Posted by ChrisinMO on March 07, 2010 at 20:08:48 from (99.195.207.119):
One of the threads about hay down below got me to thinking about this subject. We've got sheep, dairy goats, cattle and oh yes my daughter's horse.
The sheep are strictly outside during the winter. Give them four months to put on a coat of wool and they laugh at cold weather. Ice storms are another matter, but fortunately we had none of that this winter. I like to feed them in various parts of the market gardens, especially those areas where we are going to be growing brassicas or vining crops, especially cucumbers. Also in areas for corn.
The goats winter part in and part out. They are hardier and have healthier kids when they spend most of their time outdoors (this is my experience). However, they don't really appreciate long periods of wet weather and chore time gets nasty with snowy weather, so at those times they move under a roof attached to our hayshed.
The cattle are fed under a lean-to attached to our hayshed. Feeding small squares is a snap. Round bales a little tougher. We use wood chips from the nearby town (free for the hauling) for bedding. This keeps them dry and short circuits all the problems with mud. This year we're trying an experiment with them. We're putting down whole, shelled corn just before adding bedding. In the spring, we'll put in some of our feeder size pigs to grow and finish by rooting up the bedding. One of my least favorite jobs of the entire year is cleaning out the bedding pack behind the cattle. Hard on the tractor and hard on me and it takes a long time. Perhaps the hogs will make it easier? Anyway, it is just a test.
The horse splits her time, inside on bad days, outside the rest of the time. She has a nice big field to run and seems to like that a lot.
Anyway, we get good use out of the manure these animals make (except the horse, which I haven't figured out yet). Taking care of most of them is easy and they seem to do well by it.
So, how do you feed your animals? And why have you chosen to do it that way?
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