Congratulations! Getting a starter herd of cattle is an exciting opportunity for you and your family! It’s obvious why we love having cattle, now: how much is it going to cost you to keep them? The cost to feed 1,000 pound (non lactating) brood cows is $500 or $2.81 per day with $250/ton hay during…
Raising your own beef is a huge step up in nutrition for you and your family! Will raising a dairy steer work well for you and your family? What are the good points and the not so good points of using dairy based genetics for your freezer beef? Choosing to raise a dairy steer for…
When you are finally ready to get a few goats of your own, it’s tempting to grab the first group you find for sale and take them home with you! I completely understand! Hold on a sec, is that the best way to start your goat enterprise? Buy your goats from an established breeder, who…
Sadly, no matter how much caring and preparation you put into your animals, occasionally one will die. Now what? What is the appropriate way to dispose of the carcass? The proper disposal method of dead livestock is composting. As much as I love raising animals, livestock death is still dreadful and such a hard thing…
Cattle are great to raise, and nothing says “I’m into livestock” as much as having a herd of your own! When considering getting some cattle, you’ll run across a whole new world of terms. Understanding the basics is the place to start! Cattle reproduction is a cycle that has stages of the reproduction and growth…
Wanting to get started with cattle and have a few acres of land? Maybe you look at your backyard and wonder “could we raise a calf or two here?” It’s more doable than you might think! To raise cattle you will need some land, in our area the standard acreage is 1.5 acres per head….
One thing is for sure, your cow will be producing manure! Manure is chock full of nutrients and biology, it’s black gold, really. Your cow’s manure is good stuff! How much manure will you get per day and what are your options for using it? Your family cow will produce between 82-115 pounds of manure…
You are living it up with drinking real milk, from your cow! By now you’ll have milking and daily routine completely figured out and adapted to your family’s needs. Now you’ve got another task on your mind, or at least you should: getting her bred back. How do you do it and when is the…
Wondering when will your family cow produce the most milk? Will her production stay the same all of the time or does the amount go up and down? Understanding your cow’s natural milk production cycle will help you keep her healthy and keep you drinking plenty of real milk! The natural milk production cycle of…
What should you feed your family cow and how much does she need? Do her needs change though out the year? Sounds like you need a plan for feeding your cow! Your cow needs all of the roughage (grass, hay, etc.) that she wants to eat per day and may need some supplemental grain, depending…