BrendaSue, I'm glad to hear that things seem to be okay. To answer your question, you do not need a special thermometer to check their temp. Just a regular thermometer--either digital or the old fashioned mercury kind is fine. If you use a mercury thermometer, it is wise to attach a 6 inch string to the end with the hot glue gun, and attach a clothespin to the string. To check their temp, lubricate the thermometer (I spit on it, but you can use KY Jelly or vaseline or mineral oil if you prefer), then insert it into the horse's rectum. If using the mercury thermometer, insert it until there's only about 1.5 inches sticking out, then clip the clothespin to the horse's tail and wait 3 minutes, remove, and read. If using digital thermometer, insert it about 2 inches into the rectum, and you have to stand back there and hold it until it beeps the ready signal. Don't use the mercury thermometer unless you have the string attached--they have been known to "disappear" into the horse's rectum--NOT a good thing! Normal temp for an adult horse is 98-100. I would consider 101 to be a mild fever in an adult, and 102 or above is a fever for sure. In a yearling, 101 would be pretty normal, and anything above 102 would be a fever. In a foal, normal is 100-102, and above 103 would be a fever. Horses are like people, and some horses "run hot" all the time, so if you really want to be in tune with your horses, check their temps several times on different occasions to get a baseline normal. If you want to check their pulse, you can feel in the groove under their jaw--this can be a bit tricky and it's good if you can get somebody to show you how. Average pulse for an adult is 30-40 beats per minute, but for a younger horse, it is higher (yearling is 50-60). To answer another comment you made, bellyache is the same as colic (just like a baby). Colic can be caused by gas, constipation, a twist in the gut, diarrhea, spasmodic colon, etc. And just like a baby, a horse can't tell you where or why it hurts, and that's what makes it so complicated. To be honest, in my opinion, I would have worried more about founder than colic with this episode. Somebody commented that it takes more than one time in the grain bag to get foundered, and I disagree with that statement (not trying to start a fight here, I just disagree). You stated that their hooves were warm, and that is a symptom that a horse is trying to founder. Horses' hooves are usually cool to slightly warm, even in the summer they stay pretty cool. It's a good idea once things get back to normal to go feel their hooves and see what normal feels like (again, some horses' hooves are normally warmer than others). If I were you, I'd continue to keep an eye out for signs of founder. If you see them standing with their front feet "parked out" in front of them--stretching them out so their feet are more under their head than under their shoulder--that is a sign that they are in pain from founder. You can look up founder (or laminitis as it is also called) on Google and see the causes and symptoms. Glad to hear that things sound okay. I heard a quote once that said "Horses spend 99% of their time trying to kill themselves, and we spend 99% of our time trying to prevent them from succeeding." Keep us posted!

more moldy figs :( more mostly composted leaves to cover Trying to figure out whether or not this bin is going to be able to handle the entire rind of a watermelon, or if it's just going to be too full after trying to balance all that green out with browns. My rind has been sitting there for a couple days, waiting, as I contemplate. If my new bin gets here before I'm done thinking it over, then I won't have to contemplate anymore.

Here in W. WA, 50lbs of oyster shell costs $12, and it’s very stable, not subject to problems of dampness, not susceptible to aging. Cheap insurance. Calcium in the soil is good, but it often isn’t enough for a hen to produce 200+ eggs per year. I live in a high-rainfall area, and it leaches calcium from the soil badly, so without adding lime in fall, grass and crops will be calcium-deficient. Get hold of Gene Logsdon’s book “Small-scale Grain Raising” for a LOT of info on growing smaller amounts of grains at home, for your own use and your livestock. Greens: alfalfa, clover, cowpeas, field peas, kale, chard and other people greens. Whole dried corn isn’t great for chickens unless they have an adequate source of grit. Otherwise, they will eat it, but they can’t break it down enough to receive much nutrition from it. Fresh or cooked corn is okay. Seeds: cowpeas, English peas (plus tendrils and flowers), flax seed, pigeon pea. Not beans unless they’re cooked. Grow sunflowers and let them pick the heads clean. Some grains to consider for poultry: buckwheat, amaranth, barley, wheat (including the old wheats: kamut, emmer, einkorn), millet, oats (on the stem or rolled), quinoa, rye, sorghum (don’t use for sprouts), spelt, teff, triticale. Many of these grains can be harvested by cutting the stalks or stems, and bundling them together, and hanging them in a warm, dry place. But beware of mice. If you miss some, or even if you don’t want to harvest it, you can knock the plants down and let the chickens in to the self-serve buffet. While eating these high-quality feeds, the chickens will help till in the cover crops with their scratching, improving the soil with both plant residues and their droppings. Comfrey has quite a bit of protein and minerals, some chickens will eat it, some won’t. Cooked cull potatoes (no green parts), pumpkins, squashes, sweet potatoes can help to fill them up. You might even consider growing some mangels or fodder beets for them – they’re nutritious, and can be nailed or clamped to a post for pecking at, or grated. All these crops store well in the proper conditions. Wild nuts, acorns, black walnuts, etc, can be smashed with a hammer on a rock or brick Any berry you can eat, chickens can eat. Consider planting some just for them: mulberries, aronia (they prefer black over red), currents, bilberries, elderberries, saskatoon/serviceberry, sea-buckthorn or huckleberries. Protect the roots from those big, scratching feet with some large rocks or wire mesh, and you can grow them where they can harvest them on their own. Run them under your fruit trees to eat the fallen fruits and insects. If you live near a beach, collect some fresh seaweed and bring it home to them. Rinse it off and nail it to a post. There are thousands of varieties of kelp and seaweed and none are poisonous. You can even dry it for extended storage. Grow duckweed in a kid’s wading pool. Scoop out part of it and give to the chickens (or ducks), let the rest grow a day or two and then scoop out some more. It multiplies very fast. Soybeans must be cooked or roasted for any creature to eat, including us, or it causes bleeding of the stomach. I wouldn’t recommend genetically-modified kinds (about 90% of the U.S. crop) for any creature. Grow your own earthworms, nightcrawlers, mealworms or black soldier fly larvae, but don't let them be more than 25% of the diet. Black Soldier Fly larvae contain about 42% protein, 35% fat, 5% calcium, 19 amino acids, and 13 minerals, a real powerhouse of nutrition. They produce much faster than earthworms. They can quickly reduce 100 lbs of garbage or manure down to 5 lbs, which could be composted or continue finishing via earthworms. They can be frozen in containers for winter feeding. Boil those cracked, dirty eggs. Cool, then just chop them in quarters (shell and all) and toss them to the girls. The birds don’t seem to associate eating the shells with shell-eating of raw eggs. If you’ve got a grocery store, farmers market, juice bar or restaurant nearby, ask for their produce waste (lettuce trimmings, juice pulp, etc). Use chickens to clean up after feeding grain to larger livestock and to pick eggs and parasites out of the manure. It is recommended that you don’t feed chickens avocado skins or pits, rhubarb, citrus, salt, green potato skins, garlic or onions (causes Heinz anemia) or uncooked beans (contains toxic hemaglutin). But they aren’t likely to eat them unless they’re starving, anyway. Don’t go crazy trying to poison-proof your property for your animals. Pat Coleby, Australia’s expert on natural health for animals, says that if animals are getting a good diet, they won’t overeat on toxic plants. Yes, they may take a taste or two, but she says that seems to fall into the “medicinal” category. The creatures know what they can eat and what they can’t. Farmers extol the horrors of tansy, but only starving cattle will eat it, well-fed cattle won’t. And I’ve found that she is right. I have quite a few poisonous plants around, and my girls may nibble a bit, but they don’t overload.

I copied this from an article in a small rural newspaper while travelling. Not all new gardeners can count on cultivated soil for their plants. Some may be burdened by limited space or rocky ground. As a result, whether a new gardener or a veggie veteran, bale gardening may be the way to go. Growing vegetables in bales really works because bales provide the two things seeds need to grow. "For seeds to germinate, all you need is heat and moisture," said John Sims of the Farmer's Cooperative. In 2005, The Post published an article on bale gardening, and it has been one of the most frequently read articles at The Post Online. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, green beans, melons and a host of other plants grow well in bales. The Farmer's Cooperative, Southern States, and Danny's Builder Supply in Centre all carry wheat straw bales. To plant a hay bale garden, first, around 10 days before planting seeds, place the bales in a sunny location. Soak them with water for three days. On the fourth day, apply 5 oz. of fertilizer, followed by a couple more days of watering. On the seventh day, apply 2.5 oz more fertilizer, followed by a couple more days of watering. On the 10th day, apply a cup fertilizer and lightly water into the hay bale. On the 11th day, plant seeds by applying a three-inch layer of top soil or potting mix to serve as a bed. Each bale can hold two tomato plants, four pepper plants, six to eight cucumbers, three yellow squash or 12-15 bean seeds. Bales can typically be used for two or three seasons.