Doing the switch

As we have said before the excitement of our new fodder system has us thrilled.  The more we research the nutritional value of fodder and see how simple it is you wonder why we did not do this sooner.  We have started feeding the animals our fresh stock every morning along with their normal grain.  Each day we are cutting back on the store bought grain.  The pigs took to the fodder right away.  Chickens and rabbits the same way.  The goats love their grain so it is something they have to be weaned into.  The goats will eat all the store bought grain first and then throughout the day they will go back for the fodder.  They do eat it, just after the grain.  So again we will be starting to cut down on the store bought grain and increasing the fodder for the goats until they have a diet of all fodder and no store bought grain.  We will still give the animals hay.

Here are some nutritional value comparisons:
Barley                                                                             Barley Grass (Fodder)
Vitamins B,C & E                                                           Vitamins A,B,C,E & K
Calcium, Iron, Magnesium,Pantothenic Acid                     Calcium, Chlorophyll, Iron,Lecithin, Magnesium,
Phosphorus                                                                    Pantothenic Acid
Amino Acids                                                                   Amino Acids, Trace Elements, Phosphorus,
                                                                                      Potassium
Protein: 15%                                                                  Protein: up to 30%

to have an increase of up to 30% protein never mind the added vitamins and minerals.  Wow. For the cost of feeding the animals we have calculated it to be an average of .29 cents an animal a day to feed the fodder.  You feed one pound of fodder per every one hundred pounds of animal.

  I am not sure what we have been spending on the store bought grain but I know it is a lot more than that.  We are sure we could get the cost down on the cost of barley we just have not found the right source yet.  Also we are putting thought into growing our own barley.  Savings could be endless.  I would like to say this system takes some work.  You have to put some time in the morning to put your grain together for the next day and your daily feed.  But not to much more than you do normally.  You do have to water the fodder once or twice a day.  That may depend on your humidity levels in your home.  I have found covering the containers with plastic helps with humidity.  As we get the hang of the system we will continue to blog and share so we may help others that want to try it.  So far we would highly recommend this for any farmer big or small to try.  For a small investment you can see if it will work for you.  Really you have nothing to loose.  Everything to gain.

Fodder Food

We are always trying to find  more nutritious ways to feed our animals.  Feeding animals better food for them and trying to make it cost effective would be an added benefit.  We have had the thoughts of a fodder system in our heads for quite some time.  The whole process of hydroponics is amazing.  When you look into it the cost can be expensive.  I am sure in the long run it does pay for itself.  But of course it makes the wheels in our heads turn.  Just like everything else in life there has to be more than one way.  An expensive way and a way of doing it yourself.  So with some research and now some experimenting we are off and running.
Yesterday, I will say we started our Fodder System.  No we didn't spend money buying all the expensive equipment from the farm stores or online.  We used what we have around the house.  Just like most other farming projects I am sure you have everything you need right here at home.  The only thing we did have to buy was some seed. 

After doing research I have found that barley seed is the best fodder to feed.  To get barley seed you have to order it online.  I have not been able to find a source for it around my home, so far.  I will not give up.  So while I wait for the barley to come in.  I will get the whole process going with what I was able to find at the local farm store.  Rye seed is something that is readily available.  Also wheat is something you should be able to find if you look hard enough.  I have also incorporated some Black Oil Sunflower seeds.  I think this should make a great, healthy mix of fodder.  I will be feeding this to my pigs, goats, chickens and bunnies.  From my research the fodder can be 90% of their diet.  The goats will still need some hay, they say they will not need as much.  The pigs I will still feed hay as well and maybe some dairy.  The chickens will get some added calcium and grit.  I have to do some more research on the bunnies on what other supplements they will need.  I will find out before they are switched to a fodder diet.
So yesterday I took a pan and soaked an equal amount of rye and wheat seeds.  I think I put in about 2 cups each.  Then I added 1 cup of the black oil sunflower seeds.  I added 2 tsp of bleach to the water. They say the bleach will kill off any bacteria in the seeds.  I have also read you could use peroxide if you did not want to use the bleach.  This will keep mold down also.  I let this sit overnight.  Eight hours of soaking is long enough.  This should be my starter mix of my fodder in 7 days I should be able to start feeding fodder to the animals.

I placed the seeds today in pans or Tupperware containers I had around the house.  

Before I put the seeds in the containers I drilled holes in one end so the water would drain.  I have the fodder system on a wire shelf I had in my kitchen.  Yes I did have some pots and pans on it but I found other places for them.  So I have each pan set up at a slant with the holes I drilled at the bottom part so it will drain well and water will not sit in the containers when I water a few times a day.  If you do it this way you only have to water from the top of the shelf and the water will drip all the way down to the bottom trays.  The bottom tray is an empty tray to collect the leftover water.  This will need to be emptied often.
After I filled my first trays now I have to get a new batch of seeds ready to soak for tomorrows fodder tray.  Everyday you will need to fill a new tray with seeds to keep your fodder system working for your farm.  You will have to figure out how much fodder you will need for your animals.  They say 1 pound of fodder for every 100 pound of animals.  Seems pretty easy to calculate.  My pigs are about 100lbs a piece and I have 3 of them so I will feed them 3 lbs of fodder.  My goats are 60 lbs each and again we have 3 of them.  Because we are trying to breed them I might just feed them the full pound each but they could have less.  At first I will ease them into the fodder.  I will start with small amounts and gradually get them up to the full fodder feeding amount.
The fodder takes 6-7 days to get to the point from seed to feeding stage.  From what I have read day 6 has the most nutritional value for the animals.  After day 7 the nutritional value goes down.  I find this all so interesting and if it works out I just cant see why everyone doesn't do it.  I will keep a day by day journal of how it is going and post.
We look forward to the benefits of a fodder system for our livestock.  We look forward to the savings it will bring our family.  Just one more FYI by switching to a fodder feed you increase your protein value from 15% to at least 30% for your animals.  Just think what that will do for there growing.  To feed your animals an organic food that gives them 30% protein WOW.  I want to eat it.  I would stop being anemic I bet.

Love our Goat Barn

Now that we have a homestead we look at everything close before we call it trash.  When someone states something is junk we want to find another purpose for it.  With winter coming we would be in need of a barn for our goats.  We could not afford a barn made out of wood at this time.  We had to become creative.  When looking on craigslist we noticed people were always selling cheap tag along campers.  It gave us an idea to find someone wanting to give away or sell one cheap.  We started looking and sending offers on campers.  Our goal was to only spend $100.  We didn't care what the inside looked like we were going to gut it.  Finally we found one that the person was willing to sell us for $100.  It was in bad shape.  But we seen potential.
We bought it, brought it home and went to work.

 First we stripped everything out of the inside.  Then primed the outside of it white.

We painted the outside a fun color.  Then added some fun shutters.  We made a couple of stalls inside.  There is a great place in the center for milking.  The best part of making the barn out of a camper is if we ever wanted to change the location of our paddock we can move the barn.  Its on wheels.  We just love it.  The goats just love it also.

Round House Farm Peanut Butter Bars, Family Fun

We never buy pre packaged foods.  Making our own crackers and treats not only helps cut cost it lets you know exactly what ingredients are in what we eat.  Here on the farm we experiment with all our recipes.  We try just mixing all kinds of ingredients together until we come up with a family favorite.  We have some misses but most of the time we find a real hit.  Plus its a great time to experiment with food.  The goal is to try and make things that cost less and are better for you.  If you can even cut a tablespoon of sugar out of a recipe I think you have helped your waist line.  So many times I try to cut out eggs and milk and use other ingredients.  Many times you never even miss them.  Some recipes you can cut those ingredients in half.  The bottom line is just try.  Worst case you feed it to the animals in your home.  They will love your experiments.  Today I will share with you a Round House Farm Peanut Butter Bar recipe my daughter and I created.  My family cant get enough of these.  It is simple and easy.  I am sure you always have these ingredients in your home.
Watch the video on
http://youtu.be/kn0MvEEszrk

If for some reason it does not get you to the link here is the recipe:
1 cup melted butter and 1 cup peanut butter mixed together
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
mix well now add 1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
mix well
add 3/4 cup oats
now place in foil lined pan and bake for 25 mins at 375 degrees.
Its that easy!

Building a smoke house out of recycled materials

On the farm we started raising pigs as soon as we could make a place to keep them.  We have had a lot of fun with them.  They really are easy animals to raise.  We have been raising them for the purpose of feeding our family.  For myself that is not always an easy thing.  I have said in other blogs that I don't eat meat.  I have not eaten meat in over thirteen years.  I don't think I ever intend on eating meat again.  I really don't miss it.  The animals we raise on our farm I spend a lot of time with.  So the thought of seeing them every day  and knowing that they will end up in our freezer gives me mixed feelings.  I have to look at the facts.  I treat them humanly.  Every day of their life I give them the best quality they can have.  I treat them like I think they should be treated.  We make sure they have plenty of food, water, space, shelter and whatever care an animal should need to live a happy life.  It's funny the children don't seem to be bothered by the fact of raising the animals knowing that in the end the animals will be slaughtered and the family will end up eating them.  They have no problem naming them.
We did raise two pigs that we slaughtered over the fall.  With slaughtering pigs there is quite the process to it.  I will have to say most everything we have done to this point on this farm we learned from a book or from and online video.  YouTube has been our best friend.  When it came to learning how to process a pig that was the first place we went.  There are hundreds of how to videos.  We found one we liked and watched it over and over again.  Felt confident we new what we were doing.  When I say we I mean Russell.  Then we did it.  With the first pig it went well.  It took a little time.  But went OK.  We were able to slaughter and process our own pig.  Now with doing this you have to make sure your meat is cured properly.  We brind it for 24 hours and then smoked the parts that needed to be smoked.  We smoked the hams and bacon for 24 hours.  Well it turned out great.  They say they have never tastes pork so wonderful.  Its March now and we are all out of fresh pork but two pigs did last a long time.
We built our smoker from all recycled materials.  Everything we picked up from the local dump.  Basically the frame of it is made out of pallets.  Then the rest is made out of other salvage wood we found at the dump week after week.  Then we picked up an old wood stove from the auction for $25.  But I am sure you could get one from the dump if you kept a good eye out.  The pipes we picked up from a salvage yard for only $5.  So the total cost of our smoker was only $30.

The best smoke house!

Don't leave your day job

Making a farm work and then making the farm work for you takes time.  You will need an income to pay for all the start up cost that come with it.  It is not like you have to put a lot of money out the day you start your farm but each week you must invest time and money.  Other than selling a few eggs and maybe a zucchini or two all the money has been out going and not an incoming status.  So far.

As much as we try to use our resources wisely you still have many weekly expenses.  Repairs is a major one.  With an old farm house always something needs to be replaced or repaired.  Animal feed and supplies you need to get them going can add up fast.  Being self sufficient is a major goal of ours but there are items you just have to buy from the big box stores.  We try to be informed shoppers and make sure we are not paying more than we have to for anything.  We never impulse buy, we always do our research and find the best place to purchase. Try to find out if any discounts are available.  We look around our own home first to see if we might have something that would do whatever job needs to be done.  Then we might go to our local dump and see if they might have it there.  While there we look to see if there is something we might need in the future.  I will write a blog later on how we built a smoker house on just supplies from our local dump.  All the wood was free.  The best place we have discovered is our local auction.  When we first moved here we found they have an auction every week.  Then every few months they have an equipment action.  Well we bought thousands of dollars of farm supplies for pennies on the dollar.  It was a fun day also.  Be careful an auction can become an addiction.  We love going.  I mean what is better than finding recycled items and helping someone make a buck at the same time.  The best part is you are not giving all your earnings to the big box stores and you are keeping it with the little guy, just like you.  

The other recourse's are Internet.  Craigslist, ebay, and other swap and trading sites help you save money.  They can help you make money also.  Look around your house.  I am sure you have items you have not touched for months, even years.  Sell it.  You don't need it.  You could use that money for something else.  Trading is big now.  You can make out better sometimes if you trade items.  You don't have to be a farmer to do this.  It works for everyone.  Clear out the clutter and make some money.  Plus we might be able to use something you have. :)

We are trying to make some money selling the handmade crafts Russell makes with the kids.  This will help with repairs and animal feed/care.  You can check out our farm store often for new items they make.

www.etsy.com/shop/RoundHouseFarm7 follow this link and you will see what we are selling this week.  All the profits will go to our homesteads incurred cost to get it going and thriving as an active farm.  

Russell works hard.  He goes to work as a car sales man at Central Maine Toyota in Waterville, Maine.  He works long days and when his day is done there he comes home and does his farm work.  He works hard on the farm on his days off.  He is always repairing or building something.  He has a list a mile long.  He could be home full-time on the farm and have work to do 12 hours a day.  At this time in our journey he is our major income provider and has to keep his day job.  Selling cars is what Russell has done for years and he is a great guy to buy a car from.  He knows the Toyota brand better than anyone.  Plus he is an honest person and likes to get to know people.  That helps him in the business.  Winter is a slow time of year in the automobile business but he works for a great dealership.  They have great customers and a great following.  So he is doing fair for this time of year.  All we can ask is that our bills are paid and that we can move ahead with our farming way of life.  Him working hard most of his day has made this happen for our family.  

So if anyone needs a Toyota, they sell other vehicles also, please go to Central Maine Toyota in Waterville and please ask for Russell Bradley.  Tell him you read his family blog.  He will love it.  

So I guess in closing my blog today I want people to follow their dreams.  Everything takes time, hard work and energy.  The ending result can be your own piece of mind.  The happiness of you doing what you dreamed of.  Most of all if you don't try you will never know.   Give your dreams a try!