feed? wasn't sure where to post

[ohiogoatgirl]

hello!
i'm very much a back-to-the-land type of person. i'm trying to become self-sufficient. and i've been thinking about feed...
does anyone mix or grow there own feed for any livestock?
i'm growing tons of indian corn this year and if i can find somewhere to buy then also soy beans. and we do our own hay. and i'd like to grow oats or barley. what is best for hand harvesting? the animals always get extras like garden weeds and kitchen scraps. since i must start small- becuase i'm doing everything myself- i was thinking i could buy my regular feed and slowly dilute it to my own mix...
since i already have the goats i'll start with them. i was thinking sunflower seeds, indian corn, soybeans, oats, barley -to start mixing with the regular feed. and of course hay, garden weeds, corn stalks, etc.
right now i have dairy goats and i'm going to buy some angora goats this week.
and later i'd like to add meat rabbits, coturnix quail, pigs, cows, chickens, and a horse or two.
any suggestions are welcome!
thanks!

 

[warthog]

The only thing I have tried to grow for the goats up to now is sunflowers, and they absolutely adore them.

I just buy the seeds from the feed store and plant them. I have found if you soak the seeds in water for a couple of days before planting them they germinate much quicker.

Good luck with whatever you grow, keep us posted, will be nice to know how you get on.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm definitely growing tons of sunflowers and indian corn. i have about one gallon jug full of indian corn seed. and about a quart jug full of sunflower seed. so there will be no shortage on those two.
i'm going crazy with the garden plans and there is plenty of unused yard... i'm free-reign until stops me!
i'm having a hard time finding any info that is do-able for me...
i'll update if i find anything though.

 

[goodhors]

Raw soybeans are poison to horses, not sure about other animals. Would be something you NEED to check out before planning soybeans into your animal diet!!

Cooked soybeans, soybean meal, is a readily digested animal feed and they all seem to like it. Being a protein, you will want to balance your feed values to feed your animals correctly. Not too much protein or other products. Horses can get growth issues with colts being fed too much protein in diet, so other animals will also. Or they pee it off, waste the feed money for you!

Sorry, we have way too many animals needing our grazing, to be raising our own feed. Just not enough acreage here on the farmlett! And if the local crops are bad, I didn't lose my investment money. Easier for ME to buy grain, get it mixed to my recipe, at the Elevator.

 

[KristyHall]

Believe it or not, but since I have mild winters here, I grow a lot of root veggies as an emergency feed for my chickens and horses. You may want to try that if you have mild enough winters to leave the roots in the ground and yank them up as you need. Or you can grow them another time and store them in a small root cellar or hand dug storage pit for the winter to use as needed.
Also, about the corn, try semi dent or dent corns. They can be used both as roasted ears, and has a flour corn.
Some heritage corns are excellent for using as feed because of their sugar verses starch content. A good place to start is the Seed saver's exchange. You can also try Southern seed exchange. They specialize in seeds fro the south but have a variety of plants for all over. Bountiful Gardens is good too. They all carry seeds good for the small farmer interested in self sustainable gardening and carry a huge variety of different plants for different climates and microclimats. Just be careful how much corn you feed horses.
Also if your saving corn seed to replant be careful to have saved seed from over 100 plants, 400+ is the best because corn is very bad at suffering inbreeding depression. Also to keep the seeds viable it is best to keep them in a cool, dark place in a tightly sealed jar after they have been thoroughly dried with minimal fluctuation in moisture and temperature. Well stored seed can last years.
Good luck and keep on trucking!