It's spring, which means babies on the farm, and often, buying babies from other farms! A couple of months ago a fairly new farmer was telling me about a boar he bought that brought a whole lot of health issues to his whole herd, and he said the vet told him, "All of your health problems are bought and sold," meaning that you buy new animals and bring health problems onto your … [Read more...]
Do dairy animals have to be slaughtered?
Star with her boys in 2006. They were sold to a pet home, and I'm still in touch with the owners! Recently I received an email from a vegetarian who would like to produce his own dairy products but is concerned about the fact that producing milk often leads to the death of dairy animals. As a former vegetarian myself -- and as someone who did not originally plan to eat any of … [Read more...]
Choosing livestock for your homestead
It is that time of year when many of us are curled up with a cup of something warm and a hatchery catalog or we're on the Internet looking at classified ads for other livestock. Whether you will be bringing home your first livestock this spring or just adding to your herds and flocks, there are some important things to keep in mind. Last night I arrived home from the Illinois … [Read more...]
Goats in winter
Giselle, five months pregnant, was warm and cozy in the barn during the blizzard last February. A common question this time of year is, "Can my goats handle the cold weather, or do they need a heat lamp or _________?" The funny thing is that these questions come from Florida and Canada and Alaska and everywhere in between. In the vast majority of cases, if a human … [Read more...]
Homegrown in the city
The only thing I regret about moving to the country is how many people look at me and say, "I wish I could do what you're doing, but I live in town." Oh, but you can do what we're doing, even if you live in town! I interviewed a few people for H&H who are doing it, and today I'm posting an interview with another person who lives in town and is doing it! Rachel Hoff, along … [Read more...]
Copper requirements in goats
I'm in Grand Rapids, MI, at the annual conference of the American Dairy Goat Association this week and am writing up blog posts on some of the more interesting things that I learn. If you've read Homegrown and Handmade, then you know that I fight an ongoing battle with copper deficiency in my herd because our well water is high in sulfur, which binds with the copper. I … [Read more...]
6 Signs Your Goat is in Heat
If you want to milk your goat, she has to have kids, and before she has kids, she has to get bred. People with goats usually don't let their buck run with the does, even if they have only one buck, because he would make the girls stinky, which would make stinky milk that has a terrible taste. That means you have to know when the does are in heat, so you can set them up on a … [Read more...]
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