SEASONS BLEATINGS from Herbal
Maid Fiber Farm! : August 2008
Kathy in the hayfield
HARVEST SEASON
BEGINS!
Hay After the drought conditions of the
past three years, we have been repaid in spades with LOTS of rain this year.
In fact, it has been darn hard getting any hay cut without it getting rained
on at least once. So instead of taking a chance on a big marathon haying...
we have broken up the job into smaller batches... about 5 acres at a time. For
a few pictures of haying this year... see the pictorial this month on haying After the hay is up out of this field, it is going to get
a long overdue dressing of lime
This year , we have plenty of grass in the
midwest... but soaring gas and diesel prices are going to keep prices
high for hay. The three drought years gave us severely
diminished haycrops... in fact, they were so bad that the
USDA offered a program to help and belatedly is paying $2.67 per head on
sheep and goats. I did apply for this assistance,
and the economic support will be going in the gas tanks for
getting the hay up this year. Oh well. At least I should have enough hay
for the herd.
The new pasture I put in last year has
also benefited from the regular rain and is flourishing... and the sheep and
goats are fat and sleek!
My buck-pen garden has done fabulously
well! I don't think I have ever had such healthy and vigorous
tomatoes and eggplant. Beans and broccoli, sugar snap peas,
cantalope , sweet potatoes, peppers and herbs also flourish. I have
already put up green beans and tomatoes for my winter enjoyment. I highly
recommend using this resource for yourself next year.
Wild Edibles on the farm
wild blackberries just starting
to ripen
Wild blackberries are gigantic and abundant
this year thanks to all the rain . And a bumper crop of Chanterelles
in the woods last month really made me happy! Have you ever seen them?
Bright pumpkin orange with ruffly edges.. nothing else looks like them.
They are a summertime mushroom that pops up after a rain and in hot weather
. See my summer harvest
page for
some summertime recipes.
August is National Goat Cheese
Month! August is one of the peak months of production for our
dairy goats. Forage is good and that translates into happy goats and great
milk production. A soft chevre flavored with fresh chopped herbs from the
garden is a wonderful accompaniment to a summer salad. To celebrate
National Goat Cheese Month, I picked up a unique
wooden milking stand at auction with space on the platform
for the milker and the milkee! . It needed a bit of repair and a new
coat of paint, but is charming and useful! $75.00 to the first
respondant!
Summer
Woes
The other side of the
RAIN coin Watch carefully for some of
the evils that come along with all this rain... lush pasture growth and wet
conditions favor internal parasites and sore feet! Watch for signs of
unthriftiness , general weakness,diarrhea, pale eye membranes, swelling
under throat, on belly or legs ... all can be signs of
serious parasite loads. Treat immediately! Limping, grazing on
their knees, unusual hoof growth are all signs of hoof scald/rot. I
don't see this much in the leicester sheep or dairy and meat goats (perhaps
because their toes are large and separated); but the angoras seem particularly
prone to it. Perhaps it is the smaller, closer toes and all that fuzzy stuff
down to their feet that keeps them wet. Treatment is an on-going thing in
wet weather: tetracycline injections, 4G crumbles in their feed, constant
trimming, iodine or other disinfectants. Tea Tree Oil seems to help.
An old time remedy is to sprinkle powdered lime between their toes and on
the ground where they congregate. I find a plastic ketsup bottle works
well for "puffing" lime between the toes and it does seem to help dry them
up. Its hard on the hands though. It is times like these that
I covet the conditions of the more arid parts of the
country. I guess its a trade off: I get lots of forage, but also
parasites and wet footing. You have fewer parasite and footing problems ,
but less forage. Veterinary expenses vs feed expenses...guess since I live
here I am just going to have to breed for parasite resistance and big feet with
toespace and less lower leg cover.
Keep those bunnies well
ventilated In midwestern heat and humidity, your angora
bunnies will be hot... no way around that unless you can keep them in
airconditioning. But they will be ok as long as you can 1) protect them
from direct sunlight 2) keep them well ventilated... fans help
enormously. I have six running at all times.
Tip: save the S hooks from your broken bungee
cords... they are perfect for hanging a box fan at the end of a row of rabbit
cages! 3) plenty of fresh cool water... a gravity water
system gives you some peace of mind that they will not run out... but if you use
bottles or crocks, give them fresh water twice a day 4) keep them
plucked/thinned down . For a few
rabbits, putting frozen bottles of water can give them a cool surface to lay
next to... but they melt fast and the rabbits may chew on the plastic.
Fly control Flies are always
a problem on the farm and will breed like crazy in wet ,manured areas. In
the rabbitry I hang disposable fly traps (my favorite control method). You
can get these at farm supply stores and they cost about $3-5 each and are worth
every penny! An attractant (caution, it really smells bad) draws the flies in
and they can't get out. When the trap is full, I set it in the sun to dry
out a bit and then toss the whole thing on trash day. I catch millions of flies
throughout the summer. Tip: those S hooks
mentioned above are also perfect for hanging fly traps below rabbit
cages!
Lime under the cages and in damp areas also
helps. The manure you shovel out later will be garden ready
too! I wish I could just spray under the cages for fly larvae, but
the chickens and ducks get under the cages and that would not be good for
them OR the eggs I eat. So I just let them help control the fly larvae
which they do with gusto.
The old fashioned fly strips are cheap, but I have
an uncanny way of getting them caught in my hair... so not my favorite
method. Some people swear that putting a bit of vanilla in the rabbits
drinking water works as well. I have not really tried this one yet.
Don't try this at home
Here is some cautionary advise similar
to "don't put your thumbs inside the steering wheel of tractors or 4
wheel drive vehicles : "don't hold onto the
rabbit cage latch while reaching for the feed
bucket". In a hurry, feeding rabbits... loose
gravel underfoot ... holding onto a hook type door latch on a rabbit
cage... slipped in gravel... hook ripped into finger and pulled a full thickness
gash in my finger right at the joint...tetanus shot... 3 hours spent in a
local emergency room <sigh> Its better now, but not
a stunt I intend to repeat!
Gearing up for
Fall
bachelors: Pinto Machismo,
Coup de Chance and Feanaro
Time to begin preparations for the fall breeding
season. I have already begun separating all the bucks and rams from
the common grazing pastures. Those destined for the freezer or
salebarn have been castrated. This month I will pull out any ewes and does
that I do not want to keep for breeding... and worm them all. The
sheep and goats are as fat as ticks from the summer glut of grasses,
so may not need much more than worming to flush them!
I will be downsizing my herd this fall in hopes of
surviving another difficult winter ahead. It is a sad decision to make, but
I will be phasing out most of my angora goats. It is partly an economic
decision and partly manpower. They are the most labor intensive and
the most expensive to maintain for me and lets face it... I am not
getting any younger or richer. 8>) I will keep a small core group,
because I do love mohair. I will keep a small group of meat and dairy
goats. Sheep and rabbit numbers will remain stable.
Feed prices (already higher) threaten to go even
higher due to fuel prices and corn losses. There should be plenty of hay to be
had, but thanks to the cost of driving machinery around the fields, it will cost
twice as much to buy it. In recent years past, hay to be picked up in the field
was $1.50 a bale... this year: I have seen advertisements for as much as
$5.00 a bale (for a small square bale of mixed grass hay) . I know it
is even worse in other parts of the country. I am eager to fence off
another overgrown area so the meat goats can brushhog for me this
winter. Dairy goats will be turned into the "garden" after all is
harvested.
August Offerings
Check out the rabbit
page for August Specials! If you
like spots I got em in the latest litters. Pretty pretty pretty.
I am offering a special price on certain pairs and trios this
month and still have a few bargain priced retirees to choose from.
Also look for some tips on dyeing angora bunny... its so pretty! FREE DELIVERY to the World Sheep Fest at
Bethel, Mo can probably be arranged on prepaid rabbits. I may also take
some bunnies up for sale.
This is the time to pick up that ram you need for fall breeding
duty... giving him a chance to settle into his new home before he is expected
to work. I have some VERY NICE ready-to-work rams
available . See the sheep
page for photos of the BOYZ.
I reserved one very special French Alpine
buck kid . He is a beauty and growing well. Also available: a
nice brown Colored Angora kid. I am still trying to find
the right home for the Pygmy goat family and have reduced the price. Take two
or four for even greater savings. See the goatpage
for more info on goats for sale.
THANKS
a new friend
Jane Caulfield from Tennessee took home the
beautiful Jensen wheel. We had a great visit and THANKS for the Brie
Jane! Jane and her daughter, Kim, raise Cotswolds and were some of
the first in the U.S. to use imported Wenleysdale genetics from the U.K.
Its always great to meet another longwool breeder!
Thanks also to Jeanette of Missouri
and Dee of Illinois for their livestock
purchases last month!
Upcoming Events
Gasconade Co
Fair , Owensville MO : has a rabbit show in their
brand new rabbit building this year at 2pm on July 31st and a goat show at 9am
on August 1st. The fair funs from July 30 - August 2nd.
Rural Missouri Spinners Guild
Meeting - Gasconade Co Museum, Owensville MO 10 am August
23rd. I can bring a visitor, so let me know if you want to
come! hmffarm@fidnet.com
World Sheep
Fest over Labor Day weekend August 30 - Sept 1,
at Bethel, Mo near the Iowa border. This event has an active rabbit
tent and I can offer FREE DELIVERY to the festival on prepaid rabbits. See
www.worldsheepfest.com for more details on
the opportunities and workshops connected with this
event
Heritage
Festival - September 13 on the Mainstreet at Owensville
Mo RMS demonstration / booth sales A pleasant local event...
and a fine excuse to sit and spin. If you are local, feel free to come and join
some of the RMS members on mainstreet.
Jacobs Cave Small Animal
Swap October 2,3,4,5 at Jacobs Cave Meadowlands near Versailles
MO www.jacobscave.com
I can deliver prepaid rabbits to this event and will probably have other rabbits
as well.
Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
Kathy Barger-Harbert
Herbal Maid Fiber Farm