This week we spent some time with the livestock examining their living conditions and winterizing their habitat. It's still fall but seems winter is upon us with snow already falling. Farming seems to be about embracing your environment and working with the hand that you’ve been dealt. Considering we already had a light dusting the cattle and pig who had no immediate shelter to go and get out of the wind, snow, sleet, or other wintery mixture. While I am not one to be extreme in the way of animal rights and ethics, for example I do not believe toys are necessary for farm livestock and will not be taking part in certifications or titles that mandate this. However, shelter is a basic human need but I consider one for animals to. By raising them for our sole purposes and not allowing them the chance to find their own shelters because of fencing its important and In my opinion an obligation as caretakers of the animals to give them what they need. Even if you do not care about the moral or ethical responsibility I would argue an animal with adequate shelter from winter's harsh abilities produces better quality and a higher value crop. We provided a hefty portion of straw for bedding and insulation for the pigs, and placed this inside their shelter. For the cattle we made a temporary but yet sturdy and acceptable shelter out of T posts, Wire, and Tarps. This was both economical and practical, something I could easily see myself using again and was good practice for future situations, you never know what can happen in the future and knowing how to construct a temporary shelter is always a good skill to have. When examining resources online for other suggestions on winterizing it was noted that ventilation is a big concern for barns and inclosed areas. We stockpiled extra food for the animals and while at first I thought this was incase it was to much snow to get to feed the animals I finally realized that it was more for them to eat more calories to burn for extra heat.
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/winterize-the-farm/
https://www.agweb.com/article/7-ways-to-winterize-your-farm-ben-potter/
https://www.southernstates.com/articles/small-farm-winterization-checklist.aspx
Jordan Palmer
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