Watch your step! It's slippery out here.
We had a bit of freezing rain here today, so everything is coated in a slick of ice. There are plenty of roads closed due to the dangerous conditions.
It also makes heading outside to feed the sheep a little scary. Here's my deck steps:
Doesn't that make you just want to put on your ice skates and play hockey?
Because of the rain, the sheep needed more water than usual.
Yes, you read that right. In the winter, we provide the sheep with access to fresh water, but they often don't drink much because they eat snow instead. The rain changes that, because it creates a frozen icy crust on the snow that makes it way harder for the sheep to ingest.
Here's a few of them trying to get some mouthfuls of snow today:
These ones came for water instead, it was so much easier for thirsty throats:
Snow as a sole water source isn't wise for heavily pregnant or lactating ewes, or growing lambs, so if you're trying to learn how to keep sheep by reading my posts, I'd like you to know that! Sheep in those stages of development can't get enough water from the snow without imbalancing their energy intake. All the snow they eat has to be melted, and that burns extra calories. Sheep on maintainance or in early gestation can make up for those calories wuth what they eat, but the other groups just can't, and you wind up with thin, struggling sheep with weak lambs and no milk supply. Just so you know!
The rest of my day I spent on house chores and doing some reading and writing. I was originally thinking of a trip to the city for plumbing parts, but the freezing rain cancelled that idea. Maube by Saturday the roads will be safer!
Take care and stay warm out there folks. And don't slip on the stairs on your way out!