Did you know that goats burp? An adult goat can carry four to five gallons of plant matter in it’s rumen. The rumen breaks down the plants and acts as a fermentation vat. Gasses are created because of the fermentation causing the goat to burp!
Author: Crystal
-
Beating the Summer Heat
I love the heat! I’m comfortable even on the hottest days of the year… The cold is what I have trouble with (if you were following us last winter you are well aware of this!). The animals however don’t deal with the summer as well as I do. We have to take certain precautions to make sure that they are safe and healthy even in the hottest temperatures.
The goats deal with the heat the best. We just have to make sure they have constant fresh water and shade. During the hottest parts of the summer we may have to come out several times a day to make sure the water buckets are filled. A few summers ago, when we were dealing with extreme heat, I witnessed a bucket of water emptied in front of me between the llamas and goats. We have several buckets spread around. We always keep at least one in the barn and one in the pasture.
The chickens will tell you when they are too hot. They pant and egg production may go down. In very extreme heat chickens may become listless, which is a sign that they could be in danger of heat stroke. We help our chickens deal with the heat by making sure they always have fresh water, occasionally we will add ice to the water to keep it cooler longer, we give them frozen fruit and veggies to eat, and give them fruits with high water content like watermelon. It is also important that chickens have shade and space to dust bathe since this can help them regulate their temperature.
In the spring we shear both llamas to prepare them for the summer and like with the rest of the animals we make sure they always have fresh water and shade. Afton, our cream colored llama, does fairly well in the heat. He dust baths a lot, but is no where near as miserable as our black llama, Blue. Poor Blue struggles in the heat, so at least once a day, on the really hot days, we go out and hose Blue off. He loves to stand in the running water.
Heat can be very harmful to animals. It is extremely important that you take measures to keep your animals safe in the heat. For most fresh water and shade is enough, but keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t need further help.
-
Fun Farm Fact Friday… July 31st
Given that we are now in the dog days of summer I felt like it was a good time for this fact about llamas…
We discussed before how llamas are in the same family as camels, so they share many similarities. Like camels, llamas can survive for weeks without water because they can collect water from the food they eat. I have also witnessed our llamas suck up a half a bucket of water in one sitting on a hot day!
-
How to get a dark egg yolk
If you are a farmer or even just have a backyard chicken flock you understand the importance, and the satisfaction, of getting a dark egg yolk from your chicken! It’s an indication that your chickens are getting a healthy, nutrient rich diet. If your chicken has a healthy diet then they are transferring those nutrients to their eggs! Everyone benefits!
There are three nutrients that factor into the egg yolk coloring – Proteins, xanthophylls, and omega-3 fatty acids. All of these nutrients can be found naturally and if you are able to pasture your chickens they will pick up everything they need nutritionally and their yolks will be bright orange on their own without any supplementing. If your chickens live in a coop and do not get a lot of yard time there are ways of supplementing these nutrients so you too can get the dark egg yolks!
Proteins
It always drives me crazy when I see “vegetarian feed” on chicken meat or eggs at the grocery store. Chickens are not vegetarians. They are omnivores. They love and need meat! Bugs, mealworms, frogs, lizards, and even rodents. Letting your chickens have run of a pasture should give them all the protein they need, since they will spend their day chasing and eating bugs. If you need to supplement you can give them dried mealworms, black oil sunflower seeds, cooked meats, and cooked eggs. It’s a daily ritual for us to give our chickens black oil sunflower seeds when we are putting them up for the night. It makes it easier to get them into the coop and gives them an extra shot of protein, especially during the winter when there aren’t a lot of bugs out.
Xanthophylls
Xanthophylls play a large role in getting you those dark egg yolks. They can be found in plants like leafy greens, broccoli, collards, kale, and brussels sprouts. In the winter when greens are not always readily available you may notice that the yolks become a paler. Giving your chicken your veggie scraps and/or growing extra greens for them in your garden will help supplement their diet. Dandelion greens are also a great source of xanthophylls. During the spring and summer I have the kids pick the dandelions out of the yard and throw them in the coop. The chickens love them!
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
If you are looking to supplement Omega-3 Fatty Acids flax seeds and sea kelp will give the chickens what they need.
Making sure your chicken has a well rounded, nutrient rich diet is easy to do and will benefit everyone and once you start getting the dark orange yolks it’s hard to imagine eating eggs that don’t… It makes you an egg snob!
-
Fun Farm Fact Friday… July 24th
Did you know that llamas are not actually hoofed animals? On each foot they have two toenails and on the bottom they have a leathery pad. This hoof structure makes them very sure footed. It allows them to have better sensation on the bottom of their feet and gives them better contact with the ground.
-
Fun Farm Fact Friday… July 17th
What goes into a dozen eggs? We learned earlier in the year that it takes 14 hours of sunlight for a chicken to make a single egg, but more than sunlight is needed… in fact it takes 4 pounds of feed to make one dozen eggs!
-
Custom Bed and Breakfast Order
At The Freckled Farm Soap Company we offer custom orders for our goat milk soap. This can be for wedding or party favors, or even a gift. This week we sent out a custom order for a Bed and Breakfast in NY! These half bars will be used as their guest soaps.
If you would like to learn more about our custom soap orders please visit our website.
-
Bryce’s Favorite Soap
For the longest time Bryce used our Castile Goat Milk Soap because she had incredibly sensitive skin. If her clothes or sheets were not washed in a free and clear detergent she would break out in a horrible rash. She was able to use our Castile without any issues, so for her first year and a half of life that is what she used. We started testing small areas of her skin at around eighteen months and she never had a reaction to our soaps, even though she was still reacting to things like laundry detergent. She was able to use our full line of soaps without a problem, so we started to allow her to pick out her own soaps from the reject drawer (the drawer of soaps that have flaws or didn’t make weight that we can’t sell). She loves smelling the soaps, so it is always a treat for her to pick out a new one. Her favorite soap to use is the Sunrise Citrus. She absolutely loves the scent!
If you are interested in trying our Sunrise Citrus Goat Milk Soap or our Castile you can find them here.
-
Fun Farm Fact Friday… July 10th
Chickens are incredibly interesting animals to have on the farm. They have huge personalities and are so much fun to watch. Chickens have over 200 distinct noises they can make for communicating. This fact doesn’t surprise me at all. Ours have quite a few calls that I recognize and know their purpose. They have a call they do when they have laid an egg, when they are looking for their flock mates, when they have found food, warning calls, look out calls, etc… and if you are around them long enough you can distinguish these calls yourself.
-
Breckin’s Favorite Soap
Breckin had a hard time picking a favorite soap. He kept saying he loves them all! However, when we put them all in front of him and asked him to pick one he picked Lemongrass Green Tea as his favorite. He likes the fact that it is green (naturally colored by the green tea) because it is his favorite color. He also loves the way that it smells. Although, he wants it stated that he really does love them all!
If you are interested in trying out our Lemongrass Green Tea Goat Milk Soap yourself you can find it here!