Sub-Zero temps freeze calves water supply

Planned to spread slurry last week when the ground was frozen solid for the first time in many years but spent most of the time between milking watering cattle with a hose pipe. Temps got as low as -6 C or 20F Also got 2 inches of snow.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• ayrshire
• cows
• dairy
• deere
• frost
• holland
• holsteins
• jersey
• john
• milk
• new
• parlor
• slurry
• snow
• USA

[870wingmstr]

Here in Wisconsin we bury all the water lines 5 or 6 feet deep. It can get down to -30 F a few times most winters and sometimes we stay below zero for a week or two at a time. All our drinkers have electric heaters under the water pan with a thermostat control. And they still freeze up sometimes! : )

Nice video!

[holsteincowboy]

The winters seem to be getting milder here.The last time those pipes froze was at least 10 years ago.

btw i posted a video about Wisconsin last year

[kinburncattle]

Thats a nice summer day in Canada most of Janaury was below -20. More fun when the pipes freeze, bust, and thaw.

[holsteincowboy]

The winters here seem to be getting milder with a lot of rain THe lowest temp recorded in this area was about 15 years ago when tit dropped dropped to -15 for a few days

[miroM1984]

nice vid as usually . In your description You wrote about spreading slurry. In Poland we have such regulations that we can't spread slurry when the ground is frozen or from 1st december to 1st march.

Besides spreading slurry when ground is frozen makes that You lose many nitrogen Am I right??

[holsteincowboy]

Yes i think that is right . Some parts of Scotland have regulations banning slurry spreading during the winter. They have to store it until spring

[Green4321]

When I was a farm kid, we hoped that the windmill would pump fast enough to keep the well from freezing. If it didn't, we'd siphon out water from the first 8 to 10 feet of the well. If things ent badly, we'd take pans-full of boiling water (or a blow torch) to thaw things out. In the stock tank, we had a U-shaped waterproof metal box with burning coals or corncobs inside. And my parents wondered why I moved to the big city ;-)

[strathmournholsteins]

We have been watering our calves with a hose for three months now if not more lol to warm up to 4 tomorow which beats yesterdays -37 lol

[Portnob]

so how many acres in total do you have on your farm watchin your silage and spreading vids it would seem that you have quite alot

[holsteincowboy]

No most are on the surface

[Stuart3h]

Hard luck up there, we got it just as cold down this end, but where i am we got no snow at all. Parlour pipes froze up once, but after that we left the heaters on overnight to try and avoid that again. One local farmer tipped box dung ontop of all his exposed pipes to troughs - theres miles of wee tracks of dung all around his fields. It seemed to work.