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Will sheep DRINK snow ???????

  • 21-12-2010 9:30am
    #1
    zetorman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 157 ✭✭


    What are sheep farmers doing about water for stock. Sheep out. Grass all covered in 6 inches of snow and water trough frozen. Feeeding them hay bales daily. They seem ok but I am worried about water ?? Will they get enough from the snow....they are constantly pawing at snow and nibbling at whatever grass they can get. Switched to round bale of silage yesterday just in case.


Comments

  • #2
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    zetorman wrote: »
    What are sheep farmers doing about water for stock. Sheep out. Grass all covered in 6 inches of snow and water trough frozen. Feeeding them hay bales daily. They seem ok but I am worried about water ?? Will they get enough from the snow....they are constantly pawing at snow and nibbling at whatever grass they can get. Switched to round bale of silage yesterday just in case.

    I don't think they will. Cattle won't anyway. I have a bull that's being fed outside on ration and hay and he stopped eating because he had no water. I'd imagine that sheep would be the same.


  • #3
    Username John
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,237 ✭✭✭Username John


    No - they wont drink snow. I know this from last year, when we had snow, and they only had access to a trough, and they drank it mad every day after I broke the ice on it.

    I'd be more worried re access to water than hay / silage to be honest (if they have grass they can eat under the snow)

    The sheep am feeeding ration to have access to a stream, which doesnt freeze over, which is good. But some are in a different field, they just have a water tough, but as they arent getting fed, they dont drink too much. I do make sure to break the ice in the trough for them every day though, so they can get water.
    I know - easier said than done, if there is a few inches of ice, but if you do your best every day, its not so bad....

    This is a bit off topic - but what happens to round bales in the frost? I assume they freeze - is this bad, for animals to eat frozen silage like this?


  • #4
    bogman_bass
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,083 ✭✭✭bogman_bass


    10 gallons of snow= 1 gallon of water so livestock cant physically get enough water into themselves to get their requirements through snow


  • #5
    5live
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,438 ✭✭✭5live


    Username John wrote: »

    This is a bit off topic - but what happens to round bales in the frost? I assume they freeze - is this bad, for animals to eat frozen silage like this?
    I find that they eat into the non frozen section and this helps thaw out the frozen. I cant imaging any problem as long as the silage was edible in the first place as it is only solid moisture and the feed quality stays the same. Only an opinion though. Cant say for sure


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