We are fund-raising right now! Please click this link and support us. Thank you.
http://www.gofundme.com/5rn214

Forging My Way to a Fodder System Part 1

I have been battling the "bulge" of hay prices lately. I've had to sell off more animals than I wanted to this year simply because I can't afford the hay and grain costs. I'd been researching buying a hydroponic-type setup to grow my own fodder. There are plenty of benefits: I'd be able to give my animals the benefits of organic pasture-fresh feed daily on my small property, it only takes about 8 days from seed to feed, there'd be less daily waste, and it'd be way cheaper in money--I'd be willing to spend the extra time. The downsides? In order to afford a hydroponic fodder system I'd have to sell or slaughter all my animals (or almost all) just to get out from under the monster of hay-cost, then save for months to buy it, and then I'd have to re-buy animals. Another downer? I've always hated the taste and quality of hydroponically grown food, so why would I subject my animals to it? What to do?

I was graced with an idea. Why not use the same method that hard-core wheat- and barleygrass juicers use? They tend to dislike hydroponics, too, and sprout in dirt. Maybe I could streamline growing a few flats while reducing my hay usage? Yes, the more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it. I researched like a mad person. I researched sprouting. I researched the hydroponic fodder systems. I crunched numbers. LOTS of numbers. I researched types of fodder that I could grow. I researched protein levels and all sorts of nutrient information. I came to the conclusion that yes, I could "sprout" a fodder system in dirt. It was affordable; more affordable than I dare hoped to dream. I triple and quadruple checked my numbers before I accepted just how affordable it would be to set up and then to grow my own fodder. 

Fresh, juicy Barleygrass

So, I had decided to sprout my own fodder. The fodder that I settled on was barleygrass. Barleygrass and barley grain are the Biblical animal-feeds of choice, and that seemed appropriate somehow. Moreover, sprouted young barleygrass (unlike the seed itself or the full-grown version, seems to be just super-packed with the protein calcium, phosphorus, and other vitamins and minerals that would benefit all of my animals. But eliminating the hay only eliminated about half my feed costs. My grain costs are also quite crushing. It's true that the geese could be "grass-fed" alone, but what about me chickens? And my milk goats and pregnant sheep couldn't be exclusively barelygrass fed. Or could they?

Once again I threw myself into research. I calculated protein percentages and grams per kilo (waaaaay easier than pounds and ounces!). I looked up natural diets. I checked on grass-fed-only type of blogs and research papers. Turns out, I had picked my fodder well; barleygrass can support a meat or dairy goat, sheep, or cow exclusively. Grain feeding with barelygrass is optional. I'll need to wean my sheep and goats off of the grain (you don't want to suddenly change any animal's feed). Also, I've opted to offer some grain to my milk goats for coming out on the milking stand. But feeding my chickens, to my mind, still had some hurdles to be overcome. (People squeamish about reading about bugs may want to stop here. I don't go into gory detail, though.)

Goats, sheep, and cows, and even the geese are all natural browsers or grazers. Chickens have been successfully pastured, but I'd learned something during my research: Chickens, decedents of the Junglefowl, are primarily insectivores. Wait, what? That's right, folks. Chickens chase down those bugs because that's what they are designed to eat! They prefer to take their protein in the form of insects. I figured there had to be others with this information who had opted to raise insects for their hens. One of the "super-bugs"? The Darkling Beetle.

Adult Dakling Beetle

Or, more accurately, the larvae of the Darkling Beetle, better known as mealworms. Mealworms are full of high-quality protien and fat, something that chickens really need. They're cheap to buy, cheaper to raise, and once established, will give you hundreds and hundreds of wiggly larvae to feed you delighted chickens daily. 

However, I wasn't satisfied. Not only did I want another insect source in case something happened to my mealworm colony, but I felt that I needed to offer the chickens more in the way of calcium to support their egg-laying. (Not to mention that a mealworm farm takes about 6 months to become fully-functional.) The second miraculous insect? The Soldier Fly Grub.

Adult Soldier Fly

Soldier flies, or rather the grubs, are fabulous native composters.  I've never seen a population here in Bakersfield, but there should be some around here. Somewhere... Anyway, they're just packed with a tremendous amount of calcium and have an almost perfect calcium to phosphorus ratio! Fabulous! Not only that, but they're even less expensive to raise than the mealworms, they're not pests, and I get a fantastic, quick compost out of them. It takes only two weeks to establish a viable colony, and these are the fastest composters I've ever seen! We're not talking months or weeks, we're talking hours in a fully established colony! (In my humble opnion, anyone who's interested in composting kitchen scraps should establish a colony of these guys!)

Research done, the shopping, setup, and experimental phases have begun. I hope to keep posted of the process. I'm on the second day of soaking/sprouting my barley seed, and my mealworms should be here tomorrow or the next day. I need to set up or buy a special Soldier Grub composting unit, so I won't order them until I have that all ready. In closing, I have to say I'm super excited!!

A Quick Word About Chickens

From inside the chicken yard (Still being put together)

As far as "free range" goes, No matter what and where you live, you're probably going to have fences. This doesn't mean your chickens aren't "free range". If your chickens can go outside, in the sun, and scratch, and run, and eat bugs, and dig up a dirt bath, that's the life of a free-range chicken.

To have a coop for the chickens for the night is only good husbandry. The chickens want to feel safe at night, and there are so many things that like to eat them and/or their eggs; possums, raccoons, foxes, snakes, dogs, etc. They aren't "free-ranging" at night, if they can help it. Also, hens need a nest box of some kind. I think it's about 1 box for every 3-4 hens or a large communal nest box. Many hens like some privacy when they lay, some don't care. Some hens don't even wait to get to the nest box to lay. But, if you have no nest boxes, the hens will lay willy-nilly and there will be dirty and broken eggs everywhere!

From outside the chicken yard

We have a fence around our chicken yard--we used to have them running around the whole yard, but not only would the neighbor's roosters come over and mate our chickens (which is a kosher problem), but they'd poop on my goats hay and in their water and chicken poop can make goats quite ill, so for both reasons we fenced in our hens. They have lots of room to run about and scratch and dig and things and they seem quite content. I also feed them a high-quality laying-hen crumble (not organic-can't get it here easily that's not spoiled) which they prefer to the pellets, plus they get scratch (different seeds and cracked corn and things) and black sunflower seeds daily, kitchen scraps, a little hay, meal worms, extra/soured milk from our goats, whey from when I make cheese, and whatever treats I can think of for them. I put out crushed granite for their gizzards and a calcium supplement when I feel they need one. Both would be available at all times so that the hens can decide when/if they need it and that's called "ad-lib" feeding. Additionally, to help keep the hawks, crows, cats, and neighbor's roosters out, we put deer/bird netting over the top of our chicken enclosure.

Goats and Sheep: Nutrition/Diet 2 (Feeds)

So, what to feed the sheep and goats.

As for hay...

Unless you can grow your own feed or order a lot of feed for someone else to grow it for you, there really is not a lot of choice here in California, at least in Kern County, anyway. You can get alfalfa hay (a legume), sudan grass hay, or 3 way hay (a mix of oats, wheat, and barley). 

Alfalfa

Alfalfa, is a very nutritious, high-protein feed(--about 25-30%). It grows really well once established and can be cut several times a year. Alfalfa is the milk and horse industry standard out here. So, this is obviously the best choice, right? Well, yes and no. Dairy animals and growing animals can use the high-protein content in this hay to their advantage, but dry animals (not in milk) and males don't need this much protein.

Castrated males (steer, wethers) and even intact males can get urinary calculi (stones in the bladder and urethra) from the high calcium to phosphorus ratio in alfalfa hay as well as from the high protein. Urinary calculi are serious and can cause the death of the animal. Such high protein can also cause bloat when the animal eats this hay too quickly or too much. 

Moreover, legumes can rob the animal of much-needed iodine. This is especially important in goat husbandry, because a lack of iodine results in sick, hairless, dying, dead, or a complete lack of doe kids in the flock. Doe kids (females) need a lot of iodine in their formation.

Alfalfa is excellent for livestock--in moderation. Alfalfa hay is expensive to produce here in Kern County because it is a very thirsty plant.

Sudan grass is relatively new here in Kern County, as far as I know. It tends to be inexpensive, (although the Chinese seem to be snapping these bales up before we can buy them here). Sudan is a hybrid grass that is drought tolerant; it grows well here. I often feed my dry, open (non-pregnant) does, dry, open ewes, and male animals sudan grass.

Sudan Grass

The protein in this hay is a lot lower, about 9-12% but still good for non-lactating animals. Lactating and pregnant animals require higher protein levels--about 15%--to remain healthy. The protein levels can be augmented, however, by adding a considerable amount of grain to the diet. One must also be careful of the quality of the sudan grass and the honesty of the hay maker.

Sudan grass naturally has a higher moisture content than alfalfa and if it's not dried with care, the hay will be moldy. Mold can cause health problems, including miscarriage and organ damage.  Another precaution that must be taken with sudan grass is to age it at least two weeks from cutting before selling as feed. Once sudan grass is damaged or cut, it naturally produces enough prussic acid, a highly potent toxin, to kill even a cow. It takes two weeks for the prussic acid to be broken down and rendered harmless.

Oats Wheat and Barley

3 way hay is inconsistently available here. (as far as I know.) It can be difficult to grow properly because it's three grasses ripen at slightly different times and yet the hay needs to be harvested all at once and at the right time. If properly done, this makes an excellent hay; it's protein can be as high as low- to mid-grade alfalfa when harvested correctly. This hay can also be very palatable (tasty); more so than the sudan grass. I'm just learning more about this hay, myself.

There are other things to know about hay, such as: was the hay harvested at the peak growth time of so it's highest nutrient value? Was it cut at the proper time of day to not only reduce the probability of mold, but because the natural sugars in the plant run higher at certain times of day and this gives it more palatability? Is the hay sun cured or cured with the use of chemicals? We use sun-cured hay. Was the hay put up at the right stage in the drying process so that the sun has not bleached out valuable vitamins and it's not so wet that it molds? Was the hay left uncovered in a rain, allowing it to potentially mold? Hay growing and curing is not a simple process as it first seems.

What about pasture? There's not a lot of water here in Kern County anymore ('cause they won't let the water come down from up north like it naturally would) and the temperatures in summer reach 120F at times and summer can start as early as April/May. This high temperature so early in the season in combination with winter frosts can make the growing season difficult to pin down and short without extra water to keep the plants hydrated. The extra water is expensive, and the farmers don't have access to their full allotment of water here, either (that they've paid for!) and this adds to the cost of hay and makes growing pasture much more difficult and expensive.

Ultimately, though, despite the difficulties and costs of growing pasture, it is our hope to grow a small supplemental pasture in the near future and to eventually buy enough land for all of our pasture/feed needs. I believe that responsibly grown pasture is the best possible food for livestock, but I realize that pasture is not always a viable option, either because of space, climate, cost, or winter/time of year. I also believe that poor pasture and poor pasture management is not only a poor choice for livestock compared to properly grown hay but can actually harm or kill your livestock! A farmer who cares about their animals should choose a good-quality hay over pasturing if they can't properly pasture their animals.

Hopefully I can get into grain an other supplements in another article!

Goats and Sheep: Nutrition/Diet 1 (Digestion)

A realization came to me: I'd forgotten that once, being a city-girl, I didn't know about large-animal health and nutrition. I knew that organic foods were important, but I didn't know much else. Since my big-city days, I have been to college for livestock nutrition, care, health, and basic veterinary practices and I have also done extensive research and I have learned (and am still learning!) a lot. So, for those of you who may not know, I'm going to go into some livestock nutrition 101.

Horse Digestive System

All livestock and animals that eat grass, leaves, pine needles, shrubs, and things like that have special stomachs; these animals are all ungulates (hoofed). In order to extract the nutrition from whole grains and cellulose these animals need to ferment--rot using specialized anaerobic bacteria--these foods in specialized stomachs or guts. Non-kosher animals, with the exceptions listed in the Torah, use a part of their gut called the cecum to do this. The exceptions and all kosher mammals chew their cud or ruminate. (Camels do have a rumen, but they are not ruminants--they are Tylopoda.) Ruminates have the classic "four-chambered stomach." 

Different ruminants eat a different range of things. Cows, for example, are mostly grazers; that is to say that they eat grasses, legumes, and other ground cover. Cows have long tongues with little grippy, raspy, bristles (kind of like a cat's) that allow it to "lick up" the grass. Because of this, cows prefer to eat nice, long grasses and leafy legumes that they can wrap their tongues around and lick up.

Horses, while not ruminants, have very prehensile lips. Unlike ruminants, they have top and bottom teeth on the front of their mouths (ruminants only have bottom teeth in the front) that allow them to eat tougher things. Still, horses digestive systems are very particular and unique is some ways and I won't get into all that here. Suffice it to say that they like grasses, some bushy plants, and leafy legumes, but horses nip their food instead of licking it. They are grazers, too, but will browse a little.

Sheep and goats, (more-so with goats,) are browsers. These guys have nimble lips and are able to be picky. Very picky! They love bushes and trees and will eat lots of weeds and thistles, too. Sheep especially like grasses and leafy legumes, but goats like them, too. These creatures prefer a varied diet and tend to get bored with being fed the exact same thing over and over again. (Which is why I like to feed my babies different foods so that they have more fun.

Rumen pH is important to maintaining a healthy ruminant. There are bacteria that live in the rumens and cecum of ungulates. These bacteria break down the cellulose and complex sugars in the plant materials and they need a certain pH to do well. Different food items need different bacterial combinations to be broken down properly, so it's important to change diets gradually to give time for the bacterial colonies to adjust to the different foods. What can go wrong? Well, in a mild case, the animal in question could get diarrhea and be unable to assimilate the nutrients it's being fed well for a few days. In a worst case, the poor little animal could die. Rich foods like alfalfa and grains can do this. Grains, for example, when fed in excess, cause the bacteria to overgrow. The bacterial colony normally produces an amount of gas as it ferments that the goat can easily handle, and belch out. In this case, however, the goat cannot compensate for the sudden extreme gassyness and can die.

We free-feed baking soda to the goats and sheep (ie: leave it out for them all the time), so that they can regulate the pH in their rumens as they see fit. Fortunately, while a sheep or goat can get greedy and overeat, they know what to use the baking soda for and give themselves relief for their tummy aches. We also never free-feed grain, fruits, seeds, or berries; each goat is individually feed these snacks and treats, or a very small amount is put out.

I'll get into more about actual feeds in another blog, I think. Looking at it, there's quite a bit of info here.

Husbandry

I've had some questions about animal husbandry and here is a quick sketch on how I like to do things.

Ultimately, it is my goal to grow 90-100% of the feed that I give my animals. Practically, living on a single acre, this is not yet an option for me. The organic and non-GMO feeds are inconsistently available, supremely expensive, and not only full of insects, but often of inferior quality. It is my policy to feed not only a natural diet but a high-quality diet to my animals to ensure that their nutritional needs are met. In order to help meet this goal, I have not only done much research and have a library of books but have taken classes on animal husbandry, animal medicine, animal pathology, and crop production.

The animals I have are fed on grasses and legumes, the hay being sun-dried instead of chemically cured. The grains they are fed are not a majority of their diets, as is common in the industry. The grains include a variety of rolled corn, rolled oats, and rolled barley. Black-strap molasses is added to the grain ration for additional minerals. The milkers are given daily minerals and freeze-dried rumen and intestinal bacteria to aid their digestion health. The non-milkers are given this on an as-needed basis. Minerals are always available to the goats and sheep so that they can consume them if they feel they need it, and they are also given free access to water, salt, and baking soda. (Baking soda helps regulate the pH of their rumens.) They are given a weekly herbal wormer that is non-sickening and has been clinically shown to reduce intestinal parasites beyond even allopathic levels. Also, I give the growing lambs and kids access to a natural protein supplement so that if they need the extra protein, they can get it.

Also, unless there is some medical reason that the mother can't feed her babies, or the babies can't nurse, I let the mothers raise the babies. We milk only once a day until the babies are weaned. After a few weeks of life, we'll separate the babies from their moms overnight in the next pen over where they can still see and talk to each other and then we milk in the morning. This gives the mommas a much-needed break and allows the babies to get fed a dinner and a breakfast of hay and grain without having to compete with the adults. We don't wean until at least 3 months of age. I do have a modified "creep"--a special fence that allows the babies, but not the adults, through so that the babies can play together without the adults butting in and where I keep their special protein supplements and things that they need that the adults don't.

Medicinally, we reach for homeopathic and herbal remedies first. However, I will not allow an animal to suffer an illness if I have seen no reasonable improvement in 3-7 days or a significant decline in health despite natural treatment. If there is an allopathic medication that is known to "cure" the illness that they are suffering and the other natural remedies have not improved the situation, I will try the allopathic remedy. In that case, I will remove the animal from production until it has been detoxed from the medication it was given. I try to do as much of the medical care of the animals myself, including medicating, bone-setting, and aiding in delivery as needed. In cases that I feel that I can't handle (amputation, for example), I have the numbers of the best large-animal vets in Bakersfield and do not hesitate to call them, even if only for a consultation. In severe cases that have no hope for cure, I will put the animal down as humanely and as quickly as possible.

I try to ensure, within the constraints of my property and my pocketbook, that my animals are as healthy, well-cared for, and as happy as possible. I think this makes for not only happy healthy animals, but to a higher quality milk and meat for my family and friends.

New Sheep

We're getting some new additions to our farm soon! We're hoping to get a "seed flock" of sheep. The breed of sheep is Finnsheep, or Finnish Landrace (as they are known in their country of origin). These guys are amazing! 

Finnsheep with Litter of Four

Most breeds of sheep have 1-2 lambs once a year after reaching maturity at 6-8 months of age. Lambing with several sheep, especially "meat-breeds" such as Suffolk or Hampshires can be difficult, too, because not only can there be many delivery problems, but "meat-breed" sheep can be poor mothers and not recognize the fact that they now have lambs to care for. Finnsheep reach maturity as young as 4-7 months, they lamb easily and are good mothers, can lamb 3 times every 2 years, and best of all, average litters of 3-4 lambs. The lines of sheep that I'm getting have had as many as 6 lambs at one time! Generally speaking, the mothers of Finnsheep can nurse 3-4 lambs without intervention and produce an excellent, wholesome milk that is just fabulous for cheesemaking.

We hope to get the ewe on the bottom.

Finnsheep, especially the natural-colored ones that I'll be getting, seem to have simply gorgeous fleeces--beautiful and soft. It also does not have to be treated harshly to remove excess lanolin, because it is not a "greasy" wool. I guess I'll be having fun over the coming years learning how to shear, skirt, card, and spin wool. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Now to get a spinning wheel...

While it is true that lambs reach only about 90-100 lbs by market age (as opposed to the 100-120 lbs of "meat-breeds"), Finnsheep, when bred to "meat-breed" sheep gain weight just like the "meat-breeds." This is why we'll also be getting a Dorper ram-lamb in the next year or so.

Dorper Ewe Shedding Naturally

Dorpers are excellent sheep, too. They were bred by the South Africans from Middle Eastern breeds, such as the Blackhead Persian Sheep, to gain weight in hot, semi-arid environments. This is what Dorpers excel at! They are perfect for raising in Kern County. They can handle the heat, the lack of good pasture, and don't even need to be shorn! That's right, Dorpers are a sort of sheep know as "hair sheep." Hair sheep are really neat meat-breed sheep. Hair sheep can breed out of season, just like the Finnsheep, they average 2-3 lambs per lambing and are good mothers, they're resistant to most of the internal parasites that molest most sheep, and they shed their own wool so that they don't need shearing. An added bonus for me is that they're descended from the fat-tailed sheep of the Bible!

Anyway, we're hoping to sell fleeces/yarn, cheese, and milk from the Finns within the next few years, as well as some registered Finnsheep lambs. We're also hoping to sell "locker lambs" (lambs that people buy wholesale at a price per pound live weight that they take to a butcher or have the farmer take to the butcher for the butchering fee) of Dorper-Finn crosses. Eventually, we will also have a few registered Dorpers as breeding stock, too.

For now, though, we hope to get 2 Finnsheep ewes and a Finnsheep ram, as well as a Dorper ram. More news to follow as we get them!