Is it hay or straw? Sometimes, at first glance, it can be hard to see the differences between the two! Both hay and straw are likely to be needed for your animals, so how can you be sure of which one you are buying? Hay is a nutritious forage that is harvested for livestock to…
Making haylage is a great way to preserve high quality forage for your livestock. But, do it wrong and you’ll get a mess. What are the things you need to watch out for so your haylage will be top quality? Common mistakes with haylage are using thin or not enough plastic, baling at the wrong…
What the heck is haylage and why should you know about it? Well, the first answer is easy, haylage is fermented hay. What can it do for your livestock? Let’s look into it. Haylage is a fermented forage that is fed to animals like hay. Haylage is made by baling the forage when wet (45-55%…
Thinking of getting into livestock? Maybe you are looking to purchase a small starter herd and are searching for some guidance? This is great news! Let’s get started on the basics! When purchasing livestock, look for animals with clear eyes and nose, shiny hair or feathers, appropriate body condition, good manure consistency and that the…
I know you are excited to get started with your first animals and want to choose a successful first project or two! Let’s take a look at some beginner level animals and how consider how much time and money is involved for each. Chickens (both layers and/or broilers), ducks, feeder pigs, sheep or bottle calves…
If you have livestock, you’ll need to have some hay. You could buy it or, if you’ve got extra forage, make it yourself. How is hay made and what are the key points to making hay that your animals will love? Hay is made by cutting high quality grass or other forages, letting it dry in the sun, then baling…
Wondering what the cheapest meat animal is to raise? I’ve got you covered. We will go over costs per animal and per pound of meat. Let’s get started! The cheapest meat animal to raise is the broiler at $0.97 per pound. Grass feed beef is second at $1.64 per pound. Additionally, eggs can be raised for $0.33 per pound. Farm Animals That Can Be Raised Together will show you combinations that work and ones that don’t! Meat Animal Cost To Raise $ Per Pound…