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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] "Healthy soil and sustainable growing"

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "Aliza" <realfood@wonderfulfarm.com>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] "Healthy soil and sustainable growing"
  • Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:01:49 -0800

If it were me I would work on upping the quality of your forages Dianne.  Sending in a sample to www.aglabs.com and doing what they recommend will go a long ways to having quality forages that your animals can consume and will consume with gusto.  You would need less then 1 good acre of forage to feed your shetlands and your dairy goats.  They should be able to help you figure out what forages are good to grow in your area to meet your needs.  I assume legumes like trefoil would grow there - they are a total weed here thank goodness what a blessing - and certain clovers will be palatable to both the sheep and the goats.  Goats dont tend to enjoy eating dutch white while it is growing but do like it dry in hay but the sheep will eat it fine as it grows so make sure you have feeds that are palitable to both species in your mix.  They will also eat the pasture at different levels.  They do share all the same parasites.  Reading Arden Andersen will help.  I am with Ken on the rotational grazing and fresh cut forages for your stock.  If you feel they need more concentrated feeds the root crops like mangles and turnips work well to extend the growing season - no turnips for the milking stock when they are in milk though - makes the milk taste yucky but the mangles are okay.
 
The shetlands should be fine on forage only assuming you have high enough quality forages, are using a good rotational grazing system and are providing the correct loose minerals for their needs. None of my sheep ever get grains though I do feed legume hay during the winter if they are home at my place.  At my sisters they seem to do fine as long as I have them lamb in mid March or later when the forage quality is higher.   I have had shetlands, lincolns, cormo, australian bond (corridale type) and finns.  Only the finns required supplementation.  I no longer have finns or shetlands because I am more interested in the fine wool and larger carcasses.  
 
 The dairy goats - depending on their genetics can also do fine on forages only with adequate mineral supplementation.  They do best if they have some browse but as long as they have high quality forages that are palatable for them they seem to do fine.  The goats will need supplemental copper if it is low in your area and sheep should not have it unless it is severely deficient in your forages.  Some lines of dairy goats require concentrate supplementation because they have been selected to milk very heavily.  Some lines of Saanans are notorious for milking every bit of flesh off their body no matter how much feed they receive.  My nubians get a handful of whole barley on the milkstand with some wheatbran to keep them busy.  They are always well fleshed even when milking 9 or 10 pounds a day though an average of 6 pounds a day on good forage is more common.  I do supply free choice kelp meal as well as redmonds salt in addition to minerals like copper, selenium and zinc - these are the biggies in terms of deficiency in my area - YMMV.  I am going to experiment with some of my stock next fall giving them just mangles in the stand and see if they find it enough of a treat to be cooperative.  With just two does you should be able to give them tasty garden treats maybe to entice them to stand for you for milking.  Of course if they are non lactating does or wethers they need no supplementation (other then the minerals/salt/kelp) for them to stay healthy assuming adequate forage.  Look at the ATTRA site that Ken recommended for information on rotational grazing techniques. 
 
HTH
 
Aliza
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 7:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] "Healthy soil and sustainable growing"

Aliza (or anyone else),
 
Do you have a good reference for feeding small ruminants from homegrown forage? (Plus, I need varieties that would work in the southeast - legume hay is out.)  I would like to grow more of the feed for my two dairy goats and two shetland sheep.
 
Thanks,
Dianne in SC


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