living with livestock

Living with Livestock, Part Three: Sheep and Goats

I thought I would begin my third of a series of four livestock workshops at the University of Minnesota petting cute, cuddly lambs and kids (as in baby goats), but instead we started out sifting through a box of what looked like medieval torture instruments. The all-in-one castrator and tail docker, a clever little gizmo, was designed to cut off the relevant body part and simultaneously crimp the ends of the wound shut to prevent excessive bleeding. The hand shears, for clipping sheep destined for competitive shows, were more or less giant, extremely sharp scissors. My personal favorite was the hot-iron tail docker, most notable perhaps for its very low-tech-ness.

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Living with Livestock, Part Two: The Maternal Instincts of Chickens and Pigs

Ever heard of a guard goose? If you’re one of those aspiring farmers who wants to keep a few chickens in the backyard, you might want to investigate. As I learned at my second of a series of four livestock workshops at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, geese make great chicken protectors. They’ll fend off overly inquisitive opossums and raccoons and even attack coyotes that get too close to the coop! So if you can persuade your neighbors to overlook the inevitable honking, a goose might be a good investment. Plus, geese are apparently gaining popularity as Christmas dinner main courses.

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Living with Livestock, Part One: Food In, Poop (or is it Compost?) Out

When I walked into my first of a series of four livestock workshops at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, I wasn’t sure what to expect of the curriculum, but I was pretty sure what to expect of the students: a bunch of new-age, backyard chicken growers, to be sure.

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