tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post2396869848245361888..comments2024-03-12T01:21:53.290-07:00Comments on Grass Based Health: Some Mammals Require Dietary CarbohydratePete Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-54364220388194399992011-04-08T05:19:21.188-07:002011-04-08T05:19:21.188-07:00Thanks!Thanks!Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-67598792814845783222011-04-08T03:39:10.396-07:002011-04-08T03:39:10.396-07:00So interesting about grass. Nice job Pete. I found...So interesting about grass. Nice job Pete. I found this very interesting information.<br /><a href="http://www.eyeliftguide.com/" rel="nofollow">eye lift</a>Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14733173238253069643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-74023494942735566742011-04-07T05:08:30.669-07:002011-04-07T05:08:30.669-07:00Hilary - I've sent the chapter pdf. I found so...Hilary - I've sent the chapter pdf. I found some information about a Spanish farmer fattening goose liver without force feeding that you might find interesting: <br /><br />From the Sunday Times – “French are in a flap as Spanish force the issue over foie gras” http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/europe/article1265675.ece<br /><br />From BBC News - The Holy Grail of foie gras?<br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6301715.stm<br /><br />Pateria de Sousa - http://www.lapateria.eu/home.html<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your experience with the mobile chicken enclosures. Interesting.<br /><br />Regards,Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-50692350255484339972011-04-06T22:08:32.297-07:002011-04-06T22:08:32.297-07:00Thanks for the ideas! I'd really appreciate th...Thanks for the ideas! I'd really appreciate that chapter 64 pdf. Not much in the way of libraries around here. Definitely interested in pastured swine. We've raised a few pigs on hay and reject cheese, which we were able to get by the pallet load, free, from a large dairy cooperative. They seemed to do well, but out on fresh pasture would be better. I've definitely noticed that geese will crop the grass even closer than sheep. I'm somewhat familiar with Salatin. We only have five or six acres of pasture, though, and at this point aren't raising beef for the chickens to follow. I also don't like his pasture-pen system. We've done plenty of pasture pens, but have decided it's too labor-intensive, and too confining for the birds. I end up needing to move the pens twice a day, because if they graze and shit in one place all day, you don't want them having to settle down and sleep in it, so you move it in the evening. But then you want to move them to fresh grass also in the morning. And I don't think they can get as many bugs if they're stuck in a pen and can't roam around. They also can't get as much exercise. More leg problems. And they're happier being able to move around, so we day-range them now, with a shelter and a larger area fenced off with poultry netting. They seem happier, and a lot cleaner, though it's hard to tell if a chicken is happy. Maybe Salatin doesn't mind penning them for the same reason he says he doesn't mind killing them. He said it's o.k. because "they don't have souls." I kill them, obviously, but am trying to find the most humane way, and not make up a bogus reason like that! I'm also interested in how to fatten a duck or goose liver without grain and maybe even without forcing. I've read that the ancient Egyptians used figs and olive oil!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03866578515245767292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-21254530953857982672011-04-06T21:23:52.465-07:002011-04-06T21:23:52.465-07:00Hilary - Do you have access to one of the older ed...Hilary - Do you have access to one of the older editions of "Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture" by Heath, Metcalfe and Barnes? It's a standard college textbook. Chapter 64 in the third edition is "Pasture for Swine and Poultry." If you can't find the book at your local libaries, I have a pdf copy of that chapter. Send me a e-mail - dulcimerpete "at" hotmail "dot" com. Might give you some ideas. Apparently geese are the best poultry for utilizing pasture. Joel Salatin at Polyface Farm practices multi-species grazing with the laying chickens following the beef cattle, with the hens eating the fly larvae from the cow pies. Pigs have been fattened on acorns and other nuts for centuries - forest grazing. May not be able to completely eliminate grain feeding, but will be able to reduce it. I'll look into this some more.Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-3992500233084893502011-04-06T17:50:11.590-07:002011-04-06T17:50:11.590-07:00Sorry if this is OT for this post:
Love your blog!...Sorry if this is OT for this post:<br />Love your blog! It really seems mostly figured out for the various ruminants. Their proper natural diet is something we can accomplish through proper management, with pasture/permaculture systems, for healthier meat and a healthier environment. Now we just need experts or scientists like you, and consumers and dilettante farmers like me, to spread the word. But what about some non-ruminant species? I'm trying to figure out what to do to feed chickens, ducks, and pigs without all the corn and soy. I put the chickens and ducks out on pasture, but if you're raising a couple hundred of them, it's hard to do without corn and soy. They can't just eat grass, and there aren't naturally enough bugs out there for them. Do you know of any sources on feeding practices for these species? Corn and soy, other grains, aren't really a natural diet for chickens, either, and result in too much n6 in their fat, I expect. I'm thinking of trying a black soldier fly system this summer as an experiment, for fat and protein for chickens. I'm in zone 4, so outside the black soldier fly's natural range, but may be able to keep a colony going in a screened hoophouse, or something. Crank it up for the summer, and slow it down in winter to just support some layers. Just wondering whether you know much about these issues, or know of people working on them.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03866578515245767292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-76965363727287702402011-04-03T22:01:20.200-07:002011-04-03T22:01:20.200-07:00You're welcome, Misty. And thank you for yours...You're welcome, Misty. And thank you for yours! Together, indeed! There's SO much to do ...Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-60434438171005130112011-04-03T20:09:28.815-07:002011-04-03T20:09:28.815-07:00Yes Pete, thank you for your contributions! Toget...Yes Pete, thank you for your contributions! Together, we all might just change this world my friend.Mistyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10212424573842193611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-39411633381958088282011-04-03T07:40:40.168-07:002011-04-03T07:40:40.168-07:00Thanks, Andrew. I plan to keep at this for as long...Thanks, Andrew. I plan to keep at this for as long as I can!Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-79364875616075677032011-04-03T07:16:42.213-07:002011-04-03T07:16:42.213-07:00Pete nice work would love to see a lot more.
Andr...Pete nice work would love to see a lot more.<br /><br />AndrewUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14442098238002506211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-69566659109824232892011-04-03T06:31:23.475-07:002011-04-03T06:31:23.475-07:00Thanks, Fred. I appreciate the encouragement.Thanks, Fred. I appreciate the encouragement.Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951593348759928455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969883425412998759.post-25097996399214521662011-04-03T06:24:25.626-07:002011-04-03T06:24:25.626-07:00Interesting Pete! Keep 'em coming!Interesting Pete! Keep 'em coming!Fred Hahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01287565594918201935noreply@blogger.com