WyomingRancher
Well-known member
Does anyone know the secret to keeping a good nose hole open? I can keep the water open fairly well until the wind comes up and the temperature drops like a rock 
Water Holes
- Thread starter WyomingRancher
- Start date
Kato
Well-known member
Sorry, no secret. :? Just persistence and a good axe.
We have a gadget that my husband welded for breaking up the ice on the house steps that might work for a nose hole. He took an old axe head and welded it to the end of a heavy iron bar so that the sharp part was facing the same direction as the bar. You just have to drop the thing, and between the sharp blade and the weight of the bar, the ice smashes really easy. I guess you'd have to be careful not to drop it in the water though! :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Boy, it's been a long time since we used holes in ice to water cattle. Brings back memories. I remember one time back when we were young and poor, and living in a yard that had no watering system, we used a hole chopped in the dugout to water our half dozen calves. One day they got pushy, and actually shoved one in! Hubby happened to be there, and saw this 400 pound calf down the hole with just his back legs sticking out. If he hadn't been there to see it happen, the calf would have drowned in a couple of minutes. Being a young strong fellow, he grabbed the calf by the tail and hauled him back out of the hole. It was at least 35 below, so leaving a soaking wet steer that made up a good percentage of our herd out to freeze was not going to happen. We were in no financial position to even lose one. We didn't even have a barn, just an open fronted shed that was not warm enough for a wet steer. He dragged him all the way to the house, through the kitchen, and down the basement stairs! Adrenalin can make a person really strong!
The basement in that house was not fancy, just had a dirt floor and a furnace, so we weren't too worried about what he might do down there. We covered him up with a blanket and left him to thaw. We figured by morning he'd be dead or alive. That's about as far ahead as we were thinking at the time.
What we didn't figure was that by morning he'd not only be alive, but alive and kicking, and raring to go! :shock: :shock: :shock: We looked downstairs in the morning, and there he was, peeking around the corner of the furnace, with no intention of cooperating. Now we had to get him back up the stairs! Without wrecking the whole house! :shock: :shock: :shock: Got him in a corner, haltered him, and recruited some help to get him back up the stairs. It actually went quite well, considering there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong on the way up those stairs! To say nothing of going through the kitchen. :shock:
As soon as he hit the fresh air, he wouldn't have anything to do with us anymore, and hit for the corral at a run. He didn't even freeze his ears.
We have a gadget that my husband welded for breaking up the ice on the house steps that might work for a nose hole. He took an old axe head and welded it to the end of a heavy iron bar so that the sharp part was facing the same direction as the bar. You just have to drop the thing, and between the sharp blade and the weight of the bar, the ice smashes really easy. I guess you'd have to be careful not to drop it in the water though! :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Boy, it's been a long time since we used holes in ice to water cattle. Brings back memories. I remember one time back when we were young and poor, and living in a yard that had no watering system, we used a hole chopped in the dugout to water our half dozen calves. One day they got pushy, and actually shoved one in! Hubby happened to be there, and saw this 400 pound calf down the hole with just his back legs sticking out. If he hadn't been there to see it happen, the calf would have drowned in a couple of minutes. Being a young strong fellow, he grabbed the calf by the tail and hauled him back out of the hole. It was at least 35 below, so leaving a soaking wet steer that made up a good percentage of our herd out to freeze was not going to happen. We were in no financial position to even lose one. We didn't even have a barn, just an open fronted shed that was not warm enough for a wet steer. He dragged him all the way to the house, through the kitchen, and down the basement stairs! Adrenalin can make a person really strong!
The basement in that house was not fancy, just had a dirt floor and a furnace, so we weren't too worried about what he might do down there. We covered him up with a blanket and left him to thaw. We figured by morning he'd be dead or alive. That's about as far ahead as we were thinking at the time.
What we didn't figure was that by morning he'd not only be alive, but alive and kicking, and raring to go! :shock: :shock: :shock: We looked downstairs in the morning, and there he was, peeking around the corner of the furnace, with no intention of cooperating. Now we had to get him back up the stairs! Without wrecking the whole house! :shock: :shock: :shock: Got him in a corner, haltered him, and recruited some help to get him back up the stairs. It actually went quite well, considering there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong on the way up those stairs! To say nothing of going through the kitchen. :shock:
As soon as he hit the fresh air, he wouldn't have anything to do with us anymore, and hit for the corral at a run. He didn't even freeze his ears.
Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Kato said:Sorry, no secret. :? Just persistence and a good axe.
We have a gadget that my husband welded for breaking up the ice on the house steps that might work for a nose hole. He took an old axe head and welded it to the end of a heavy iron bar so that the sharp part was facing the same direction as the bar. You just have to drop the thing, and between the sharp blade and the weight of the bar, the ice smashes really easy. I guess you'd have to be careful not to drop it in the water though! :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Boy, it's been a long time since we used holes in ice to water cattle. Brings back memories. I remember one time back when we were young and poor, and living in a yard that had no watering system, we used a hole chopped in the dugout to water our half dozen calves. One day they got pushy, and actually shoved one in! Hubby happened to be there, and saw this 400 pound calf down the hole with just his back legs sticking out. If he hadn't been there to see it happen, the calf would have drowned in a couple of minutes. Being a young strong fellow, he grabbed the calf by the tail and hauled him back out of the hole. It was at least 35 below, so leaving a soaking wet steer that made up a good percentage of our herd out to freeze was not going to happen. We were in no financial position to even lose one. We didn't even have a barn, just an open fronted shed that was not warm enough for a wet steer. He dragged him all the way to the house, through the kitchen, and down the basement stairs! Adrenalin can make a person really strong!
The basement in that house was not fancy, just had a dirt floor and a furnace, so we weren't too worried about what he might do down there. We covered him up with a blanket and left him to thaw. We figured by morning he'd be dead or alive. That's about as far ahead as we were thinking at the time.
What we didn't figure was that by morning he'd not only be alive, but alive and kicking, and raring to go! :shock: :shock: :shock: We looked downstairs in the morning, and there he was, peeking around the corner of the furnace, with no intention of cooperating. Now we had to get him back up the stairs! Without wrecking the whole house! :shock: :shock: :shock: Got him in a corner, haltered him, and recruited some help to get him back up the stairs. It actually went quite well, considering there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong on the way up those stairs! To say nothing of going through the kitchen. :shock:
As soon as he hit the fresh air, he wouldn't have anything to do with us anymore, and hit for the corral at a run. He didn't even freeze his ears.
And they call them the Good Old Days. :lol:
rkaiser
Well-known member
Brother in Law out east of Big Muddy told me they drop a couple of black toilet bowl floats in the nose hole. Wind keeps em bobbing and the black color attracts the suns heat. Never tried it but sounds like a plan.
A horse will paw a hole about the size of their hoof and they wiggle their lips real fast to clean out the ice after they drink the cows can wait in line.As long as the ice does'nt get overly thick this works for the first few weeks of winter here.
A neighbor has a wind mill with a water roter at the bottom but it did'nt work so well -20 and no wind it froze up quickley.
A neighbor has a wind mill with a water roter at the bottom but it did'nt work so well -20 and no wind it froze up quickley.
jodywy
Well-known member
got warm springs here, and ebven the river stays open with 30 inches of snow on the ground , usually takes a couple days of -40 temps before I start chopping...
WyomingRancher
Well-known member
Thanks for the ideas. This creek does have a few springs, and I try to water near those areas.
Thankfully it isn't deep enough for the cows to fall into! Kato, that was quite a story... thanks for sharing
I've heard of cattle surviving off of snow, but don't think I want to try it. Actually, I have a friend who normally winters part of her herd in the mountains, and the other part on the desert. A few years ago she took part of the desert cows up to the mountains to winter, and they wouldn't drink water, they preferred snow. She said they also didn't come to hay very well either. I thought this was interesting!
Thankfully it isn't deep enough for the cows to fall into! Kato, that was quite a story... thanks for sharing
I've heard of cattle surviving off of snow, but don't think I want to try it. Actually, I have a friend who normally winters part of her herd in the mountains, and the other part on the desert. A few years ago she took part of the desert cows up to the mountains to winter, and they wouldn't drink water, they preferred snow. She said they also didn't come to hay very well either. I thought this was interesting!
bverellen
Well-known member
No icing problems here yet!
I did just ask this question to the fellow that is helping me out in Colorado, and he also lets his cattle lick snow.
Said they get real good at it
bart.
I did just ask this question to the fellow that is helping me out in Colorado, and he also lets his cattle lick snow.
Said they get real good at it
bart.
