Corner feeder

Apologies if you saw this before I finished it! Yikes! Technology... its something.

Anyway, I received a couple of comments and questions about corner feeders. So lets take another look.

This is, hands down, the best 'make at home' feeder I've seen. Honestly I saw one of those metal ones at the feed store today and I'm still shaking my head - why not just do this? We all have the tools you need just sitting in the barn, and who doesn't have hog panels everywhere?

This was in a breeder's barn and we snapped a few pix. His barn is extraordinary. He has set up everything so its easy to work in, requires the least amount of work for him, and is the best for his goats. See that he put garden hose over the bottom rung so no one gets scratched up.

This is our corner feeder - see that we just tacked up part of a hog panel with those big staples you hammer in. Originally we had a wooden top. However, we had that ridiculous situation with Debbie so we will be making changes.

More on goats coming soon!

Goat-a-palooza...More on goats for the homestead & is it worth it?

So it has been a ridiculous last couple of days. The dreaded Snow Of Doom has returned and we've had more antics in the barnyard. We had to band our turkeys so we could identify who was from which hatch, and then we clipped their wings to keep them from flying up into the trees. Then, of all things, one of our chickens pretty near laid an egg on me. And that's just the half of it.

So before this week gets too far along, lets get to more on those goats. Thanks for all the questions and comments. How about if I answer some of the Q's and then give some bits and bobs of information..... and a look at the math behind dairy goats for the farm?

As always, to start off, I only know what I know and so please run right over to the fiascofarm.com site and read all of her information. She has a great approach and we (mostly) follow her lead. I say mostly because we'll have meat goats a some point which will be used for.. well.. meat.

A couple things about dairy goats and their milk:

The number one question I get over and over again is.... goat milk? Are you KIDDING? And then they recoil..... to be fair, as in the first goat post there was a lot of "I double dog dare you" before either The Big Man or myself actually took a swig. But I'm telling you, its delicious. Never goaty, not stinky...the only thing we had to get used to was that its whole milk and previously we usually only bought 2%.

How (not) To Milk A Goat

If I've said it once, I'll say it again... I can add nothing to the expert advice from Molly over at fiascofarm.com. So when people ask me for instructions on how to milk goats that's where I send them. But if you want to hear about my experience.. just pull up a chair and picture this...

First, I am not an expert in any sense of the word, but I think I caught on pretty fast with the whole milking thing. If I were to give you advice in bullet points it would like kinda like this:

1.  Get a good bucket – it must be stainless and it must have be seamless. http://www.lehmans.com/ has got a great one – and they have excellent customer service. If you have small goats I've heard people use stainless steel dog food bowls.
2. Take the time to build a milk stand...or buy one. We built the one from plans off the fiascofarm.com site and it took an afternoon and materials on hand. The only thing we bought was the feed holder and a carriage bolt.
3. Be The Boss Goat.

Vita on the stand and ready for action

Three projects that made a difference last year

I still can't shake my 'goals and objectives' thinking from my corporate life. So as I'm doing my planning for this year I was thinking about what we accomplished last year.  And I gave myself a review.

Here are three projects that really made a difference last year:

1. Added dairy goats to the barnyard. The goats totally rocked. Altho I'm not a goat lover.. I am a goat liker.  Not having to buy dairy products all summer was great.  Grade: A+

2. Expanded our use of electric fence. Whoever invented electric fence should get a raise. Seriously. Keeps predators out, keeps pigs and goats in, doesn't require a lot of heavy lifting. Only downside was when The Big Man was out of town one time and I had to fix it myself .....while them pigs were eyeing me suspiciously. And poor Lucky got zapped pretty good and wouldn't go into the goat yard anymore.  Grade: B

3. Built and framed in the fourth side of the previously three-sided shed that now houses our turkeys and guineas. We have 3 internal coops plus 2 small areas inside the doors for storage. Grade: Solid A, if I do say so myself.

Now, on to this year's planning...

Five things I DON'T love about farming

Five things I DON'T love about farming:

1. You are your own boss.  That means its all on you – it can be a lot of responsibility. Sometimes our motto is:  “there is no fun in farming.”  Gotta get up at 5:30am because its going to be scorching hot that day and the hens need to get outside asap? Yep thats all you. Run outside at midnite in your underpants, guns blazing because the dogs are barking at something that is trying to kill the turkeys. Rally, baby -  and get out there. And if your plan doesn't work and its all a big failure.. that's right. Its all you. Its not always fun to be The Boss of You.

2. You CAN go to the feed store in your barn clothes, but if you forget and you DO go to WalMart... well, you're just biding your time until you show up on an email that gets passed around to all the corporate monkeys you used to work with. Smile sunshine, you're on “The People of WalMart.”

3. You get to be outside everyday. That means, rain, shine, snow, sleet, 105* heat index.. there is no such thing as "a day off."  And you'll constantly be dirty no matter what.

4. You have to teach yourself to be really observant. How could yo miss that little hen limping? Dang. Now you need to give her antibiotics and an emergency bumblefoot surgery in the bathroom.  One of your best layers is going to be off her feet - and off the job -  because YOU didn't notice. She'll look at you like you're a bad mommy. You are a bad mommy. Shame on you.

5. You have an excuse to be a weather geek – which is only fun for you. Your friends will cringe when you launch into your “weather Tourette's”... no, they don't care about the current barometric pressure or that there are cumulonimbus clouds with a vertical build on a north by northwest trajectory......

But still – its better than a corporate job.

Five Things I Love About Farming

1.You are your own boss. Except for the weather – technically the weather is The Boss of You
2.You can go to the feed store in your barn clothes and you won't show up on “The People of WalMart” - everyone just thinks you're a hard core, barnyard warrior.  Righteous.
3.You get to be outside everyday.  And gettin' dirty is part of the fun.
4.You learn to be really observant. Is that hen limping? Better check – you might have to rush her inside and do an emergency bumblefoot surgery in the bathroom.
5.You have an excuse to be a weather geek. All weather all the time. Watching it, talking about it, planning your day around it... and you can say cool things like, “Sorry, cant talk now – we are racing the weather.”