The weather is going to be a constant theme throughout the winter, that and its affect on our smallholding. We walked around the cow’s field today (bottom 3-acre) and decided it was not too bad at all considering the rain we have had over the last week or so. We are straw-ing out their field shelter on a daily basis and whilst the entrance to it is very wet, the shelter itself remains dry. It is very roomy and as the photo shows, we can also give the cows their hay in here if it is raining/ snowing outside. The goats spent another full day inside the barn today. One of the issues we have with them is the fact that the walk to their field shelter (only 30/40 yards or so) is now very squelchy and goats really do hate walking on wet/ muddy land. It’s not great for their feet either. We had wondered whether to leave them in the field shelter 24/7 but although it is as roomy as the barn and give them access to the whole field, it probably won't keep them dry enough at night when, being 500 feet up, it can get quite foggy and misty!
We are trying to find see if we can source some wood chip from a local tree surgeon or similar to perhaps make a 'goat path' from the barn to the field shelters as well as to spread on the ground in front of the field shelters themselves. If we lay it quite thickly (several inches) it should keep the mud at bay for a while. It will eventually rot down of course but that will then allow the grass to grow back through it in the spring...
Operation keep-the-mud-at-bay continues...