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Edible Backyard
My American Dream
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Seasonal Living
It’s always been important to Jake and me to provide the best possible care for our animals without the use of harsh chemicals. We rarely vaccinate or use over-the-counter treatments on our animals, including our dogs. Now, this lifestyle isn’t for everyone and it certainly comes with a lot more work, but for us, we feel it’s worth it. I have so much I can write about keeping our critters safe with herbs, but we do not have the time. So, I’m going to share with you my critter worming protocol with herbs.
While these protocols have worked for us, it is good to engage in your research and exploration to find protocols that work for your specific situation. We have a mixed-species barnyard and my focus is on keeping everyone healthy and not eating things they shouldn’t. I know it sounds mundane to say routine barn cleaning is vital to the health of your animals, but it’s true. Animals can be super gross and chickens might be the worst. They poo everywhere, scratch at all the things, and can’t seem to figure out how not to poop in the same box they lay their eggs. All that poo has to go somewhere and if not taken care of appropriately can attract all sorts of critters and parasites you don’t necessarily want around your goats. Goats tend to pick up their parasites from the ground and if the ground is covered in decaying poo, it can lead to issues. For example, my ducks decided one night they were going to roost right over the water bucket. The next day the bucket was so full of feathers a feces it was putrid. Other animals can’t drink that. That water is now a breeding ground for all sorts of diseases and parasites. Keeping their living space clean will save you so much in the long run! That said, I don’t do a full barn clean every week. I just don’t have time for that. It’s so much easier to break the chores up into more manageable tasks. Daily - Once a day I will venture up to the barn just to check on everyone. I make sure the water is clean and if anyone decided to be a jerk that particular day. I don’t always gather eggs daily, but I will if someone lays one under the roost or under your goat. We free-range and the goats have plenty of hay so not a lot of daily chores. Weekly - While we believe in healthy eating, we also appreciate a nice cheat day. So do the critters. Once a week we clean out our fridge from the produce we used that week and are going bad. All this produce gets saved throughout the week (add grain to mix if needed), combined with anti-parasitic herbs, and fed to everyone in Golden Coral style. I grow all the herbs in my garden and feed them fresh, and dry for the winter months. Oregano, thyme, sage, cayenne pepper, and pumpkin seeds are easy to grow, dry & store well, and are easy to break down to be mixed into your critter’s food. For us, once a week this mixture gets lovingly prepared with other food scraps or grain and made available to all our animals. This is a highly valued treat for them so I have different food stations to make it less of a Jurassic Park situation. While all the critters are munching down on their healthy “junk food”, I rake the barn and community spaces. Focusing mainly on the community areas, but if I have time I will do under the chicken roost as well. I shovel up all the black gold throughout the month and save for compost or fertilizer. Monthly - Each month the critters get a “busy” snack from me with the theme of being anti-parasitic if possible. We do a lot of pumpkins and watermelons. I set those snacks out away from the barn which allows me to thoroughly clean the barn to the best of my abilities. This includes raking the entire barn, cleaning out nesting boxes, scraping down roosts, and throwing Diatomaceous Earth everywhere. DE is incredibly helpful for parasites and pests, but it’s not great to breathe in. I do this when I can lock all the animals out of the barn until it settles and I wear a mask. Please use caution as it can be irritating, especially when inhaled. And that’s pretty much it. I have additional herbs I have successfully used to treat parasitic infections in the past I keep on hand in case of break-outs or emergencies, but we’ve rarely had to use them. We’ve found with this routine we can keep our animals healthy without doing anything crazy extra. In fact, we did a fecal sample on our goats recently and discovered they were parasite-free! I hope this helps!
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AuthorCaitlin is a full-time special education teacher with a penchant for the wyrd. When she isn't hanging out with the coolest kids, she's out in her garden tending to her herbs or frolicking with her 2 goats, 40 chickens, 6 ducks, 2 turkeys, 2 dogs, and 6 cats. She understands it's a hoarding situation at this point, but life is too short to worry about boring things like that. Archives
May 2024
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