
Animal Care Basics
If you read the labels on food you buy you'd see there are a lot of non-food products used in food processing. Mass produced food contains these for a lot of reasons but not for your good health. Also, mass produced meats are not happy animals raised on sunlight, fresh grass and managed with care. They have been genetically bred for consumption, fed whatever puts as much meat on them in as short a period as possible and lost all ability to resist diseases that their wild counter parts hold naturally. If - You are What You Eat . . .
Producing a large portion of your own food can be time consuming task if you do not plan ahead. Keeping animals is a commitment to providing them food, water and clean shelter from harsh weather but the rewards are bounties of all natural - no chemical meat & dairy. Well kept animals have fewer problems.This task does not have to be impossible if you plan on deep 8" bedding in winter stalls, this is turned occationally to freshen it. Lime is also a great odor eliminator for all types of animals. Good bedding can be used until it no longer looks like straw, which can be a few years if turned every few months during winter. In the end, the bedding is then turned into the methane gas to completely break it down, or if it is ready to go directly to the garden or fields. This is black gold. The other big obsticle in animal care is fencing. The better your fencing - the easier the animal care is during the grazing season. Nothing can ruin a day more than to find an animal malled by wild coyotes, fox or a racoon.
