Feeding Farm Animals

Many farmers dread having to bottle feed lambs and kids. After all, commercial milk replacer is expensive, difficult to find and often smells. However, it's possible to make an effective,...

Shelled corn is an excellent source of usable energy for sheep. In fact, it provides more energy per pound than ground corn, wheat, grain and oats, which are all common food sources for sheep. ...

Similar to thick, stocky deer in appearance, the Jersey cow is light brown with large, dark-rimmed eyes, the smallest of the dairy cow breeds. Although she typically produces less milk than the...

The level of nutrients required by a nursing cow depends on the size of the new mother and her milking level. The newborn calves need approximately 20 pounds of milk daily to grow and maintain...

Whether you are feeding just a couple of animals or thousands of animals, proper nutrition and a well-balanced diet is essential for health. Animal owners administer different types of feed to get...

A foal is a baby horse. Horses are mammals and require the care of their mother when they are newborns. Occasionally, foals may be orphaned due to either the death of its mother or rejection by...

Deer food plots are very beneficial, despite the time, money, and effort required to establish them. According to the DIY Deer Food Plots' website, these plots provide a nourishing place for deer,...

Hay racks are structures used to feed hay to livestock. They are usually constructed on wheels or sled runners, which allows the rack to be removed from the pasture or feed yard and be taken to...

Raising a young calf on goat's milk is relatively simple and has many advantages over powdered milk replacement products. Goat's milk is highly digestible and has more calcium, phosphorous and...

Button quail, or Japanese painted quail, are often used to janitor the floors of aviaries because they can readily survive on the leftovers from other birds. These small birds, just 4 ½ to 5...

Bantam chickens are small, showy members of the chicken family. Some ornamental varieties have spectacular plumage that make them desirable as pets and as show animals. Bantam chickens have much...

It's important to store hay in a dry ventilated area, which in most cases is the loft of your barn. However, it can be difficult to lift bales of hay up into such a high place. Some barns have...

Grinding your own chicken feed at home is easy. Whole grains like corn are less expensive than the ground varieties and by grinding your own you can custom mix your chickens' feed. One option for...

Honey bees need to find nectar not only to make the honey that humans enjoy, but also to sustain the hive. There are certain times of the year, however, when pollen and nectar to make that honey...

Eggs - We all love them! If you're lucky enough to live where you can have your own chickens you can have "Farm Fresh Eggs". Unfortunately after a rain you might be in for a surprise....

Chickens like cracked corn, and if left to their own devices, would consume cracked corn to the exclusion of everything else. Cracked corn is low in protein and is not nutritionally suitable to be...

The goal of most longhorn cattle producers raising cattle for beef is to sell the animals for profit when they reach market weight. The objective is to fatten the animals to a market standard in...

Adding protein to a poultry diet is sometimes challenging. Beans and peas are a great source of protein but require preparation before you can use them as feed. Beans contain an enzyme, trypsin,...

Raising calves can be a money-making venture for a landowner. You can buy the calves cheaply at auction, then raise them with minimal investment to resell or slaughter for their meat, saving you a...

Backyard chickens can safely eat many table scraps as well as a variety of plants and animals commonly found in rural and urban settings. Below are some foods to avoid giving your fine feathered...

Poultry need to have constant access to water. Most water dispensers sold to hobbyists are sized from 3 to 5 gallons---large enough for a small flock for a day or two but inadequate for larger...

Properly feeding cattle is as much of an art as it is a science. Providing cattle with a blend of food that they will find palatable while simultaneously bringing them up toward market weight is...

Many farmers feed their livestock manufactured feed made primarily of corn and soy products. These feeds effectively and efficiently fatten the livestock but are not necessarily the healthiest...

Making dietary changes for animals is never a simple task, since animals often get used to the same diet and will balk at dietary changes, either by refusing food or through the occurrence of...

Calving is one of the most dangerous times in the lives of both calf and heifer. Proper nutrition in the period immediately following calving can help speed a heifer's recovery time and increase...

Cracked corn is often mixed with other foods (grains, greens, and so on) to feed chickens. Most popularly, it is combined with whole wheat to make a feed called chicken scratch. Though it's...

Maggots are often associated with the decomposing animal on the side of the road where house flies encircle . However, maggots can be raised from a different fly that makes the process more...

Chickens that are kept indoors without the ability to "scratch" about the yard must have grit in their diet. This is because chickens have no teeth. When chickens are outside, they are able to...

Livestock, including goats, should always be fed off the ground. This prevents the feed waste that occurs when an animal walks and defecates on hay. Keeping the hay off the ground and away from...

Feeding maggots to chicken is an easy and economical way to provide protein and fat. Most people will immediately picture a smelly pile of garbage with house fly maggots feasting on rotting meat,...

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to feed deer, consider making your own homemade protein deer feeder. A gravity feeder is the least expensive way to feed the deer. You can construct a...

If you want to attract bucks and does, consider making an automatic deer feeder. Creating an automatic deer feeder will make the deer work for their food. People often set up deer feeders to keep...

Corn stalks remaining in the field after harvest, often referred to as corn stover, can be used as a feed ration for livestock. According to the North Carolina Agriculture Department corn stover...

If you have chickens this automatic feeder is a must have. It is simple to build, takes up very little space and holds a lot of feed. This design has worked very well for me... I mean the...

Raising night crawlers requires following the same basic strategy as successfully raising any other compost worm in a worm farm, with perhaps some adjustments if you are raising them for fishing...

Fresh grain and hay are crucial to livestock health. Using a hay and grain feeder reduces waste and contamination by keeping the feed off the ground and in a position where it is less likely to...

Hay plays an important role in the feeding of livestock. It provides both nutrition and roughage for farm animals. However, if hay isn't stored properly, these effects can degrade because of heat...

Hay feeders are used to prevent waste and improve the efficiency of hay fed to livestock. Hay feeders can be commercially acquired or built by livestock owners who have the proper tools and shop...

Chia seeds come from the desert plant Salvia hispanica. They are oval shaped, multicolored seeds with a diameter of one millimeter that were utilized by the Aztec and Mayan cultures for their...

Providing livestock fresh water daily is a crucial task that provides hydration for each animal and ensures survival. Livestock owners and caregivers find the task harder in winter. Nature freezes...

Round hay bales are the common method for feeding livestock and horses in many areas. If hay is simply placed on the ground without any feeder, a percentage of the feed will be wasted when the...

Getting a pig to gain weight for its eventual journey to the market is an important task for any animal keeper. It should take approximately five months to get your pig fattened, and during that...

Horses are large animals and many of them are very athletic. This means they need to get plenty to eat in order to maintain their weight and to provide their bodies with energy so they can do...

Sheep and goats require a special diet. One of the things that they both eat is cracked corn. There is a certain way to feed them so they will be healthy and strong. The corn needs to be mixed in...

Baby cows need to be fed if they cannot nurse, if they are removed from their mothers at birth or if they are weak due to dehydration from scours. Sometimes the calf can suck a bottle nipple, but...

Good calf weight gain is important when calves are first born, when they're putting on fat reserves for winter, and when they're being prepared for sale or slaughter. Cattle growers want calves to...

Farm animals need minerals to maintain health, produce meat and milk, and for reproduction. Major minerals are needed in large quantities by the body. Trace minerals are minerals needed in small...

Designing the proper hay feeder for your animals can save some serious headaches down the road. If your design does not take into account what animals will be eating from the feeder, you can end...

Colostrum, the first milk from a cow after birth, is a nutrient rich yellowish fluid that will help the calf become strong and give its immunities a boost. Whether you feed colostrum from a cow...

Earthworms need moisture taken from the surrounding soil to breathe, according to "The Worm Book." Moisture allows oxygen to dissolve and pass into the worm. The red wiggler worm, Eisenia fetida,...