I have not only been wracking my brain, trying to decide the best way I can try evacuating my herd if need be, but have also been thinking of our friends in Fla. and on the Eastern Coast etc. as these storms begin to brew out there. Now they seem to be headed toward The Gulf and that means we could be in there direct path. I could leave home and dive into the salt water of The Gulf of Mexico in half an hour. I am that close. Yes, I have more important things to worry about than animals. But only a few. I only have 5 children here and they will all fit in one car. My parents and siblings etc. all know how to prepare and should be fine. They don't need me. So now that that is taken care of, I really don't have anything more important to worry about than animals do I? We haven't acquired any type of livestock trailer etc. although it is on my list of what I hope to do next spring or summer. Thank the Good Lord we do at least have a pickup truck! We will manage, even if we have to put everybody in the truck and drive them out. It will be crowded, but they will fit tightly, and I can get them out when I get them somewhere safe. I can't leave them here, I have seen what these storms are capable of doing. For now I can only wait to see what path is chosen, and if we are on that path. But all the while, I know, if not us then someone else. Are you on a possible pathway? Tell me. What will you do for yourselves and your herds? How do we handle these things?
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Yes, you had me wondering about that one! The only one I have for sale is Chet and he looks like a gargoyle. I used to travel but not anymore. I have too many animals for my husband to take care of.
UMMM! It was suppose to say "a goat from NY"!
Birmingham, Al.? What in the world do you do that had you way down here? Now I know who to call if I want a goat from hehe!
It's a unique feeling when you are driving in a snowstorm and wondering if you are still on the road or in a field or, someone's drive way.
I don't know Margaret, I was on a job site in Birmingham and it was pretty chilly down there.
LOL! Awful isn't it, to have to worry about, that it may snow tomorrow at this time of year?
Just had to tell you that, we broke a record last night! 46 degrees in Mobile, Al. was very cold for this far south at this time of year!
Oh no! You must have gotten that cold front I have been watching and wondering if it's going to come our way. We had near 80 degree temperatures this weekend and it was snowing two weeks ago. I keep thinking I should put the garden in but you never know it may snow tomorrow.
I can not imagine that! We see a few flurries about every 6 years! Maybe a little sticks to the ground for half a day!
That sounds just awful! I'm SO glad it didn't get cold enough to freeze until after the barn had dried out a little bit. Now, however, we have snow again, and it's hovering near freezing...ON MAY 3RD! Ugh!
Misfits Farm said:
Great topic, thanks for bring it back up.
To solve the problem of where to go: Why not have a sticky that states if people around you would be willing to let others come to their property for a needed evacuation? State what city/state you live in & contact information?
Ours is a pole barn lined with rough cut pine. We live on the other side of the Tug Hill Plateau and depending on the direction of the wind, we can get some heavy lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario. That year, the conditions seemed to be right and we got a lot of snow. We didn't get the below zero temperatures to freeze the lake and it just kept snowing. One night, it warmed up enough to rain and it poured all day and all the snow melted. The river flooded out the roads and a lot of the dairy farms. We burnt out two water pumps and I had a wet vac that I was using to vaccuum out the stalls with. The next night, the temperatures dropped and we had an ice storm. I ended up chipping out the ice in the barn and taking it out in sheets. I raised the stall floors so that if it happens again, hopefully, it will go down the aisle. I keep tube gates so that I can make temporary stalls in dry places if I have to.
If I could re-do the barn again, I would put about 2 feet of crusher run as a base and then the floor. I think I would go with cinder block base like yours and then a curtain like the cow farms have on one protected side of the barn that can be open for the summer.
I will try the white wash. Thanks. I really hope the rest of your year goes better for you. You have had everything happen at once.
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