My apple trees provide snacks for the pigs and turkeys in late summer and early fall. The turkey feeders are working wonderfully. The flies don't bother Lavendar's ears, but they attack Clover's constantly. You have to keep water available to the pigs at all times during the hot summer months. The chickens have broken down the goat muck into a fine compost. They are great compost helpers. I learned that turkeys don't really need or want a structure to roost in. They seem to do just fine sleeping under trees. I open up a portion of the pasture for the goats to browse the high plants which will leave the low stuff for the pigs. Goats browse on higher plants. Kunekune's will graze on the low grass. It is important to keep the goats supplied with free choice minerals because they may not receive all they need in the pasture they are in.
Every day my family and I are learning what it means to run a hobby farm. We started with chickens then added myotonic, or fainting, goats, and eventually kunekune (kune kune) pigs. Throw in some Guinea fowl and turkeys and cats and dogs with a creek and tons of wildlife and you start to get an idea of what our hobby farm is like. Hobby farming is time consuming and hard, but rewarding and fulfilling. There are daily chores that never stop. The animals need to be fed and watered. Pastures and pens need to be fenced and built. Goats and pigs need to be rotated in their pastures to give them fresh food and to rejuvenate the land. Food is planted and grown for the animals. Medicines are given orally and injected to prevent and cure sickness and combat parasites. Hooves need to be trimmed. Babies need to be raised. At any given time we have gilts, sows, boars, piglets, bucks, does, kids, chicks, chickens, keets, guineas, turkeys, etc. that need our attention, love and care. Follow along and we’ll learn and grow on this adventure together!
17 сен 2024
