Later this month, there will be a new product on the market in the US and New Zealand that farmers and ranchers can feed to their livestock to reduce their burden of roundworms. In goats and sheep, that includes the infamous barber pole worm, as well as bankrupt worm and brown stomach worm. The good news is that BioWorma is not just another chemical dewormer, which worms can … [Read more...]
Tips for Protecting Your Livestock from Predators
One of the biggest challenges for anyone raising livestock is preventing predator attacks. This is true whether you have 300 head of sheep in Wyoming or 3 hens in Chicago. Predators are not simply big scary animals like lions and tigers and bears. They can also be your neighbor's dog or cat. All carnivores have an instinct to kill animals. I'll never forget how surprised I … [Read more...]
Collecting Rainwater on the Homestead
Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I remember visiting my grandparent's farm and my uncle's ranch as a child. I only have a few memories of what I saw there, but one regarded water. They had downspouts that flowed into water troughs. So, when we moved to our homestead in 2002, we immediately put water troughs under two of the downspouts on the barn. I had no idea at the … [Read more...]
Making the hard decisions
Someone once told me that she attended a conference where one of the presenters asked the audience, "How many of you can't stand the thought of a dead animal?" A number of people raised their hands. Then the presenter said, "Then don't get any live ones because they all die." Wow! That's harsh! I could never do that to an audience. But that man was absolutely right. They all … [Read more...]
M-worm: A nightmare for goat, sheep, and camelid owners
Over the past dozen growing seasons on our farm in Illinois, I've come to truly appreciate the first few freezes in the fall because I know it means that problems with internal parasites in our animals will soon be winding down. A good freeze can dramatically reduce the number of viable larvae on the pasture, so problems like barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) become a … [Read more...]
