Farm Life
Life on a farm is a lot of work. Livestock needs to be fed and cared for at least twice a day.
We get up every morning around 6am and let out and feed the chickens. We fill their chicken pool and open the back shutters to their coop for maximum air flow. We give them some layered feed and 9-way scratch and dried mealworms. Yes, they are spoiled as are all of our animals.
Then we go down to the pigs and open up their gate so they can get to their mud pit. The new hog feeder we got (Tractor Supply, $199) holds two and a half 80 lbs. bag of feed (Sturm’s CS Grower, $18.99) and works so much better than the old, smaller one.
Back to the barn for gloves and feed buckets. The goats get about a half a cup each of Goat Chow (Tractor Supply, $14.99) and about half a slab of Orchard Grass (Hemme Hay, $12.99/Bale) for it’s protein for them to share. Check their water and put the chain back so Maverick doesn’t get into the goat paddock and eat their grass.
Back to the barn to put away buckets and get another half slab of Orchard Grass in a corner feeder for Maverick and fill up the Barley Straw (Hemme Hay, $6.99/Bale) slow feeders for Maverick and the goats to graze on all day since the straw has low nutrient value so munch away!
Then close up the barn and grab a small treat for Maverick and give it to him on my way back up the hill just to start working all day.
There is usually a few times in the day that Finn and I go give Maverick a carrot or check for eggs but at the end of the day we go down and do it all over again, fill water buckets for the next day, give the goats their Chaffhaye (fermenting alfalfa), lock in the vulnerable for the night and say goodnight to those furry friends in our charge.
We love it. But, even I sometimes want to just keep sleeping :-)
