My two cents on caring and feeding your pregnant dairy goat

 Pregnant Zinnia going for a walk - this picture was from last year; however, we are once again going on walks, and once again, Zinnia is this pregnant. She is due in a few weeks. Think D flower names, Dahlia, Daisy, Daffodil, not Delphinium:)

This post is intended for new and learning goat owners, wannabe goat owners or folks with other dairy animals. The rest of you will probably want to skip this one. 

Seven years ago we brought up four doelings and two bucks to start our Lamancha dairy goat herd. As of this week, we are down to five does and one buck, and it feels as though we've come full circle. I have learned sooo much, and yet as always, am ever learning. This spring will be our sixth kidding season. In this post I'd like to share some of the things I've learned to pay attention to and provide for our bred does. Exercise, clean environment (clean enough that your does aren't laying in poo or wet bedding or mud etc.), quality hay and fresh water should be givens. Then there are more complicated issues that we should be aware of, but as few of us are scientists, we know a little but never enough, such how to know if we are feeding the correct levels of vitamins and trace minerals or protein, all of which can cause problems especially during pregnancy if goats are fed too much or too little. I'll just be touching on the surface of some of these issues, but if you have bred does you should be aware of them and have a contingency plan.

1. Caring for and feeding your pregnant Dairy goat

• Health at time of breeding and a note on hoof trimming
• Is your goat pregnant?
• Living quarters and herd dynamics
• Milking and drying off
• Feeding hay, grain rations and alfalfa
• Feeding other supplements such as BOSS, Alfalfa pellets, kelp, molasses, flax and herbs etc.

Obviously your goat should be in good health when she is bred. How can you tell if she is healthy? Shiny coat, clear alert eyes, active and moves with ease (no limping, hobbling etc), no lesions or skin sores or wierd growths. If your doe is in milk, her milk should taste mild and creamy and not overly sweet or goaty - nor thin (otherwise her nutritional needs are not being met - or possibly she just has really poor milk making genetics?) Most people breed to kid in the spring and then re-breed the following fall/ winter or "milk through" till the following year, with two years between kiddings. The first few months after a doe has kidded tend to take quite a toll on the doe's weight and health, so I would recommend waiting at least six months if not more before breeding again.

If you are breeding a "first freshener" how old is she? This is a highly controversial subject between goat breeders. I've read that you can breed once your doeling is eight months of age or eighty pounds. I relied on this advice my first year and my two bigger boned does came out of kidding just fine but the other two had leg problems during the final weeks of the pregnancy and then it took a while for their legs to straighten out after they kidded. Since that year I've waited until their second fall to breed them, but this can have it's downsides as well; most notably that your doe can get too fat, and then fail to ovulate or come into obvious heat in the fall - I've had this happen once. So, know your goat, do your research, look at their body type. If they were born in February, they are probably going to be ready for breeding come next November/December. If they were born in June, probably not.

Regardless of her age your doe should be in good health when you breed her. You'll want to keep her hooves trimmed throughout her pregnancy. I usually trim my does hooves in October before it gets too cold, then again whenever we have a warm spell in December, and then usually we have another warm spell sometime in February or March. Even if her hooves look ok. I give them a quick trim about six weeks before she is due, and then plan on not messing with them again until after she kids, as she will get awkward and heavy towards the end, and she'll have a hard enough time getting around as it is.

How can you tell if your goat is pregnant? Don't think you can tell by looking, during the first couple months at least. At thirty days you can however, draw blood and mail it in to BioTracking and have it tested for about six dollars a pop. I have a vet that will come up and ultra sound the herd with her portable ultrasound machine, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this. For one it is expensive, the price of a vet visit and more, and two, there is some controversy about ultra sounds in general and how invasive they are - certainly not a holistic approach.

At about three months I can start picking out who is most likely pregnant, some more obvious than others. You are supposed to be able to feel kids during the last couple months. The rumen is on the left side of the doe and the kids on the right.  I suck at feeling for kids. I've been sure I've felt kids and then the doe turns out to not be pregnant.

If you breed earlier in the season you'll have a better chance of catching your doe if she comes back into heat. It's always a good idea to keep track of her heat cycles on the calendar and of course when she is bred. Then you can keep a closer eye on her a few weeks later to see if she comes back into heat or not. It's always nice to be fairly certain that your does are bred so you know who to feed extra supplements and grain to and then you can save money on the slackers who didn't take, as well :)

A few considerations to think of, hopefully before you have a very pregnant doe getting beat on by her herd mates and no place to isolate her; early planning is key, like back when you are breeding. If you breed four does, but only have one extra kidding stall, you can't breed them all at once, unless you plan on building another barn or at least buying portable panels to further divide up your barn. You need to plan on giving each doe her own stall ideally for the two weeks prior to her due date to two to four weeks after depending on the doe. Then you'll still need pens for the kids where they can be safe away from the herd until they are stronger. Ideally your doe will have her own stall with a hay rack and hanging water bucket as well as a closing door to the outdoors with her own pen. It might take her a couple days to get use to being on her own, but once she realizes she doesn't get pushed around any more but can still see and hear everyone, she'll probably be thankful.

If your doe has a companion, sister, daughter, mother, who she is inseparable with, you might keep them together for a while, but I'd give the doe her own stall for the week before her due date. Most likely she will stop tolerating the other does company as her time gets near. Under no circumstances would you want another goat in with her doe while she is kidding, nor in the week or two after kidding.

When to dry off your pregnant milker: I think that most goat breeders would agree that a pregnant doe should be dried off during her third month, leaving her last two months to grow babies and not produce milk. If you have other milkers, you may want to dry her off earlier. If she has other health issues, is dropping in production or in milk quality, then dry her off earlier.

Feeding hay, grain and alfalfa: Hay makes up the quantity of your goat's diet, and should be of good quality. The better the hay, the less you will have to supplement your goat's diet with other additives. Aside from making sure your hay is mold and dust free, leafy and not stemmy, and that your goat likes it, I'd recommend testing it so that you know how good it is or isn't. However, I have to say that I have not ever had our hay tested, but I have intended to for some time, and will, one of these days. I do know that in general, that our hay grown in the interior tends to be high in Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium because hay farmers use fertilizers with these three major nutrients, and rarely use fertilizers with minor nutrients or trace minerals. I assume that our hay is low in selenium, copper, magnesium and calcium among other things. And as a result we supplement.

Alfalfa hay is like candy to goats. They know what is good for them. Alfalfa is a legume, and as such, is much higher in protein than our brome hay. It is also mineral rich, and provides significant levels of calcium. If I were to recommend feeding one thing in addition to whatever hay you have, it would be alfalfa. I notice a big difference when our does are getting alfalfa and when they are not. Feeding alfalfa to your pregnant goats prevents hypocalcemia which is one of the big well known complications that can happen after a doe kids, when her nutritional needs are not met. Alfalfa hay is outrageously expensive here in the Interior, $56 for 90-100lb bales last I checked. We have brought up truck loads from Anchorage and saved significantly, but we also feed alfalfa pellets (12$ 50lb bag at Walmart, $20 some at the feed store) I feed about two cups of alfalfa pellets once a day to my bred does and milkers. I especially try to feed alfalfa hay to my does during their last couple months of pregnancy and into their first month or two after kidding. Ideally I'd feed a few pounds of alfalfa hay a day to each doe, although some might say that is too much?

As far as grain goes, if you have a junior doe, you will want to be gradually increasing her feed, so that by the time she kids, she is getting as much grain as she will need to produce milk, enough grain that you can milk her out before she finishes :) The books say to feed one pound of grain to maintain good body condition, and an additional pound of grain for every four pounds of milk your doe is producing (hope I've got that right - it's been a while). So, if I'm milking once a day and getting four pounds of milk, and the kids are taking the rest, I'm guessing at least four pounds of milk, I'm going to be feeding about three pounds of grain. However, the grain or goat feed you are feeding complicate matters, and if you are soaking it and it expands... and whatever else you are feeding and how your doe is looking... There are a lot of factors.  I feed my doelings and bred does just a couple handfuls of grain up until they are half way through their gestation. Then during the third month I start gradually increasing depending on how the doe looks. For the last two months of gestation I feed about four to eight cups of sprouted barley, oats and wheat (3,2,1 in ratio), which started out as just three to six cups - which is less than a pound. So, I'm feeding less than the recommended amount, but I play it by ear and I watch my does closely.

Which brings me to other supplements: As mentioned way above, if you know you have quality hay, you won't have to feed as many supplements. Because I have not had my hay tested and because I mix my own grains and I'm not feeding a "goat feed" nor am I relying on inject-able vitamins, there is always the question in the back of my mind as to whether my goats nutritional needs are being met, and I probably over compensate by feeding supplements, which may or may not be necessary, but as I have not had pregnancy toxemia or hypocalcaemia or weak kid issues, hopefully that means I'm doing some things right. Some of these supplements I have fed from the beginning whereas some I've gone back and forth with and these include: a general vitamin mineral supplement, kelp, molasses, BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds), olive oil and dried herbs;  I feed very small amounts of supplements to the bucks and kids, and larger amounts to the does. I have at times fed beet pulp and nutritional yeast which I do not feed now, they both have their upsides and downsides. A lot of my decisions are based on what we can afford, so if money was not a consideration, I would feed Diamond V nutritional yeast.

We feed Sweetlix loose vitamin and mineral dairy goat supplement. We free feed it to all the goats in pvc pipe feeders. Sweetlix is the brand our feed store carries. I'm sure there are other brands out there and probably some that are better. Wherever you are hopefully you can find a loose mineral supplement for dairy goats. It is important that it not be for sheep, as that will not have copper. Also, be sure that it is not mostly salt, but rather vitamins and trace minerals.

Kelp is a super nutrient dense plant. It is high in calcium, iron, iodine and other trace minerals. My holistic doctor discovered that I was crazy low in Iodine, and she had me start taking kelp and my minor health issues were quickly resolved. After which we looked up some information on iodine and milk production and mammary systems, and I came away thinking that as long as I can go to the feed store and buy kelp for my dairy goats, I will. All kelp is not created equal. Our feed store use to just carry kelp for garden supplementation, and I bought that and fed it to my chickens...and still do sometimes. But mostly I buy the animal grade kelp. There is better kelp out there, and maybe someday I'll do the research and decide it is worth the extra money. I feed a couple teaspoons to a tablespoon of kelp on top of my bred does and milker's grain once a day.

Black oil sunflower seeds are high in healthy oils, vitamin E and B6, as well as selenium. I feed between a half cup and one cup per doe. I've gone back and forth feeding olive oil. It is undoubtedly good for the girls, but also expensive. If I have a doe who is having a hard time putting on weight or looking decent, I'll start giving her a tablespoon of olive oil on her feed. If you give them too much they'll get the runs.

Back to soil deficiencies, as a solution to dealing with copper and selenium deficiencies in the soil and hay it has become common for goat breeders in Alaska and elsewhere to give their does copper boluses, which is a slug of copper that goes down the does throat and into her stomach where there it rests and releases copper over time. The other trend is to inject goats with selenium every six months to make sure that your does have the proper levels of selenium. I'm not a huge fan of vitamin pastes, injectable vitamins, nor boluses, (but this doesn't mean that I won't go that route if my current methods don't work). I find these treatments more invasive than I'd like to be. Also, I have my suspicions about nutrients, vitamins and trace minerals that have been formulated in a lab, or overly processed (I know- I feed sweetlix) I read something in my research, I believe it was by Katherine Drovdahl, where she had written about copper, and that copper that comes from pipes or from a lab does not provide that vitamins and trace minerals that come directly from a living plant source, nor will it be as easy to absorb or use by the animal. I have been search for the quote and can't find it now. Also, I've read that selenium can be highly toxic in large amounts, so if I can feed it daily as opposed to injecting it twice yearly, I will. However, it makes sense to me, that the best sources of selenium and copper would come straight from living plants that are high in these minerals. So, I've been taking note of plants and other natural copper and selenium sources and feeding them.  First, high selenium herbs include: alfalfa, kelp, slippery elm, raspberry leaf, pao d'arco bark, milk thistle, catnip, BOSS, couch grass and black strap molasses. Foods and herbs that contain significant levels of copper include: black strap molasses, hops, sesame, sunflower and other squash seeds, dried basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley and thyme. Fir Meadow sells a copper selenium supplement called kop-sel that I've been feeding for the past year. You can purchase it on the Fir Meadow online site.

Black strap molasses is one of the supplements I fed for a while, purchasing five gallon buckets through Azure Standard, and then got tired of the goopy mess and stopped for a while. After reading recently about how great it is, I'm getting back on the band wagon. It is high in B vitamins and trace minerals. I was feeding a quarter cup and stirring it into grain for four does when I was last feeding it in the fall. Buying it in bulk is the way to go- and yes it does have to be Black Strap!

I am feeding a variety of herbs I harvested this summer, red raspberry leaves, nettles and comfrey. One of my goals in keeping less does, is to be able to make more of an impact in their winter diet, with herbs and plants that we grow or forage for, in addition to someday growing our own grain, hay and root crops for animal feed.

There are a few pregnancy related illnesses that are nutrient related. I do not have personal experience with any of these. I do however, have a contingency plan. And the reason I feed the supplements I do, is hopefully to prevent the following issues:

Pregnancy Toxemia/Ketosis called toxemia when the doe is pregnant and toxemia after she has kidded, is caused by an energy imbalance and usually occurs during the third trimester. It happens when a doe can't take in enough nutrition to meet the demands of her body and the growing kids. Her body starts to dissolve body fat for energy, but as it does this toxins and ketones are released into the bloodstream and cause the doe to feel nauseous and go off her feed. The remedy for a doe already exhibiting signs of toxemia or ketosis is to feed large amounts of sugar (60ccs of sugar, molasses, agave nectar, honey etc. warmed until runny, and then followed up with 30ccs three to four times a day until they are eating again) to stop the body from processing the toxins and ketones.

Hypocalcaemia, also called Milk fever: happens when a milkers calcium needs are not met. It happens more frequently with does who are heavy milkers and does who go off their feed for other reasons like ketosis. It can be prevented by feeding alfalfa to your does while they are pregnant and then continue while they are in milk. I have heard that does go downhill really fast if they have milk fever and quick intervention is necessary. A vet would probably put the doe on an IV and administer high doses of calcium. Katherine Drovdahl has a section in her book where she has an herbal plan to treat this as well.

White muscle disease is another complication that kids can have if their dams nutritional needs were not met during pregnancy. It usually shows up in kids when they are born or in the few weeks after kidding. Their muscles are not able to properly form in utero, and as a result they have weak hearts and other muscles. A deficiency in vitamin E and or Selenium are the culprits to blame. So, weak kids could mean you need more vitamin E or selenium.

Pre-natal goat care topics I can't write about because I know nothing about include vaccinations. I'm sure there is plenty of information on the topic out there for you to google.

If you don't already have Katherine Drovdahl's livestock (goat) herbal, you should own it! I have several other herbals for myself and the critters, and this is by far the most goat orientated and the most helpful.

Otherwise, feed good hay, feed alfalfa in some form in addition to herbs or supplements with trace minerals, or go the conventional route and give selenium shots and copper boluses, at least that will take the guess work out of it. Spend time with your goats, plan ahead and have contingency plans. All feed changes should be made slowly. Pregnant does and does who have recently kidded should be monitored closely, especially their eating habits. Putting your doe on the stand or feeding her grain and hay in her own space will help one to know if they are eating well or if they are going off their grain or alfalfa.

Most of all have fun, enjoy your goats and learn from your mistakes. I would love to hear what the rest of you are feeding your goats and what supplements you give them when they are pregnant.

Milking and milker diet adjustments

Milking went more smoothly yesterday. One of my problems is that I've been weaning the COB (rolled corn, rolled oats and rolled barley) out of the goats diet. I've been slowly replacing it with a mix of whole oats, whole barley, wheat berries, field peas and sunflower seeds. This has been a two month transition. For the last couple weeks we've been done with the COB and onto the whole grain mix. Some of the does have been on strike. This is the worse time of year to be making changes in diet and thus, having does not eating their grain. Some are, some aren't..This is a huge problem for two reasons: one: they really need the extra calories right now as their bodies are designed to produce large quantities of milk, but they can't just do it on a hay diet. If they don't get the calories, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals their bodies need, their milk production drops, the milk itself doesn't taste as good, and most seriously, they can have other health issues like Ketosis, which is what Rose has been dealing with. Furthermore, if the goats aren't eating their grain, they don't really want to get on the stand, nor do they think they should have to stand still to be milked, thus some of the confrontations we've been having this week at the milk stand.

So, I was just about to break down and go buy some COB or even some Goat Chow, when I had an epiphany: why do the goats like the goat chow so much? Molasses. I need to mix in a little extra something that will sweeten the deal. I've never been big on sweet feeds. I worry about their long term dental care. This however, is just starting out as a quick fix and we will go from here. I mixed a little over a tablespoon of molasses into each of their feed rations and voila, everyone ate all their grain. I only needed help getting Rose on the stand, and Zinnia still needed her back hooves held down, we are getting there.

Another note about goats diet and feeding changes. I've been noticing that the milk is not as creamy as last year. I've also been brushing the goat's coats which naturally they are shedding this time of year, but a few of the does also have dandruff. I read a few articles on feeding olive oil, olive by products, soy or corn oil to goats. I got to thinking that while I'm still feed sunflower seeds to the goats, the reduction in corn does reduce their overall fat and oil intake, thus possibly the drier skin and less fatty milk this year. While soy and corn oil are much cheaper, they are not as healthy and they are gmo crops which we are trying to reduce in our own diets as well as that of the animals. So olive oil would be the preferred choice. Sam's club had 3 liter bottles for fifteen dollars, only fifty cents difference between the extra virgin and cooking olive oil, so that was a no brainer. So, now I find myself adding a Tablespoon each of of olive oil and molasses to the goat's feed twice a day. We'll see how long this lasts. I don't like to add extras, extra steps, extra cost, unless they make a significant difference.

How much does it cost to raise a dairy goat?

After four years of raising goats, starting with six goat kids and, well, today we've got, oh, eleven adults and seven kids with more on the way: I'm finally getting around to figuring out how much our goats are costing us. The truth is I haven't really wanted to know. The truth is, it's embarrassing. The truth is that we have not been attempting to run a successful business, nor have we ever had a business plan. We got in to goats because we wanted our own milk, the access to raw milk and homemade raw dairy products. Well if that was really all we wanted, two milking does would suffice. We also wanted a self sufficient goat herd, to have enough genetic diversity that we can breed our own goats without buying more goats or driving our goats long distances and exposing them to other bucks (herds/diseases) for breeding.

The bad news is that they are costing more than we can really afford. Certainly more than we would spend on millk and goat cheese yearly. The good news is that if we stay organized and motivated we have the potential to sell enough shares in our herd, which in a convoluted way allows the exchange of money for keeping of goat, and that goat's milk... that the goats will at least pay for a significant portion of their expenses. Here are some of our current feed costs:

1. Brome Hay $7-10 for 50lb. We buy a variety of hay. This year we bought about half our hay from a farm nearby for $7 a bale, the bales weighed heavy, we had to be very selective and the quality varied greatly. The other half of our hay we had to drive 45 miles for, it was beautiful, the goats love it, but it was $10 a bale plus gas and time...
2. Alfalfa hay, we've been paying $39.99 for 90-100 lb. bales of imported alfalfa from the feed store. I really need to find a cheaper source of Alfalfa. We just started feeding it to our milkers again, as they really need it the extra calories, the higher protein and the calcium this time of year.
3. Alfalfa pellets, at 18.99 for a 50 lb. bag, I don't see why we are buying these when we can just feed the fresh stuff, but we keep them around and feed them when we are out of alfalfa hay.
4. Whole Oats 10.99 for 50lb. We could and should get these cheaper by buying in bulk. Same with the Barley.
5. Whole Barley 10.99 for 50lb.
6. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds 24.99 for 40lb.
7. Wheat Berries $38.00 50lb
8. Sweetlix vitamin mineral supplement for goats $29.99 25lb.
9. Looking over the last years receipts we pay around $150 for herbal supplements, herbal wormers and herbal tinctures. 

Other expenses I looked at are vet receipts, and odd expenses like collars, heated waterers and baking soda. Expenses I did not include in our yearly goat expenses are labor, shelters, fencing, gates, electricity or milking supplies.

I broke down the feed into how much each cost by the pound. For vet expenses, vitamins, herbals and the miscellaneous expenses, I divided the total estimated amount, or receipts by our winter herd number which was and should continue to be about eleven goats.

We are feeding our milkers each a day when in milk:

1. 5 lb. brome hay (took nine dollars per 50lb) .90
2. 1 lb. alfalfa hay .39
3. 2 lb. whole mixed grains, whole oats, whole barley, BOSS, and wheat berries .82

for a total of  2.11 a day, $63.30 a month for feed. Vet costs, herbals, vitamins and misc added up per goat per year are $86.75  We figure that each doe is out of lactation for 3- 5 months a year depending on the doe. During this time she is fed less grain and less alfalfa and eats closer to $1.35, $40.50 a month. I am hoping to milk each doe about eight months out of the year so eight months at $63.30, four months at $40.50 then the annual extras totals, $755.15 a year per milking doe, which we currently have six, so 4,530.9 a year just to feed the milkers.

The rest of the goats are less money to keep. The bucks do fine on brome with a small amount of mixed grain and alfalfa pellets. They also get herbal wormer, b.soda and sweetlix vitamin supplement. They cost closer to $36 each a month, $432 a year, $1554 for all three. The kids and yearlings cost the least, they eat less hay and grain, but they do often take a toll on their dams, continuing to nurse long past when they need it.

So it looks like we are spending close to eight thousand dollars a year to feed and care for our goats. Where does that leave us? Well, it is going to take quite a bit more math to figure out exactly how much milk we get for our money. I think instead of figuring what we should be getting, for each pound of hay and grain we are feeding, I'll be keeping track of what we milk this year and adding up how many pounds of milk we get each month.

With the current amount we are charging for goat shares and milking fees, if we provide eight months of milk- which we won't this year, we would take in $4,450 for ten shares. We could most likely double that if we got better at milking twice a day, and weaning the kids on time etc. So the potential for the herd to pay for itself is there. Now, the question is, are we game? Or, rather, am I game?

Decided on Sprouting Grain for Goats

 This is a picture I dug up from last spring, Xanadu and her first doeling, Avalon

I have been wanting to break away from our COB (rolled corn, rolled oats and rolled barley) dependence for sometime now. However, I have not wanted to be hasty, impulsive or drastic in the changes we make to our goats diet. Nor did I want to make any changes without thoroughly researching first. During these slow February days I've had some time to think about our goats diet, assess their conditions, come to the conclusion that I should be doing better, and finally get around to finding some reliable sources and examples of studies and individuals sprouting grains for goats or other livestock. I am sharing this post now before I've even changed my current practices because I am this exited about the concept of feeding living sprouts to our goats in place of their dried rolled grains - especially this time of year when all is dark and dead or dormant around us.

First let me back up and explain why we are feeding COB in the first place. When we first got our goats we fed goat chow, because that is what everyone we know and read about fed their goats. Goat Chow is a processed pelleted goat feed with a few crushed or rolled grains and added vitamins and minerals. On the ingredient list for Purina goat chow which is what was available to us through the local feed store, the first ingredient is processed grain by products. The list does not even say which grains are used. The main reason I could think of to feed Chow over COB was:

1. Higher protein content 
2. "Scientifically" formulated for goats.
3. Everybody does it - not a good reason but it must work right?

The main drawback for me was:

1. A long list of ingredients I didn't understand.
2. The grains were ground up then compressed into pellets, during which process lots of significant nutrients are lost. 

Well, after our first year of raising goats, I felt comfortable enough to try feeding something else. I picked cob because at least there were just three ingredients, corn, oats and barley which provide energy, some fat and a protein level around 13%, which is less than chow by 2-3% if I remember correctly. My concern was that while these grains are not ground up with preservatives added, they are rolled and thus will still have lost a lot of their nutritive value, which they are not high in to begin with. Corn, oats and barley don't provide much goodies compared to wheat berries, lesser known but high protein grains like quinuoa and millet, seeds and legumes. So why are they fed as staple animal feeds? I suspect it has something to do with what crops are easy to grown on large scale, and cheap to grow? Before the twentieth century livestock was fed various legumes and root crops in addition to a wider range of grains. Why has this practice died off? Marketing? Cost? Ignorance?

When it comes to feeding whole vs. crushed or rolled grains to livestock. The opinions are completely contradictory:

1. One side holds the position that goats, chickens and other livestock can not digest whole grains, that whole grains will pass through intact and therefor not be used by the animal. Crushing and rolling grains makes them more digestible.
2. The other side says that once grains are crushed, ground, rolled etc. that valuable and significant nutrients are lost, that the seeds rapidly go stale and rancid and the result is a significantly reduced source of vitamins and minerals. This side argues that whole grains are intact and nutritionally superior to processed grain feeds.

In the wild, chickens and goats might eat some grains on their own, but no where near the amount we try to feed them. As healthy as whole grains are, even humans don't process them very well and can have a difficult time digesting large amounts of whole grains. Once grains are soaked and sprouted they are easier to digest. I often add whey to our whole grain flours when making breads and crackers so that they will be easier to digest. The other alternative is sprouting and then grinding grains before baking with them. So, while goats digestive systems are very different then our own, they were not meant to consume such high levels of whole or crushed grains either. Feeding whole grains to goats and chickens and then looking at their stools is one way to see if they are digesting their grains. Our chickens have done fine on their whole grain diet, better when their grain is sprouted.

So for the last couple years as I've fed COB to the goats, I've felt like it was a stepping stone, something to hold me over till we moved on to better things, but I've felt guilty about it as corn, oats and barley are not that nutritious. Last summer I had a farm helper that milked goats and did farm chores a couple days a week. He said that the last couple winters he has milked goats for a farm in Colorado that sprouts their grains. This farm has similar husbandry practices as I do, feeding similar herbal supplements, herbal wormers and when needed, herbal remedies and tinctures. I can say that a seed of inspiration was planted in my mind at hearing about this healthy herd of goats eating sprouted grains. Since then I've been intending to research sprouted grains for goats. Just thinking of the amount of work involved in the idea of sprouted grains in large quantities was such that research on the subject has been on the back burner.

I have known for a while the health benefits of sprouting grains for human consumption. When we buy bread we choose sprouted grain products. I go through phases of sprouted beans and seeds for our own salads and sandwiches.  I sprout grains for the chickens from time to time in the winter. They love them, and we notice an immediate effect on the color of the egg yolks, they get brighter orange within just a few days of eating sprouts. This week I finally got around to doing some research. I was looking for sources that have goats and have been sprouting for a while with successful results. I also wanted to find some more scientific studies dealing with feeding sprouts to livestock. I found both, and while I am obviously inspired and excited about these few sources, I would still like to delve deeper into the subject.

Here is the most scientific or scholarly article I found:
http://www.foddersolutions.org/pdf_files/Benefits_of_Sprouted_Grain.pdf

This article focuses on feeding barley sprouts to cattle and horses and the health benefits derived from the sprouts. The article points to a study where barley sprouts were experimentally fed to cattle with impressive results in energy levels and weight gain. The main health benefits of feeding sprouts as opposed to whole grains are such:

1. Sprouting increases enzyme activity which tends to enhance the levels of beneficial nutrients while decreasing the negative aspects of dry grains such as phytic acids which are high in cereal grains and prevent the absorption of vital minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
2. Sprouting makes whole grains easier to digest and more palatable.
3. Sprouting increases protein, fiber and essential fatty acid levels in grains.
4. Sprouting increases vitamin levels of grains, some of the most significant vitamins that are increased are B, C, A and E vitamins. It also helps with the absorption of the vitamins that may be present.
5. Sprouting increases Antioxidants, Chlorophyll and has an alkalizing effect on body cells.

 Here are a few examples of individuals who are sprouting grains for their goats. I've included the original source that first inspired me to begin sprouting for chickens as well:

1. http://landofhavilahfarm.com/loh-feed-regimen.htm
2. http://lindercroft2.blogspot.com/2010/05/sprouting-buckets.html
3. http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Sprouting.html
4. http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2808&p=4 

The above sources provide examples of various methods used to sprout whole grains. The first link contains recipes for whole grain and seed sprout mixes, in addition to the quantity she feeds her goats and the protein content of the initial product. So her protein content given is that of the whole grains before sprouting, so that would be the minimum protein content, we can probably assume that the final protein content will be at least a little higher.

So, I'm feeling pretty confident that at least sprouting grains can only be much healthier for the goats than their present grain rations. But what about cost and labor involved? Here is a little math. Last I checked I'm paying $15.99 for a fifty pound bag of dry COB. Here is one of the basic recipes, tweaked just a bit to make use of ingredients that I'm already ordering in bulk for the chickens. I've broken it down to what I'm paying a pound for each grain or seed. Ten pounds is more dry grain than what I'm feeding currently. However, once the goats are in milk, I'll be feeding that much or more.

1. 5 # Whole Barley,  9.99 per 50lb. (.19 lb)          .95
2. 1# Austrian Winter Peas  39.99 50lb. (.79 lb.)    .79
3. 1# Winter Wheat Berries 38.00 50lb.  (.76 lb.)   .76
4. 2# Whole Oats  9.99 50lb.  (.19lb)                     .38
5. 1# Black Oil Sunflower Seeds 24.99 50lb. (.49) .49

         10# of dry grains costs 3.37, so 50lb. costs 16.85, less than a dollar more than COB
          $23.59 in grain per week, not including alfalfa pellets or other supplements, but not bad

As far as local or organic ingredients, the whole oats and barley are from Delta, I don't know if the seed is treated? The Wheat berries are organic and from far away via Azure Standard. I don't know anything about the whole peas or sunflower seeds.

My conclusion, without yet venturing into the world of sprouting grains for goats, is that this practice is going to be much healthier for the goats, surprisingly not much more expensive, but undoubtedly much more work.

I've been waiting till our milking and grain area is heated, to begin sprouting for the chickens and goats. However, as that may be a while yet, I'm going to start sprouting on a small scale and see how it goes. I already purchase all of these ingredients, so no special trips to the feed store are required yet, although I'll be buying more whole grains in the place of rolled COB. Of course rule number one in feeding goats is make all diet changes gradually. So I'll begin by just adding a handful of sprouts to everyone's existing grain rations and we will increase the amount of sprouts and decrease the COB over the space of a couple weeks. I think that despite having several very pregnant goats, now is not a bad time for a feed switch. I'm sure their bodies have got to be craving some green living food. Soon we will be too busy with kid care and milking to experiment.  Once we are milking, the does will be eating two to three times as much grain as they are now, so we'll start the transition now and work our way forward. I'll keep you posted.

Kidding Season and Prenatal Doe Care

Kidding season is on the horizon. We have five does bred -(I hope). Four of which are due in March. It has been a while since we've had first timers kidding. This will be the fourth kidding season for our original three does. We have two does, Zinnia and Zuri, who will be two this spring and this will be their first kidding. Zinnia and her dam Rose are due in four to five weeks. Zinnia's udder is just starting to take shape - very exciting! She is looking great. Much better than her dam, who is probably carrying two and maybe three kids. We got the does out for a walk today, and while Zinnia is still running around and quite frisky, Rose was lagging behind everyone, slowly trudging up the hill. She had three bucklings last spring!

As far as prenatal care goes, I suppose the most important thing is to know when your doe was bred and when she is due. Or, I suppose diet tops that. Diet is extremely important for bred milking does. Building kids and making milk puts enormous strain on their bodies. I'm not going to go into great detail on the different kidding related "diseases" in this post, other than to say that the big ones that are diet related are Pregnancy toxemia and Ketosis. The first happens during pregnancy and is caused by inadequate feeding or an excess of grain. Ketosis occurs shortly after kidding, due to the demands of producing milk and most likely not enough grain or feed. Here is a link to a reliable source on signs of these diseases and how to treat them.

So far we have been fortunate to have healthy does and healthy strong kids through all of our doe pregnancies so far. We did have one disaster two seasons ago where we lost two kids, but I see it as operator error rather than a component lacking in prenatal care. We had a doe that had three kids that were not presenting themselves in the correct position and we waited too long before going in and pulling them out. You can read about it here.

Our does get as much brome hay as they can eat, twice a day. They like leafy green hay. They do not like fine hay, stemmy hay or brown hay. Contrary to the myth that goats eat anything, goats are in fact extremely picky. The goats have constant access to a loose mineral supplement which is specifically for goats. As far as grain goes, I'm feeding the pregnant does between a half of a pound and a pound (depending on the goat's body condition) of COB, rolled corn, rolled oats and rolled barley. Other options would be to feed goat chow, a pelleted feed containing various grain by products and other supplements which increase the protein content of the feed. I feed a large handful of alfalfa pellets and one of black oil sunflower seeds to the bred does, and a light sprinkling to the dry does. The alfalfa pellets provide a source of protein and most importantly calcium. Sunflower seeds provide vitamin E, and a healthy source of fat and protein. Feeding hay, grain and supplying a loose mineral supplement to pregnant goats may not meet all of their calcium needs. When does don't get enough calcium during pregnancy a condition called Hypocalcemia occurs. I've thought that feeding some alfalfa hay or alfalfa pellets throughout pregnancy should solve this problem. I've been told not to feed calcium during the last few weeks of pregnancy. I've also read to do the opposite. Here is the most recent article I've read on Hypocalcemia, according to this article, I'm not feeding anywhere near enough calcium. Hm.

I've always purchased Molly's herbal pregnancy tonic to feed the goats during their last five or so weeks of pregnancy. In it are the same herbs you'd find in any pregnancy tea for women; fennel, raspberry leaves, alfalfa, cinnamon and nettles. I've also purchased and fed her herbal dietary supplement year round to everyone which has spirulina, alfalfa, dandelion, nettles and flax seed in it. I've been meaning to feed flax seed and kelp, both of which we buy in fifty pound bags for the chickens, but I've been slacking. We did harvest and dry our own wild raspberry leaves, nettles and dandelion this year. I've just one gallon of each dried. I've been saving them for this time of year. So the pregnant does are getting a small handful of each on top of their grain each morning. This isn't as much as I'd like to have, but it is something. Hopefully next year we can harvest two to three times as much of each of these herbs.

The only other supplement I'm giving the goats is selenium. Some soil in the interior is deficient in selenium. So there is a good chance our hay is low in selenium. I guess the mineral supplement may not have enough selenium, so it is recommended that goats in low selenium soil areas be given additional selenium. So I buy the selenium/vitamin E gel. About seven weeks before kidding I give the does a dose, then every couple weeks till kidding.

Other care ideas for pregnant goats is trimming their hooves 5-7 weeks before kidding. The does may have a hard time balancing for hoof trimming closer to their kidding date. If their hooves are too long it will make walking around that much more difficult. And of course exercise is also important for all of us, including pregnant goats. It makes sense that pregnant goats will have healthier kids, less complicated labors and suffer less from the stresses of pregnancy if they get regular exercise.

Shortly before kidding I give the does a hair trimming around their tail and udder area so that they clean up easier after kidding. About a week before the goat is due, I start putting the doe in her own stall at night and feeling for her tail ligaments. I'll write more about kidding as we get closer. 

If feeding pregnant does sounds complicated, it kind of is. When you start reading about mineral deficiencies in goats, it does get kind of scary. We would like to think that feeding quality green leafy hay, the right amount of grain, providing fresh water and a constant mineral supplement should be enough to keep goats in healthy condition. However, the reality is that goats were not meant to be confined in small pens and fed dried hay and grain. They are browsers. If you let goats out to pasture in a field of hay, they will look for the weeds, or the browse on the side of the field. They prefer the bark, leaves and branches of trees, the tender tips and buds of shrubs. If you think about the root systems of trees and shrubs, they extend deeper into the ground than hay and grasses, therefor are absorbing higher amounts of nutrients. The standard diet for feeding goats is not their natural diet, and therefor extra measures are needed to make it work.

If you are new to goats, getting into goats, and especially if this is your first kidding season, I strongly recommend Molly's Fiasco Farm site. I consider her the online goat care bible. She has a comprehensive section on goats kidding and what to expect.

This year is the letter B for goat names with the American Dairy Goat Association. My favorites so far are Bella, Blue, Bernadette (Bernie), Bridget and Bridie. I've got a disbudding iron and instructions for building a kid box ordered. Other than that I suppose we are ready for kids. I'm enjoying sleeping through the night and not looking forward to waking up for midnight doe checks. Our farm helper will be helping with goat kidding this year as she has been working with the goats regularly since last spring. I'm looking forward to having fresh milk. I don't know why I do this to myself, breed all of our goats and not leave someone in milk to get us through. I figured it was only seven weeks without milk and I had some milk frozen - but it is not the same. I'm looking forward to making pudding and having cream for my tea.

Hay Figurin

 

One of the biggest goat myths I've heard is that goats will eat anything. I can only guess that this myth came about because they mouth everything in an attempt to check it out. Unlike  my horse who use to eat every last speck of hay in her feeder and on the ground, the goats are quite picky and selective eaters. I've read that they waste about twenty percent of their hay and that sounds about right, more if you throw it on the ground. You would think that if we didn't feed them as much they would return to their picked through hay and eat more, they do, but it is never completely gone, just scattered. For the record, goats do not eat clothes or other unedibles either. Goats will not mow your lawn. They prefer not to eat off the ground. They love moss, bark, brush and the tip tops of most shrubs and grasses. The above picture is Zuri eating off this round bale pictured below as well. This is the last bale of hay up by the bucks, the does are excited because it is new to them. We bought three eight hundred pound round bales from a farmer in Delta for $120 a bale plus $45 dollars to deliver them, which is a pretty good deal considering that it would have cost us a whole day plus gas to drive down there and pick up the bales, plus we'd have to rent a trailer. This is about as cheap as I see decent brome hay in Interior Alaska.

  

We've never purchased large round bales before until this last summer. What I like most about them is how much less effort it takes to load and unload them. You don't have to buck up twenty some bales and unload and stack them. A machine loads them, then we just tie them to a tree and pull forward. I think I like stacking them flat instead of how this one is stacked, as it is easier to flake the hay off. 

I have to say after eleven years of owning a horse and three years of keeping goats, I still know very little about hay. Brome hay is most common here with a small amount of other grass hay or Timothy grown here and there. I've never heard of anyone growing Alfalfa, as it does not survive the cold winters and usually isn't harvestable until it's second year of growth - at least here, or so I am told. 

Fifty pound bales tend to range from seven dollars in the field to fourteen dollars delivered, much more if you buy it from a feed store. If you look hard enough or have a good source you might be able to find hay for less than that, but in my experience if the hay is cheaper than that it has dirt, sand, harmful weeds or mold in it. Or it is wet, brown, doesn't smell good etc. The farmer's here in the interior have a shorter hay season than most places and short windows between rain to get it in. There have been a couple years where we have had a lot of our hay mold because it was too damp when we got it, and opening bales, spreading them out and keeping a close eye out for rain is a pain, or even worse, realizing in the middle of winter when the snow is piled high, that all of your hay is completely molded.

I know to look for green hay. It should smell sweet. It should be mostly grass and not a lot of weeds. Now that I'm feeding goats, weeds might be good, but not horsetail. The goats do not like stemmy or brown hay. They will waste even more than twenty percent if they don't like it. Before buying hay sight unseen I have learned to tell people that I am feeding dairy goats that are extremely picky. They need green leafy hay, not stemmy. With this last batch of hay we got, after I told the farmer this he said he had some second cutting  hay that was leafier and better quality that he would bring out instead. It is very nice hay and the goats think so too.

  

Here is our hay pile down by the does. We had six thousand pounds of this delivered for thirteen dollars and fifty cents a fifty pound bale.(If you are reading this post from elsewhere in the world, you are thinking we are crazy, I know.) It is pretty nice green leafy hay. The folks we bought it from have taken first place at the fair for their hay in years past. It was eleven dollars a bale if we came and picked it up about forty miles away. With gas prices, trailer renting and our time, it was worth it to us to have it delivered and stacked, at least this year. The bale on the left is a hundred pound of alfalfa from the feed store for forty some dollars. We try to feed a flake of alfalfa a day to the does, especially once they are bred. I'd feed more if it wasn't as expensive. Alfalfa is a high protein legume. The alfalfa we get here is pretty stemmy, I don't know if it always like that. The goats mostly pick through and eat the leaves, leaving behind lots of course green stems.

  

Above is a close up of our fifty pound bales. Below is the Alfalfa.

The picture above is  a close up of the hay below, an eight hundred and fifty pound bale of brome hay that the goats are not fond of. We bought two bales from the same source earlier in the summer that was great; bright green and leafy. We got two more bales at the end of the summer and this is what it looks like. If I'd seen the first bale before Dustin left to get the other one, we probably would have just kept the one. Some of the hay is green, but there is a good bit of brown hay as well. It isn't really stemmy, nor does it have broad leaves, it is spindly. I'm hoping the bucks are not quite as picky as the does, otherwise this will just be bedding. By the way, a horse would gobble up every speck of this hay. It isn't weedy or moldy. Some would say that it is good hay.. Maybe we just aren't as picky because there isn't a lot to chose from and hay is in high demand around here.

I've heard that hay grown in Interior Alaska is low in certain vitamins and minerals. My vet was saying that some areas are low in selenium, but not everywhere. Most livestock owners I know feed a lot of supplements, (vitamin and mineral supplements, kelp, salt, selenium etc.) in an attempt to make up for our hay, which we generally assume must be poorer in quality than hay grown elsewhere.

As far as prices go, they've doubled and trippled since I my first hay bucking memories in 1996. I've had a few hay farmers who have all told me that the cost of fertilizer has gone up significantly over the last few years, because of fuel and shipping costs I'm guessing. I had two farmers tell me that they have manure spreaders for fertilizing their fields with manure. This year when they put the manure down, it didn't rain for a month and the manure just sat there hard as rocks resulting in hay that didn't grow until July, when it finally did rain. 

So I've been doing some hay figurin. I actually kept track of all the hay we've bought since May last year. We puchased a total of thirteen thousand eight hundred pounds of brome hay. At a rough glance I'm guessing we've got a little over four thousand pounds left, which may barely just last us till first cutting. I took the amount of hay we've used and divided by ten months and we are feeding just under a thousand pounds a month to nine goats. Doing some online research most sources agree that about five pounds of hay per goat is a starting number, less for kids, more for milking and bred does. So with that in mind, I should be feeding about forty five pounds of hay daily. Looking over this past year I've been feeding closer to thirty five pounds of brome hay a day, but four of my goats are under a year. Also this number doesn't include the few pounds of alfalfa the does have been getting this winter.  Over the course of the summer the goats get more browse and veggies from the garden. 

So what do I make of all this. Well I'm looking forward to selling some milk and cheese shares sometime in the future so the goats can start paying for some of their feed. I feel like we've had a successful hay year; lots of variety of hay and not a single spot of mold. I would like to find some other types of hay, other grasses or timothy, just for variety. The most ideal situation which I hope I get to experience some day, is owning our own pasture. If we could grow our own hay and grains that would be fabulous. Keeping the goats on a piece of land that has lots of trees and brush with tall growing weeds and grasses would meet most of their nutritional needs. If we could harvest grains, root crops, legumes and dry hay for winter feeding, while keeping the goats in a wooded area where they can still eat bark, spruce boughs and moss (on enough land that they don't kill the trees), well that would just make for about as happy and healthy goats as we could have, with the exception of moving somewhere with milder and less snowy winters....which probably won't be happening. 

 Raising our own meat birds, milking goats and making cheese is all fine and dandy. I appreciate the experience and knowledge we are gaining in addition to knowing how our food was raised and handled. Yet at the end of the road with this many mouths to feed could be a tricky situation if push come to shove. In reality we depend on the trains and trucks that bring human and animal feed, fertilizer and gas to run machines. The only way we get beyond that is going old school, planting by hand, using animals to fertilize the ground, harvesting by hand and learning how to store everything we've grown, not just veggies, but piles of hay and bushels of grain.

Feed Costs

I wish I could say that I've saved all of our farm receipts from the entire year, but I can't. I have gotten better about it though. We have saved all of our receipts starting in September. I have added up costs for the last four months of the year for goats and the chickens. I am guessing that our hay and grain costs are higher than anywhere in the country, so if you live elsewhere you are probably going to think we are crazy for paying these high costs... or crazy for raising animals at the end of a supply chain.


In town there are two feed stores that I know of and their pricing on bags of feed is competitive. We shop at one over the other based primarily on location. Walmart carries a few items such as cracked corn, scratch, sunflower seeds and even wheat berries (although they've never had the later when we've looked). Their prices are the cheapest, and possibly for this reason they are often out of stock. The health food store in town also carries bulk grains, some of them organic. We have purchased bags of wheat berries and beans from them. Last I checked their prices were higher than the feed stores, but they have more variety when it comes to finding grains in bulk like amaranth or quinuoa.


I have looked into ordering bulk grains on my own but shipping is outrageous. I tried to join the one coop that I know of that orders through Azure Standard but they are not taking new members. I have thought of starting a coop myself. The main obstacle is figuring out how to rent or pay for a train car to bring grain or hay up from wherever (WA probably) and then find some other individuals with enough money at the same time to make an order and follow through. While I have not followed the proper channels to make this possible, maybe this year, right? 

So without further adeu, here are some numbers:
First here are our main purchases and their prices (fifty pound bags unless otherwise noted):

1. Cracked Corn 15.99
2. Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries 54.99
3. Whole Oats 9.99
4. Whole Barley 9.99
5. COB (corn, oats and barley, rolled) 15.99
6. Fishmeal (AK salmon meal) 54.99
7. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) 24.99
8. Alfalfa Pellets 19.99
9. Kelp Meal 81.99
10. Flax Seed 59.99
11. Alfalfa Meal 18.99
12. Alfalfa Hay 90-100 Ib bales 39.99

We are feeding nine goats total; one full size buck and two bucklings under a year, four grown does, three of which are bred and two doelings. We have been milking two does this fall and they eat as much grain and BOSS as all the other goats put together. We have been feeding the following:
Bred or milking does: 2 Ib COB, 1 cup BOSS, herbal vitamin supplement on daily grain.
Doelings and unbred doe: 1-2 C (less than a pound) COB, handful BOSS and herbal supp.
All Bucks: 2 C COB, handful BOSS and alfalfa pellets, herbal vit supp.

In addition to grain the goats also receive twice daily feedings of Brome Hay. We try to give the does one to two flakes of alfalfa hay daily but we don't always have it. This time of year we feed it more than in the summer or fall, because we are trying to increase the amount of protein and nutrients the bred does are receiving. If it was less expensive we would feed it much more often. The goats get a number of additional supplements and vitamins depending on the time of year. They always have access to baking soda and sweetlix loose mineral supplement for goats. We feed an herbal wormer weekly. We also some other herbal formulas, tinctures, probiotics and vitamin supplements on hand if needed. More information on why we feed what could take up an entire post itself and may at a later time. I also intend to write an entire post on hay, hay costs and calculating hay needs for the winter - coming.


With that said, we spent two hundred and thirty-six dollars on grain over the course of four months. That breaks down to about sixty dollars a month. I'll add that we are feeding the chickadees with that money as well, (BOSS). So I've got a pretty close idea of how much we spend on grain. Figuring out hay is a little more challenging because we buy most our hay in the summer. However I have kept all of our hay receipts since June, so we'll just have to see how long the hay lasts. Hay and Grain are the biggest costs in raising goats. Other costs include electricity, vet calls, vitamins and supplements. It is not cheap, but do I need to keep nine goats to have milk for my family? Certainly not. If my goal was just milk and cheese for my family all I would need are two milking does. I could pay eighty dollar breeding fees in the fall, sell the kids in the spring, and have significantly lower feed costs. However, in addition to supplying our family with quality milk and dairy products here are some of our long term goals for keeping a small herd of goats.

  

1. self sufficiency
2. a healthy disease free herd (which means limiting contact with other goats or livestock, which means keeping more than one buck)
3. being able to sell show quality goats who are disease free and great milkers
4. having the goat numbers and genetic diversity to some day transition into a larger herd with a small dairy in mind.

We made an investment when we purchased six goats and shipped them all the way up from Washington. Could we cut corners and find cheaper hay or feed less grain? Yes, but I not without jeapardizing the health of our herd. It is important to me to provide our animals with the diet they need to live healthy and happy lives.

I do have some ideas which may slightly decrease our dependency on hay and grain. We could fence larger areas of our woods as the goats love to eat bark, moss, spruce branches, grasses and dried rose hips, dried birch leaves and other dormant vegetation which is still available above the snow. I am also planning on growing more root vegetables with the intention of storing them, then slicing and feeding to the goats as an extra source of nutrients and vitamins. Both of these practices would add variation to their existing diet. At some point I'd like to have pasture where we could grow all of our own hay and grain, but even that takes money and lots of hard work. Nothing is without cost.

The chickens diet is comprised mostly of a whole grain feed that I mix in hundred pound batches. The chickens also receive daily kitchen scraps along with home brewed kombucha or raw milk kefir. They always have water, free choice grit and oyster shell. Because I make my own chicken feed there are some ingredients that I use in small quantities for example, I purchased a bag of kelp meal and flax seed last February when I first started mixing my own feed, and I just ran out this past December.  This fall we purchased six hundred and fifty pounds of chicken feed grains and ingredients and spent three hundred and forty six dollars. Which breaks down to forty nine cents a pound. Hey that is not bad considering that a bag of layer crumbles last I checked was seventeen dollars a bag or thirty four cents a pound.


I thought I'd take it one step further and I took each ingredient that I am using, figured out how much it cost by the pound, multiplied that by how many pounds I am using in the recipe and then added up all the costs, which gave me sixty four dollars and thirty nine cents for a hundred pound recipe, thirty two dollars for fifty pounds and sixty four cents a pound, ouch!
 
I have known that our feed was costing a significant amount more than processed crumbled or pelleted feed. I think that the real number is somewhere in between my two figures. As wheat berries are my biggest expense, I need to find a cheaper source or find another grain that can take the place of a portion of the berries. Another conclusion I've come to is that I am going to stop eye balling and start measuring when I am mixing feed. I have also started looking into other ingredients I can add to the existing recipe which will provide more variation. I will most likely do a follow up post on the individual ingredients and why I'm feeding what I'm feeding.


On a side note, I can't help but point out that even if we were feeding our chickens crumbled layer feed at seventeen dollars a bag, and fed the same amount of pounds of feed as we did our own mix, we still would have spent fifty five dollars a month feeding our twenty - twenty four chickens and ducks (we've eaten a few since Sept.). That is still fairly expensive, especially if you are trying to save money on eggs and meat by raising chickens.



We often exchange eggs and other farm products for farm labor or help with the kids. I've sold ten dozen extra eggs since November for about fifty dollars. I use to buy two dozen eggs a week at the Farmer's market for five dollars a dozen. At that rate I was spending thirty five to forty dollars on eggs a month. I'd like to keep better track of how many eggs we are getting. Currently I am supplying three families including our own with eggs. We also enjoy giving people eggs when they stop in for a visit. Beings that we are getting an average of six eggs a day, forty two eggs a week, fourteen dozen a month at five dollars a dozen makes seventy dollars a month in eggs. If we could bring down our feed costs and sell more of our eggs, maybe we could break even on feed, but that is not counting supplies or labor. We keep chickens because we enjoy them, their eggs and meat. I don't ever see myself not raising chickens.


I remember my mom use to charge around two dollars a dozen for eggs. I also remember paying four dollars for a bale of hay. Those days are long gone, at least in Fairbanks. I think that in Fairbanks farmers have seen a drastic increase in feed and hay prices over the last couple years. I'm sure that farmers all over have experienced this but with shipping costs already adding on a lot to feed costs they seem even more exaggerated. I'm sure that eggs and milk prices have increased at the supermarket as well but I've hardly noticed, but I have to admit, I'm not buying either.


"Headed back to our roots", is where I've claimed we are trying to return to. We are also lacking a lot of the information and practices of how common folks homesteaded before factory farms took over. The way we are raising animals is not the ways of our great grandparents. We are rather impetuous and impatient. Buy animals, buy food, buy lumber, build structures, get eggs, meat, milk, now! Now is better than never. I am looking forward to spending some slow winter days doing some research on traditional farming and livestock raising practices. Looking into providing more of my animals food from our own land and resources. If you have experience or ideas to share, please do so. Thankyou.


I