Ok...so WHY Fodder???

Well...I choose fodder for a few reasons.  First and foremost it is more natural to what my livestock would eat if they had their own choice in things.  Sometimes, they do get a choice - we are on 10 acres after all - but at night they are stuck in their pens close to the house for safety and some days they are stuck there as well.  When it rains the back of the property turns to a bog I prefer them not to play in...plus they won't leave their shelter anyways in the rain, so they stay there. Also, the front is not yet fenced for the horses and NONE of it is properly fenced for goats (besides their pen areas)...so I try to get out there an hour or 2 a day and let them "free range" if you will - that's another blog post though...let's just say that no matter what after a few years of crummy drought conditions anyways I am always prepared to feed my animals plus dairy goats need to eat more than just browse if you want the best, highest yields on your milk...

Anyways, horses, goats, cattle - none of these things go out on the hunt for corn or soybeans in their pastures.  Sure, if they find it they will eat it - heck, they'll eat your garden if they get the chance!  But naturally the bulk of their diet is fresh GREEN stuff!  Grasses, weeds, shrubs...Pelleted feeds make a decent supplement to this (particularly if you are in a drought and there is nothing green left!), but it's not natural at all.  Especially for the goats...goats can get acidosis, or bloat, from things like a corn heavy diet. This article explains it a little better...  Let's be really honest here - go check a bag of pelleted goat or horse feed - a good portion of it is corn or soy.  It's certainly not fresh green stuff at all! So, if by chance an accident occurs and you over feed (like the day I fed and then my husband fed thinking I hadn't yet...that was a doozy) or if you just are over feeding and not realizing it...you are setting yourself up for failure in a way...We actually took the corn out of the goats diets a few years back now and have not had a case of "bloat" or acidosis since then, but it was not uncommon to run up against it from time to time before when we fed traditional goat feeds...

Then, there are our horses...over feeding pelleted feeds can lead to colic.  Too much bagged type feed and not enough roughage and you set yourself up for it - ask our friend who lost her beloved mare after making that mistake...plus it's much harder on their teeth and such to eat those pellets than it is to grind up some grass.  Sure, horses teeth are meant to grind and pulverize - GRASS - which is actually fairly soft, stringy but soft, compared to pelleted stuff - not hard like the pellets in bags are.  Since switching to fodder our middle aged gelding (17 years old - not ancient, but getting up there) has had a much easier time staying the right weight. (And yes, he has been properly wormed, had his teeth floated, etc...but you can tell his body processes fodder better).

That's the other thing - fodder is much more bio-available to the animals to digest...we'll save that talk for tomorrow though...

Then there are all the horror stories and recalls and what not in regards to processed feeds...This article hits very close to home and then there was my own mysteriously dropping poultry...these are just 2 examples of why you have to be careful what you feed your animals.

You also have the whole "non-GMO/organic" vs not side of the debate...it's still pretty easy to find and source organic type barley and wheat to sprout compared to finding organic feed (at least where I live).  Also, even though it may be more expensive to go the non-GMO route, it still is a money saver to sprout it into fodder...

Oh yes - one 50lb bag of seed turns into 250lbs of feed!  You still feed by weight, just as you should with pelleted type feeds, and you actually feed pretty closely to the same amounts.  You just get far more bang for your buck with fodder!  So, it's a money saver that's for sure...They also seem to go through less hay when you feed fodder.  YES, EVERYTHING still needs hay!  Those long, dry, fiber filled grassy bits help their digestion just as humans need the right amount of fiber in their diets.  But we are using less of it that's for sure! Here, during the winter, we were going through close to 2 square bales a day pre-fodder - now that I have made the switch, we are down to about one square bale a day and that will certainly be less as it greens up out there with spring coming on...but knowing next winter I will need less hay to get through is NICE!

 PRE-fodder, I was bringing home 8 to 10 50lb bags of feed every 2 weeks - even after I thinned the herd! Now, I bring home maybe 5.  My goats still get their alfalfa pellets for the calcium (we are a dairy herd after all and calcium out in the form of milk = needing calcium in to make more) and I need the pelleted stuff for the pig some days so I can soak it with whey and milk for him...otherwise he tips the bucket and spills it...messy thing!  I've basically cut my feed bill easily in half even including the hay!

So, without going all scientific on you just yet, that was my initial take on why we were going to switch.  It was more natural to what they would eat, FAR less processed and meddled with by humans, a way to cut back on the feed bill when I ran the numbers in theory (though now I know for sure), and a power packed form of feed that was easy to digest!  The next thing I had to do was look at it more in depth - it seemed like a good idea...but I had to do some more research..

If you go to the following blogs and websites, you will see some of the info I found and can read through it for yourself - these people have put TONS of time and effort into this and have some great material!

Paca Pride Guest Ranch has an awesome blog and videos!
Half Pint Homestead has tons of info and sells kits geared towards smaller producers (like us :) )
The facebook Fodder Group is full of people with tons of knowledge ready to answer any questions you may have!
Here and here are 2 more sites more geared towards the larger producers with their set ups...

Also...remember fodder works for pretty much everything, not just horses and goats....take a look and watch for more to come from me...you'll be amazed when you read through it all...

Spiders - my frenemies...

It seems that on a farm or living "out in the country" one is bound to have more issues with pests and bugs than the average "city slicker".  Or maybe it's just me, who knows for sure.  But I will say this much, since moving to the country we absolutely have more spiders than ever before! I know part of this is the fly factor - farm animals make poo, poo is breeding grounds for flies, and flies are a fine feast for any spider! Even with all the good they do by eating flies, I think I am over trying to protect the spiders....

I have spent the better part of my afternoon sweeping up their icky sticky webs and evicting a few and even squashing particularly unlucky fellow who happened to be as big around as a nickle or bigger and crawling my way! I HATE spiders!  I LOATHE them!  I don't run away in fear, I grab a shoe or a broom or some spray and dispense with them! Thank goodness they don't leave me terrified and shaking while I search for someone else to handle it...because if that were the case I think I'd need to move!

For real, I am pretty sure our home was the place where they filmed that move "Arachnophobia"...not positive..just pretty sure about it.  We have a spider for every corner, nook, and cranny of this house and outside too!

The picture is in the living room...that IS as big as it looks, I PROMISE it is!  That one's lucky...being 12 feet up he MAY survive the massacre! 

Now, I know everyone says they naturally control the population of many other things - flies, mosquitoes, what have you...I dunno...I may have to go on a killing spree pretty soon population control be damned!  I just can't handle all the ucky webs when I'm trying to clean...or stuff as big as my thumb jumping out at me.  I hate to be the one to break the news, but the spiders don't pay the rent and therefor are NOT allowed to act like they own the place.  I feel as though a mass murder may be coming on....even for all the good they do, I just cannot share my humble abode with them any longer.

So I say to the organic type, those who don't mind a few spiders this:  "Come on down with a jar, poke some holes in the lid, and take home as many spiders as you please!" But do it before I find the bug spray...because at least a few of them have got to go!