My feed mix

I began by feeding my livestock organic no-soy feed which I purchased from a wonderful co-op in Amery, WI.  I was doing one thing for the chickens and another for the boy goats with additional adaptations for the girl goats.  Yikes!  It was like running a blessed livestock cafe!  In addition, whole kernels are hard to digest, so it came cracked.  I knew from my reading on human nutrition that once grains are cracked or ground they lose most of their nutritional value in 24 hours.  So I was hassling, driving, and paying more for less nutrition.

My goal was to develop my own recipe for local, organic, whole uncracked grains which could be easily and quickly adapted from 14% protein for male goats to 16% for lactating goats to 18% for chickens.  I wanted to be able to soak daily portions overnight to sprout the grains making them more nutritious and easier to digest.  Plus it would be nifty if the recipe could somehow dovetail with the cat's carnivore diet.  All for less money, preferably.

Oh, and the sun, moon, and stars, too. :)


Over time, I researched,  consulted with the nutritionist, and  developed my own recipe which I now mix once a month using a bathroom scale I keep in the garage.  I store it, divide it into daily portions, and soak overnight.  I continue to tweak as I discover better ingredients and better local suppliers.  

Here's the basic recipe:

Amy's 14% protein mix (for male goats and non-lactating females):

• 5 parts barley
• 4 parts wheat
• 1 part oats
• 1-2 parts flaxseed

For 16% protein (for lactating goats):

• add alfalfa pellets 

For 18% protein (for chickens):

• add meat and dairy

So, for example, using my bathroom scale, I would weigh out 5 pounds barley, 4 pounds wheat, 1 pound oats, and about 2 pounds of flaxseed.  Or if I triple 15#, 12#, 3#, and 6# respectively.

My favorite chicken meat supply is free deer carcasses which the chickens spend weeks pecking down to the fibers in the bones.  This keeps them active on chilly days as well as providing protein.  Another good source is the cat's raw meat chunks.

On my kitchen counter, I keep food scraps in piles- omnivore, herbivore, and carnivore.  Then about dusk, I distribute them to chickens, goats, and cat respectively.  I throw in vegetable scraps, cheese rinds, fruit cores/pits, meat bits, leftover soup, pork chop bones, raw kifer too long in the fridge, forgotten bits in the bottoms of pans, the last unappetizing bean sprouts, etc.  The one exception is that no livestock eat any meat like other animals we have on the farm, so all chicken and turkey meat/broth/bones get thrown away and egg shells get composted rather than served.  I don't want anybody getting ideas about nibbling on anybody else.  Besides cannibalism is taboo for health reasons as well as moral ones.  Fortunately, we eat a lot of pork so those scraps do get served as do fish or beef or lamb.

This fall we froze winter livestock rations- apple cores, under and over-ripe squash, blemished tomatoes, sweet pepper seeds and stems, pineapple cores- all kinds of leftovers from processing and freezing our own stuff.  We collected leftover, frost-damaged pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch for free on November 1.  Those were a big hit with chickens and especially goats through December.  When we went apple picking for ourselves, we picked up apples off the ground separately and let them freeze in the garage in old clothes baskets.  Also a big hit through January.

I try to feed to 'condition' which means adjusting the amount based on the animals' body shapes, aiming for livestock that are neither too fat nor too thin.  This works well for the lactating does when they're on the milking stand twice every day, assuming we actually know how to evaluate this accurately, which Tim and I are learning to do.  Unfortunately, all the goats ended the summer overweight; they've been slimming down this winter so kidding won't go badly.

In practice, especially with the chickens, I watch their behavior.  If they are fighting over food or frantically searching and searching for more,  I add some.  If they are leaving a bunch to freeze on the ground, I either reduce the total amount or divide it into a morning main feeding and a bedtime snack.  If they hustle to the food, all settle into eating without bickering, and then go off to rest, I've gotten it about right.

In the future I would like to offer:

• the goats free-choice kelp, baking soda, goat minerals, and herbal dewormer
• the chickens free-choice kelp, oyster shell, and herbal dewormer

We throw away ounces of food scraps a week now and we've cut our feed and transportation costs way, way down while increasing quality and nutritional value.

I'll keep you posted on the sun, moon, and stars. ;)

Barns I have pondered

I drive by a number of barns on a regular basis.

Two in particular catch my attention as they are both 

on the same stretch of road about 2 minutes apart.

The barn above houses cows which I've seen 

coming in and out to pasture.

They especially love that gnarly old tree in the foreground.

The barn below I haven't observed being used.

The contrast in appearance intrigues me as does the way my thoughts have changed since I first started regularly observing these barns two years ago.

When I first started driving by, 

I thought something down the lines of:

"Wow, look at that falling down old barn.  What a safety hazard, leaning like that. Sad to see so much hand-built effort decaying and falling into ruin like that.  I wonder if it will fall down soon.  I wonder if the wood will get re-purposed like those cutting boards I've seen.  I wonder if the cows are happy in there with all those holes for snow to blow through.

Wow, look at that snazzy barn, there.  Nice color.  Tidy siding.  Slick roof.  1928, huh.  That's pride in history to paint it up there.  That's a long time to live with purpose."

Now when I drive by, I think something like:

"Wow, I think it's marvelous that they're still getting value from that old place.  Once upon a time, some farmer put a lot of work into that.  Maybe their neighbors did, too, at a barn raising. All their hard work is still paying off.  The current farmer is still benefiting from their effort all these decades later.  Lucky farmer.  And those cows seem happy enough.

Wow, that is a nice looking barn.  Bet all that siding and roofing cost a ton of money and time.  Sure looks great.  Very pleasing."

While I admire the snazzy red one,

I actually spend more time pondering the other.

What does it mean that the farmer is getting value for no effort?

What is the value in letting things run their own course and fall down in their own time rather than deciding to take it down?

What does this say about farming? about life?

Would the cows be any happier with the snazzier one?

Would the farmer?

Would I?

Will they get one eventually? 

So much barn to ponder. 

Emergency Room Art

Back around Thanksgiving, 

Mark had a high fever for several days 

so we eventually wound up in the emergency room 

after the urgent care closed for the day.  

In the waiting room were a grampa and several grandchildren

waiting while another family member got checked out.

A dear girl, 1st grade-ish, and the grampa 

struck up a conversation with us.

We passed a pleasant half an hour chatting, adults and kids.

She drew me some art which I share with you 

in her spirit of friendship and happiness.

I was struck by how friendly these kids were 

in what might have been a tense situation.

Grampa was mellow and doting and very proud.

The kids played with over-tired energy 

and yet remained responsive to his calming instructions.

They played with a face mask or two 

from the flu prevention supplies by the door 

and the receptionists never even glanced up.

They were welcome.

 I have experienced a significant cultural change 

in moving to the country. 

Different generations interact more.

Kids seem more connected, more welcome, more expected in the adult world. 

And conversely, adults are more welcome in the kid world.

And more art gets drawn for me in emergency rooms.

I think this is worth celebrating and 

I intend to blog more about my experiences.

I'm happy to report Mark made a full recovery,

 despite being accidentally and repeatedly poisoned by his mom 

who gave him corn syrup in the over-the-counter fever med.

The poor guy's allergic to corn syrup.

I'll read the labels from now on, promise.

 

 

Lakes River Buying Club

Yesterday, I participated in a little miracle of cooperation-

Lakes River Buying Club.

LRBC meets two Thursdays a month at the Lindstrom Community Center to distribute food orders.

Members pay a small annual fee (like $25) and a small percentage per order (like a percent or two) to gain access to a number of natural food vendors at wholesale prices.

Vendors include UNFI, Albert's Organics, Co-op Partners Warehouse, Beeler's, Country Life, Frontier, Crystal Ball Organic Dairy, Poplar Hills Goat Farm, local CSA Community Homestead, locally roasted coffee beans from Northwoods Roasterie, and local micro-greens from Morning Sun Farm. 

Plus every member household volunteers a minimum of four hours per month.

The volunteers unload pallets, weigh and distribute produce, split cases of grocery and frozen items, weigh and bag bulk items, bring their own harvests to sell, double check order sheets to actual food on the table in teams of two, sell extras, run an on-site accounting/tracking system, and man a cash register.

The group of about 50 families set up, run, and tear down the equivalent of a natural food co-op twice a month.

All for 40-80% less than retail.

And the amazing thing is that they are not amazed.

But I am.

And grateful.

Thanks so much, good people of LRBC for making our lives richer.