Question and Answer

Most of the animals are doing just fine!
They are enjoying the nice weather, just like you.

River has a sore foot, so she's limping around. There isn't much we can do except give her some aspirin and keep an eye on her.

This isn't a question, but it was so nice to know you love me!
I love your teacher, and I love you, too!
You can tell that I love you because I keep writing posts for you to read.

No, we don't have any sheep right now.

We used to have a sheep named Stew.
He was nice and fluffy, but we had too many animals so
we sold him to another family.

That photo is from last January when we had more snow. Stew was nice and warm in his own, thick coat. He didn't mind the snow or the cold one bit!

This is a really good question!
Stew could live through a blizzard with only his coat.
The other animals would be ok in a blizzard, too.

Even though the animals we have would be ok outside in a blizzard, its best if they have shelter from wind and storms. We have a big barn with stalls for the animals to get out of the wind and bad weather if they want to be protected.

It's also very important to make sure the animals have enough food and water or they don't survive very well. Cows, goats, and sheep have a different stomach than people do. The food in their stomach gets hot because of the way the animals process (use) the food. Their rumen (type of stomach) produces a lot of heat so they have a heater right inside their body.

They also have thicker coats in the winter to keep the warmth in.

This is what the stomach of a cow (or goat, or sheep) looks like.
The rumen is the spot that breaks down food and helps keep the animals warm.
A chicken has a much smaller stomach.(photo link)

Your stomach is much smaller than a cow or goat stomach.
(photo link)

Cows and humans eat different foods so they need different kinds of stomachs.

This is how Echo gets a drink. She needs a lot of water! She drinks between

25 and 30 gallons of water every day.

Her lips and mouth make it easy for her to drink that much. She can suck a lot of water.

What about cats? Do they need that much water?

Cats don't need as much water as cows and goats do.
Cats also have different teeth and a different mouth, so the way they drink is different. 

I wake up about 6:20 every morning.
I do a few things before I head out to do the barn chores around 8:00 AM.
What time to do get to school?

Thank you so much for all your questions! One of the best ways to learn new things is to ask good questions.