Travis Johnson
Member
- Messages
- 2,369
I don't get upset very often, but with this down-turn in the economy, I thought people getting back to raising their own livestock would be a good thing. I belong to a Homesteading Forum as well and I just got done answering 3 or 4 questions regarding common sense approaches to raising goats, chickens and calfs.
I am wondering if we are just out of touch with animal husbandry. One woman wanted to know if it was okay to basically not feed her goats, try to milk them when it was convenient and leave for 4-5 days at a time. I just wanted to scream through the computer "If you don't have time to properly care for animals...DON'T GET THEM."
I am sorry for the rant here, but it just bugs me that people don't understand simply animal husbandry rules. I like to check on my animals at least once a day. I know some animals like sheep and cattle are pretty self-sufficient this time of year, but still I think its just common sense to check on them. They might be stuck in a fence, or have bottle jaw or some other ailment. I also know that they are basically employees of mine converting green grass into red marbled meat, and that some day I will be eating that meat. Still a well fed, well cared for animal not only is morally right, they also taste better. Just because you are going to eventually slaughter them, does not mean you can't treat them good and care for them properly.
As I said, I thought people being driven to raise their own food would be a really good thing, but I am beginning to wonder if maybe we as a society have just gotten too lazy to care for them, or lack the time to properly care for them. I know no one on here is like that, but if you run into people like this, try and convince them to carefully consider livestock and their needs (feed and time wise) before bringing them home. I am afraid livestock rescue missions will be over-run in the next year or so.
I am wondering if we are just out of touch with animal husbandry. One woman wanted to know if it was okay to basically not feed her goats, try to milk them when it was convenient and leave for 4-5 days at a time. I just wanted to scream through the computer "If you don't have time to properly care for animals...DON'T GET THEM."
I am sorry for the rant here, but it just bugs me that people don't understand simply animal husbandry rules. I like to check on my animals at least once a day. I know some animals like sheep and cattle are pretty self-sufficient this time of year, but still I think its just common sense to check on them. They might be stuck in a fence, or have bottle jaw or some other ailment. I also know that they are basically employees of mine converting green grass into red marbled meat, and that some day I will be eating that meat. Still a well fed, well cared for animal not only is morally right, they also taste better. Just because you are going to eventually slaughter them, does not mean you can't treat them good and care for them properly.
As I said, I thought people being driven to raise their own food would be a really good thing, but I am beginning to wonder if maybe we as a society have just gotten too lazy to care for them, or lack the time to properly care for them. I know no one on here is like that, but if you run into people like this, try and convince them to carefully consider livestock and their needs (feed and time wise) before bringing them home. I am afraid livestock rescue missions will be over-run in the next year or so.
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