Winter is hard. That’s the COLD hard truth, especially on the farm. Water lines freeze, so do hoses and watering becomes its own tough chore.
Livestock will almost always birth in the winter if left to live naturally. Which means cold stress and extra work to keep babies alive. Sometimes moms and babies are removed to cozy, warm stalls to start their journey together. By doing this, we are taking extra stress off of them and giving them a better start at life.
Heat lamps present their own challenges too. We use Premier 1 safety lamps. These lamps are completely enclosed in a hard plastic casing. We use cables or chains to hang them and also clip them to a hook so they are double, triple secure. Many farm structures have been lost due to heat lamp fires and we want to ensure that does not happen to us. We also only use these safety lamps when completely necessary. Heating with the lamps also adds to the power bill!! We also add thick hay and pine shavings to our shelters ( where we do not add lamps) to help with keeping the animals warm. Our thought is that warm animals conserve energy by not needing to shiver for warmth and are able to continue growing into a healthy animal.
Feeding is the most important during winter. Unlike the spring and summer months when grasses are lush and plentiful, winter grasses are minimal (even in the South) and animals must be fed twice per day. Free Choice Hay and Alfalfa is left out as well. Several really adventurous pigs will still be able to find a few acorns, walnuts and cedar berries in the ground for supplemental snacks.
Sunny days are a welcome site even if the temps are in the 20s’. We love to walk up on piglets sleeping in the sun. Their little faces actually look like they are smiling. 😊
Keeping ourselves warm presents its own challenges this time of the year. On cold mornings, we layer up and head out knowing that we will heat up as we work and will be peeling off layers like an onion throughout the day. Also knowing that we will be adding the same layers back as the sun sets. Over the years we have learned to invest in quality and it will last! Base layers are a favorite. The boys like to sleep in theirs so they are toasty from the start. I have always LOVED overalls, even before farming. Overalls are great in the winter b/c you can have layers under and over. The boys have discovered coveralls this year and love them! They can wear their school clothes under them and go straight to school or practice from the farm without wearing the pig snout love on them. I’m thinking about adding a pair of coveralls to my farm wardrobe myself!
We all own a well worn pair of Muck boots that are a must in the soggy winter months. We own other boots, but Mucks are the “go-to”. Socks are SO important! I love Swiftwick! They are warm, not bulky and come in great patterns/colors. David and the boys are Smartwool fans. They like the soft merino wool of Smartwool socks.
I can’t stress the importance of a HAT! It took me a long time to come to this decision. I’ve never liked toboggans, sock hats, skullcaps, whatever you call them. Keeping heat in (from the top) is a plus! Wearing a hat really does make a difference. If you insulate your entire body, but not your head, it is likely that you will lose 10% of your body heat.
I hope you are all staying warm and toasty this winter!! Get OUTSIDE!! It takes some work to keep warm but your body needs that Vitamin D and even more as we get older!!
Until next time,
Stacey