Each morning we open the gate for the horses to graze. Throughout the day they put themselves in and out, loafing under the roof and eating hay for a spell before returning to the lush pasture. I originally put them out on the clover the day before the last horse club, gradually building up their grazing time from a couple of hours a day until now they are grazing 9 to 10 hours daily. Meanwhile, we have cut back on their grain and supplements. I reward them with their buckets as I shut them back in the barnyard in the evening. I still give Arrow and Shorty some rice bran, but I have cut everyone’s grain rations in half and am giving very little else. Today they each got 1-2 cups of beet pulp as it was their weekly probiotic day, when I soak their beet pulp in kombucha tea. They still get their raspberry leaves as well. I forgot to stock up on turmeric and we have run out, but the green grass seems to be helping with coughs.
Since we have mostly finished the front perimeter fence, instead of putting the goats out in grazing pens during the day, I have been rotating the herd between free ranging and the barnyard. For them, too, I have cut back to only the occasional beet pulp. Rarely are we stuffing hay bags. If they can graze an hour or so morning and evening, they can fill up quickly and spend their time contentedly chewing their cud. The barnyard goats still have hay in their big bale feeder.
Last week we found an abundance of eggs and were able to share with several other families. The past few days we are finding less, but still enough for us. Not sure if the free range flock is hiding eggs somewhere new, or…?
We have given up on the missing free range hen, the fat red one with a dark tail who had started nesting away from the others. But she is only the 2nd to disappear in 3 ½ years of free-ranging a flock, so we are doing pretty well. I would love to raise another round of chicks, but am waiting until summer to add to our numbers , in case it still might work for me to travel to help our daughter during the birth of our next grandson. This summer we are also looking forward to another piglet, and perhaps another bunny or two.