In this episode, we're diving deep into the realities of winter cattle management, sharing tips, tricks, and a few crazy farm stories. We're talking about the challenges of keeping water thawed, how we're adapting our feeding programs, and the unexpected excitement of late-fall/early-winter calving. We want to hear what everyone else is doing for winter feeding, feeders, and waterers - it’s always interesting to learn from other regions and experiences. We’ll also be sharing a hairy calving situation we just experienced, which turned into a crucial learning experience.

We discuss the pain of constantly running extension cords and needing water heaters for tanks, and the overall tediousness of checking cows in the cold weather, especially when you don't live right where your cows are. Plus, we're celebrating a much-needed barn upgrade, which felt like a surprise from Santa himself.

Key Takeaways Of The Episode

The struggle is real when it comes to keeping water thawed and calculating feed weight and waste during the winter.

Hay feeders are a hot topic, as different styles work for different people - we want to know what kind of feeders you use to minimize waste.

Winter calving is a big commitment and requires constant checking and potentially intervening, especially in cold temperatures, as things can go south quickly.

Episode Highlights

• The Winter Water Struggle: Discussing water heaters, running extension cords, and the challenges of breaking ice in water tanks (sometimes a few inches thick!).
• The Calving Learning Curve: A detailed story about a recent calving where a heifer and calf needed intervention due to the cold, despite mild Nebraska weather, and how we had to tube-feed colostrum.
• Feeder Safety: Highlighting the dangers of certain feeder styles after losing a calf last year and the recent hairy situation of a cow getting stuck.
• Santa's Barn Upgrade: Celebrating the much-anticipated arrival of insulated barn pieces and a head gate that will make winter management and handling registered cattle much easier.

Timestamps

• Welcome Back & Winter Prep Overview: 00:01:00
• The Water Heater and Extension Cord Pain: 00:04:15
• Discussing Hay Feeders and Feed Waste: 00:10:45
• Feeder Safety Issues and Stuck Cows: 00:19:10
• A Hairy Calving Situation and Intervention: 00:27:00
• The Much-Needed Barn Upgrade Arrives: 00:34:20

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Production Credit: Edited and produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/