I’ve gotten a few questions regarding my use of free form copper with my sheep. Before I get into all of that, I do want to be clear that copper is only one element of our program to keep our sheep healthy without the use of chemical dewormers. Pasture rotation, high tannin forage on pasture and...
There are so many reasons why sheep benefit from willow but I’ll start with why us shepherds benefit from willow. Where I live in Texas, we’ve had two back to back very hot summers with no rain. As a result, my pasture went mostly dormant as you can see in the bottom right image above. Willow...
Fredo and his pal Oliver are some of the most gentle rams I’ve ever seen. They love to be with one another and are very friendly to just about everyone. While the adage ‘Don’t ever turn your back to a ram’ is followed here, these two have never been aggressive in any way. Both are pure...
So you’ve decided to purchase a few ewes, maybe a ram and start a homestead dairy. I often find folks can be unaware of what questions to ask. Before I provide my own list of questions, I recommend you get to know your supplier, be it dairy or homestead and may end up getting some of...
I know this sounds pretty strange, but if you keep livestock, there is a cycle of poop eating that can enhance health and replace some feed. I know, I know… you’re thinking… Are you nuts? The thing is that animals do a great job digesting food and making manure. As an example, chickens essentially poop their...
A year ago we started growing comfrey. I had a few plants come up, the plant photo below came from our garden in late April. By July the plants were huge.
Critters / Farm Life / GSM Prepping / Sheep
Next week my sheep will come to live our their lives on our homestead. We’re getting two pregnant ewes who should deliver end of March. These are East Friesian crosses bred for milking. Sheep’s milk is more nutritious than bovine (cow) or goat milk. It has more protein and, over all, more vitamins and minerals. It...
I love chickens. Each has her own personality and place in the flock. In the summer, we usually provide the gals a couple of crates up near the house where they like to hang out on hot days so they can lay there rather than make the trek out to the coop. And, chickens being chickens,...
I have been dreaming of dairy sheep for close to a year. I had wanted to get mini cows but the ever wise husband talked me into something a bit smaller yet. In researching dairy sheep I found that in blind tastings, people selected it over cow or goat milk. We have coyotes and other predators...
In the years before I got chickens I researched them for size, temperament, feather color and pattern and egg laying ability. But when I got the the point where I actually got chickens, I got a little caught up with egg shell colors. It was a a wonderful discovery to learn that egg shells did not...
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