I'm so excited that I was able to find a place to jump into this challenge over at My Freezer is Full. I was one of the first five people to comment on her blog post, which earned me the privilege of, within the year 2012, making a handmade item to pass on to the first five people to comment on my blog post. If you'd like to find a handmade item in your mailbox sometime in 2012, be one of the first five to leave a comment here accepting the challenge. You, in turn, will accept the challenge to make a handmade item of your choice for the first five people to comment on your blog by the end of 2012.
If you're one of the first five to comment on this post, please use the contact button to leave me your address, and I'll get my fingers busy making something for you! :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Counting Blessings # 227, and More Homestead Management
#227) I'm so incredibly thankful today to have married someone who is such a great father. I'm so glad he takes such an interest in his children, guiding them and teaching them. Being a mom is challenging, but it's a lot easier with a dedicated husband and father to lead us all. I don't think I knew enough when I married him at 21 to know what a gem I had. :)
I wanted to share a bit (and I know only a bit) about rotational grazing for livestock. This is a system that is critical to the holistic, natural care of cattle, sheep or goats (I only really have experience with goats), especially on small acreage.
We utilized some rotational grazing in a very simplified way last summer, and hope to use it more efficiently and effectively this grazing (or browsing, as the case may be) season.
The simple form we used last year was to stake the goats out in the yard, keeping a constant eye on them to make sure they didn't get tangled or harassed by wildlife or neighborhood dogs. The staking method we came up with involved movable twist in stakes such as you'd use for a dog run. We used a bungee cord from the stake to the actual rope, giving the goats a gentler stop in case they got scared and began to run (which they often did at first). Thicker cotton rope is the best to use because if a goat gets tangled and panics she won't cut her legs. This could happen very quickly with a cable or nylon rope, and the goat may become injured even if you're keeping close watch.
This coming spring, we plan to use cattle panels to create movable fencing, and have a lightweight shelter for each pen. This will allow the goats to spend more time grazing/browsing in their movable pasture. Without any shelter, goats especially won't feel secure in the pasture. They won't want to spend as much time there. They also need the shade and shelter from even the shortest rain showers. If it rains and goats don't have shelter, they will cry like the Wicked Witch of the West. They seem convinced they'll melt away.
The benefits of rotational grazing include healthier pastures and parasite control. The pastures are healthier because you control how much and what is eaten. The idea is to keep close watch on the condition of the grazing area. See that the animals eat all the browse/pasture down evenly, but not so far down that it causes stress to the pasture plants. First they will eat everything they love, and then they'll be forced to eat the things they don't love (but are still healthful to them). This way, the things they don't like won't take over and choke out those plants the animals like the most. When they've eaten it down sufficiently you move them to a new area.
This also helps control parasites, which are a goat raiser's most prevalent problem, especially if she wants to avoid chemical wormers. Ideally, one area of pasture should only be grazed on once a season. Of course, on 1.5 acres that's not possible. There's a solution, however, that makes it work. The grazing area shouldn't be allowed to be grazed down any lower than about 4 inches, and then the animals moved. The grazed pasture should then be left for about two weeks. The poop that has been left behind in the pasture will contain parasite eggs from the host (cow, sheep, goat). During the two weeks that it is left alone, the parasites will hatch and climb the blades of grass (They can climb about 4 inches, hence the reason you shouldn't let the grass get shorter than that while the animals are grazing on it).
After two weeks, mow the grass. Either use a mulching mower with a bag to collect the trimmings (and parasites), or mow, let it dry and rake it up. This takes care of the majority of the parasites that would have found their way back into the host who grazed on that pasture next. When the pasture has grown out again, you can safely move you animals back onto it. The pasture will be healthier for the good fertilizing it's had, and it will be safe for your animals.
That's the idea, anyway. :) I plan to attempt this system along with an herbal wormer. I will try to keep you posted as to what I learn and how it all goes. I'm just beginning to understand this myself.
I also wanted to point out that having these movable fences makes it easy to allow goats to graze down overgrown areas of your property, and maybe even the neighbors who would like to get rid of an overgrown area. Goats thrive on good quality browse. They will be sleek and shiny, have less parasite problems, and get into real nice condition very quickly on it. They love raspberry, pine, willow, tag elder, wild roses, poplar, thistles, and lots more. They're really good at staying away from things that are bad for them as long as there's plenty of good healthy browse available. They will also graze on pasture if there's no browse available. They like dandelion, trefoil, red and purple clover, lespedeza, and various grasses and lots of other things that I don't know what are. I never paid much attention to "lawn" and "grass" before, so it's been a steep learning curve to understand what little I do.
Some cautions with goats on pasture:
-Avoid putting your goats out to pasture early in the morning when the grass is wet from dew, especially if slugs and snails are a problem in your area. They climb the wet grasses and are ingested by the goats. They are host to liver flukes and lung worms which could infest your animals.
-Any changes to your goats' diet should be made slowly. If you're going to put them on pasture in the spring, or if they aren't used to it, give a feeding of hay in the A.M. first. Start with a short amount of time and build up slowly, until they can tolerate being on pasture all day. It is a good idea to continue a small hay feeding in the morning. This will help to prevent bloat from too much rich green vegetation being compacted in the rumen.
-Provide baking soda free choice so the goats can self regulate the acid level in the rumen. This is important in preventing bloat, especially in a diet high in green grasses and concentrates (grain).
I wanted to share a bit (and I know only a bit) about rotational grazing for livestock. This is a system that is critical to the holistic, natural care of cattle, sheep or goats (I only really have experience with goats), especially on small acreage.
We utilized some rotational grazing in a very simplified way last summer, and hope to use it more efficiently and effectively this grazing (or browsing, as the case may be) season.
The simple form we used last year was to stake the goats out in the yard, keeping a constant eye on them to make sure they didn't get tangled or harassed by wildlife or neighborhood dogs. The staking method we came up with involved movable twist in stakes such as you'd use for a dog run. We used a bungee cord from the stake to the actual rope, giving the goats a gentler stop in case they got scared and began to run (which they often did at first). Thicker cotton rope is the best to use because if a goat gets tangled and panics she won't cut her legs. This could happen very quickly with a cable or nylon rope, and the goat may become injured even if you're keeping close watch.
This coming spring, we plan to use cattle panels to create movable fencing, and have a lightweight shelter for each pen. This will allow the goats to spend more time grazing/browsing in their movable pasture. Without any shelter, goats especially won't feel secure in the pasture. They won't want to spend as much time there. They also need the shade and shelter from even the shortest rain showers. If it rains and goats don't have shelter, they will cry like the Wicked Witch of the West. They seem convinced they'll melt away.
The benefits of rotational grazing include healthier pastures and parasite control. The pastures are healthier because you control how much and what is eaten. The idea is to keep close watch on the condition of the grazing area. See that the animals eat all the browse/pasture down evenly, but not so far down that it causes stress to the pasture plants. First they will eat everything they love, and then they'll be forced to eat the things they don't love (but are still healthful to them). This way, the things they don't like won't take over and choke out those plants the animals like the most. When they've eaten it down sufficiently you move them to a new area.
This also helps control parasites, which are a goat raiser's most prevalent problem, especially if she wants to avoid chemical wormers. Ideally, one area of pasture should only be grazed on once a season. Of course, on 1.5 acres that's not possible. There's a solution, however, that makes it work. The grazing area shouldn't be allowed to be grazed down any lower than about 4 inches, and then the animals moved. The grazed pasture should then be left for about two weeks. The poop that has been left behind in the pasture will contain parasite eggs from the host (cow, sheep, goat). During the two weeks that it is left alone, the parasites will hatch and climb the blades of grass (They can climb about 4 inches, hence the reason you shouldn't let the grass get shorter than that while the animals are grazing on it).
After two weeks, mow the grass. Either use a mulching mower with a bag to collect the trimmings (and parasites), or mow, let it dry and rake it up. This takes care of the majority of the parasites that would have found their way back into the host who grazed on that pasture next. When the pasture has grown out again, you can safely move you animals back onto it. The pasture will be healthier for the good fertilizing it's had, and it will be safe for your animals.
That's the idea, anyway. :) I plan to attempt this system along with an herbal wormer. I will try to keep you posted as to what I learn and how it all goes. I'm just beginning to understand this myself.
I also wanted to point out that having these movable fences makes it easy to allow goats to graze down overgrown areas of your property, and maybe even the neighbors who would like to get rid of an overgrown area. Goats thrive on good quality browse. They will be sleek and shiny, have less parasite problems, and get into real nice condition very quickly on it. They love raspberry, pine, willow, tag elder, wild roses, poplar, thistles, and lots more. They're really good at staying away from things that are bad for them as long as there's plenty of good healthy browse available. They will also graze on pasture if there's no browse available. They like dandelion, trefoil, red and purple clover, lespedeza, and various grasses and lots of other things that I don't know what are. I never paid much attention to "lawn" and "grass" before, so it's been a steep learning curve to understand what little I do.
Some cautions with goats on pasture:
-Avoid putting your goats out to pasture early in the morning when the grass is wet from dew, especially if slugs and snails are a problem in your area. They climb the wet grasses and are ingested by the goats. They are host to liver flukes and lung worms which could infest your animals.
-Any changes to your goats' diet should be made slowly. If you're going to put them on pasture in the spring, or if they aren't used to it, give a feeding of hay in the A.M. first. Start with a short amount of time and build up slowly, until they can tolerate being on pasture all day. It is a good idea to continue a small hay feeding in the morning. This will help to prevent bloat from too much rich green vegetation being compacted in the rumen.
-Provide baking soda free choice so the goats can self regulate the acid level in the rumen. This is important in preventing bloat, especially in a diet high in green grasses and concentrates (grain).
Friday, January 20, 2012
Managing a Diversified Homestead With Little Acreage
Mama Tea, the farm girl over at A Farmish Kind Of Life posted a few questions on her blog yesterday that gave me an idea for a post. I'm forever feeling that I really don't know much at all, and in the big scheme of things that's probably always going to be true. However, I realized today that there are a few things that I do know, and I should share them. So, Mama Tea (and anyone else who's curious), this is for you.
Homesteading a small piece of property in Northern MN has its challenges. There's a lot less space available to utilize, so it must be utilized well. It does take some thought and foresight. Here's what I can say about how we take these challenges and turn them into benefits.
Manure: when you don't have a lot of space for it, what do you do with it? You could put it to good use by composting it. This is actually very simple. All of the used bedding, manure, kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, garden waste and weeds go into one big pile. The pile has to be kept at a depth and width of about 3 feet or more, enough to heat the pile up good. This kills the seeds that may be present it it. The pile has to be kept wet, and we add as much green matter as we can to it. We end up with basically two piles. We add new materials to one pile, and keep the other pile working until we're ready to use it. It also has to be turned once in a while, but for us the chickens take care of that. They spread it out, and we have to rake it back up. They also eat up a lot of the seeds in it, which helps us to be able to use it sooner. It should only take about six weeks for the pile to cook the seeds and then it's ready to use. It will get as hot as 140 degrees F. It may even steam after a rain or sprinkling with the sprinkler.
When it's ready you can add it directly to the garden. If, like us, your configuration of raw materials contains a lot of straw and hay, it will still contain a lot of straw and hay. That's okay. It will be light and airy, and help to lighten heavier soils.
The way we bed our animal pens doesn't produce as much waste as you might imagine, and we really don't end up with too much. In fact, if you garden, there may not be such a thing as too much. If you do end up with more than you can use, maybe you can advertise it, and sell it or at the least get someone who wants it to come and get it. That's our plan if we do end up with more than we can handle.
Currently on our 1.5 acres we have three goats, 17 chickens and 6 breeding rabbits and the young that there usually are in some stage of growth. We use a deep bedding method for about 6 or 7 months of the year for the chickens and the goats. This means that my goat barn hasn't been "mucked out" for about 4 months now. I know it may be hard to believe, but it doesn't smell bad, and the top of the bedding is dry and clean. This is how it all works.
In the spring, the chicken shed gets a good cleaning out, a sprinkling of DE and fresh bedding spread, but not very much. We muck out the areas that need it on a regular basis to keep it fresh. That's actually not a huge amount, since they are free ranging during the summer. Mostly it means shoveling out under the roosts periodically.
The goats get the same spring cleaning, and then bedding spread only in the corners of their barn. This gives them a cozy place to sleep (and they choose a place to pee in, too). Goats poop nice dry berries that are easily swept up with a broom and dust pan. This I do twice a day, getting the floor nice and clean. An added bonus of this cleaning is that I have nice clean goat berries to side dress plants in my garden. The plants really seem to benefit from this treatment before they begin to flower and set fruit.
The rabbits are in hanging wire cages in the rabbitry. They have straw spread on the floor under their cages. Their treatment never really changes. It gets mucked out when it smells too strongly, and fresh straw put down. This happens more often in the summer than the winter. In the winter when the deep bedding method is being employed, we will take the slightly used bedding from the top of the litter in the goat barn and recycle if for the rabbits so that the goats get a clean, fresh surface.
As it gets cooler, we actually get a break from regular mucking out since we need to get a good layer of bedding and manure accumulating. This actually composts during the winter, helping to heat the animals. To keep the top layer clean for the goats, use a pitch fork to fork up the top layer and shake the berries out, leaving them under the clean top layer. Add new straw as needed to keep the top layer clean and the barn smelling fresh. At first I thought this would never work. I thought that by mid winter there would be feet of straw built up and the goats would be jumping over the gate. However, it seems to break down and compact, and really hasn't built up to a depth of more that 6 or 8 inches, except where they usually pee and poop and where they bed down for the night. I let it build up somewhat more in those areas. It really produces some good heat, and benefits the animals greatly.
Well, this is getting really long already, and I've only talked about manure so far. Next time I'll talk about free ranging chickens and rotational grazing for goats.
Homesteading a small piece of property in Northern MN has its challenges. There's a lot less space available to utilize, so it must be utilized well. It does take some thought and foresight. Here's what I can say about how we take these challenges and turn them into benefits.
Manure: when you don't have a lot of space for it, what do you do with it? You could put it to good use by composting it. This is actually very simple. All of the used bedding, manure, kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, garden waste and weeds go into one big pile. The pile has to be kept at a depth and width of about 3 feet or more, enough to heat the pile up good. This kills the seeds that may be present it it. The pile has to be kept wet, and we add as much green matter as we can to it. We end up with basically two piles. We add new materials to one pile, and keep the other pile working until we're ready to use it. It also has to be turned once in a while, but for us the chickens take care of that. They spread it out, and we have to rake it back up. They also eat up a lot of the seeds in it, which helps us to be able to use it sooner. It should only take about six weeks for the pile to cook the seeds and then it's ready to use. It will get as hot as 140 degrees F. It may even steam after a rain or sprinkling with the sprinkler.
When it's ready you can add it directly to the garden. If, like us, your configuration of raw materials contains a lot of straw and hay, it will still contain a lot of straw and hay. That's okay. It will be light and airy, and help to lighten heavier soils.
The way we bed our animal pens doesn't produce as much waste as you might imagine, and we really don't end up with too much. In fact, if you garden, there may not be such a thing as too much. If you do end up with more than you can use, maybe you can advertise it, and sell it or at the least get someone who wants it to come and get it. That's our plan if we do end up with more than we can handle.
Currently on our 1.5 acres we have three goats, 17 chickens and 6 breeding rabbits and the young that there usually are in some stage of growth. We use a deep bedding method for about 6 or 7 months of the year for the chickens and the goats. This means that my goat barn hasn't been "mucked out" for about 4 months now. I know it may be hard to believe, but it doesn't smell bad, and the top of the bedding is dry and clean. This is how it all works.
In the spring, the chicken shed gets a good cleaning out, a sprinkling of DE and fresh bedding spread, but not very much. We muck out the areas that need it on a regular basis to keep it fresh. That's actually not a huge amount, since they are free ranging during the summer. Mostly it means shoveling out under the roosts periodically.
The goats get the same spring cleaning, and then bedding spread only in the corners of their barn. This gives them a cozy place to sleep (and they choose a place to pee in, too). Goats poop nice dry berries that are easily swept up with a broom and dust pan. This I do twice a day, getting the floor nice and clean. An added bonus of this cleaning is that I have nice clean goat berries to side dress plants in my garden. The plants really seem to benefit from this treatment before they begin to flower and set fruit.
The rabbits are in hanging wire cages in the rabbitry. They have straw spread on the floor under their cages. Their treatment never really changes. It gets mucked out when it smells too strongly, and fresh straw put down. This happens more often in the summer than the winter. In the winter when the deep bedding method is being employed, we will take the slightly used bedding from the top of the litter in the goat barn and recycle if for the rabbits so that the goats get a clean, fresh surface.
As it gets cooler, we actually get a break from regular mucking out since we need to get a good layer of bedding and manure accumulating. This actually composts during the winter, helping to heat the animals. To keep the top layer clean for the goats, use a pitch fork to fork up the top layer and shake the berries out, leaving them under the clean top layer. Add new straw as needed to keep the top layer clean and the barn smelling fresh. At first I thought this would never work. I thought that by mid winter there would be feet of straw built up and the goats would be jumping over the gate. However, it seems to break down and compact, and really hasn't built up to a depth of more that 6 or 8 inches, except where they usually pee and poop and where they bed down for the night. I let it build up somewhat more in those areas. It really produces some good heat, and benefits the animals greatly.
Well, this is getting really long already, and I've only talked about manure so far. Next time I'll talk about free ranging chickens and rotational grazing for goats.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
goat Business
I've been busy!
First I was trying to incorporate my goat information onto this blog. Some of you may have noticed the tabs, and maybe had a look?
The tabs are gone now, and it their place I decided to create a new blog for the goats. You can find it HERE.
I had never intended to start a goat "business", but it seems that one comes up with an immediate problem when beginning to keep milk goats. In order to make milk, they must give birth. That creates little goats, anywhere from one to five per doe (thought I hope not more than three per doe).
What to do with all the little cuties? We could just eat them, and I think we will eat some of them. However, when you're breeding for milk production, it seems a waste to eat up all those potential genetics. I feel very excited about a couple of our breedings, sure that they're going to produce some really great kids. What a shame it would be for them not to go to people who could really utilize them for their true purpose.
Therefore, I hope that starting a blog featuring the goats will help people to be able to find them, and allow me to see that some of the best find good new homes where folks like us can use and appreciate them.
If you get a chance to take a peek and check out the pages, please let me know what you think. I'd like to have your input as I develop things. Thanks!
-Patty
First I was trying to incorporate my goat information onto this blog. Some of you may have noticed the tabs, and maybe had a look?
The tabs are gone now, and it their place I decided to create a new blog for the goats. You can find it HERE.
I had never intended to start a goat "business", but it seems that one comes up with an immediate problem when beginning to keep milk goats. In order to make milk, they must give birth. That creates little goats, anywhere from one to five per doe (thought I hope not more than three per doe).
What to do with all the little cuties? We could just eat them, and I think we will eat some of them. However, when you're breeding for milk production, it seems a waste to eat up all those potential genetics. I feel very excited about a couple of our breedings, sure that they're going to produce some really great kids. What a shame it would be for them not to go to people who could really utilize them for their true purpose.
Therefore, I hope that starting a blog featuring the goats will help people to be able to find them, and allow me to see that some of the best find good new homes where folks like us can use and appreciate them.
If you get a chance to take a peek and check out the pages, please let me know what you think. I'd like to have your input as I develop things. Thanks!
-Patty
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