Second Cut Hay and Grain For A Cold Night

The temperature hovered around 10 degrees today.  But the sun came out and the animals got to warm themselves and graze on the tall weeds in the back pasture. They got the good hay today.  It’s called “Second Cut” because it’s the second cutting of hay in a season and is more nutritious than “first cut”.

That helps to keep the sheep and donkeys warm along with the grain I gave them this evening.  Of course, the sheep also have their wool coats and Fanny and Lulu started growing in their thick winter hair at the end of August.

The sheep get pushy when they hear the grain the bucket, so I throw a little to the side of the gate to distract them before coming in. It usually works.  Then I can dump the rest of the grain in the feeders without getting pushed around.  The good thing about the sheep is that even if they do crowd me, their big bodies of wool are soft enough to lean on.

It’s like being squeezed between giant balls of cotton.