Herding Dog Workshop

Cota Run Dog Park will be hosting a herding dog workshop this spring. I will post more details later but I wanted to get the word out early to gauge interest. We will be bringing in a gentleman from Pennsylvania with much experience in breeding and training these working dogs. Trying to run a sheep or goat operation without your favorite breed of herding dog puts you at a big disadvantage. It wasn’t until after a few years of enduring great frustration trying to get our sheep to go where we needed them to be that I decided this was crazy and finally got a dog. I would not even try to move sheep now without a dog. Herding dogs are not like guard dogs, they require training. Actually, it is we that require the training, the dog will herd whether you are there or not. You just have to learn to communicate with the dog so she knows what you what. A herding dog (and LGD) is the best employee you could ever have. They will love you unconditionally and do everything they can to please you. No person or machine, not ten persons or machines,  can come close to doing what a single dog can do when it comes to dealing with livestock in an open field.  They are absolutely amazing!

Here are a couple Briards, they belong to a friend of ours and are a beautiful example of a french breed of herding dog.

My Heroes!

After several years of no losses of our sheep to predators we were complacent and so this past autumn we suffered greatly from not having taken measures to protect our sheep.  In our defense, we are relatively new to this sort of thing and our concerns were with the predators that killed our chickens, a whole different set of problems.

We had just fenced in the entire farm and the idea that we were vulnerable to coyotes or marauding dogs was not even considered.  In the space of just a few weeks we had lost a very large percentage of our flock.  It had gotten so bad that I had to put everything else on hold and turn my attention to this one problem; this one problem would end our entire operation, I was desperate.  I even went so far as to place an ad and invite hunters to the farm.  Even with high tech calls and weapons no predators were found.  A neighbor’s boy came out and set traps, still nothing.  Except for all the mutilated sheep, there was very little evidence that there were any predators.  I was not happy with the prospect of hunting and trapping because the predators are essentially dogs and I love dogs but I had to stop the carnage.

I knew that there was really only one permanent solution to my problem, dogs.  I have read about and even talked to some people that believe llamas can protect sheep but suffice it to say that my experience does not bare this out.  Perhaps a certain llama in a particular situation has been a deterrent but I don’t believe they are reliable livestock guardians and they present a whole other set of issues to deal with.

Life on our farm had become unpleasant.  By now the weather had turned cold and wet and I was spending nights outside with lights and my riffle protecting the sheep.  Of course I could not keep this up but I could not sleep either.  I dreaded going out for morning chores to find some horrific scene.  Nothing I tried would help for more than a few days before they would come back and attack again.  We were devastated!  The remaining sheep were traumatized and would not go into their shelter at night.  Angie helped me bury some of the dead lambs one morning but after a while I would hide them and we just didn’t talk about it.

I accepted that I would have to find the money to buy the right dogs but what was available was mostly puppies and I needed dogs that could help right now.  I found one pup nearby, bought him, but that was just more work caring for him and he would be no help until summer.  Every day I searched the internet for older dogs and then I found them!  They were three hours away and only 8 months old but that was good enough.  Two Great Pyrenees sisters living on a small goat farm and the kind lady who owned them practically gave them to me for making the trip.  After a few days confined to their shelter I let the girls loose and within a few hours they had covered every acre.  They quickly discovered a waterway that ran under the fence between paddocks and found their way to the other side of the farm.  They bounded through the wetland, waded across the pond

and claimed the pastures for their own.  They went where I did not want them to go deciding that they knew their job better than me and that no place should be off limits to them.  The farm was now completely under their protection.

There have been no further signs of predators and the sheep have learned that these special K9’s are no threat to them.  Lursa and B’Etor (some of you may recognize these names) have literally saved the farm and are my heroes.

What does it cost to raise a lamb?

A simple enough question yet there is no answer. I have researched the subject and found lots of theory, break downs for feed cost and the like, ways to maximize production. If this were any other business, one which needs a plan, cost analyst, return on investment, etc., then the question of what it costs need be answered before any other considerations. One reason this question goes unanswered is that unlike some other businesses, no two small farm operations are alike. When the vast majority of agriculture and animal husbandry became industrialized, it was much easier to take a known operation, one that was working well, and duplicate it. A small farm is unique and can not be duplicated; the available labor and resources, markets, capital investment, etc., are specific to the farm.

I see and hear stories all the time, usually from media outlets that have no idea about the subject, (they are just trying to sell a story), offering the latest twist to this or that scheme. One of the most recent is that there is a shortage of lamb production in the country and that prices are up for meat and fiber. Well, there is presently some truth to that but like every other story they only tell part of it, the part that will garner some attention thus helping to sell their story. They fail to say, for example, that while wool prices are up, they are still well below the cost of production! And that meat production not meeting demand is as a result of the failures of foreign markets that have been flooding this country with cheap imports. There is no real increase in demand for American lamb, but only a shortage of cheap lamb and when American farmers attempt to fill the gap, they discover that doing so just drives down further the price of their lamb. Sure you may get a few cents per pound more during a peak period, but the cost to replace the lamb, feed, housing, health care is ever increasing. What is really perverse is the fact that at the same time this is all going on there are farmers around the country who are unloading their flocks at fire sale prices because they can no longer care for them.

The harm of reporting that farmers are encouraged to increase their production and that there are business opportunities for new farmers is that too many people believe what is reported in the “news” and often act on it. It is very easy, at first, to jump into the romantic notion of having a small farm in the country, leaving behind the corporate grind and job insecurity for a new money making lifestyle. It is very easy to overlook the obvious fact that the grocery store shelves are not filled with lamb for a reason, or that there have been no commercial textile mills in this country for many years.

So then, what does it cost to raise a lamb? I’ll tell you the truth, it costs more than the lamb is worth. An exact figure is not possible for the small farmer because it is always changing. A factory farm can get pretty close though as they are better able to control their costs. A small farmer has very little control over their input costs and the most demoralizing and demeaning aspect is that their own labor is valued at zero by the government. Any farmer knows that the greatest factor attributing to the success of their farm is what they can do, how hard and smart they can work, how much time and energy they can give to their business.

One other important point concerning the cost to raise a lamb is the farm itself. There is practically no information on this area at all. The capital investment required to start a modest small family farm is naturally the principal consideration for the business. When the loans, mortgage payments, credit cards are factored into the equation, it becomes simple to comprehend for anyone, you can’t work hard enough or live long enough to come out ahead. Then why do it? Because if you are really lucky you can build something that has real value that can be left to children who will then be able at some point to come out ahead because they did not have to start with nothing. But more than that, some of us understand that a successful business is not necessarily one that makes a profit but one that we can prosper from.

Buying Unwanted Alpacas or Llamas

If you would rather not deal with the livestock auction or just want to dispense with a few alpacas or llamas, we will make you an offer on any unwanted alpacas and llamas. Please be advised we are not interested in any animals that you feel have great value. Also, we will not consider sick or abused animals, in fact, we will report any animals we come across that appear to have been abused or neglected. For more info please respond with an email, CotaFarms@centurylink.net

It Takes a Gaggle of Geese to Raise a Gosling

I spend a lot of time around farm livestock now, much more time than around people. It hasn’t always been that way but it is now and that’s OK. Many things that I see are new and fascinating to me. One thing in particular that I have observed is how much more sophisticated is the social structure of geese than the other animals.

For the most part, the geese choose to stay together as opposed to say the ducks which will wonder off in different directions. But what really fascinates me is that they don’t just stay together but function together. Even when two are fighting, the others will stand by and raise a ruckus as if to cheer them on.

We have a flock of too many geese and there are a handful of females that will always tend to a nest while some of the others will stay with a particular female, helping to guard the nest and chase off a curious chicken or poodle. Once the mother brings her babies from the nest, I have noticed that even some of the males will escort her around the farm, taking some of the credit for all her hard work.

Within the gaggle will be subgroups of geese and goslings. When they come upon something they don’t like, they will all come together to voice their displeasure. But the most interesting and unique trait they have is their willingness to take in and defend any gosling!

We collect the eggs from the geese that don’t make nest or don’t stay with the nest and sometimes hatch them ourselves. When the goslings are ready to be on the ground, I put them in pens like I do the ducklings and other birds. No one cares about this except the geese. In fact, in the case of chickens, you must protect the biddies from the chickens as some will try to kill and eat them. Chickens are brutal and cannibalistic.

The geese will immediately notice the gosling and move in to retrieve it, aggressively in some cases. So, I put the gosling on the ground and run. Unlike other livestock, even the mammals like sheep, the geese don’t mind that this particular goose was not hatched by one of them. They will take the gosling and battle for the right to raise it. Usually, one of the existing family groups will win and the baby will take its place among the group.

This is incredible! A ewe won’t accept her lamb back if for some reason they are separated for even a day. Only the most noble of humans will simple take on the responsibility of a stray child.

I have conducted this experiment for several seasons now and I am delighted every time I watch this happen. There is one exception that I have noted. If you don’t resist the urge to play with the gosling, caress and kiss it, it may imprint on you and then the little bird will be confused and run from the flock. I watched the group try for hours one season, to assimilate a gosling before giving up. I ended up having to care for that one myself.

The Industrialization of the Farmer’s Market – Chapter 1

We have been attending farmer’s markets for a relatively short period of time, but an important period of time.  We have watched the changes at the markets and see a very different venue now from just ten years ago.  The changes seem to be driven by two main factors: the growing number of vendors, and the impact of legalism.

The popularity of farmer’s markets has been increasing every year and so have the number of these markets.  Small farms have been able to benefit from the constant food recalls of the factory farms and the news media’s fervent reporting of their every mistake.  People that are able to purchase higher quality foods have been seeking out the small farms.  The local foods movement has also greatly helped the small, family farmer.

Physics teaches us that a force that acts for some change, will also work to create a counterforce.  I have noticed that this is often true for things like business and economics as well.  While the causes that help promote the farmer’s markets are generally apparent, those that resist them are less so.

Many people envision owing a small farm very idealistically, a small business that nurtures the spirit while isolating you from the harshness of the corporate environment.  For the most part, this can be a true image of the small family farm, true if certain aspects that are often taken for granted are indeed granted.  What I mean is that it is very often assumed that whatever you produce in this fantasy farm, people will rush to your door offering to buy it at whatever price you wish to put on it.

I imagine that at some place and time this type of thing, sort of happened for one or two farmers, but it did not go unnoticed.  Science also teaches us that an enterprise engaged in by some may work out well for those involved, but will not if done by many.  An ambulance, for example, can break the traffic laws and proceed to its destination much more quickly than the average driver.  This only works because there are not too many ambulances on the roads.

It is ironic that as the supply of higher quality food has been increasing, as well as the number of places to purchase it, the number or people that can afford to pay for it have declined.  What is interesting is the relationship between these two numbers: fewer middle class jobs have encouraged some of those lacking these jobs to engage in the production of food to be purchased by a declining number of people with middle class jobs.

The sad part is that the eventual winner will be the same factory farms that have been the object of disdain by those supplying the higher quality, more expensive food.  Yes, this is only my view of what is going on and perhaps no one is in agreement with me, but I believe I can make an acceptable argument supporting this outlook.  On a more positive note, I also believe the future products on the grocery store shelves will be better than they were, in part because of the influence of the farmer’s markets.

What is Good Animal Care? Chapter 11

I could site other examples of good and bad animal care and what makes it so but I think I have written enough to make my point. These ideas should be accepted on their own merit or not. Debate is not my goal. I would sum up though by coming back to what I consider to be the most important and indisputable point concerning good animal care. I come back to this point not just because it is the most significant, but also because it is blatantly ignored by all animal care groups.

Good animal care is directly related to the money spent on that care. The money spent on that care is directly related to the price of the end product. Anyone who espouses an improvement in animal care without also advocating an increase in the amount of money we should pay for food, is insincere at best, and really cares nothing for these animals.
They most likely have some hidden agenda, one that is dishonorable and so they mask it with this phony concern for the welfare of animals.

Good animal care is not just about pastures verses feedlots. There must first be an understanding of what these animals are and their limitations before any notion of care be put together. Their care should not be formulated around the agricultural industries that profit from them. And again, most importantly, their care should not be reduced to the most efficient manner of meat production.

It is this last matter that often leads to the most publicly ridiculed aspects of animal care. This is not about isolated incidents of animal sadism, for that is not poor animal care but merely a crime, probably the result of poor care of the person involved. The routine practice of removing a chicken’s beak, for example, arises from the need to produce chicken for the absolute lowest cost. If one truly wants this form of mutilation to end, then making secret recordings is not the answer. It is all too easy to say what price do we need to pay for chicken such that this practice is no longer necessary? And yet this is not done.

end

What is Good Animal Care? Chapter 10

Here is how good animal care reasoning can be derived from nature:  a common impression of good animal care, or, animals that are cared for in a good manner, is chickens freely running around in green pastures, doing chicken type things.  This is a pleasant image, very emotionally engaging.

We know that this is not how most chickens live, but why not?  Is it alright for most chickens not to live this way?

This example allows us to look closely at what is going on.  When considering the chickens roaming around the meadows, the serious student of animal husbandry knows that it is not realistic for chickens to do this.  Chickens are among the most fragile of all livestock and would be prey to a frightening number of predators.  Like most fantasy, this image must be supported by a lot of practical measures that are generally left out of the reflection.  This meadow must be well protected and include a secure shelter nearby because when the sun goes down the chickens will just sit down and wait for something to come and eat them.

Unless you can provide for many thousands of acres of protected pasture and well guarded housing in those pastures for the millions of chickens that are raised in this country, pastured chicken is not good animal care.  At Cota Farms we raise several dozen chickens on pasture and have shelters that are guarded by large dogs.  We also use exterior lighting, traps and even cameras when necessary.  Even so, on occasion we still lose some chickens to predators.

Animal Husbandry Economics 101 tells us that the market for pasture raised chicken is small.  It is a superior product which costs more than commercially raised chicken.  Again, it is not possible to separate the notion of good animal care from the cost of that care; we can’t even do it for people.

There is one species of farm raised poultry that still has its wild, natural, counterpart with us.  Where we live, wild turkeys are plentiful.  We raise these same wild turkeys; turkeys are relatively easy to domesticate.  It is important to distinguish between natural turkeys and what is commonly taken for turkeys and what most people are familiar with.  The broad breasted white turkey is the result of turkey engineering and is the turkey sold in stores.  If you raise these birds along side the natural ones (something we have done), it becomes evident that the changes to the turkey leaves it totally lacking the fundamental abilities of the natural bird.  It can not flee or perch up high away from predators, it can’t find its own food, it has very little disease resistance, it can’t even engage in reproduction.  All of this is lost in favor of a large hunk of dry white meat.

An argument can be made that the bird itself is a result of poor animal care.  It can also be argued that this bird, and animals like it, is necessary to feed the vast numbers of people.

This illustration of the turkey can be applied to other farm livestock to help one understand why simply providing an atmosphere appropriate to a similar wild animal may not be appropriate for the livestock.  Unfortunately, reasoning and logic will never overcome emotional appeals made to those who are unacquainted with the realities of large scale food production.  This is partly the fault of these same producers who have labored long and hard to disassociate the livestock industry from the end product sold in the grocery stores.

What is Good Animal Care? Chapter 9

Where then, do we find a suitable template on which to base good animal care? Early on I followed rules set down by an animal care organization. When I joined with this group at the beginning of their program, I saw what seemed to be a reasonable set of requirements. Unfortunately, as these things usually go, good care was not good enough and in an effort to grow their organization they added more and more rules. I guess without adding more and more rules the rule makers would have nothing else to do and they wanted to keep their jobs.

The trouble with these types of organizations, including government standards, is that somewhere along the line, animal care becomes secondary to other political concerns. And so this is the real dilemma, a set of care standards void of politics does not seem possible.

We all live in the natural world, one that is governed by forces we call nature. This natural structure was already in place when we got here. Since it is foolishness to despise the air we breathe or the earth that holds our bodies together, it seems sensible to look to this natural structure for guidance.

I can accept that this system of life is perfect and can not be improved on by man, but others will not. It will still function perfectly even if man suddenly vanished from the earth; it would most likely function better. Yes, man has made changes that suite him, but this does not mean that those changes are an improvement for all life on the planet. Unless you are capable of creating your own self sustaining structure, on a worldwide scale, disagreeing with the notion that the one in place is perfect, is pointless.

In the natural world, the word perfect does not mean that everything lives happily ever after. Some people have done terrible things to animals, but I don’t think any of it measures up to the normal, natural day to day goings on in animal life around the world. There is one significant difference between animal cruelty at the hands of man and the agonies of nature’s doctrine of survival of the fittest: intent. Indeed, it is this absence of malice that makes the natural world and the animals in it perfect. Man, of course, is the exception.

How then do we make use of this natural model of animal care on the farm? The first step, it seems to me, is to remove emotion from the animal care plan. Emotion must give way to logic. Nature acts without regard for individual life; its structure is such that the stability of the whole system is the prime factor in all that goes on. Life is supported by death.

The second step is to realize that our attempts at animal husbandry will be imperfect at best. This is because when we engage in animal husbandry, we are doing so in opposition to nature. We create and keep a group of animals that are not meant to live in the natural world. These animals only exist because we make it so through force of labor and technology. Additionally, we try to do it while getting more out of it than we put in to it, make a profit. Nature follows the rules of physics where nothing is lost or gained. Good animal care will derive naturally from here.

What is Good Animal Care? Chapter 8

The concept of good animal care must come from somewhere, be derived from some basic theory and philosophy. This may seem overly academic for the farmer, but that is only because of the way I am presenting it. The ideas are there regardless of the language used to describe them. Anyone who cares for animals: farmer, hobbyist, pet enthusiast, zoo keeper, does so with some preconceived plan in mind.

For some people, there is only a single notion of care. The animal care activist may see any animal as something to be saved from the mistreatment of man, and nothing else. The factory farm owner may view the animal as merely a raw resource, no different from timber. These are two extremes and do nothing to address the issue of animal care. Both of these people bring no useful information to the conversation of animal care. Let me be clear, if you are concerned with animal care, do not seek the opinion of these people!

Here’s a thought sure to invoke the ire of some: good animal care, in concept, is much like good health care for people. I use this example not to provoke, but because it is so pertinent to what is going on in America today. When we speak of good health care here in America, we are really talking about having good health insurance; we are really talking about having the resources to partake of the best care practices available.

When we speak of good animal care, we are really talking about providing for all of the animal’s needs, including health care. The difference between good health care for people and good animal care is the perceived relative worth of each. It is not correct to assign a value to the well being and comfort of a person, but in general, we accept that animal care practices are tailored to the perceived value of the animal. It is not practical for the farmer to spend large sums of money on the care of an animal that has a limited value. However, we (including me) do spend large sums of money on the care of a favored dog or cat.

Now, let’s deal with the hypocrisy! In reality, (the place where I live) people are in fact assigned a predetermined value and that ranking is used to dole out health care. The hypocrisy does not so much arise from the idea that we do provide varying levels of health care to people based on their socioeconomic status, but that we pretend that it does not work that way. There doesn’t seem to be an equivalent to PETA for people that suffer from poor care. There are groups that are willing to kill to protect unborn children, but that fanaticism wanes when it come to caring for children already born into the world.

So then, with no real structure in place to compassionately and uniformly care for each other, how would we be able to properly conceive of what is good animal care? I assert that you can’t. That is why we allow factory farms to exist on the edge of animal abuse while some people preach the total liberation of all animals, whatever that means. We are so fortunate that most people are not thrilled at the thought of hurting animals and that sometimes those who do hurt animals are stopped.