grass fed only

[BlueCoyote 0]

couple weeks ago i met a man that has Highland Cattle in Florida and West Virginia.. he goes back and forth depending on drought status down in Florida.

 

anyway he got me thinking about this grass fed stuff... his cattle eat nothing but grass - part of the new wave of "going green" and raising "organic" food i suppose. my thoughts are.... i have enough land out here doing nothing but growing grass... and most of my animals are naturally grass eaters ( the rabbits and goats) but what about the ducks and chickens and the pig?

 

before anyone says it i know those are omnivorous and will eat what ever they can get, but could i get away with just sticking with the grass and letting them get the extra stuff themselves(bugs, scraps, and the like) or should i keep throwing corn and processed feed to them every day?

 

and again before anyone says it, i already know i need to plant the right kind of grass for them to eat. rye or millet and that sort. i still have more research to do on it, but any ideas on which would be best? right now we have millet and a plant called rape(related to the turnip) planted in some plots. the animals all love it. but we also do a lot of supplementing with laying mash for the hens...

 

the prices of grain are going up and i dont want to pay extra for corn just so some jack ass can pour it into his gas tank.

i've got my own little corn crop growing but it wont be ready until months later. and i need some ideas and solutions now.

 

 

thanks anyway. i'm off to do some reading on the subject. i just want to know if anyone else grass feeds their livestock or do you stick with grains and supplements?

[Clover 0]

We have a herd of Dexter cattle and they are fed only on our grass and sileage and hay - no cereals at all for them (doesn't help you much with your birds does it!) They are a traditional breed and produce delicious beef - and the advantage of purely grass fed is that the meat has two to six times more Omega 3 fatty acid than cereal raised beef.

 

How much land have you got? Enough for a couple of cows?? Dexters are only small

[BlueCoyote 0]

well i believe we have enough for at LEAST three small breed cattle. probably more if we clear out the woods in my backyard.. i only hesitate to do that because its on a severe slope. i dont know if the grass could grow fast enough to prevent a land slide from the next heavy rain. that could put our house down at the base of someone elses forest lol

 

i was interested in the highland cows due to their size, but was also considering Dexters. someone not far from me was selling a small herd of cows with calves by their sides but they didnt give a price. wanted us to come and see them then we would talk about prices. the guy i met with the highland cattle was a lot nicer about price quotes for steers, heifers, and cows with calves.

 

 

while i was talking to this guy i almost met the business end of those horns when some stupid woman let her kid run up and goose the cow.... i guess she was trying to milk it.

 

so anyway yes i think we could graze a few cows on my property but not sure if we could with goats at the same time... but according to this fella and his wife the meat tastes a lot like goat meat.. and if it does then who needs a goat anyway?

 

anyway i found a website about strictly grass feeding poultry but they want me to "Click here to buy" their online how-to book....

so back to work for me...

Edited April 30, 2008 by BlueCoyote