Bale grazing Goats and sheep

There are several methods of winter feeding. Some of it depends on where you are situated, how mild or severe your winters are, etc. A lot depends on the scale of your farm too. Someone with just 5 goats, might be feeding differently than someone with 500.
Conventionally, animals are kept in a corral (or inside a barn) over winter. Hay is put into feeders to minimize waste, and straw is provided as bedding. But what goes in, must come out. It is amazing how bedding and manure and feed waste can add up over the winter into several feet of glorious compost - but it does no one any good being left in the corral or barn! . The concentrated waste can spread disease if the animals are confined too long and it is not cleaned up. Cleanup is labor and equipment intensive and costs $$.

Feeding in corrals with feeders - with snow and waste, the feeders get packed down pretty quick, and you would have to chip at the ice to free them to move them around, or eventually they will get buried in wasted feed and compacted snow.

So what are the alternatives? Through Holistic Management, I know that 'bale grazing' is an excellent option for cows, I just wasn't sure how it would work with goats.

Cows bale grazing Spring 2012 next to the Spring flooding creek. Lucky cows, beach front dining for a few weeks in Spring! 

Remus finding a comfy spot on some rolled out hay, with goats and sheep in background

Let me explain what bale grazing is:
Generally, ranchers would pick a spot that could do with a fertility boost, a piece of poorer pasture or hilltop would be good, but any area will do. Shelter can be a factor here - some ranchers put up artificial windbreaks (for those of us in the Prairies with not a lot of natural shrub and trees, this is an option.)

The bales are placed 10-20 feet apart on end. Strings are removed, and the cows are rationed according to their needs and the ranchers goals. Rationing is done by separating the animals from their feed with a portable electric fence. The fence is moved daily, every other day, or once every week or 2, depending on how you like to do it. The bales are weighed, ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep) generally consume 3% of their bodyweight in feed a day. We calculate 10% for 'waste' on top of that, and then ration.

The bales themselves kinda act as windbreaks, so if you have a whole supply set out and start feeding from the South, the bales to the North are a natural windbreak.

The 'wasted' feed and manure and urine stay on the land. When Spring comes, it is a wonderful fertilizer. The 'wasted' feed bits are like a mulch, insulating the soil and retaining moisture. Over time, it breaks down into humus and becomes food for the teeming bacteria that keep our soils healthy. Healthy soils grow healthy plants, that in turn grow healthy animals. It is a long term investment in your pasture, and takes about 5 years to see the full benefit.

With Bale Grazing, you do not have to haul manure. The 'wasted' feed become bedding, so no need to use straw. The animals move to a fresh spot everytime the electric fence is moved, meaning there is no buildup of manure and decreased risk of disease causing  bacteria.

When I started building my herd of goats, I wondered about bale grazing them and did a google search. I didn't find anything on bale grazing goats and found ONE link to bale grazing sheep- from Ranching With Sheep. I started communicating with Arlette from Dog Tale Ranch and even got my first sheep from there.

We find that rolling out the bales creates a thinner layer of 'waste'. But this winter with our strong winds and unpredictable heavy snowfalls, I started leaving bales on end so that feed is easier to find.

A half-eaten bale. The wind had carved snow around it, creating an extra bit of windbreak for animals laying down on the 'wasted' feed

Sheep finishing off a bale

Sheep at a fresh bale

Goats at a fresh bale

Goats bale grazing

So far it has worked well. I had one goat get stuck - goats have horns that curve back and they get their heads stuck everywhere. But much more so in feeders, so feeding without the use of steel feeders, is actually a goat life saver :) 

Next winter I plan to stage all the bales in the Fall, to minimize having to run the tractor. Right now we feed every 4 or 5 days, but sometimes the snow makes it hard to get in. Having the bales placed before winter would be a great labor saving. 

Of Fauns and Things

I am very fortunate to live where I live. There is a big slough next to my pasture, inhabited by lots of ducks and water birds. I love listening to them in the early evening. The deer wander through our little town, and I was lucky enough to snap a photo of this little faun right next to railway avenue.

I have loads of birds in my yard thanks to all the trees, and I plan to build lots of different style nest boxes for them, as well as a bat house for the bats. Occasional skunk or raccoon travel through.
The first new growth of Spring excites me, as does the turning of the leaves in the Fall and the first flake of snow come Winter.

But there are so many people living in cities that never get to experience this, or feel connected to Nature. I believe this is what is getting our human race into such big trouble. We have forgotten we are PART of nature, that we are all part of the Whole. Nature isn't something 'out there'. It is within us, we ARE nature. Once the entire human race get that paradigm, there will be a collective shift away from our current direction of 'growth'. We will understand what we are doing is harmful.

But how do you get people to connect with nature? How to make them FEEL this planet that sustains them, and really, really appreciate it for the absolute marvel and wonder it is? How do we create awareness?

We are currently part of a help exchange program, called Helpx. Farms advertise who and what they are, and what kind of work they need help with. Volunteer helpers from all around the world then decide if they would like to come visit your farm. In exchange for room and board, they work 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. Or something along that line. We enjoy sharing our knowledge (or lack of it sometimes!) with international visitors. We talk about Holistic Management, show them the grass and its great when you see that 'a-ha!' moment, when  they connect. We would like to expand on that, and have more room to host more people. A communal dining hall and kitchen, a nice outdoor seating area with fire pit for evening conversations. If every person we awaken, could touch someone else, and so on, the awareness will grow.

Right now I am so busy with my own things, but I would love to encourage roof top gardening in city centers, community gardens and food awareness.
If anyone wanted to come and visit and see what we are about, they are more than welcome.