I frequently have people ask what we feed our animals and they ask if the animals are given antibiotics.  I am sometimes asked why antibiotics matter by bolder people who are willing to show a little lack of knowledge in order to learn more ... or possibly to test me to see if I know why it matters.  From discussions with people asking about food given, it is apparent that many do no understand the role antibiotics and "medicated" feed play in the production of animal-based food.  They have heard they are "bad" but don't really know why.

​I do not use medicated feeds on my farm, but I do give sick animals antibiotics when they need them.  Let me share a little about my understanding of antibiotics.  Forgive me if it gets a bit medical-ish (as I am a RN), but it is a medical issue at least in part.  I've read quite a few peer-reviewed published professional articles in medical journal (US and international), but I am not taking the time to cite them here.  If this topic interests you, please research it more.

It seems that each year we get to gain experience with a new problem without livestock.  It's a learning experience that makes us better prepared to prevent or treat it in the future.  This year while I was gone at work, my children found a goat kid that was wobbly and unsteady to the point of not being able to walk well.  He had very uncoordinated movements.  It wasn't something I have seen before.

​My husband searched and found treatment.  My children searched the herd for other sick kids and found two more.  They were all brought in and treated

Our first two lambs of the year were to my top producer Pansy - a healthy boy and girl.  She is a pro at mothering, but didn't seem to know how to cope with the livestock guardian dog (LGD) who had kidnapped her two babies.  The LGD LOVED them so much and felt protective ... must protect these little things from the big sheep.  The guardians have to learn that babies and adults are on the same time and are the same creature.  She didn't pick up on that last year.

I LOVE and HATE baby season, and it's in full swing here on our farm.  Here is one little piece of evidence for my feelings, our gorgeous little black lamb we named Dandelion Dahliasdottir, born one week ago.  She's small and spunky, looks just like her mom except more compact, and her mom is weirded out by letting her nurse.  So, we isolated them together with plenty of shelter, food, and water.  Her mom Dahlia still wasn't feeling it and Dandelion has become a bottle baby.

​Isn't she cute?  She's super sweet and loves all the attention we give her.  Without careful watching, we would have lost her.

Some years are worse than others for yellow jackets.  I've read and been told that dry years are worse, and that seems true.  Supposedly they are beneficial insects because they prey on pests, but they aren't too beneficial when they sting me and my family, our livestock, and feast on my honeybees.  This is especially bad in the fall, when I can see them overwhelming any defense the bees mount to steal their winter stores of honey and pollen, and carry away their larval young and developed adults.  They will even kill the queen.  The trick is to act against the yellow jackets and not the bees.  This is what works for me.

I consider one of the major drawbacks to homesteading to be losing the ability to take vacations, attend weddings, and other fun things away from the farm.  I know people who burn out on homesteading because of this or never take the plunge into this lifestyle because they aren't willing to give them up.  I am unwilling to give them up.  You can homestead and still get vacations, though it is more work and you're likely not going to be able to take spontaneous trips.  We take at least one family 10-day trip a year.  Here is how we make it happen.

​Our two Clydesdale colts joined our farm in October 2016 when Duncan was just weaned at five months and Clyde a little older at almost seven months.  They came from a responsible breeder in Canada and were almost as tall as our mature saddle horses (14-15 hh), though they had funny proportions: long legs, relatively short necks, and ribs that met their hips.  They were (and still are) SWEET SWEET SWEET!  Even though they are easy to tell apart, they are a well matched pair because of their body types and sizes.  They’ll both mature at about 17 hh (around six feet tall where their mane transitions to their back).  Their feet may reasonably be expected to reach twelve inches wide.