grooming day!!

Today is going to be stressful. Its grooming day for the critters.  Orchid, my bottle baby angora goat, is due to kid any day now and needs a hair cut. Shes pretty easy. I can do her with scissors.

Her mama, Lily, has always been a stress case. Her fleece grows twice as long/thick as her daughters. It takes me usually two different days because she starts stressing half way through and i have to stop.

Ive got to do everyones feet, give a vitamin bolus. Brush the winter coats from the horse and my new aquisition Miss Diana.

Who is this Miss Diana?? well, you have to wait for that post!!

Sprouted Fodder systems

Most everyone has heard of eating sprouts. I never really considered this a viable option for livestock but apparently it is. Ive been  experimenting with sprouting for the critters for about a month, give or take.

Grassfed animals/livestock are healthier happier critters. My problem? i live in the desert-ergo, no grassy pastures.

I started out my experiment by purchasing a 20lb bag of wild bird seed. it contained black oil sunflower seeds, millet, sorghum, and wheat. I soaked two pounds of seed in a gallon of water with a tablespoon of bleach mixed in.

After 24 hours I drained and rinsed these seeds and poured them into two garden trays, watering 3 times a day for about a week.

By the end of the week i had a tray full of wheatgrass and sunflower sprouts. The millet and sorghum hadnt sprouted yet. It has been sprouting npw the the temps have gone up.

I also tried feed barley from the local feed store and bought clover to mix in with both.

So far the chickens,ducks amd pigs *LOVE* it. I do have one goat who also loves it but the other two only eat the root mat off of the bottom.

I had pics of the root mass but ive deleted it like a dodo. I wont have any harvestable trays for about 4 more days.

I will add more details in a second post, as this is a lengthy topic to cover in one sitting. Enjoy some bad photography of my ghetto system!

The Negectful blogger

Sorry!!! Winter is a slow time . Animals are pregnant but not birthing. Plants are all dead. And its too damn cold to do anything outside.

But i have been a busy little bee the past 8 weeks or so so I guess its time to play Catch Up!

At present we have three gardens going. One in the backyard,one on the front porch and one over by the critters.

For the most part they are empty right now but not for long. The seeds i started will be ready to transition outside in a couple more weeks.

Im going to be blogging about tje fodder system ive finally gotten around to setting up, the hay shed i built amd a few new additions to.the homestead so stay tuned!!

in the meantime here are some baby plants that are coming along :

pumpkins,broccoli,Armenian cucumbers, several varieties of squash, swiss chard, beats, and some lettuces.

cooking poop.

today i covered my manure pile with clear plastic after watering it. i was pleased to feel the warmth on the south and west sides of the pile despite the day being balmy overcast and a bit chilly.

ive added some organic compost to give it a jump start!

sprout farm

im constantly revisiting the idea of.lowering our commercial feed dependancy for the critters. i dont know how i missed sprouting. ive read about chicken gardens and goat gardens.....but not until today did u run across sprouting!

i found several rather attractive shelving ideas for inside the house. and some more utilitarian ideas that can go in the rv. (we have a 36 ft long 5fh wheel with LOTS of windows).  here are some random picks i found online for inspiration. i will be off to the dollar store tomorrow to buy my trays.

new garden plot

Today i staked out the new garden plot. its small, only 180sf. Its intended purpose is to grow pumpkins , potatoes and a hanging garden so it will be big enough for now.
This garden is located on the south side of our home so it gets plenty of sun. Theres a huge palo verde tree in front of it so that will work as a wind break from that direction.

the end of the garden has a pergola type thing that the dog kennel is under. the sides  are just perfect for hanging upside down growing peppers and tomatoes. The tops of the upside down garsen pails will have carrots beats and radishes.

the pumpkins will be planted in the mulch basin that our greywater is filtered through.

if this garden is a success all we have to do is buy three more steel posts amd push the boarder of the garden out farther.

Here in the high desert gardens have to be shielded from extreme heat and high winds so a huge sprawling garden isnt very practical.

i know it aint pretty righ now but it will be!

hatching chicks

after checking on my broody campbell i noticed a freshly hatched deceased chick. i assume it got too cold at night or perhaps the duck rejected the baby chicken. i decided to bring the remaining eggs inside to the bator.

oddly enough NONE of the duck eggs were viable. my rare moment broody campbell was sitting on chickens!

One chick is almost out and number two is on its way. im not sure of number three. i didnt candle it because i couldnt find my flashlight and now i dont want to open the bator and screw with the humidity and temps. hopefully everyone will be out and fine within the next 48hours.

i guess i will be setting up my brooder today.