Matt Vader

White gives me the best vibes when I actually think of using them to play cards. White gets my vote for this reason :)

Andrés Bernal wrote:Black and white:

Do you do your own fecals?

Do you have any good resources on how to learn this skill?

What is the thought behind the waxing moon and parasites?

1.Any tips on hoof Maintenance?

2. What effects the rate of hoof growth? Does feeding a little grain on the milk stand make them grow faster?

3. Any ways to decrease the need to trim?

We trim regularly but sometimes they get away from us and start to curl under. It is then a battle to try and restore proper shape.

Thanks Deborah. This sounds like a good option. Would dusting with DE after shaving improve our efforts?

1. An issue we deal with in our herd is lice. I know that you can do some preventive herbal remedies but after they are established, is there any hope for ridding ourselves of this pest without toxic measures?

2. Do the lice come from the chickens?

Milking once per day is acceptable and done by many. It just uses the animal in a much less efficient state considering the inputs will be about the same. Production will drop off in reaction to the decrease in demand. Be careful to keep the transition as stress free as possible. Increased stress will cause a greater decrease in production that may not recover and increases the possibility of completely drying off. Also remember to milk out completely so there is less risk of mastitis.

An alternate that we prefer, is to get a couple kids from the local goat dairy and graft them on. You will have to put them on the udder afew times a day for a week or two until they are strong and used to each other. After they are strong, separate the babies at night then milk in the morning and let them nurse during the day. This will keep production at it's peak and give a nice meat yield in a few months then you can get a couple more kids.

Hi Dan,

I have an old barn that someone began to close in with cement based stucco. I would like to retrofit the barn and finish with plaster. Is plaster up for this type of abuse, or is it mearly a "sisy" type of finish for gentle use situations ?

I live in temperate Northern California (20" of driving rain, freezing temps in the 20's, and 110 degree summers) and the barn will be used for animals and hay storage. What do i need to consider? I will also be constructing some additional walls and was planning on sheeting with osb or plywood just as a quick way to give some rigidy and shear strength to my modifications.

Things I am curious about:
Is this even an acceptable use for Plaster?
Will it hold up to some abuse as an animal enclosure or hay storage?
My overhangs are currently rather small. Do I need to retrofit with large overhangs to protect the plaster from wind and rain.
What do I need to do/prep to coat over cement based stucco or OSB sheeting?
Since I am not terribly worried about a perfectly beautiful interior grade finish, are there any corners I can cut to make the whole process lower effort?

Thanks!
Matt V

Alright Paul...I just got your email and ran here to change account info....
Are you going to do another add?

I am looking forward to adding another notch on my "Enterwebs Eliteness Belt"
I will definitely tweet this one to my peeps.

MVader

Last time I heard anything on Agritrue was in May on TSP episode 1129: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/feedback-5-13-13

Jack was looking for a good web developer who wanted a stake in the project. He had some money budgeted for this. I hope that somebody steps up.
I am looking forward to the implementation of this.

Thanks Julia. Your work is appreciated!

I have often aspired to sit down and summarize, or at least post notes for various podcasts that have tickled my fancy. I have never actually done it though...
I see that it does indeed work well and is a worthwhile effort for the community. How long did that take you to prepare?