I’m not going to lie, spending weekends in the hospital is not what I’d call a romantic date. My han
dsome husband has been in the ER 4 times in the last month. Living in a rural community definitely has its perks, but our local docs just aren’t equipped to deal with this. We’re going to see the big guns in Salt Lake this week to get this sorted.
My goats don’t seem to mind their new neighbors the Dr. Seus chickens, but they do keep trying to eat their lay mash… and who could blame them? We’re about out of alphalpha hay for the goats and they are going to have to start digging on some feed. You’d think they’d eat anything, but apparently squash is very low on the list for goats. I had some squash left over that is still sitting, rotting on the floor of their pen. Who ever heard of finicky goats?
But life is good- the eggs are green, the view is lovely from my office window, we’re in good spirits.
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I couldn’t get our goats to even eat squash leaves. That really surprised me.
Comment by 10yearchallenge November 10, 2008 @ 11:21 pmHey, just read your About page and see that you are a Henson too! My name is Sandy Henson.
Comment by 10yearchallenge November 10, 2008 @ 11:23 pmShelly, your chickens should take care of those leftover squashes. Give them to them if you haven’t already.
And yes, as you’ve found out, goats really do love chicken food. Mostly becuase it’s made of grain. Any grain is like candy to them. I’d keep it away from them. It’s an expensive way to feed goats and if they get too much of it they can develop kidney stones.
In fact, I would recommend layer pellets over mash or crumbles. There is MUCH less waste and any feed they bill out of the feeders sits on the ground for them to pick up when they get hungry (i.e. will get used). With crumbles, it’ll just get mixed in with the litter, dirt or whatever and not get used.
If you’ve ever done a cost analysis on how much each egg costs you, then you’ll realize you need to maximize your feed as much as you can.
Next lesson will be on forcing greater production during the waning sun/cold winter
Comment by Tom Ashton November 17, 2008 @ 5:38 pmOh, one other thing, you ever notice how small goat mouths actually are? One reason they don’t eat squash is that they can’t! The squash is usually to smooth and large for them to even get in in their mouths for a bite. If you really want to test whether they’ll eat it or not, then cut it up. If the answer is “no”, give it to the chickens. It’ll be gone shortly.
Comment by Tom Ashton November 17, 2008 @ 5:41 pmErrr…
“…too smooth…” I mean.
Comment by Tom Ashton November 17, 2008 @ 5:42 pmShelley,
Comment by Laura January 6, 2009 @ 9:40 pmI love you to death! You know that right? I missed seeing you this holiday season. I hope that Rob is feeling better. I will give you a call soon.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
I just did a huge update on my blog if you want to check it out. Life is busy but good. I hope to find out what I am having tomorrow! CRAZY!!!
Love Laura
http://www.grovesfam.blogspot.com