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RE: Do you have any tips?

gcwpapillon — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:25:56 GMT

AWSOME PEOPLE! KEEP THEM COMING!!!!! I have 4 pg full of just horse tips, I take any and all livestock (even exotic) tips, farm/barn matenince tips! Eventually I will take gardening tips but right now I'm sticking to what's listed above. Don't worry if you think I might have the tip, other people on here might not know about it, so post it anyways!!! I've come across really cool tips, from first aid to feeding to cleaning the water buckets in your fields! Thanks again and again, keep them coming!!!

RE: Do you have any tips?

Cherie Langlois — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:41:00 GMT

Hi,

Here are a few more farm animal tips for you. I think you've got an awesome idea for a book, and I would definitely buy a copy

Cherie

1. Use golf balls as dummy eggs for chickens to encourage them to lay where you want them to (like in a nest box rather than hidden in the back 40 somewhere).

2. Apply aloe vera juice to help heal minor scrapes and cuts on livestock. If you have plants, use the fresh juice from a broken leaf, or you can buy pure aloe vera gel at the store. It works great for people, too! I recently had a bicycling "road rash" that healed up in just few days with liberal doses of aloe vera.

3. A large cardboard box makes a terrific (and free!) brooder for a small number of chicks. Layer the bottom with newspaper and absorbent, non-toxic wood shavings; put in a chick feeder and waterer, a thermometer, and hang a brooder lamp over it (using extreme caution not to allow the lamp to contact the sides of box or shavings). For larger numbers of chicks, I've seen large oval metal water tanks used in feed stores.

4. Got sheep or goats? A metal stanchion or shearing stand is worth its weight in gold. We use ours to confine our sheep and goats for deworming, vaccinations, and hoof care.

5. Provide your ducks with an inexpensive plastic kid's wading pool to bathe in if you don't have a pond. Be sure you put cement blocks, large rocks, or something similar on the inside and outside of the pool to help your ducks get in and out (or you can make wooden ramp). These kiddie pools clean relatively easily and can be moved to new spots to prevent mud and muck from forming.

6. Really take time to look your animals over at least once each day, focusing on their appearance and behavior and looking for signs of sickness like lethargy, runny eyes or noses, not eating, or staying away from the rest of the herd or flock. It's easy to fall into a rut of glancing at your animals without really seeing them because you're strapped for time or thinking about the day ahead. And that can mean missing the sometimes subtle signs of illness (been there, done that!). The sooner you catch a health problem, the sooner you can deal with it.

RE: Do you have any tips?

gcwpapillon — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:37:26 GMT

Thanks so much everyone! I've been so busy I forgot to check this post then my computer went down and I lost ten pages of tips!!! So, ANY TIPS WILL help!!!!! I love the ones I've gotten so far!!!! Thanks again!!!

RE: Do you have any tips?

LADYWOLF — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:03:50 GMT

CHICKEN LICE IS EASY TO GET RID OF BY PUTTING YOUR WOODSTOVE ASH IN THEIR COOP, PUT IT IN A PILE WHERE THEY TAKE DUST BATHS. THEY WILL BATH IN IT, AND IT WILL KILL THE LICE WITHOUT HARMING YOUR CHICKENS OR USING ANY POISEN.

RE: Do you have any tips?

Sue Weaver — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:55:38 GMT

Hey, feel free to use any of the TFTF tips that I post to this forum! What a great idea for a book. :o)

Sue

RE: Do you have any tips?

Sarah_Coleman — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:50:14 GMT

I have tons of handy tips for horses -- some of which I am sure you already know!

Have you heard of putting bacon grease on a scrape to help the hair grow back the same color and not white? You can't put it on an open wound, but once the skin has healed, it can avoid white patches of hair ... (you can also use Preparation H, but I will only buy it if I can go through a U-scan :))

In the winter, you can also use non-stick cooking spray or Vaseline on their hooves to keep snow from becoming packed in their shoes, if they are shod.

You can put Gatorade in horse's drinking water if you think they have ulcers. You just have to make sure you offer another bucket that does not have Gatorade in it in case they don't like the taste.

There are also loads of hints for medicating horses ... like crushing pills and combining with applesauce and administering via a syringe without a needle, etc.

Does this help you at all? There's lots more if you want them :)

RE: Do you have any tips?

barnwood — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:21:57 GMT

WD-40 works too and it's cheaper

RE: Do you have any tips?

Anna264 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:01:57 GMT

A great source of bedding is shredded paper from an office building. Where I work I can get large trashbags full of it, and it works wonderfully for both goat and chicken bedding... paper actually absorbs odors and fluffs up to trap warmth better than many other types of bedding. Best of all, it's free!

I've heard shredded paper also works well to start fires, I guess because there is a lot of air space. However, to start fires in my woodstove with a heavy draft, I use old strips of cloth (terrycloth towels work best) soaked in kerosene. It will light well and burn for a while with high heat, long enough to ignite most any wood, even damp. I've used the same method while camping when there were high winds, and the fire started no problem.

RE: Do you have any tips?

sarahsboergoats — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:31:29 GMT

If you're milkin' a stubborn goat it's good not to give it feed until milking. [Only give it hay and water when you're not milkin', then when she goes to the stand, she'll have somethin' to look forward to.]

I also agree that it isn't good to brush the knots out of horses' maines, because you'll end up rippin' out alot of their maine.

RE: Do you have any tips?

ohiofunnyfarm — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:50:34 GMT

when a horse tail or maine gets all tangled in knot or burs we have found plan baby oil works great to remove all.with a little brushing and work .. we found this out AFTER we cut most of our horse maine and tail off ,,on the goats we are new to this one so we will keep checking out the post people leave for you on them .. have fun and good luck on your book

RE: Do you have any tips?

years of trial and error — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:39:48 GMT

To move pigs around..put a bucket on their head and they will back to where you need them.
To milk a difficult cow tie her tail to the side..it helps distract her. (also, warm your hands if milking by hand and use a little bag balm on teats..)
Chickens love oyster shells, most veggies, and to keep the coop nice... clean regularly, sprinkle sweet lime and use shavings on floor and nest boxes.
Same with sheep and goats, clean, lime and shavings although in winter leaving some manure and using hay bedding helps keep the lambs warm when they come, along with using lights.

Lastly, have fun ..it's a great life..!!!!

RE: Do you have any tips?

stuck_in_the_city_girl — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:46:59 GMT

Hi I cant believe this page isnt full of usefull tips. I give my chickens their own egg shells to eat. They all fight over them they love it so much. It is supposed to help make strong shells for future eggs.

RE: Do you have any tips?

Jo — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:53:05 GMT

Sorry I don't have a good tip but I think the previous reply was correct about exploring self-publishing. There are many good books on the subject and of course there are many websites that are only selling info to hopeful writers.

Looking into self-publishing information now may help you save some steps and avoid some mistakes as you go along. Not to mention saving you some costly ($$$) mistakes. Should you decide to take that route, here are a couple of sites that could give you a lot of "food for thought". I found these folks' websites and books years ago. They've been around a long time and offer "real" info not just fluff and I have found their information to be very helpful. Check out the free articles.... (yes, they have things for sale, too, but there's a lot of free info... start there). The checklists and organizing tips really come in handy. Good luck with your project!

www.parapublishing.com

http://www.selfpublishingresources.com/Articles.htm

RE: Do you have any tips?

georgec — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:17:38 GMT

Writing the book is the easy part. Getting it published is the hard part. You might want to look into self publishing.

RE: Do you have any tips?

gcwpapillon — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:02:58 GMT

Any one?

Do you have any tips?

gcwpapillon — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:19:08 GMT

Hi every one, I'm putting together a book on farm animal tips. My family just moved to a farm, and we own horses and chickens so far. Well, I've found out alot of tips, from other owner, that I NEVER read in any book, so I'm going to put together a book on just these tips, I'll take cows, horses, sheep, goats, and chicken tips...from keeping the coop from smelling, to milking a stubborn cow/goat ect. Any tips will be so helpful, Thanks for your time...and hopefully your tips.