It’s snowing! When you are a kid the words “snow day” means no school, sled rides, snowball fights, snowmen and snow ice cream. When you are an adult “snow day” means slick roads, melting snow on the floor, wet coats and gloves, frozen car doors, and trying to keep the kids entertained in between forays out into the snow. When you are a rancher or a cow it means cold and wet.
Cattle handle cold really well. They put their heavy coats on in the fall and don’t take them off until spring. They are equipped for the cold, but Missouri weather is known for it’s rapid and extreme changes. Image if you had to wear your heavy coat outside on one of those beautiful 65 degree winter days that we had recently. Those days are harder on cattle than a really cold January day, but snow means wet and being wet means the cows need extra energy to stay warm.
We figure how much hay the cows need by their weight. Since we can’t weigh each cow or each bale of hay we have to use estimates and experience to come up with the right amount. We estimate that the average weight of the cows is 1200. 1200 x 3% = 36 lbs. Again estimating that each bale weighs 1200 lbs Mitch will unroll 9 big bales for this set of 276 cows. On a cold wet day he will add a bale. That amount allows for waste and there will be waste. Nothing they like better than standing on their food. If tomorrow when he goes to feed there is still hay on the ground he’ll cut back a bale.
If you think your grocery bill is high just image watching these girls eat their way through 9 bales at $45 each. Every day!
As I was watching him roll out the hay I saw a cow come out of the woods late and by herself. I decided to back track her trail in the woods to see what had held her up. It looks suspicious.
This is what I found at the end of the trail. An early calf, thanks to the neighbors bull. Everything looks fine. It was a nice surprise on a snowy day and I got to take a walk through the quiet snow covered woods!
Get out and enjoy your snow days!
Until next time.
Don’t forget to close the gate!
Love your posts!
Thank you!