Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Animals and the cold

It's cold here.  The past few mornings have been in the upper teens.  Luckily it's been sunny during the day so it's not as bad as I'd anticipated.

I used to worry more about my animals in the cold weather.  I've since learned my animals have it good compared to many of my internet friend's critters.  Many of the folks in my mammoth donkey Yahoo group have been having temps around -10.  Brrrrr. 

Last night a friend called to ask me if my pigs would be ok in this cold.  I thought it was a bit strange he'd worry about my pigs and not the goats, rabbits, donkeys, etc.  I told him the pigs had the horse trailer with hay in it and each other to curl up with.  I should have told  him people raise pigs in Alaska too and they don't heat their barns.  Hmmmm, come to think of it, this could be the reason he asked.  He's our electrician and we haven't hired him for a job in awhile.  Maybe business is slow and he wants us to build a barn with electricity. 

Keri sleeps with the goats in their barn now.  I'd love to know if they curl up next to her since she's so nice and furry but if I snuck out there at night she'd notice and come barking before I could get a peek.  It took awhile but they've finally bonded, especially Luti and Keri.  I had them all in our big field for awhile and Luti would follow Keri all over the place, which meant all the other goats had to follow along, much to fat Pessa's chagrin.  It's a lot more work for her to keep up but probably good exercise.  Even in the pouring rain Keri would stay outside the goats' little house (in the field) instead of going to the other shelter for cover, which was much farther away.  I'm glad she takes her job seriously.  I should mention that Chy and Wilson, my standard donkeys, really missed them while they were over there and were glad when they returned.  One day I saw Keri rolled over onto her back and Wilson sniffing her belly.  I think she thought he was going to rub it. 

Of all the animals, Keri is the one I worry about the least in this weather.  We took her for a walk around the field the other day and instead of walking in the grass she stayed in the snow and even took a moment to roll in it.

55 days and 1 hour till spring.

2 comments:

  1. 55 days and 1 hour till spring.
    Amen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought you were going to get a barn cam to see what goes on in the barn.

    ReplyDelete