Filed under: February 2014 | Tags: bedding, feather tick, maple syrup season, straw
The last bale of oats for this year
February 12, 2014
Today, I fed the last bale of these oats. I mowed them in early July. I thought that they would only make bedding for the sows. I was wrong. I baled them without using twine on them. Apparently, not tying them worked out well. The loosely rolled oats and weeds, cured in the bale without heating up. It made great feed for the cows, sheep and even the sows.
The animals ate this stuff like candy. I tried to use it to make windbreaks, but the cattle ate it so fast, it was gone before I knew it. The sheep also devoured the forage. The sows rooted around eating the oats, green small weeds and grass, as if they were grazing. Everyone of them got a little bit of summer in every bite … and who wouldn’t like that? 😮
Sounds like we will be out of the deep freeze by late next week. The move toward more normal temperatures will be welcomed by many. I am ready, but hope I get everything in order for the maple syrup season..pretty darn quick!
I have to move some animals around in the barn. There is plenty of straw stored there, it is just a bit out-of-the-way at the moment. It won’t make feed, but it sure makes a nice warm bed.
In the old days, people slept in mattresses stuffed with straw, called straw ticks. I guess it’s better than nothing, but I don’t think that pokey thing would have been anywhere near as good to sleep in as a feather tick! I know, I have slept in a feather tick, made by my great grandma.
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