whats the weather like in your area?

whelan1

we are ok at -1 now, milkman comes here at 3am and decided to leave dairy door open ... all water frozen in dairy- was not a happy camper :mad:

Dusty87

the bollix.
Flakes of dust coming down here but nothing to shout about

whelan1

thats what i said and more:D rang him later after i cooled down a bit.... he will close it in future, he doesnt even turn off the cooler or put the tank on washing , he's a lazy git

Dusty87

we dont milk but the neighbours do so dont have to worry thank god. trying to keep the trough from freezing over is what im at:D. Uncle in hospital.

5live

-3 here in the kingdom. Heavy sleet turning the half inch of snow to slush. Cant get to town to get a few bags of ration as roads are ice rinks. Kids off school at 1 and may have to carry tractor to get them back. Handbrake turns in the silage yard when feeding. Just when exactly is this global warming craic supposed to start again:o

Dusty87

5live wrote: »

-3 here in the kingdom. Heavy sleet turning the half inch of snow to slush. Cant get to town to get a few bags of ration as roads are ice rinks. Kids off school at 1 and may have to carry tractor to get them back. Handbrake turns in the silage yard when feeding. Just when exactly is this global warming craic supposed to start again:o

No, now ya see, this is 'climate change' :rolleyes:

reilig

We had about 2 inches of snow last night and it was very windy so there's big accumulations in hollows and humps are fairly clear. Drove the 45 odd miles to work with ease as the main road was reasonably clear. Its started to snow here now so I'm thinking about going home again soon. The fact that i showed my face this morning has to count for a lot - the majority of my colleagues living only half the distance from their office compared to me did not show.

5live

Dusty87 wrote: »

No, now ya see, this is 'climate change' :rolleyes:

Jesus it was just an off the cuff remark for a bit of humour on a cold day. I'm not starting a forum on climate change, global warming or any of that. No no no no no. Just tell us what its like in your area. Like this. Sleet stopped now and sun is out:D. Simples:)

Dusty87

It was only a joke;)

5live

Oooops. Ya got me:D. My apologies

Username John

Tisnt too bad a day in West Cork. Sun is shining, blue skies, temp is maybe 2 or 3 degrees.

We had a hard frost last night, but roads were dry, so twas grand. We had a very light fall o snow this morning, but it didnt stay on the ground.

So we're not doing too bad so far - hopefully it'll stay like that... but the forecast says different.

vanderbadger

lovely morning in N Clare but sky gone dark and bitterly cold now, after making a bad hail stone shower which will probably stick..looks like bloody snow coming

dryan

pelting snow in athlone.

red menace

9:36 AM in Edmonton Alberta
Minus 14 here at present with highs of minus 12
No snow today but some last night.
Sorry not much use to folks in Ireland just like sticking me oar in

whelan1

my dad bought in angus cattle from alberta years ago , he said it was that cold there , when an animal piddled it froze straight away;)

red menace

whelan1 wrote: »

my dad bought in angus cattle from alberta years ago , he said it was that cold there , when an animal piddled it froze straight away;)

The coldest I have seen so far is -31 one morning on the way to work
That was chilly; no one tells you the snot will freeze in your nose
Very disconcerting!

blue5000

Freeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing here, a bit of a sprinkle of snow here too. Hey whelan did any of them canadian cattle have horns on them. An odd angus X calf here grows horns as yearlings. Hope you got the parlour thawed out. Neighbours had to dry everything off because the milk truck couldn't get in.

BOND747

after a dry bright day in Tipperary the snow has finally caught up with us

whelan1

blue5000 wrote: »

Freeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing here, a bit of a sprinkle of snow here too. Hey whelan did any of them canadian cattle have horns on them. An odd angus X calf here grows horns as yearlings. Hope you got the parlour thawed out. Neighbours had to dry everything off because the milk truck couldn't get in.

none of the pedigrees have any horns , an odd cross bred one might have horns ...parlour grand thank god , will see what tomorrow brings

whelan1

not too bad here this morning, only a dusting of snow and not too cold

whelan1

plenty of snow here today ... tragic accident not far from us yesterday where a 35 year old woman and her son died , we had been on that road an hour earlier and had a skid ... very sad

C0N0R

Past few days have been about 30 degrees there abouts. Bit of rain but Mostly sunshine. Very warm at night, quite hard to sleep. Looks like it's going to be a good summer. Christchurch by the way! At least it feels like Christmas at home, none of this shorts on Xmas day craic.

johngalway

This new white feed isn't all it's cracked up to be boss, can we have grass back please?









Thaw better come, not a damn bale of hay in sight. Couldn't have come at a worse time, as I was scheduled to let the ewes to the hill. Don't know whether they're better on there or inside the fence. Can't move them with the roads now anyway.

Drifted to 8 inches in places. Froze over it then.

But, makes for really fun driving, yehaw

EAFC_rdfl

johngalway wrote: »

This new white feed isn't all it's cracked up to be boss, can we have grass back please?





Thaw better come, not a damn bale of hay in sight. Couldn't have come at a worse time, as I was scheduled to let the ewes to the hill. Don't know whether they're better on there or inside the fence. Can't move them with the roads now anyway.

Drifted to 8 inches in places. Froze over it then.

But, makes for really fun driving, yehaw

where abouts in connemara are you? Was in Cashel Saturday til Sunday, it snowed for about 5 hours solid, leaving a great depth of snow. Was fun getting away again yesterday!
them sheep are in great shape btw. I seen a lorry load of hay at maam cross saturday morning being sold

whelan1

-11 here this morning , and kids still had school

reilig

-14 when I was passing through Longford early this morning. The roads are actually quite good as there is no thaw on them at all. Once the thaw comes, it wil be better to stay off them.

bbam

-12 here thismorning,-5 now. Finally got winter tyres on the car but the damn handbrake is frozen agin :mad: No school run today
It's in the garage running for the last 2 hours and just signs of a thaw on the ice..

For these really cold nights I've been leaving the battery charger on the tractor running on low charge, timer for last 4 hours before I need it, it's been working fine but a new battery will be needed.

johngalway

EAFC_rdfl wrote: »

where abouts in connemara are you? Was in Cashel Saturday til Sunday, it snowed for about 5 hours solid, leaving a great depth of snow. Was fun getting away again yesterday!
them sheep are in great shape btw. I seen a lorry load of hay at maam cross saturday morning being sold

I'm not too far from Cashel, I do a bit of fox shooting over there for a couple of sheep farmers. Thanks for the compliment! They're actually twin lambs so they'd be some of the smaller lighter lambs I've kept. Plenty of hay being sold at Maam Cross alright. Getting it down here would be fun with the compacted snow on the roads now, bad as far in as Oughterard I hear. Walking my place today there were drifts as deep as my knees and I'm not short!

johngalway

bbam wrote: »

-12 here thismorning,-5 now. Finally got winter tyres on the car but the damn handbrake is frozen agin :mad:

There's a thread on Winter tips (or something similar to that) in the Weather forum under Science. They mentioned a way to prevent frozen handbrakes.

bbam

johngalway wrote: »

There's a thread on Winter tips (or something similar to that) in the Weather forum under Science. They mentioned a way to prevent frozen handbrakes.

Indeed, herself forgot to leave it off... happened two weeks ago as well...

Shauny2010

johngalway wrote: »

This new white feed isn't all it's cracked up to be boss, can we have grass back please?

Thats a typical farm,
looks lovely, great views, weather to die for
but real tough !!!

5live

-7 down here now. No water for cattle and cubicle scrapers frozen solid. Road fairly poor after a bit of a thaw in the sun today and now going to freeze tonight. At least the council gritters showed up this morning for the first time ever:rolleyes:. We are just not used to the prolonged freeze down here but at least its not snowing. I must move tires on top of the pit tomorrow and im not looking forward to that. How long can cattle go without water on average DM silage? All cows dry now so less pressure on water:)

whelan1

i am going with water twice a day , am not finished yet , have hose in last drinker now..... there was a serious frost here last night, it never went above freezing today... i am giving them the water everyday as if i skipped a day it would take way to long iykwim... i do not plan on going round with water on christmas day

snowman707

-8 here now

roads have dried and mostly ok

feeding hay to the ewes , the outsides of the silage bales (second cut) were frozen

have drier bales but they are in the middle of the pile,

all cattle & sheep have water for 4 hours each day which seem adequate (no animals in milk)

irishh_bob

5live wrote: »

-7 down here now. No water for cattle and cubicle scrapers frozen solid. Road fairly poor after a bit of a thaw in the sun today and now going to freeze tonight. At least the council gritters showed up this morning for the first time ever:rolleyes:. We are just not used to the prolonged freeze down here but at least its not snowing. I must move tires on top of the pit tomorrow and im not looking forward to that. How long can cattle go without water on average DM silage? All cows dry now so less pressure on water:)

the brother has had so much bother with his scrapers this past few weeks that he swears he,s throwing them out next summer and digging out tanks , anything at all throws them off course , when you go out in the morning , the slurry which has accumulated throughout the night is frozen solid and has transformed into gravel and the scraper blade has unhitched itself from the track , Q , having to ring a neighbour to come over and lug the tonne weight blade out of the slurry and back on the track , add to that , the pump is frozen this evening so the cows will be hip deep in thier own crap tommorrow morning , greatest gets of yokes that ever came about the place

the scrapers , not the cows

whelan1

our scrapers where bad this morning too , but the main problem was the dung had frozen , i forked alot of it out , they went fine for the rest of the day

bbam

-11.5 here now... damn it's cold, but no ammount of snow yet..

For the really cold nights could you not increase the frequency of the automatic scraper runs, there may be less dung but it wouldn't get such a chance to freeze either. They're very handy but by their nature when they give trouble you're in deep sh1t pretty quick.

blue5000

Cold here too, was -11.5 C at 8.30 this morning, freezing all day. I think there is ice in a pipe from the central heating boiler outside to rads upstairs, under floor heating downstairs is working ok.

There is frozen sh1te building up on outside slats, the weanlings outside on kale don't like the green icepops so are getting a grab of maize on their bbs every day. First time I ever saw cattle with frosty coats was today. At least the tractor starts and I'm glad I don't milk cows anymore. Cattle aren't drinking a lot of water, as I've cut back the meal.

Time for a hotwater bottle and I'm off to bed.

bbam

Just back in there and it's unbelivably bright... Considering tomorrow is the shortest daylight it's amazing..
No bother walking round with no lights it has a real magical feel ice on the snow glittering, could nearly hear those sleigh bells:D..

Remember to keep an eye out for the eclipse of the moon in the morning, it'll be touch and go if we see it as the moon will have near set when it starts... About 6:50 in the morning for those on the move and looking upward..

irishh_bob

whelan1 wrote: »

our scrapers where bad this morning too , but the main problem was the dung had frozen , i forked alot of it out , they went fine for the rest of the day

could the pump possibley freeze ??? , ours is making noise but the scrapers are refusing to move an inch , its different this time , thier not moving back and forward on the track ( tongue problems ) while going nowhere like they sometimes do , they wont budge at all

irishh_bob

blue5000 wrote: »

Cold here too, was -11.5 C at 8.30 this morning, freezing all day. I think there is ice in a pipe from the central heating boiler outside to rads upstairs, under floor heating downstairs is working ok.

There is frozen sh1te building up on outside slats, the weanlings outside on kale don't like the green icepops so are getting a grab of maize on their bbs every day. First time I ever saw cattle with frosty coats was today. At least the tractor starts and I'm glad I don't milk cows anymore. Cattle aren't drinking a lot of water, as I've cut back the meal.

Time for a hotwater bottle and I'm off to bed.

despite the problems with water , animals dont seem desperete for it when you finally get it going , they also seem turned off by how cold the water is

irishh_bob

bbam wrote: »

Just back in there and it's unbelivably bright... Considering tomorrow is the shortest daylight it's amazing..
No bother walking round with no lights it has a real magical feel ice on the snow glittering, could nearly hear those sleigh bells:D..

Remember to keep an eye out for the eclipse of the moon in the morning, it'll be touch and go if we see it as the moon will have near set when it starts... About 6:50 in the morning for those on the move and looking upward..

if farmers ( people in general ) in this country were properly prepared for arctic conditions like they are in canada , properly insutated water pipes buried deep , chains on tyres etc , it wouldnt be a big deal , in fact , i actually find the weather healthy and refreshing , no worries about animals getting sick either

bbam

irishh_bob wrote: »

could the pump possibley freeze ??? , ours is making noise but the scrapers are refusing to move an inch , its different this time , thier not moving back and forward on the track ( tongue problems ) while going nowhere like they sometimes do , they wont budge at all

If they're hydraulic it's unlikely the oil would freeze, unless it was badly contaminated from condensation but I've never seen it that bad... Has the oil been changed at all recently ??
I've heard off the track freeze solid to the floor with dung but not seen it, again more regular runs would prevent it from happening...

Noise and no movment??... Has it blown off a pipe?? Surely the oil level sensor would prevent the pump from running but maybe not all systems have a sensor.

Sundy

johngalway wrote: »

This new white feed isn't all it's cracked up to be boss, can we have grass back please?

They even put it in the trough too..



Cant eat this white stuff.. by IS 365, on Flickr

raindodger

starting to get sick of this weather despite all efforts water after freezing had a good flow of water out of one pipe but now gone must be a savage frost around here tonight funny thing being out around you cant see your breath and its like day light with the moon roll on the morning will the usual sh it

whelan1

irishh_bob wrote: »

could the pump possibley freeze ??? , ours is making noise but the scrapers are refusing to move an inch , its different this time , thier not moving back and forward on the track ( tongue problems ) while going nowhere like they sometimes do , they wont budge at all

ye, i had to move the knob for the pressure on the pump on ours

pakalasa

- 7C this morning driving to work (Co. Clare).
Noticed cattle needed very little water when on 2nd cut silage, but a lot more now that there on the 1st cut. I filled up a few barrells just before this cold spell. Looks like I'll be out thawing pipes this evening.:mad:

whelan1

no milking done yet:mad: going to offload kids to school and try and get machine going

vanderbadger

bbam wrote: »

If they're hydraulic it's unlikely the oil would freeze, unless it was badly contaminated from condensation but I've never seen it that bad... Has the oil been changed at all recently ??
I've heard off the track freeze solid to the floor with dung but not seen it, again more regular runs would prevent it from happening...

Noise and no movment??... Has it blown off a pipe?? Surely the oil level sensor would prevent the pump from running but maybe not all systems have a sensor.

I noticed on my one a few times that the switch on the ram box which is just a little bar the scraper backs into to switch off sticks when frozen, in other words the little bar wont slide in and out which seems to stop scraper working, loads of wd40 fixed it, although i noticed this morning that one of the paddles on the scraper was stuck up as opposed to folding down when moving forward so it was leaving the ****e after it, i wonder how low the temp is going inside in the sheds, must be very low

Pat the lad

-10 ALL MORNING:cool:. Ground like concrete. Great weather for spreading slurry - oh yeah forgot - we're not allowed - we have to farm to a calender - oh well - we'll wait until january so - went its' pxxsing rain, ground wet, and every farmer in the country spreading on the one day!!!!! thats seemly better for the water courses/environment???????
sorry for rant - something has to give at this stage- and its not the fxxking ice in the water pipes!!!!!!:mad:

irishh_bob

vanderbadger wrote: »

I noticed on my one a few times that the switch on the ram box which is just a little bar the scraper backs into to switch off sticks when frozen, in other words the little bar wont slide in and out which seems to stop scraper working, loads of wd40 fixed it, although i noticed this morning that one of the paddles on the scraper was stuck up as opposed to folding down when moving forward so it was leaving the ****e after it, i wonder how low the temp is going inside in the sheds, must be very low

one can loose count of the number of things that can go wrong with scrapers , they are without doubt the most tempremental machines ive ever seen on a farm , i hate them with a passion :mad: