﻿ Living the Country Life

Livestock Content

Composting is an environmentally-sound method of handling livestock remains
There is a saying, “If you raise livestock, you’ll also have deadstock”. Animal mortality is an issue faced by livestock producers both large and small. One way to handle the...
You don't have to live at the North Pole to have a herd of reindeer
Reindeer are cousins of caribou, and can run about 50 m.p.h. They're a little shorter than white-tailed deer, and both female and male reindeer have antlers. The antlers fall off every winter...
Protect livestock from the winter winds by planting a windbreak
Sheep have wool coats, and cattle grow thick hair, but when the winter winds pick up, you might find them huddled against the trees in your pasture. A stand of trees can do a good job of blocking the...
Answers to the challenge of raising piglets outdoors
Farmers raising pigs for niche markets are sometimes prohibited from using farrowing crates. The crates prevent the 450-pound sow from lying on her five-pound piglets. Consumers are also expecting...
Dead leaves and other yard waste can give your horse a bad tummy ache...or worse
When you rake your leaves and other yard waste, don’t throw it over the pasture fence. It should be disposed of or composted in an area far away from horses and other livestock so they don...
An Ohio couple with heritage livestock hopes to rekindle a Christmas tradition
Jennifer and Jason LittleBear of Copley, Ohio, are providing their community with innovative food from old-world animals. Jennifer is the 4th generation on a 22-acre farm that has been in her...
A popular option for small farms
The very first calf I raised in 4-H was a Charolais heifer named Mandy. I was eleven-years-old. Mandy was little when I got her, but she grew a lot bigger by show time – and I didn’t....
The final chapter of a young lady's journey showing cattle
We’ve been following Grace Tusha over the past year in the journey to her final cattle show at the Iowa State Fair. The 18-year old from Garner, Iowa, has been raising and showing cattle most...
Use your pond to water livestock without them walking around in it
If you’ve never siphoned water from your pond to water livestock, it's not a bad idea. Gravity flow systems can do this, and is the most inexpensive way of moving large volumes of water...
The heat is hard on everyone, including your animals. They rely on you to help them stay cool when temperatures rise.