When shtf and the stores shut down, you run out of feed for your horses, cows, alpacas, chickens, cats, dogs and whatever else you have been raising how do you plan on feeding them? Have you made plans to grow food? If you have dogs and cats have you thought about flea and tick control?
Please don't answer with things like "I'll just eat them, or they'll be on their own" or stuff like that. This is a serious question since these animals will be our food (and re-bred for future food), milk, eggs, and the cats are not only pets but will be mouse/rat control which in turn will help keep down disease, dogs are our pets but also provide protection and to those with no family are a source of comfort and companionship.
Even though we don't have animals yet (except a cat and dogs) we are working on getting the new property ready so that we can have a working farm so I have been planning on going as natural as possible. These are my thoughts so far and I would love everyone else's input and ideas as well because I know I don't have all the answers or knowledge it's going to take. We will be building as if shtf when it comes to the animals as much as possible so there won't be any surprises when/if it happens.
As far as cows and most grass eating animals (NOT horses) I am looking at Switchgrass for the pasture. It seems to have very high nutritional value and will yeild many tons of hay per acre when cut. The won't be getting any grain at all.
For horses there needs to be a different blend so I am still looking into which will be best for them. I also don't know about growing oats? What would you do about no feed available for them? How much acreage is going to be needed in order to grow oats for 2 horses for daily feeding? I don't know much about feeding them off grid but I hope someone here can answer this.
Chickens - I plan on free ranging them. They can eat in the Switchgrass or the horse pasture I don't imagine it would make a difference, they would both be good healthy pasture. I can give them non-meat table scraps and ground up egg shells instead of store bought and I believe that would be enough for them, am I correct?
Cats are natural hunters so for them to eat would be fairly easy but I am buying extra cat food and it will be either in sealed tubs or in bags that I've done in the sucky machine. I also have been buying an extra flea/tick treatment a month to put back.
Dogs will be harder to feed since they aren't really natural hunters. Buying an extra bag of food each time you get the normal bag is a biggie. That also will be in tubs or in bags sealed in the sucky machine (those sizes are so much easier if you are on the go). When that runs out they will be eating whatever we eat. Have been buying an extra heart/flea/tick medications each month as well. This is done so that when they are no longer available those things are still able to be kept under control. The flea/tick med only need to be given during the summer months so during the winter I can keep those extra packs. If I can get enough to last a couple of years hopefully whatever event will have passed and our "world" will have returned to somewhat normal. If not, well I guess I'll be trying to barter someone for some ginea hens (dh will totally hate it but not as much as I hate ticks so I think I'll win that one lol).
Ok, please give me your input and ideas.
Bookmarks