Keeping animals in the winter is always challenging. I know how hard it is on them to go from grazing on new spring pasture grass and garden scraps to dry hay, processed feed and cracked corn. My hens would rather starve than eat a certain feed store brand of layer pellets. That has got to tell me something.
Every winter it is the same thing. It’s cold and boring for them. I always try to think of treats I can bring once the corn stalks have been eaten and the sunflowers picked through. Store bought cabbage, day old bread, a few scraps from the house. It’s never enough and never practical.
This year will be different. This year I am planting an animal garden, along with my own. And even my own garden will be planted smarter.
I have a friend who plants an animal garden. I haven’t ever seen her garden, but I asked her if she could tell me what she grew for what animals. With her permission, I am sharing what she shared with me.
o We plant extra carrots and parsnips (lots!), pumpkins and mangles - also called fodder beets. The sheep and cows fight over the carrots and parsnips and the cows over the mangles. They all like the mangle tops. Pumpkins go to pigs and chickens and the chickens also like the mangles. We've got carrots and mangles stored in buried 30-40 gal. metal garbage cans covered with straw which is working so far. It's a bit tedious to chop them all up but way worth it. I've been looking for a livestock root grinder but haven't found one yet. I'm sure your goats would eat whatever the sheep do. I think most ruminants would also eat turnips, etc. but their milk might taste a bit off :) Hope that helps!
I am excited at the prospect of having my own animal garden.
Lord knows I have room for it.
What could be better than
healthy treats they can look forward to
and a cut in the winter feed bill.
Did you know that pumpkin is a natural wormer
for goats and pigs?
I looked up what fodder beets were and here is what I found;
Fodder beets are the highest yielding forage crop any one can grow. The energy rich fodder beets are complementing the use of grass or protein rich legumes in the diet of the cattle. In many countries fodder beets serve as the reliable winter storage of feed. In other countries fodder beets play an important role in supplying forage in dry periods late in the summer.
How about you? Do you plant anything for animal feed? Any more ideas for me?
25 comments:
What an interesting post!
sounds like a very practical idea!
oh that is awesome...what a cool idea...
I would just love to have a people garden. I can't wait to see your gardens in the Spring.
Good idea. I did know that about pumpkins... we tried to grow pumpkins last year but they didnt do good, the year before they did.
Apparently I plant a lot of animal feed... looking at what the rabbits and squirrels eat:@) Good luck with the gardens, it's nice to be planning them during the cold!
Pumpkins are a natural wormer for chickens, too, and they LOVE it.
I plant mangels, greens and pumpkins for the animals. This year I will be adding field corn and I'm going to try them on radishes. That'll be interesting.
What a neat idea! I never would've thought of doing that.
What a great idea!
What a great idea!
With the rising prices of everything -- this is an excellent idea.
Not really related to an animal garden, but in the summer and fall, grass clippings always go to the geese and chicken pens for greens, which they love. Just make sure the grass isn't treated with anything.
Great post, Michaele. :)
:)) Marcia
Great article! I had never heard of some of what you had suggested (mangles?).
I think we definitely gave our chickens pumpkins and any other scraps from the kitchen. We always said, the chickens would eat anything.
Thanks for sharing this great idea. Good post! I think it is a great idea. Even if I only plant extra pumpkins in the compost pile (happens naturally...) and save those. Blessings from Wisconsin, still wondering about the ghost...
Well we are adding on to our garden this year--so why not add an animal garden too! Great idea! Thanks Michaele!!
Probably could get them to "weed" it themselves by just opening the gate!! hehe.......well we must maintain our sense of humor!!
Lordy,it's like desert all the time! You are going to spoil them rotten! We get butternuts,tomatoes,papaya etc from farmers here because it bursts from all the rain and they can't sell it! FREE!
I don't know a lot about it, but my husband tells stories about when he was a kid they would go out as a family and pick up the sugar beets that had fallen off trucks to the road side and they took them home and fed those to their cattle. They lived in western NE at the time.
Where would I find mangles, or fodder beets?
Okay, I did find this reference to mangel beets (yes, I did notice the different spelling): http://sustainableseedco.com/Red-Mammoth-Mangel-Beet-Seeds.html
And this is what they said about them. "This is a sure way to put away enough food for your animals as they face the cold winter. Leave them in the ground and harvest as needed. Unless you are covered with snow, then I suggest you root cellar them."
That is from the "Sustainable seed company." They are selling the seed for $1.99 for 4g or about 240 seeds, $9.99 for 1/4 pound, 5 lbs for $125.
Very interesting post! I've always admired you for taking such good care of your animals.
This is so needed Michaele. Feed prices are going to be so high, people have to start thinking how they will feed at least their flock and goats. This year I'm planting more(bigger plot)oats for the chickens. I left it right on the straw last year. It became bedding, food, and entertainment all in one. It worked really good.
...and last year I planted all kinds of extra food for my pigs.
Touch back on this when things are growing! Great Post!
As the saying goes.."Great minds think alike"..well I don't know about my mind but I'm sure yours is great ;) I was just talking to my hubby yesterday about growing lots of carrots for the horses. I don't have sheep or goats but I do have chickens so I may just grow some pumpkins again this year. I'm sure they appreciate the fresh veggies just like we do this time of year. The horses are LOVING the carrots. I'm also thinking of making a root cellar...haven't mentioned that to hubby yet but I'm sure he'll go along with it since we have the backhoe on the tractor. It would be a different story if he/we had to dig it by hand ;) Great post! Enjoy your day...
Maura :)
Does catnip count? Seeing as how the only animals we have are these two spoiled rotten cats.
Maybe I should count my basil too, since I seem to have either a bunny or a squirrel that likes to eat it all the way down to the stem sticking out of the dirt.
Your plans for the animal's garden sound wonderful!! I never thought about animals getting bored in the winter... maybe you should sing to them, or read them stories. Hey, not so crazy... they say plants respond to music. :-)
What a great idea!
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