Winter feed......expensive to say the least. Yet still one of the most important factors for maintaining your livestock's health during the cold, short days of winter.
With our growing season a mere 90 days, it doesn't give us a whole lot of options for adding nutritional value to our herds diet. One way we provide the minerals' and vitamins; to our goats winter feed is by dehydrating. Huh? Yes, dehydrating. We don't have to worry about storing feed through the winter months, or having space enough to do so.
So why do we bring this up now when everyone is still dealing with winter? Because now is the perfect time to plan! Think about the seeds you've already ordered, or soon will, just for starting seeds indoors or are you just 'not so patiently' waiting for planting time. Many of you probably already provide garden space for those kid critters you constantly talk about. So, what do you do for winter? Probably grass hay or alfalfa (depending on cost). Some of you offer grain and maybe goat minerals. It seems odd though when you think about it, the time they need the nutrients the most (when pregnant or during severe cold), many only provide the bare minimum for their livestock.
It's not that most don't want to, but many are limited by the cost of providing it during the time of year when it doesn't grow or isn't readily available. Many, like us, just don't have the means to store it all without some difficulty or watching some rot in the root cellar. This is where dehydrating became the best option for us.
With our growing season a mere 90 days, it doesn't give us a whole lot of options for adding nutritional value to our herds diet. One way we provide the minerals' and vitamins; to our goats winter feed is by dehydrating. Huh? Yes, dehydrating. We don't have to worry about storing feed through the winter months, or having space enough to do so.
So why do we bring this up now when everyone is still dealing with winter? Because now is the perfect time to plan! Think about the seeds you've already ordered, or soon will, just for starting seeds indoors or are you just 'not so patiently' waiting for planting time. Many of you probably already provide garden space for those kid critters you constantly talk about. So, what do you do for winter? Probably grass hay or alfalfa (depending on cost). Some of you offer grain and maybe goat minerals. It seems odd though when you think about it, the time they need the nutrients the most (when pregnant or during severe cold), many only provide the bare minimum for their livestock.
It's not that most don't want to, but many are limited by the cost of providing it during the time of year when it doesn't grow or isn't readily available. Many, like us, just don't have the means to store it all without some difficulty or watching some rot in the root cellar. This is where dehydrating became the best option for us.
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