Some new projects and more on feeding cattle

Last Tuesday I forgot to mention John is trying an experiment. No shampoo or soap just water in the shower. As of today no strange smells have developed and none of the dogs have tried rolling on him.

He has commented that his towel may need replacement more often.

But to be fair because of the tick problem across the river we shower and change cloths as soon as we get back. Sometimes for John that can be twice each day and in addition there is the shower at the end of the day. Add that to an hour several times each week in the chlorinated water of the swimming pool and the cold water rinse off afterwards means he is reasonably clean.

Why? Just curiosity. Some links below.

Mark's Daily Apple

Permies Forum

Paul Wheaton Podcast

After the drought feeding seminar we performed an assessment on our three cattle. Sometimes when they stand at different angles some ribs show. Probably ok but just in case we have decided to sprout some grains and slowly modify their diets to include these for a while to make sure they are receiving enough energy food until the green grass returns.

Today as we collected chook food grains from a local bulk supplier we also bought a small amount of Oats in addition to the other grains which included Barley. The trial will be on two different grains Oats and Barley to see which if any they prefer. A kilogram of each will soak overnight and then be drained and sprouted. As soon as the little white nodule of the sprout emerges we will try feeding it out with a little molasses as a sweetener.

Some Drought Feeding Notes

• Cattle graze for 14/15 hours each day
• Protein is secondary to energy content of their food
• Manage the grass cover of your paddocks by not letting the coverage get below 50 mm in height so that it will recover quickly. If the paddock is bared it will take longer to recover after rain and also promote weeds.
• If necessary use a sacrificial paddock rather than flock the entire property.
• Green pick is next to useless. This is the famous green pick referred to that pops up after burning off or a bared paddock after the first shower of rain.
• Lock up paddocks for about 2 weeks after rain to allow regrowth. 2 weeks assumes reasonable nitrogen levels and grass coverage i.e. improved country is very important for recovery.
• Poorer country must be rested and given time to recover