traci gabriel

weston price has done alot of research on this. nature loves diversity and variety. we are at our best when we participate in this wholly and happily.
cancer is actually not an end all but a by product of a process in the body. this forum is not the place to go into this, but modern science is way behind and in the dark about the body and its synergistic systems which must be looked at as a whole. for those who are interested, they can discover many things if they are willing to know.

modern society is not more healthy or evolved due to the drug and chemical industries, even though we are taught this.. better hygiene and access to clean water and nutrition is what is responsible for a longer, better quality of life. and this goes back to the benefit of the polyculture, which is the way things used to be.

quantum physics is the most exciting field of science today and the closest to uncovering ancient wisdom and truth. the question is, will arrogance and ignorance again outweigh prudence for the human species? as long as forums like this continue to grow, and we remember our place in nature, we have a good chance of creating a better outcome.

we must remember humans are animals. homeopathy, acupuncture herbs and even therapeutic massage and chiropractic, to name a few modalities, work wonderfully on animals and definitely what applies to humans applies to other animals. its great your wife is studying real medicine that focuses on healing instead of disease. a few classes can help, but it takes years of practice and intensive training to become proficient.
modern society has been detrimental to not only the health of humans, but their animals and the whole world. getting back to the way things used to be done like thru natural modalities and think about the health and well being(not just physical either) instead of profit separates cafo's from your local humane farmer.

you dont have to focus on disease to have healthy animals. in fact, what you focus on you get more of. if your animals and yourself are happy and fulfilled, you will be healthy. if you are not an animal person, start out really slow, maybe see about visiting someone who has a farm, volunteering to help out so you can see if this is something you would want to do. there is no time off when you have a farm. the trade off is, its so nice to be out and connecting to nature, you dont miss going to the mall or watching movies at the cinema. you truly have to be a master of so many things in order to take care of your animals yourself. the less experience you have, the more you will have to rely on professional help, and that costs a lot of money.

your wife will be able to apply what she knows to your future flock. we use the same homeopathic remedies for everyone. during the spring, for example, we had cold symptoms and a few days later i noticed two of our chickens started to cough. i treated them with the same homeopathics we took and within a day they were better. i dont like allopathic medicine or drugs. why would you want you to worry about dosing chickens with drugs when you can just put some homeopathics in their water and get better results by boosting their immune systems and helping them treat their own symptoms with out nasty side effects.

you are what you eat.and food is medicine. are two very important things to live by. it requires responsibility for your own well being in order to stay healthy. most humans rely on allopathic medicine because they do not want to be responsible for anything.

pasture is what animals need and they thrive, but we have to supplement this in winter time, and also provide pregnant and nursing animals with extra nutrition in the form of vitamins/minerals hay and some grain.

different species depend on what specifically they will need. your animals shouldnt feel stressed if they feel safe and you spend time with them. animals and nature in general, is way more intelligent than humans and we have alot to learn from them if we are ever going to evolve as a species.

its nice to see so many of the comments show the care they put into taking care of their animals, and in turn, themselves.
cheaper is never cheaper in the long run. animals will tell you what they need if you pay attention. i also dont think having a farm is about making a profit, its being a conscious part of life and you can not put a price on that. i also believe giving back is important, and there are alot of ways to do that. the good feeling you get when you do so is also vital to vibrant health.

you might be interested in dr mercola and all his information on his website on how to live more healthy and what this exponential growth of unnatural and chemical products is doing to us and our world.

hi berry, its good you are asking questions. first off, i dont recommend breeding yearling goats, they are not mature enough and many times need help with their babies. i prefer to wait until they are two. second of all, their diet they have been on is not adequate. they should be getting alfalfa since they need the extra calcium and protein, a good goat mineral and baking soda free choice to help their rumens develop. since they are just being given feed, they dont have much of a rumen and you will have to help them develop one so they will be more healthy. their bellies should look large, as a sign of a healthy rumen. many healthy goats look pregnant, even though they are not. its hard to tell if a goat is pregnant. too much grain is not good for goats or other grazing animals. pasture is best and due to winter weather, supplementing with hay.

you should be able to let them browse in the pasture, they are not going to overeat as long as you are still offering them feed so they can transition to better food. get them some alfalfa hay, they will need this also when they kid and after for better milk production so they dont get toxemia. a great website on goats is http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm
she also has herbal formulas which are very popular for natural worming, mastitis, lactation, and many different things.
oat hay is great for goats and our mothers like oat hay as well.

many people do not recommend electric fence for goats, they will just go right thru it.our goats are only fenced in their pens and graze around our loosely horse fenced property and dont go very far. no climb horse fence or even field fence is good to keep them out of any plants or trees you love.

there are so many things to tell you, please check out the website i gave you. i would also find someone to disbud your baby goats within the first week they are born, we disbud all our goats. horns can cause alot of problems for them and each other and you cant show goats with horns if you plan on selling them, this could be an issue.

do you have a milk stand and are you going to milk them? do you have someone to show you how to do this? we give grain only when we are milking, otherwise they get hay and pasture. we always leave hay for our pregnant and lactating does free choice to make sure they get enough. anyone who has had a child knows how much more food you need when you are pregnant and nursing. nursing mothers require even more food than pregnant mothers do, of all species.

make sure also you have someone able to band your boys if the kids are boys, unless you are gong to sell as bucks. and you may need to seperate them from their moms as early as two months if they are still intact because they may try to breed their own mothers or sisters. if you dont need a buck or plan on selling a really good quality ie; personality, milking ability of mom, etc. you should have them banded within the first few weeks. wethers make wonderful companions.

we let our moms nurse their babies, they bond and love their babies and we still get plenty of milk from them. you dont have to bottle feed a goat to get them to like you. you dont want to drink the milk for the first few weeks anyway due to the colostrum, it tastes a little strong, and its better for the kids to have it.

good luck with your goats, if you enjoy and love them as much as we love ours, you are very lucky.