that other people are as well-intentioned and intelligent as yourself - and only budging from that with firm evidence. I often say to a certain person in my life 'well, since you know me to be both intelligent and capable, there must be a good reason for me doing X mustn't there, even if you can't at this precise moment, see what that reason is'.

   Abso-bloomin-lootley!

[Penninehillbilly]

I presume as this weather seems to be worse/wetter than a lot of people remember, most farmers just haven't the facilities to cope with the wet, and I would think if someone offered them some higher ground they'd have their animals loaded before the phone was put down.
As was said on the TV tonight, more attention should be paid to humans and livestock (our future food!) than the little feathered things that would adapt with just a little consideration anyway.

[cloddopper]

Yet the farmers are happy to see the stock in water

Don't be ridiculous, of course they're not happy to see their livestock in these conditions.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if the farmers used hay tumblers & raised troughs to put in some dry fodder or feed for the sheep.

They may be constrained as to how they can feed the stock, very often environmental schemes prohibit any feeding and certainly the use of feeders and troughs.

Plus, unless you can provide the correct amount of space for each animal, the use of feeders and /or troughs can be very unpleasant for the livestock, some may even get trampled and/or suffocated.  It's generally better with larger numbers to spread hay out along the ground, and if feeding hard feed, use pellets that can withstand being on wet ground for a few minutes.

Even if you have the space for feeders / troughs, they can cause their own problems, such as poaching of the ground and the resultant foot problems, not to mention the length of time it can take for the ground to recover.

Please do not assume that because you see farmed animals being treated differently to how you would treat your small number of animals, that the farmer is doing anything other than the best that can be done for those animals in those conditions.

 Why else would a farmer leave livestock in a submerged field if they are not happy doing it.?  Seeing is believing..


Yes I totally agree not all people have the same levels of stockman ship .
Around here it seems that the subsistence farmers & smallholders  really push the envelope to the extreme limits.

More and more sheep are showing classic foot rot signs and are eating whilst on their front knees because of painful feet.

[cloddopper]

I presume as this weather seems to be worse/wetter than a lot of people remember, most farmers just haven't the facilities to cope with the wet, and I would think if someone offered them some higher ground they'd have their animals loaded before the phone was put down.
As was said on the TV tonight, more attention should be paid to humans and livestock (our future food!) than the little feathered things that would adapt with just a little consideration anyway.

 Good post PHB , compassion in farming does not mean we mollycoddle the animals ..
 It should include the five freedoms though .
When you see the area I'm on about it does make you wonder about the large area of ungrazed high common land a few Km away.
 No doubt we'll read of a few prosecutions before people wise up and do something for their stock .

One of my friends has 19 acres of decent fenced grazeable land  that is normally paddock land , there are lots of those around here .
 Think I'll have a chat with her tomorrow and see what she knows of or if she is wiling rent out grazing then go an approach a few other people ..
Another friend has 26 acres of dry hillside under grazing grass close by .

I know for sure that when we had animals on the farm I'd move hell & high water for my stock as it was my living  I didn't get any EU grants or government assistance when things went wrong .

[Penninehillbilly]

They may be constrained as to how they can feed the stock, very often environmental schemes prohibit any feeding and certainly the use of feeders and troughs.
Even if you have the space for feeders / troughs, they can cause their own problems, such as poaching of the ground and the resultant foot problems, not to mention the length of time it can take for the ground to recover.

I havn't looked at my book, but I'm sure on the scheme I'm in you can use feeders but have to move them to prevent poaching. (my upland scheme may be different to lowland) BUT what he heck I can't really see the land being up to much anyway by the time that lots gone. (if the army does get involved, I'd try and get some feeders dropped, if only to supply some dry feed to the poor beggars).
 
Yes I'm sick of mud as well, tripped inthe house last week, hit my head on the freezer, my knee hit a step, looked like a tennis ball was stuck on the front (knee and forehead!), knee still purple and now all down the front of my shin, couldn't use my arm properly, then at the weekend, slipped in some mud caught my arm (again) and my jaw on a cement mixer. I want to wrap myself up and stay in bed for the rest of the winter  .