Stockpiling Grass

No, not that kind of grass.  This kind of grass....

For  the past couple of years I've been using a track system to limit the amount of grass my little herd has access to while also maximizing movement.  There is a track that goes all the way around the perimeter of the field and that is what they graze on during the summer.  A byproduct of the system is that the vast majority of my pasture goes ungrazed all summer.  I did mow most of it mid summer and then left it alone again.

This Fall, I began giving the beasties a bit of this grass each day using strip grazing.  This is very easy with the portable fence I use.  Every day, I go out and move a small section of the fence inwards a few feet, giving them access to that untouched grass.  I usually move the fence in a different spot each day and sometimes I make smaller strips in several places around the track.  It's sort of a hide-n-seek game and they have to go out tromping round the track to find the good stuff.  They love it.  They are even willing to go out in the snow and dig for their supper. 

There are several benefits to this that I had not anticipated as it started out as merely a way to encourage exercise and alleviate boredom.  The first and most notable benefit is that we have made it all the way to the new year and I have only used about 50 bales of hay so far.  They are small 25 pound bales so that is not much hay at all.  They do have access to hay and straw in the barn, but they would rather be out grazing, even in weather that they used to refuse to venture out in.

I believe that that willingness to be out moving around, rather than standing about waiting for me to show up with more food, is one of the reasons that Emma didn't need a blanket this year.  She was too busy out searching for delicacies to be moping about the cold and it gave her winter coat a chance to catch up.  That, and she has matured a lot this year and seems to be generally much more rugged now.

This whole grazing experiment has me really rethinking our traditional pasture management practices, especially for horses and donkeys.  Rotational grazing works great if you have animals with high energy needs.  The beef cattle fatten up beautifully that way and it is very good for the land, but it would kill the donkeys.  It's not so good for horses either unless they are elderly, in intense work, lactating or young stock who need a lot of calories. 

Most horse owners just let all their animals loose on however much land they have available to them or alternate them between a couple of large paddocks.  Even with fairly low numbers of animals, the pasture will generally be exhausted by September and the animals will need to be fed hay until Spring. 

Horses are especially tough on pasture because of the way they graze.  They will nibble their preferred grasses down to the roots while leaving other areas untouched except to use those spots as designated bathroom areas.  The short areas are prone to damage because there is not enough sod to protect the soil and the long areas become weed infested and the manure too concentrated. It wouldn't be an issue if the horses were out wandering the vast prairies they are designed for, but it is very hard on the enclosed land that we keep them on.  It's also not so good for the horses.  Stressed grass makes and stores more sugar and too much sugar is the number one cause of health issues in domestic horses other than musculoskeletal problems.

With the combination of using a track all summer and grazing the interior all winter, I have effectively extended my grazing season indefinitely.  Since I am giving them access to this grass in very small amounts each day, they graze the entire strip, leaving no high spots.  Since they get new grass each day, they don't overgraze the previous days offerings.  When they graze this way, they don't create designated bathroom areas so their manure ends up spread out evenly all over the field.  It becomes valuable fertilizer rather than troublesome waste with no extra work on my part.

I am limiting the pasture stress to a narrow strip around the perimeter of the field while maximizing soil and grass health on the majority of the land, and I've drastically cut the hay bill while doing it - at least as long as the snow doesn't get too deep.  That is the one real limiting factor here in the North East.  They will dig through some snow, but they can't dig through LOTS of snow. 

Even in a really bad year though, this still works.  Last year was about as bad as it gets, but in the early Spring, after the snow had gone but before the new growth came in, I turned my herd out on the whole field.  It's something I never would have done in the past as I would not have wanted them out there damaging the new growth and digging things up.  However, since I am always battling the bulge and the mud was awful, I said to hell with it and turned them out.  After being cooped up in the barn by the frigid temps and deep snow, they were thrilled to get out and graze all that winter-killed grass.  Two months before I would normally start the grazing season, they quit eating hay in favor of the stock piled grass.  It was a good thing too as FB ran out of hay last year and took 150 bales out of here to fill the gap.  I would never have had it to spare were it not for my "stored" grass.  They did dig up the ground a bit here and there, but with the entire growing season to recover, the damage disappeared.

Best of all, my herd loves this.  Rather than standing around in the barn all day twiddling their ears, they are out doing what they are meant to do.  As soon as I head out to move the fence, they fall in behind me, eager to get to the new goodies.  For anyone who relies on any amount of pasture to keep their critters fed, you might want to give this a try.  It's a win, win, win for the land, the animals and the checkbook.

Slow Food

The posts I wrote a couple of years ago about building slow feed hay boxes (click here and here) are the most looked at/searched for posts I've written.  With summer winding down, I've had several questions about slow feeding, hay nets and boxes.  Lisa in particular wanted to know more about how my hay boxes have worked out.

Basically, the boxes, when used with the metal grates, work very well for eliminating waste entirely and slowing down consumption a little bit.  If you are really trying to slow down/limit consumption though, the metal grates don't slow them down enough.  If that is not a concern, then they work great with one exception.  All of the equines did very well with the metal grates with the sole exception of Gabe.  Those of you who remember him, may recall that he was a stinking hog about food (sorry Gabe, no offense,  but if the shoe fits....).  Gabe made his mouth sore because he absolutely would NOT stop trying to bite the grate.  If your horses are not stinking hogs about food then you won't have any trouble with using metal grates.  I haven't seen any indication that the grates cause tooth or gum problems in the less greedy equine population.  If you are dealing with a stinking hog, I suggest using nets instead.

I find that the boxes also work very well combined with any type of hay net.  The nets can be secured in the bottom of the box, which keeps the nets out of the mud/snow and keeps the hooves away from the nets.  A frame with netting stretched inside can also be made to fit the boxes instead of using the metal grates.  I like the boxes because they provide a lot of options.  That flexibility is nice when your animal's hay needs vary throughout the year.  

The things to take into consideration when making choices between boxes, nets or a combination are determining what your main goals are.  If you just want to eliminate waste and make sure the hay ration lasts a little longer, the boxes and grates are a really nice, user friendly, economical and long lasting option.

If you have fatties on a perpetual diet, (like, ahem, mine) I like hay nets with very small holes.  One things you'll find is that, over time, the animals become more and more adept at getting food out of the nets/boxes.  What slowed them down dramatically at first will lose a lot of effectiveness as they gain proficiency in extracting the food.  I have found this to be true with every feeder or net I've tried.  My herd has become so proficient with hay nets that I am always trying to think of new ways to slow them down even more.  It's especially difficult for me because my crazy schedule makes multiple feedings difficult.  I really need to be able to put out many hours worth of food yet still limit intake.  Lately, I have taken to doubling up two different types of hay nets.  I found that doubling two of the same didn't work for more than a day because they figured out how to line up the holes.  Darned donkeys are way too clever for their own good.  

It's hard to tell in this photo, but there is actually a thin, grey net inside of the blue one.

This is the thin net made out of something like hockey netting...

Inside a cheap Chicks net.

This combination will make 6-8 pounds of hay last about three hours.  Pretty good considering that they would slurp that down in twenty minutes if fed loose.  This combination is also easy to put out on a tree, leave on the ground loose or secure inside a hay box.

I have also been using the track system I developed last year.  Their pasture is actually a narrow track that goes around the outside of the field.  Although they look to be out in lush pasture, they aren't.  Their access to grass is severely limited.  Seeing the track get nibbled down to the ground makes my farmer's heart quail a bit, but it has kept the pudge down to acceptable levels while still giving them lots of room to roam.  I estimate the track to be about 3000 feet long and they generally go around 10-12 times per day, maybe more at night.  Emma is still a bit chubby, but for a donkey living in NY, I don't think she is too terribly fat.  I'd like to see her lose a few more pounds, but as long as she does not gain any more, I'll settle for that.

I include Tessa in the "donkey" classification because, so far, she is the one I am having the most trouble keeping weight off of.  I consider her to be very high risk for IR and am feeding her the same way I feed the donkeys.  I'd love to give her more exercise, but real-world, it's not likely to happen.

Pushing their pasture area so hard, I do worry about them eating toxic plants.  While my pastures may look lovely in photos, a close examination will reveal masses of nasty, toxic weeds.  Animals are very smart about such things and they won't generally eat toxic plants unless they feel forced to do so.  I don't want them to ever feel forced.  I also need to be able to leave for work for hours at a time and feel confident that they won't be looking for trouble while I am gone.  For those reasons and the fact that they need forage to stay healthy and avoid ulcers, they always have access to some kind of acceptable food.  The always have wheat straw in a Cinch Chix net.  They get this along with a small amount of hay in a doubled net each day.  I like the Cinch Chix nets and would like to get a couple more in different sizes, but they are expensive.

It has taken me a long time to get the straw worked out, but they are doing well with it now.  They eat about 15 pounds of wheat straw each day now and their weights have all stabilized.  The straw has been tested so I know it has a very low sugar/starch content and the farmer who is growing it does not spray it with any chemicals, which is a real concern with straw.  Any straw left in the net for more than a week gets used for bedding.

I would like to increase their exercise and will try to do that by putting their feed out on the track as far away from the barn as possible.  I've done this a bit and it does work.  However, the bugs have been so bad this year, that I didn't have the heart to keep it up.  Tessa does OK, although she hates bugs, but the biting flies go after the donkeys so bad that they come in with blood literally dripping down their legs and their eyes streaming.  I've tried sprays and wraps, but the only thing that really works is hiding in the barn away from the bugs.  Of course, come winter, it will be howling arctic winds that they'll be hiding from.  I am glad to have the variety of nets, boxes, hay and straw that is, so far, keeping them contentedly "grazing" all day while still managing the weight problem.

Back on Track

"Yo Ma!  Why are we in jail?  C'mon, what are up to?  Let us out, you know you shouldn't be out there unsupervised!"

"Don't worry guys, it'll only be a little while.  I just have to do a wee bit of fencing...."

"FENCING?!  NO.  No, no, noooooo!  Step away from the fence Ma, unless you plan on taking it down altogether, just let us out and step away."

"Sorry guys, it's got to be done.  It's for your own good."

"But Maaa, the grass is just starting to get REALLY good.  You can't take it all away.  Pleeeeeease."

"C'mon now, buck up, you know I'm not taking it ALL away, (just most of it). You get your track system back today.  Won't that be fun:)?"

"We were having lots of fun as is Ma, you just have to go and spoil it.  Hey, blog peoples, anyone out there want to come rescue us poor starved donkeys?  Seriously, does it look like we're having fun, locked up in jail while our Ma takes all our good, yummy grass away?  SAVE US!"

Fat Farm or The Herbivores Dilemma

Seeing as how donkeys are such "easy keepers" and Tessa is as well, I was anticipating having to take some drastic measures to regulate just how much pasture they had access to during the grazing season.  Donkeys and horses have a fairly unique digestive system that is designed for very small amounts of high fiber, low protein feed to be consumed almost constantly combined with near constant exercise to find that food.  Their stomachs are extremely small and they produce stomach acid all the time, not just when they eat as most other animals and people do.

What this means is that, if they go for long periods (6-8 hours) of time without eating, they get ulcers.  They also get huge spikes in their insulin levels when they finally do get a meal.  Their insulin levels can spike as much as 800% higher than normal, which can lead to insulin resistance, founder, laminitis, etc.  Lush, green grass is about the worst thing to feed them aside from grains, which they really shouldn't get at all.

It's all a bit like telling a person that he or she can only eat ice cream, donuts and pizza and expecting that person to not gain weight.  On the other hand, I rely on my pasture to feed everybody during the summer months and I want to encourage as much exercise as possible.  It is a dilemma.

I needed a system that would limit their access to grass while simultaneously providing them with enough food and maximizing their exercise.  What I came up with is a variation of a Paddock Paradise setup, which is really just a track around the perimeter of the pasture.  I have not ever tried this before so it is a grand experiment for all of us.  So far it seems to be working well.  Ramsey's current weight is ideal.  Emma is a wee bit chubby, but not horribly so and I think it is probably the best we can do given the available feed stuff in the area.  Tessa is the real fatty right now and a grazing muzzle may be in her future.  As long as no one gains any more, we'll probably be OK with the hope that they will drop some pounds over the winter.

This is an aerial view of my farm taken before I built my house or barn, the tracks you can see all over it are ATV tracks as that is what the previous owners used it for..

This is the same view with the fences outlined...

and with the pasture paradise track in blue.  There is a small track inside the back pasture as well that I forgot to draw in.

It is about 1800 feet from the barn to the furthest corner of the lower pasture.  If they make 6-8 trips around the track in a day, I figure they're getting at least a couple miles in each day and with the occasional mad gallop around the whole course 2-3 times...well it's better than standing around doing nothing all day.  This setup also allows me to do strip grazing as I can move bits of the interior fence further inwards to give them more grass as needed.  It's also had the added bonus of providing a sanctuary for ground nesting birds.

With the portable fencing I use it was relatively easy and inexpensive to put together.

Do you see them way out there, in the midst of a wild gallop around the race track?  Tessa always wins.  In the land of small donkeys, the biggest horse is the fastest.

Hay Nets

After reading my post about small-mesh hay nets (click here if you missed that), a reader from California sent me these fantastic slow feeders.  She had them made for her mini donkeys, but no longer needs them, so she has very kindly and generously passed them on (Thank you D!!).  There are even a couple with larger holes for the horses in there.

The nice thing about these is that the holes are small enough that Ramsey cannot get a foot caught in one and they can be left on the ground like pillows, making for a more natural grazing experience.

The only trouble with them is that they must smell just a little bit like D's donkeys and Emma is not sure she wants anything to do with them.  I think that donkeys (like dogs again) are very sensitive to different smells. Whenever I am around strange horses or any other animals and then return to my own, I have to let Emma check me out and talk to her.  This was especially true when Ramsey was very little.  If I smelled wrong, she would move Ramsey away from me until I had passed the smell test.

Jack donkeys have a reputation for being unpredictably mean and aggressive.  I wonder if they really are so unpredictable, or if it is another case of our own inability to recognize what may be a threat to a donkey.  Donkeys are highly territorial and protective and jacks will fight to the death to defend their territory.  If a jack's owner were to go visit a neighbors stud or new dog and then approach the jack, an animal who probably relies more on scent than sight for identification, is it any wonder that the jack may react badly?  If we humans thought more about how our animals perceive things rather then assume their perceptions will be the same as ours, I believe there would be far fewer tragic accidents.   

Emma is very protective of Ramsey and after getting a good whiff of the new hay bags, she moved him away from them and kept him away.

From her point of view, these nets could have come from a herd of mean jacks who might threaten her baby.  She has no way of knowing that these cute little guys mean no harm...

For the last several days, I have left the nets hanging in my tack room to air out and absorb the smells of my own barn and this afternoon I hung one bag in the barn for her to get used to.  I have no doubt that she will accept them, it's just a matter of letting her do it in her own way and in her own donkey time. 

Several people have asked me about nets for horses and for mini donkeys.  I have little personal experience with these myself, but will share what I have found so far....

Cynthia from A donkey Diary has 4 mini donkeys and uses small mesh nets for them.  She highly recommends NAG bags from www.slowfeeder.com.  They appear to be very good bags that are safe for minis and are well made.

The paddock paradise website offers this hay net comparison chart, which is very helpful.  Some of the links seem outdated, but the info is good.

I know several people who have made their own feeders using hockey puck netting from Arizona Sports.  Lisa from Laughing Orca Ranch shared this and this on her blog.

The net I am using currently came from Chicks saddlery.  It works well enough, but I would not use it for the donkeys if I was not hanging it above my manger, which prevents them from getting their feet near it.   It is inexpensive and rugged, but should only be used if you can be sure to keep their feet away from it. 

Similarly, I purchased nets from Adams Horse supply.  They were inexpensive and work well for the horses, but I would not use them for donkeys or any small aniamls.  They stretch too much and hang too low when empty.  They hold a lot of hay, which is good for me as I only have to fill them once a day and the horses never run out of hay.  An OK choice for full sized horses who are barefoot, but do not use for donkeys or ponies...

And one last thing about nets: when you introduce them to your animals, make sure the net is IN ADDITION to their regular ration for the first few days.  If you introduce the net this way , the animal will see it as a treat rather then a frustration, they will appreciate it instead of resenting it.