Cold spell triggers bird activity

The volume of hate mail the scurs and Weather Eye received has reached near record levels. Is Old Man Winter overstaying his welcome or is he hitting the road soon? Starting Thursday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-single digits and lows in the low teens zero. Mostly cloudy on Friday with highs in the low teens above zero and lows around zero. Mostly cloudy Saturday, the real Washington’s Birthday, with highs in the low 20’s and lows in the mid-teens. Sunday, partly sunny with highs in the mid-30’s and lows in the upper 20’s. Mostly sunny on Monday with highs in the mid-to-upper 40’s and lows around freezing. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the upper 20’s.. Mostly sunny on Wednesday with a fair chance of rain and snow showers. Highs in the mid-40’s with lows in the upper 20’s. On the 23rd we’ll see the sun rise at 7 a.m. CST. On the 25th we’ll have achieved 11 hours of daylight, having gained two hours and six minutes since the winter solstice back on December 21st. The normal high for February 25th is 30 and the normal low is 13. The scurs have their Valentine’s Day stash safely hidden for those sudden sugar highs.

Unreal how the weather can turn on a dime in these parts. Two weekends ago it was so nice that a person felt compelled to do yard work of some kind. I recall peeling my hooded sweatshirt off as I got too warm raking up sticks on the south side of the house. It’s largely been downhill since then. It was a feather in our cap however to get the brood ewes shorn this past weekend. Saturday warmed into the mid-20’s so it was relatively comfortable. The ewes went outside and stayed there most of the afternoon. We decided not to shear the group in the main barn where it’s colder due to the forecast. Sheep can get frostbite if temperatures dip too low after shearing. Shearing in mid-February, we’ve never had a problem but don’t recall a forecast with as much cold in it as this one. In December of 1983, temps got dangerously low so that it caused frostbite to occur. This can mean loss of wool growing capability resulting in bare patches on their backs and elsewhere.

Shearing prior to lambing is advantageous in many respects. It allows lambs easier access to the udders and the ewes give off a lot of body heat for lambs to utilize. Having the ewes shorn helps ensure the ewes will move inside to lamb. Without their heavy fleeces, it stays drier in the barn as well. This helps decrease the incidence of respiratory issues when sufficient bedding is used. Some sheep operations have a nursery heated area making it easier on all parties concerned. We lamb in an old chicken coop that while seeing its better days, allows body heat to keep the building warm. Unless it’s very windy, the water buckets don’t freeze if temps remain above zero. Keeping the building bedded is critical. Once a lamb gets a tummy full of colostrum, the first mother’s milk that’s loaded with nutrients and antibodies, they’re usually good to go. A lamb snuggled up to its mother, in deep, dry bedding is a good sign. When they get up, stretch and the ewe gets up so the lamb can nurse, it’s even better. 

Something else that’s critical is keeping the ewes in good rig. Too thin and they suffer during cold spells post-shearing and may not keep up with lamb’s needs, especially with multiple births. Get them too fat and they go down with lambing paralysis prior to lambing. They go off feed, risking the loss of the ewe and lambs. Having them shorn gives a pretty good report card on how you’ve done nutrition-wise. Feed, especially corn may be cheap, but it can easily get them overly fat especially if fed too heavily early in gestation. That’s why feeding lower energy feed early on and easing them into a higher energy feed such as corn isn’t a bad idea. This winter has been ideal as it’s been mild and dry. Lack of deep snow has allowed the ewes to meander about the pasture, making some wonder if they were on the loose. Most winters they’re confined to their lot as it gets socked in with snowdrifts, leaving them holed up with their round bales.

After we finished shearing Saturday, guests were admiring the bird population gracing the backyard as we ate. The incoming cold snap must’ve triggered bird activity as they fed heavily on Saturday. As the cold snap has worn on there has been steady consumption of sunflower, thistle seed, suet and ear corn. The squirrels share that with the blue jays and red-bellied woodpeckers. When the squirrels go to bed late afternoon to early evening, the cardinals frequently clean up the bits and pieces left by the squirrels. The only thing left are the cobs, reminding me I need to restock the feeder again. This pattern follows with previous cold weather events this winter so it’s no surprise. Some subtle hints that spring may eventually arrive: A flicker has returned to the suet feeders recently. I’ve been noticing small groups of horned larks along the road since late January. They’ve hung on through the cold snap. Hopefully they know something that we don’t know. 

With the sheep project taking center stage, Poppy has had to play second fiddle for a while. She likes checking on the bottle lamb in the entryway and garage. It’s been so cold that we’ve opted to leave her inside during chores. They take well over an hour per session especially when there are new arrivals, meaning less people time for Poppy. We try to make it up to her when we’re back inside by playing ball, once we can find the ball that is. Not unusual to find several other toys in the process. It takes some time but we try to get the sliding glass door thawed out so she can keep her squirrel exercising regimen intact. Not that they’d probably miss it, but as the Westminster dog show announcer pointed out, Corgi’s need to be kept occupied or they find things to do. The chewed-up blankets, gloves, etc., are evidence of that. 

See you next week…real good then.