The non-USDA approved thread of animal husbandry...tell us your ideas!

[big brown horse]

Thank you for starting this thread! I am eagerly reading and learning from all the contributing posts. <--organic popcorn.

 

[Beekissed]

BBH, now post a pic or two of your herd! I loooooove your pics! Are you implementing any natural feeding/medicine with them? If so, list it and tell us how it's working?

I found this article on ACV and sheep in SHEEP magazine and found it quite interesting.



http://www.sheepmagazine.com/issues/24/24-1/Laurie_Ball-Gisch.html


And an article on managed grazing for sheep:

http://www.hunternutrition.com/artcmanagedgrazing.html

 

[freemotion]

Thank you for starting this thread! I am eagerly reading and learning from all the contributing posts. <--organic popcorn.

Organic popcorn with freshly made butter from goat's cream! That is what dh and I had for a treat last night!

Bee, do you remember where the link is to that article on sheep and mangels, and how the productivity went up in the farmer's flock by 200% I think it was? I loved that article. Maybe NEXT year my mangels will grow! I have tried two years now, since reading that article.....thank goodness for beet pulp, it is not nearly as good as fresh, but it is something, at least.

Rutabagas were a big part of Mya's survival when I first got her. I'd had a bumper crop of gigantic rutabagas, and had a cellar full of them, and pumpkins. I was able to chop them and ramp up her tolerance of those pretty quickly (carefully, too, I took a month or so, not knowing when she was bred, so it was a scary time for us.)

 

[Beekissed]

It was in Countryside mag...I'll have to look for it. I wasn't very successful growing mangels either but I'm still interested.

 

[Blackbird]

Freemotion, I know you feed whole grains to your goats, what is the mix that you feed?

I know a friend who has 20-30 milkers and also shows her goats. She said that hers do far better on whole grains, stay healthier, produce more milk, and stay at a better weight than they did on processed food and goat pellets. She also said the milk tastes better, and their breath smells better.

 

[freemotion]

Freemotion, I know you feed whole grains to your goats, what is the mix that you feed?

I know a friend who has 20-30 milkers and also shows her goats. She said that hers do far better on whole grains, stay healthier, produce more milk, and stay at a better weight than they did on processed food and goat pellets. She also said the milk tastes better, and their breath smells better.

My mix depends on what I can get, as whole grains can be hard to come by so far from where they are produced, here in Massachusetts. I prefer barley, so when I can get my hands on it, sometimes directly from the farm in Maine, I feed that along with sunflower seeds and beet pulp. Sometimes I add whole oats to stretch the barley. Whole grains still have B vitamins in them, unlike processed grains, so I don't feed yeast. Also, fermenting increased nutrient value, and sprouting increases protein, so essential for making milk....and kids.

For Mya and Ginger, I put about a quart of barley and a pint of sunflower seeds in my little bucket, and fill that with water and a glug of whey and let it sit for 24 hours at room temp. It lives in a corner of my kitchen near the garage door, in a little hallway. I milk in the garage, so this is convenient for me.

After 24 hours, I pour it into a colander and rinse it in the sink, thoroughly, in warm to cool water. I let it drain for a few minutes, then scoop out a big double handful for Mya. I give a little less when it is 24 hours old, and increase the amount each feeding as it continues to sprout, as I have noticed that she tolerates it better as the sprouting advances (dog poo sign!) After each milking, my routine is to clean her feed pan, and put in a half cup of beet pulp with about a cup of water and set that with the fermenting grain and my milking kit by the door for the next milking. It also keeps it handy to toss in any fruit or veggie scraps. If there are a lot, they go into a small bucket for the next meal or two.

Ginger gets a small single handful of grain with a cup or so of alfalfa pellets. She still rejects the beet pulp, so I introduce a little now and then, and eventually she will get the same mix as Mya. She rejected the soaked grain at first, so I did the same....offering a bit now and then until she decided she liked it. I noticed that she suddenly became very interested in it a week or two after I weaned her completely off the milk. She needed the protein, I think, and finally craved it so much that she was willing to develop a taste for the lactofermented and sprouted grains. I suspect she will want the beet pulp within a few weeks of snow cover, when there is nothing fresh in her diet. She is also not really interested in veggie scraps yet, she just gets a few carrot peels now and then if we have them available. She does get preferential treatment with the daily bundle of leafy branches, though, so I doubt she is craving any extra nutrients right now.

Mya also gets one small coffee can, maybe a pound, of alfalfa pellets that I put into her feed pan just before I put it on the milk stand. She hates them when they go mushy if I prepare her food too early. It is amazing how they can communicate their displeasure so clearly, isn't it??

Oh, and of course, my newest addition, a bit of lactofermented veggies now and then, maybe 1/4 cup or so. I use tongs to take some out of the liquid in the gallon jar, so I am guessing on the amount....one "tong-full!"

This coming winter I will continue to experiment with bringing some of the grains all the way to the grass blade stage, separately from the grain feeding, to add some fresh greens to the diets of the birds as well as the goats. Probably just treat amounts, but it will still be so good for them with our longish winters here. My sprouting stand is built, it is my seed starting shelf unit. I have two shelves, four feet long, and can add two more easily if it works out. That could be quite a bit of oat and barley grass growing in my basement!

 

[Beekissed]

I'm going to be sprouting more this winter, Free. I think I will use this method to flush my Bettys before breeding in December. Also to get my calf a little fatter right before butchering in Feb.

 

[freemotion]

Yep, if I had a cellar full of mangels, I probably wouldn't bother. But....oh, well, next year will be my year for mangels!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Me too!

I'm learning so much from you guys. I hate the thought of having animals so dependant on rations & meds that they will die without them. Meds have their appropriate spot, but no animal should HAVE to have them in order to survive. Eating antibiotics impregnated meats? thats the main reason I WANT my own herd & flock. So I KNOW what they've been eating & the meds, supplements etc they've been given.
The wonderful thing about cattle in my neck of the woods is we have so much good open land for graze. You drive down the highway and see huge open acres with a couple dozen cows contently grazing.
The lady who has my possible Dexter heifer doesn't have a huge vet bill, she grazes them and only gets rid of animals when the family needs some meat, the pasture starts looking ragged & chewed or there are injury issues. She also uses soapy water to worm her Dexes and only offers grain as a treat. I'm going to introduce her to ACV & this forum when I go to meet them. She seems like the type who would be interested.

 

[Beekissed]

So, anyone one here trying to use natural sources for minerals or are you using commercial mixes?

I am currently using Thorvin dried kelp and coarse salt.

http://www.thorvin.com/feed.htm


For sheep, it is supposed to improve wool, immunity and fertility.

Salatin uses it for his livestock and notes that he hasn't had a case of pink eye in his herds since starting with Thorvin kelp many years ago. He attributes this to the readily usable iodine in the kelp. He goes in with a neighbor and buys 50 tons at one time! I can't even imagine the cost, so he must really feel like it's worth it to spend that much....he isn't really known for splurging with his money...

I bought mine through my local feed store and it comes to about a $1 a pound, with tax and all. It is supposed to last a long time. I used quite a bit in my milk cow's feed to help condition her quickly. It really seemed to make a difference in her overall health and condition. I had her from May 10th to Aug. 22nd, I believe. One month of that was spent at another farm getting bred. She delivered a calf on the 25th. She came to me in pretty bad shape, 8 years old and ready to calve. She delivered a healthy little heifer on May 25th.

Before, on May 10th:

And after calving, sometime in June:

These results were accomplished with de-worming with Shaklees soap, fresh graze, a little sweet feed each evening with raw eggs, BOSS and Thorvin kelp. She had the kelp and salt free choice. She also had hay free choice.

I made $500 profit on her sale. I really feel like the kelp helped her over all condition and health, along with the Shaklees and good pasture.