Looking for hay can be confusing. You know you need third cutting, but what does that mean and how do you tell if what you found is good hay? Well made 3rd cutting hay is high in quality and palatability. 3rd cutting refers to the hay harvested off of a field that has been cut…
On any livestock farm, there will occasionally be an animal that dies. What do farmers do with the carcass, especially for something big, like a cow? A dead farm animal carcass can be rendered, buried, burned, composted or left to feed wildlife. It’s hard to hear, but sometimes, even dispite your best efforts an animal…
For the new livestock owner, shopping for hay can be confusing, there are a lot of options. One of the types of hay that comes up pretty frequently is second cutting. What is second cutting hay? Second cutting hay is the hay made from the second harvest of a hay field. Second cutting hay is…
Thinking about getting a dairy goat for the family milk supply? You already know that a big part of her care is milking! What about the specifics here? How often does a dairy goat need to be milked? A dairy goat needs to be milked twice a day, every day of her lactation. Your milking…
When you have livestock, one of your biggest expenses is going to be feeding them. For most animals that means buying hay and a lot of it! How do you know what hay you should buy and what are the signs of high quality hay? High quality hay is green in color, smells great and…
Figuring out what hay to feed your animals can be challenging, especially for the beginner. What is first cutting hay and how can you tell if it’s good? First cutting hay is the initial crop of hay off of a hay field for the year. Chances are if you are buying hay and the cutting…
Hay and your lawn are both grass, right? Is hay really just baled up lawn grass or is something else going on here? Hay is not lawn grass. Hay is made from plants selected for yield, palatability and nutritional value, while lawn grasses are selected for looks and dense growth. While your lawn and hay…
mules in the working chute The Sheep Game (YouTube)
When you are considering raising your own pork, one of the basic questions you’ll need to figure out is how long will those pigs take to grow. Healthy, fast growing feeder pigs will grow from 50 pounds to 250 pounds in 4 months. Starting with a smaller piglet or raising them to a higher finishing…
Thinking about raising a few feeder pigs but wondering how to keep them in the fence? No worries, you’ve got a few fencing options and it’s easier than you’d think! Feeder pigs need a solid hog panel and T post fence when they are small, transitioning to electric (if wanted) when the pigs are bigger….