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Our homestead farm

Tax time and pastures

by March 12, 2015October 10, 2018

written by

You might be wondering at the title. What does tax season have to do with pastures?
Well, for me, tax season also means looking back at all the expenses and income for the past year and looking for ways to improve the bottom line while keeping my animals healthy.

Hay is one of the biggest expenses at Oak Hill, and was even bigger this past year. Therefore making the best use of our pastures for feed and exercise will improve our bottom line this coming year.

I’ve worked out some new strategies for the horses and goats. The horses are going to spending a lot more time in the runways, saving on barn labor and making sure they get plenty of healthy movement. The goats will be doing some high-density rotational grazing to improve the soil health and cut back on their hay consumption.

For the horses, I have decided to eliminate the track around pastures 1 and 2 and focus on track 2 around pastures 3 and 4. That track has the most hills and the best access to varied browse. To encourage more movement I’ll be placing the water and the round bale at opposite ends of the track. The hay is fed from a slow-feed net. The horses will get daily turnout on grass for a couple hours in rotation with the goats, for parasite control and for the nutrients only fresh grass can provide. The mares and geldings will alternate 12 hours in their corrals & sheds with 12 hours on the track. (Note: I am not placing hay in multiple small slow-feeders around the track. While I agree with the overall concept of multiple feeding stations, the increased labor of filling and placing nets is not practical for Oak Hill.)

For the goats, grazing will happen in 4 phases. The first phase, starting right now, is feeding their hay in pasture 2 and allowing all the excess to be trampled into the soil. Pasture 2 was reduced to a sea of mud this fall after bring heavy equipment through and relocating the manure composting. Trampling in the hay will reseed the ground and add organic matter. While the goats are happily eating hay and rebuilding the soil, the plants in pastures 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can regrow.
By the time kidding season starts in May, the second phase starts. Pasture 1 should be grown enough to be grazed lightly. I’ll shift the goats off of 2 and allow 2 to sprout and grow, possibly for the entire year. Meanwhile, the doe herd will be out in 1 giving them plenty of room to kid on grass and eat fresh spring plants.
Once kidding wraps up in late June, I can move all the goats into the next phase, intensive grazing, on pastures 3-6.

I did some quick calculations on intensive grazing. Starting stocking rate is 25,000 pounds of livestock per acre. (This number ultimately shifts up to 40,000+ pounds per acre). For my herd of mini and standard myotonic does and kids, I have roughly 1600 pounds of goat. Here is the math:

1 acre = 43,560 square feet
ideal starting stocking rate is 25,000 pounds per acre
1600 pounds of goat

1600 / 25000 = .064
.064 x 43560 = 2788 square feet
2788 square feet is roughly a 50 foot x 50 foot pen

For the bucks, I have roughly 500 pounds.
500 / 25000 = .02
.02 x 43650 = 873 square feet
873 square feet is roughly a 29 foot x 29 foot pen (I’m rounding the pen size up a bit to prevent fighting)

[interesting side note: goats in a square pen graze more and trample less than goats in a rectangle.]

I plan to move the pens every 1 to 3 days, 3 being the maximum. The goats will return to the more secure permanent night pens every night. With the goats coming in every night, I may be able to reduce the pens down to 40′ x 40′. Time and experience will tell.

I will set up the grazing pens within each pasture and allow the horses to graze either around the pens, or in a different pasture, depending on how the growth looks.

Ideally each section of pasture will get grazed twice during the growing season and once over the winter.

My hope is that with this plan I can reduce hay consumption by at least half, feeding hay at night in the secure pens from June through the end of the growing season at least.

Here are some useful links for learning more about intensive stocking:
Watch this first for spring grazing information https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5031FrJ8f0
http://www.pharocattle.com/philosophies.htm
https://www.facebook.com/OnPasture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz8AdQmYlv8

And this website has many links to horse track information: www.paddockparadise.com

March 12, 2015October 10, 2018 0 comment

dogs, cats & small animals Our homestead farm

More adventures with Runa

by January 8, 2013October 10, 2018

written by

So Runa went with me to the feed store today. (Thank you Lehman’s Feed in York Springs, PA for being so welcoming). She had lots of puppy kisses and wiggles for the staff, and was very happy with the pig ear she picked out. I introduced her to some new vocabulary for our trip: “car ride” and “up”

I’ve been talking a fair amount with some other LGD breeders about adaptability training, and learned a few more things about our routine.

I will be setting up a dog kennel & house in the doe pen ASAP. When the kids start arriving in 6 weeks (or less – how did that time fly by so fast???) Runa will need to be supervised with the kids, and penned apart from them when unsupervised. LGD puppies are sometimes too rough with young kids, and with these being myotonic kids they are even more vulnerable. I figure someday the dog pen will turn into Runa’s whelping pen, so it’s a good idea all around.

I need to get more consistent about asking her to wait when I open doors or gaits, and make her wait for me to go through first. It’s so much easier to just let her run through, I confess I have taken the lazy route. This is actually sending her the wrong message. First, that it’s ok to be leading me, rather than the other way around. And second, that an open door or gate always means she can leave. This could be very dangerous for her. So I have promised myself to be more disciplined, no matter how tired or busy I am.

I also should probably start asking her to “heel” occasionally, or at least “stay close”, rather than always being at the very end of the lead tugging to go forward. While it’s cute in a 22 pound puppy, at 120 pounds I’m sure it won’t be cute anymore.

I can certainly add “sit” to the vocabulary, as she does it so well already on her own. That’s what happens when you’re a short little pup in a human world. Too much looking up – just gotta rest the neck and sit down.

So many things for us both to learn and relearn.

For general training, I’m reading and rereading Tamar Geller’s material, especially The Loved Dog. I love her methods – so similar to conscious horse training. For LGD training, I’m going by the experiences of a couple breeders who do adaptability training, and a lot of trusting my gut and listening to Runa. So far it seems to be working. It’s a bit of a leap of faith.

I’m still giving Runa her meals in the goat pen, and only giving her meaty bones for treats in the pen as well, so the pen is associated with happy events.

Well, until next post – may your day be full of puppy or goat kisses!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your veterinarian about any changes to your goat’s health program.

January 8, 2013October 10, 2018 0 comment

dogs, cats & small animals Our homestead farm Uncategorized

Alruna is bonding with her does!

by January 6, 2013October 10, 2018

written by

So far the adaptability training seems to be working.
This morning, Runa wiggled and whined and greeted her does like friends when I took her out at sunrise.

And later I spotted her watching over her does from a good vantage point.

I think she’s getting the hang of it!

We are still working on house breaking when she comes in at dark. She’s doing pretty well with the other commands, and sleeps through the night now in her crate.

Progress!

January 6, 2013October 10, 2018 0 comment

dogs, cats & small animals Our homestead farm

Alruna update

by January 4, 2013October 10, 2018

written by

Alruna is now out in the goat pen from sunrise to sunset, at her request. As the days get longer, her time with the goats should naturally increase. Yea!

The does have been accustomed enough to her to butt her if she gets too frisky, and otherwise ignore her.

Alruna has made herself a hay nest under the play equipment, and keeps her bone and food dish there.
I snuck out today, and caught her napping with one of the quietest goats. Of course, she ran out to see me before I could get a picture.

After sunset, she comes in the house with us to socialize with the dogs and play. She sleeps in her crate at night. She is starting to tell me when she needs to go out to go to the bathroom.

The first kids are due in a couple weeks. I will have a dog pen set up in the doe pen before then, so that she is not unsupervised loose in with the young kids.

So far, the experiment in adaptability is working. She is confident and happy, and doing well with all the creatures. We’ll see how she grows!

January 4, 2013October 10, 2018 0 comment

dogs, cats & small animals Our homestead farm

Alruna, our Livestock Guardian Dog

by January 1, 2013October 10, 2018

written by

Pick up day!

This is a new adventure for me, so I’m doing lots of research. I’m a big fan of conscious horsemanship, preferring techniques like Carolyn Resnick and TTEAM/TTouch. For dog training, I love Tamar Geller’s methods. So I’m searching for ways to work with livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) that allow a more conscious, soul-honoring approach. And that allows the LGD to move easily between guarding stock and participating in our home life, traveling in the car and interacting politely with strangers when asked to. I have found a lot of advice saying to have no contact with the pup, just put her in with the goats and leave her alone other than food and water, or I’ll ruin her for her guard duties. I’ve seen other advice to put her in with the goat, but that it’s ok to work with her out there and take her in the house with us, as long as her homebase is the goat pen and she sleeps and spends most time out there. It has also been suggested to mix the 2, leaving her alone with the goats for 2 weeks, then working on socialization.

So, I have a lot to mull over and learn.

From reading about Great Pyr history, they originally worked with the shepards to guard flocks of livestock, as well as the shepard’s family and home. They later did guard duty for the French nobility, working side by side with the soldiers and jailers.

So, as a dog with a long history of working hand-in-hand with people to guard various things, my gut says perhaps Runa does not need to be forced into isolation in the goat pen, but instead can work with me, accompanying me on all the chores and rounds and spending lots of time around the livestock.

My approach so far has been to have a crate in the house for her. She accompanies me on leash for all the barn chores, walks the fence line with me on leash, has supervised playtime in the house with the other dogs and her toys. She is learning all the same commands and rules as the other dogs, including crate training and housebreaking. Go out, in the house, go pee, good girl, phoey, no, leave it, ok, wait, come, and sit are already in her vocabulary, although she is not consistent yet.

I put a meaty beef bone out in the goat pen, so she is excited to go out and visit the pen (and the goats) when we go outside. I leave her in the pen for a while when I am done with chores, so she has been spending 3 or 4 chunks of time in with them, usually for a couple hours at a stretch. And I feed the goats treats when she goes out, so the goats are learning to associate her with good things. It has been 3 days now, and Runa is asking more and more often to go out to the goat pen and stay in there, while I leave to do other things. This morning she wanted out at sunrise and spent several happy hours out there.

She played with the house dogs for the first time today, so they are coming to accept her.

Yum – chair leg…

I am SUPER grateful for bitter apple spray, as she has been testing the furniture. She also thought the Christmas tree was a wonderful dog toy dispenser. We have (mostly) convinced her otherwise.

Hopefully this approach works out well for both of us. We’ll see when her guarding instincts start kicking in at around 6 months old.

These are some links I like:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/08/02/lgd-expectations/

http://www.lgd.org/library.htm

http://www.lgd.org/library/socializepups.htm Stages of development and the focus of training at each

http://www.lgd.org/civilizedpyr2.htm Another on integrating the LGD into your family & home

http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/lgdpamph.htm

http://www.gpcps.com/de_la_Cruz.htm

Pooped after a few hours in the cold snowy goat pen with her bone.

We are also doing an herbal cleanse to get rid of any residue from the deworming, flea meds and puppy food. She is transitioned onto Taste of the Wild dog food now, and will be switching to my favorite premium dog food as soon as the new shipment arrives. She will also be getting a bit of chelated minerals with vitamins daily.

January 1, 2013October 10, 2018 1 comment

Our homestead farm pastures

Updated! Fencing & Fence Chargers

by August 6, 2009October 10, 2018

written by

As I’m shopping for fencing for the runways, and also am replacing the fence charger, this seemed a timely topic.
There are four types of fences at Oak Hill:
The perimeter pasture/runway fence is permanent and must keep the horses on the property when they are in the runways. This fence does not have to contain the goats, as the goats don’t graze the runways.
The fence that separates the runways from the pastures as well as divides the pastures must be horse and goat proof. The goats are not allowed in the runways, as they faint when startled and could get trampled by a horse by accident.
The third type of fence surrounds the goat pens and must be goat and predator proof.
The fourth type of fence encloses the horse corrals.

I chose electric fencing for the perimeter. Board fence was higher maintenance, and also outside my planned spending. I researched various types of electric fence and decided that HorseGuard sounded like my best option. http://www.horseguardfence.com/ HorseGuard makes a 1 1/2″ tape fence with stainless steel wires. The fencing held up well in tests for weathering and high winds, is highly visible to the horses, and will break if a horse gets seriously tangled up, while withstanding lesser impacts without damage. I’ve had this fencing up for at least 6 years now. I’ve had trees fall on the fence, trucks drive over it, had lightening strikes, high winds – the fence still looks as good as the day I installed it and carries a charge well. I had one small section loose all it’s wires and terminals from a direct lightening hit. I’m using a 3 strands, with the top set at 4 feet.

For the inner fence that creates the runways and divides the pastures, I’ve used some less expensive electric tape fence that is 1″ wide at the top and twisted plastic and wire for the lower strands. I’ve noticed that this less expensive fencing stretches much easier than the HorseGuard and is already sagging in spots. I’ve set the inner fence at the same 4 foot height, and the 3 lower strands at 9″, 18″ and 24″ above the ground to contain the goats and livestock dog.

The fence charger or controller is a critical part of any electric fence system. Here are some good websites I found during my research.

http://www.ibiblio.org/farming-connection/grazing/features/fencemis.htm 17 Mistakes To Avoid With Electric Fencing by Wayne Burleson The article focuses on electric high tensile. However, many of the suggestions are useful for tape fencing.

Useful charts from Zareba that give fencing calculators and joules, number of ground rods and effective distance for various chargers.

http://www.zarebasystems.com/PRODUCTS/FENCE_CONTROLLERS.ASPX Zareba manufactures electric fence systems, including chargers.

Besides looking for the appropriate voltage and joules, I suggest looking for a charger with fuses you can change yourself and lightening protection. I’m also looking for at least 5 joules, to prevent voltage drop if the line touches vegetation, and also at least 4000 volts on the fenceline to handle goats, stubborn shaggy ponies and livestock guardian dogs. I’ve used a number of chargers over the years. I’ve tripled the fencing I need to charge, and added goats, so I’m shopping for a new charger that can handle the increased load. So far I like the Dare for it’s all-weather construction and easy-to-service modular circuitry. http://dareproducts.com/products

The goat pen fencing is 4 foot welded wire, and I’m adding electric tape 6″ above the ground and along the top as predator deterrant.

The horse corrals are wooden board (oak) with locust posts. I chose wood to have a fence that would withstand pressure from confined horses and work even during extended power outages.

Until next time, happy fencing!

Carrie

PS – the horses aren’t the only critters enjoying the runways and woods corral…

This wild turkey came strolling down the new runway and into the woods corral the other day.

August 6, 2009October 10, 2018 0 comment