 DA from Ohio wrote: " I swear it is evening out if I didt know it looks close to my other dry does." and before that wrote: "She seems like she is doing well and feeling good Her udder is at the point where my other dry does are except even dry the right teat is a little lower but dry and sucked up" DA is using MammarEaze(tm) and GlandAide(tm) salves alternated (one in the morning and one in the evening) as well as keeping her on BetterDaze(tm) herb mix. She came to me wanting help with a doe that kidded this year with a previous owner with dead triplets and a grossly deformed udder. Her goals are to get some daughters out of her and hopefully be able to show her again which will require a normal mammary again. The PERFECT time to work on damaged mammaries is during the dry period as their bodies concentrate on mammary cell renewal during this period and slough and replace a higher amount of mammary tissue. Other products being used or have been used for this situation are Herbiotic(tm) herb mix and Bal-Nce(tm) herb mix. She also has them on DWA(tm), Kop-Sel(tm) and GISoother(tm). All of these sustainable natural products are available at www.firmeadowllc.com under the products tab. Wishing everyone happy and healthy creatures!!!  Yearling Nubian rescue doeling - 8 months behind on growth & currently This Kentucky goat owner writes, "I had a consultation with you back in July about our new Nubian who was the size of a four month old but is a year. Thank you so much for your knowledge and help with our sweet baby girl. 😉 Her horns have grown twice the size from when we got her in May, and she has grown 2 inches in one month and no longer looks emaciated! She is not out of the woods quite yet, but she is definitely on the long road to recovery and responding so well to the herbs and clean food! It is so exciting to see her jumping around like a young goat (she never did that as a baby- she was too sick and weak) as well as running and having fun! Thank you again so much!!! You are a blessing to our entire family!!!" Don't give up hope! While you have your beloved creature there may be still time to do something beneficial for him or her! their DNA always wants to repair back to it's blueprint if it's given what it's needed to do so :). This is true in both humans and animals! I have an extensive education and background in alternative education including a Master's Degree in Herbalism. Our consultations may be the next step you need to gain traction on your issue! Why wait? Contact us TODAY :).   It's a hot one out there today!
Be sure your animals have access to plenty of fresh cool water during the heat. If you have a chest freezer you can freeze gallon liter jugs of water and then place the frozen jug into their water container, then pull after it's melted, dry and refreeze. Be sure to rinse the container a bit before putting in the water so that you don't release microplastics into their water. If you have a shade source or can plant a tree to become one for long term planning it also helps your water stay cooler and your ice last longer. Some of them like our alpacas and guardian dogs have enjoyed lying down in kiddie pools or splash. We've also had a mare that liked to splash. If livestock or poultry start mouth breeding they are TOO HOT. There have been a few times at shows where I have literally led my goats out one at a time and hosed them off. One fair it was 114 degrees in the barn and I had to hose each goat over their body twice and me a few times because walking moves muscle which generates heat. Feeding kids or lambs with a lamb bar/ baby bucket? Give them an extra bucket at least 2 hours after or before their last / next milk feeding with cold filtered water to help them bring their core temperatures down quicker. Avoid working your animals on hot days and during the hot times during the day. You and they will enjoy your time together much better if you can do it at dawn or dusk. Some other things you can do is to give NONlactating animals peppermint tea in their drinking water, or Animals at least one years old you can dilute 1 - 3 drops -depending on size of animal- peppermint essential oil - again non lactating and not for feline use, in a spray bottle and spritz it on them (avoid eyes and body openings) or mix with 1 tsp of peppermint eo and put on them. If they are lactating substitute with Eucaplyptus globulus essential oil. I like animals to be at least 4 months old when I use that, but in an emergency will use it on younger creatures but cut the amount of essential oil to 1/4. Not for feline use as most essential oils will destroy their liver often in hours to days. We have essential oils at https://www.firmeadowllc.com/essential-oils-new.html Shaving/clipping hair on animal bellies with a size ten blade on the clippers also helps them to shed more heat and is nice to do for animals living in hot climates or for unusually hot days. If your animal is fine haired you can still use a ten blade but go with the hair so that more hair is left on the animal. You don't want to shave them to bald skin as the hair is there to protect them. You can also use a 4 or 5 blade if you have that and go against the hair. If you would like to top of their electrolytes I'm a big fan of coconut water for that. One can also use the fancier (More expensive) cactus waters and home juiced grapefruit juice works well too. IF your animal is on medications skip using grapefruit as it may make the medications ineffective. I use 1/4 cup for 150 lbs of animal or human that is otherwise healthy. More if they are having a heat episode (and cool quickly starting at their feet with cold water or ice water) and working up the legs to the body while keeping them in the shade or making shade over them (such as holding a tarp over them). When helping animals be sure you watch the humans too- a red face or worse purple indicates a very overheated person which is EXTREMELY dangerous for your BRAIN and of course body- cool them NOW. Don't wait that long. Stay on water and electrolytes well before then and out of the sun. Misters placed in the air helps reduce air temperature feel by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit and using inexpensive box fans in barns also helps reduce heat issues. Be sure than any electrical chords are unable to be reached by animals and watch for tripping hazards when stretching cords across aisleways. Access to shade goes without saying. Stressed animals from the heat? Take a look at our MMUNE(tm) Herb Mix to help their immune systems deal with the stress: https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p874/Herb_Mix_MMune_%28tm%29__immune_system_support__8_oz.html Getting ready to breed? LOVE using BetterDaze(tm) herb mix to keep bodies topped off with this amazing nutritional supplement : https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p418/Herb_Mix_BetterDaze%E2%84%A2__8_oz.html BEES are getting to be boogers this time of year. At our family camp two kids got nailed just two hours apart by wasps. And one was a neck sting that started swelling because neck and head stings react faster due to blood supply. In those situations I use cayenne internally for any potential shocky types of issues and plantain or plantain salve (available on my other website- discountdrchristopher.com) It was amazing how fast both stings quit hurting the kids and how fast the swelling started receding- making it impossible to see where they were stung a few hours later. GREAT to keep on hand for pets, people and your barnyard. Stay safe on those hot days! Blessings All! K Here is an interview I had the opportunity to give on wellness for your favorite feline. Enjoy! https://instantteleseminar.com/Events/117120999 Find our products at www.firmeadowllc.com. We ship them to you Monday through Friday. Facing a tough challenge or just want to do even better for your cat? We also have wellness consultations available with our Master of Herbology. Order those here: https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/c9/Wellness_Consultations.html   Beautiful American Guinea Hogs photo used by permission from AC.What a beautiful picture of these heritage breed pastured pigs. Even pastured pigs and heritage breeds while traditionally healthier have some challenges too. The nice thing about these products is they are whole herb (nothing toxic for your meat!) and there is no meat or milk (or egg for poultry) withdrawal :). Consider using MMune(tm) herb mix to support any hogs that you have just purchased, are exhibiting them or are getting ready to sell to help support their immune system that will be getting challenged or is being challenged to allow them to have a smoother home transition. You can purchase that here if you like: https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p874/Herb_Mix_MMune_%28tm%29__immune_system_support__8_oz.html BetterDaze(tm) is another popular herb mix to help support boars and sows used for breeding, young or old stock or those being exhibited to help support their body's towards their genetic potential. Mixing it into piglet supplemental feed helps support those fast growing bodies. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p418/Herb_Mix_BetterDaze%E2%84%A2__8_oz.html Another popular product for lactating sows is MilkMaid(tm) https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p885/Herb_Mix_MilkMaid_%28tm%29__8_oz.html For injuries, including joint issues, Wounderful! Salve is a lifesaver. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p93/Salve_Wounderful%21%E2%84%A2_4_oz_damaged_muscle%2C_skin%2C_bone%2C_tendon_support.html Also joint problems benefit from inflammation support with A-King Joint (tm) support https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p882/Aking_Joint_Support_%28tm%29__8_oz_Herb_Mix.html And for those concerned with moving matter that can mature in the GI Tract we love DWA(tm) herb mix. Especially for new hogs, breeding stock, those in smaller pens or pens that are 'well loved" that will likely have infected grounds and knowing that no matter how clean pigs are kept, they are known to eat feces which may have ovum in them. See DWA here: https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p818/DWA_%28tm%29__-_16_oz__supports_body_in_foreign_matter_removal.html For those wanting diarrhea support we love GI Soother(tm) https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p811/GI_Soother%E2%84%A2_Digestive_System_Support_16_oz.html Hogs that subcomb to wellness challenges besides giving them BetterDaze(tm) for nutritional support we love HerBiotic(tm) for wellness support https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p812/Herb_Mix_HerBiotic%E2%84%A2_Wellness_Support_4_oz.html. Happy Healthy Hogs make Happy Owners!  HB in Texas shared today on their BROKEN BONE experience thus far. "Good afternoon! Just wanted to update you on my daughters broken arm. Originally the dr was still on the fence about surgery, and said that if she didnt have surgery, she would be in the big cast for a month. Today, just one week after starting the bone supplements, the dr determined NO surgery, and she can get her big cast off in just 2 weeks! I could see so much healing on the xray, the bones had even pulled back together! Thank you so much!!!!!" Thank-you for sharing this with us to be able to spread hope to others! We have used these in our own family with human and livestock broken bones and tissues. HB gets the credit for actually USING the products after purchasing them. They don't help when they stay 'on the shelf' :). For this problem I recommend BOTH of these. I'm more than happy to give instructions after ordering as they will differ from the label in this type of situation. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p249/Capsules_Complete_Tissue_%26_Bone_%28repair_support%29_100_.html which we sell for below retail pricing https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p93/Salve_Wounderful%21%E2%84%A2_4_oz_It_is_WONDERFUL%21%21%21_Tissue_Support.html 4 whole ounces, not just the 2 one usually finds on products at a store... Many Blessings ALL OF YOU for a SAFE and HAPPY Spring :) Photos: Right after lump fell off, a month later and all better. SP in WA shares, " Hello! I just wanted to take the time to THANK YOU for your products!! I have used your products for many, many years and always have been very pleased. This past December though, these products really came through for us. Our almost three year old Jersey cow got a bump on the side of her face. I put Wounderful on it but not very consistently. Then, we went away for Christmas and when we came back the bump took over the whole left side of her face. It was pushing up her eye even. We had the vet come out and they said it was Lumpy Jaw and that it was in the bone. They said the only way they could treat it was give her iodine treatments for at least 7-8 weeks and that wouldn't make it go away, it was just hopefully bring the swelling down but her jaw would be forever disfigured, which would then make it difficult for her to eat. They said most farmers cull the animal as they don't live very long. We have always been very natural on our farm and they are definitely more pets than regular farm animals, I couldn't put her through that torture. They would have to do the treatments in her neck and I knew that would put more stress on her and she wouldn't heal with all that stress. She is also nursing a calf so she didn't need any extra stress. So, I got out the Wounderful and added several essential oils, and colloidal silver and made a mix 2-3 times a day and rubbed it all over the bump. I also put Probiotics in her free minerals, along with kelp, MMune, and HerBiotic and she ate those up. Within a week of doing this everyday, the bump was down to the size of a golf ball. It was still very hard and was getting real tight. Then, after almost two weeks, it started to open up. An amazing amount of stuff starting flowing out so I just kept putting my mixture on after I would push out as much as she would let me. We decided we might need some help getting the rest of it out but on the day we did, we went out and the whole thing had fallen off! So, we kept putting more of the mixture on. It is now down to the smallest little spot, the hair has grown back in, and I only put the Wounderful on about 5 times a week. There is still infection slowly coming out and it pulls it out best when I put the Wounderful on but it is a very small amount. We have heard that bone infections take a very long time to recover from so we know she still has a ways to go. I talked to one farmer that her cow had lumpy jaw and she said she never has heard of it coming out that way. "W", our cow, doesn't look like she will have much of a deformity except where that small little indentation is but she has never stopped eating or chewing her cud. She has kept up with milking and looks great. I tried to write all of this on facebook and share pictures but it wouldn't let me. We are so incredibly THANKFUL to you though and wanted to share. We have also used Wounderful on one of our barn cats who got in a fight and had a terrible wound...it was gone within a few days! Amazing stuff!!!! Thank you!! SP
Congratulations for doing the nursing work and getting advice from your vet to find out what you were fighting, and for not giving up on your beautiful cow! Wounderful! Salve is available on the products page under salves at www.firmeadowllc.com We also have essential oils available on our website. MANY BLESSINGS! EW in Iowa shares, " I just had to share this story about your powerful miracle products. Two days ago I let the chickens out to roam, and immediately noticed our only Marans chicken, "C", was not well. She was trying to hide it, but I could see it in her eyes, they were dull and vacant, and she was moving slowly, her energy felt very weak. I monitored her until she took a poo, and then immediately when to inspect it. I was horrified to discover roundworms wriggling around in it, and streaks of blood. Having just come out of winter when worms aren't normally a problem, I hadn't started their normal DWA routine for the spring yet, I had just been dosing them daily with some dried organic cayenne from our garden. The worms caught me completely off-guard. I immediately grabbed the DWA and GI Soother and gave "C", as well as the rest of the chickens, a dose, but it seemed it was too late for "C". She was on death's doorstep. She sat down quietly in the yard, closed her eyes, and slept like that for hours. I was positive she would die, I have never seen a chicken so sick. She got up only to drink water, once every hour. I tried dosing her a second time with the DWA and GI Soother, but couldn't get her to eat anything. Finally, I managed to feed her some of the herbs smooshed up in a banana. A few hours later, I got her another small dose. At that point, it was time for bed, and I got her into the coop to rest. When I went out the next morning, I was prepared for the worst. I opened the coop door, expecting to see her dead on the ground, but what did I discover? "C", up and about, picking at food. She was slow, but alive, and not only that, hungry!
I dosed all of the chickens with the DWA and GI Soother that morning, got "C" an extra dose, and a few hours later went to let them out to roam. "C" came marching out of the coop with everyone else, alive, energetic, and thriving. After a third herbal dose for the day, she was pretty much completely out of the woods. This morning when I went out to feed the chickens, "C" was first in line at the door for food, gobbled down their morning dose of herbs, and was back to her bossy self. Honestly, I was flabbergasted. She was a new chicken. After so much success with your products, I The picture of "C" where her eyes are closed are from when she was sick, and she slept like that for hours. She wouldn’t walk more than a few steps before plunking down to rest. The next few photos are ones I took of a fully recovered "C" today She’s back to her usual sweet (and bossy) self!! Such an amazing and miraculous recovery! I also included a picture of all of the chickens enjoying their daily dose of DWA and GI Soother! Mix it into a pile of sunflower seeds and they just inhale it. I really shouldn't be surprised anymore, but every time I used them it's a miracle and I'm so blown away. You are certainly blessed with God's wisdom, and we are blessed to have found you! Thank you for everything! You saved the life of one of our sweetest and dearest chickens, and we couldn't be more thrilled. " Thanks for sharing your story to give others a glimmer of hope! Products can be ordered at www.firmeadowllc.com under herb mix. In honor of spring it's time to do Spring Cleaning- in YOU :). Every few years I cleanse for an entire year- bowels, liver/kidneys, bloodstream, metals in order and some concurrently.
Every season I do a short 10 to 14 day tune up. Longer if I get into something bad or some exposure to something- like when I was chlorine poisoned in a pool and hottub at a hotel last year. Winter and holidays 'expose' many people to way too much sugar, overeating and processed, baked or cooked foods... And- even my organic kale in my garden- get's rained on and the first rain you know has toxins in it from cleaning the air- even though we are in a quite pristine area close to the saltwater on the west coast without major industry... products can be purchased at www.firmeadowllc.com BELOW RETAIL!!! Lower Bowel helps the Intestinal area heal itself https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p286/Capsules_Lower_Bowel_Formula_100.html Liver and Gallbladder support -DO NOT START until you are regularly having 2-4 regular bowel movements per day- one per meal and one when you get up. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p694/Liver_%26_Gall_Bladder_Dr_C_100_ct.html Kidney can be started any time. Caffeine drinker or eater (chocolate, pop, coffee, Kambucha, Green/black teas, energy drinks, etc) you might just want to stay on this all the time (or please consider dropping the caffeine) Heavy metals (do the others first :) ). https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p264/Capsules_Heavy_Mineral_Bugleweed_100_caps_.html https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p693/Capsules_Kidney_Formula_100_ct.html https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/kale-joins-dirty-dozen-list-as-one-of-the-most-contaminated-with-pesticides BLESSINGS ALL :D :D :D :D :D  This is a question I receive frequently. Especially from those with only a couple of animals or those using a product with small pets. If it's a high quality product like the ones we make available to you they can be kept nearly indefinately. The 'best by' date will generally be two years from manufacture, but I've had a customer use even a seven year old product stored incorrectly at higher doses with excellent support. I don't recommend that however! Your best approach when you get a new herb mix is to take out the amount of product you will use for a month or two. Just pour it out- don't contaminate the contents within the bag and do not get it moist in the bag. Then reseal and enclose in a freezer bag. Writing the date on it with a permanent marker is another good step. Then put it in your freezer. Ta da! It will keep pretty much forever. follow Katherine at www.facebook.com/FirMeadowLLC Purchase products today at www.firmeadowllc.com Katherine MH, CR, CA, CEIT, DipHIr, QTP has extensive alternative training in Vitalistic (cause oriented) wellness,including a Master's Degree in Herbology and is a lifelong pet, poultry, horse and livestock owner. She has a heart to share with you so that you, your family and your creatures may achieve abundant wellness. Be Blessed! These statements have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to treat, cure, prevent or diagnose any disease.  Vitamin B12 sources for healthy nerves, blood cells and DNA. Just finished a Q and A in the goat journal. Which herbs/foods in the picture can you identify? Hippocrates said let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. This is a great example of that. And yes all of the macro and micro nutrients a body needs whether human or animal is available from plants. Even the ones that science hasn't discovered yet. This is one of the reasons why our whole herb product BetterDaze(tm) is so popular. www.firmeadowllc.com We also have herbs and products availbale for people on our website at a discounted price :).
Ginger root, Alfalfa, Red clover, Cayenne, Dandelion leaf/flower, Kelp, Cayenne (not for liver damaged individuals).  *Is your dam milking less than you expected for her genetics or previous records? Did she have a rough birthing start? Did she come to you with a heavy parasite load or not with the care you would want every animal to have had? Hope is on the way!
The consideration to pay attention to is parasite issues. An animal feeding parasites and being damaged by them simply can not milk their genetic potential to give their babies a shot at getting a great start on reaching their genetic potential. Parasites that hang out in the blood stream and other locations put a serious drain on your dam, reducing her ability to produce milk and often having a negative ability on milk quality and taste. Being sure their intestines (large and small) can absorb nutrition to the best of their ability is also important. Parasites that lurk directly in the GI Tract (ones known to hemorrhage intestinal tissue and cause bloody diarrhea) as well as conditions that caused intestinal scar tissue in animals that had rough beginnings or times in their lives benefit from supporting these organs so that they are able to fully utilize the nutrition they ingest. Also consider the dip in immunity a few weeks before through a few weeks after parturition. This is about a one month time period for small livestock, a bit less for pets, and about 6 - 8 weeks for large stock. This also makes them more susceptible to parasites as well as other conditions. We love using MMune™ for this support. Access to fresh clean (and not chilling ice cold!) water is extremely important for milk production since milk is approximately 90 - 95% water. Also be sure there are no electrical currents coming from power cords/lines/ fencing under wet ground or bedding or in proximity to the water tank that prevents your animals from consuming the water they would like to have. Very nutritious mineral dense foods such as alfalfa and kelp as well as access to seasalt are important to the diet of all animals: poultry, livestock and pets for optimum production. We also love using the very popular BetterDaze ™ for supporting all creatures great and small. Being sure that there are not any other underlying wellness issues or subclinical infections from birthing is another consideration for milk production. For traditional wellness support I use HerBiotic ™ in our herds. Having addressed all of those items-and knowing that your animal is other healthy brings us to using the product we abosolutely love for lactation support: MilkMaid™ to give those hardworking lactating dams what their body needs so that it can produce their best quantity AND best quality of milk possible for that superior next generation that you bred for. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p885/Herb_Mix_MilkMaid_%28tm%29__8_oz.html Other products at www.firmeadowllc.com to consider under products & herb mixes are: DWA™ https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p818/DWA_%28tm%29__-_16_oz__supports_body_in_foreign_matter_removal.html GISoother™ https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p811/GI_Soother%E2%84%A2_Digestive_System_Support_16_oz.html MMune™ https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p874/Herb_Mix_MMune_%28tm%29__immune_system_support__8_oz.html Better Daze™ https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p418/Herb_Mix_BetterDaze%E2%84%A2__8_oz.html HerBiotic ™ https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p812/Herb_Mix_HerBiotic%E2%84%A2_Wellness_Support_4_oz.html Wishing you blessings multiplied, happy milkers and happy babies to you and your farm! *The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of these statements and they are not intended to cure, prevent, treat or diagnose any disease. So let's think about parasites for a minute. At any one time a creature (including many humans - ick I know) will have all stages of a parasite or parasite types from eggs to juveniles to adults within their system over an average of a 21 day life cycle. The most common ones get into systems by ingestion. Whether that is eating contaminated food in a feeder, off the ground or in the pasture or drinking contaminated water. Eggs, larvae, flea bites, slug ingestion, inhaling airborne worm ovum and even skin contact with some such as hookworm. Some of these live off of the food in the GI Tract, some of them attach to the host and live off of the nutrients in the blood stream or even the blood itself. Now thinking like a Vitalist (cause oriented) rather than an allopath (symptom oriented) let's think about using an extract for GI System residing parasites. Yes it can be effective. In those cases you will want to fast the animal so that the extract comes into physical contact with more of the parasites in the intestines as it moves through them. It will of course also be absorbed into the blood stream and run through cells and for those parasites drinking blood they will be getting it in their lunch. Now if you are working with a ruminant keep in mind that very little of the product will make it into the intestines, but it will still make it into the bloodstream. So in my opinion as a Master of Herbology extracts are best used for simple stomached creatures as well as for parasites that reside in other areas of the body. For many people extracts are easier to give as they can be added to waters or carefully given by dropper by mouth in the case of smaller pets. Now consider using an herb powder. Herb powders, on the average, in a reasonably healthy stomached individual will start absorbing phytochemicals (plant nutritional components) into the bloodstream in about twenty minutes. In ruminating animals more of that product is then put into the cud, chewed further and then a much larger percentage makes it into the intestinal tract. You also have a larger amount of plant mass entering the rumen and / or intestinal tracts then you do with an extract, so that more herb is coming in direct contact with worm ovum and parasite bodies. So for GI residing parasites in animals and especially those still eating (not fasting which is dangerous for milking stock and third trimester stock) my personal preference is to use high quality whole herb powder products that are synergestically blended. We offer two: DWA(tm) and GI Soother(tm). Both products can be responsibly used with any age and type of animal with no milk, meat, egg or pregnancy withdrawals. GI Soother(tm) is incredibly popular with raising youngstock and especially for foreign living matter that can hemorrhage a creature quickly. DWA(tm) is useful for foreign living matter issues occuring in multiple body locations. Both products support the body's attempt to do what it was created to do in these situations. For animals that are really struggling we also encourage the use of MMune(tm) to give the body additional immune system support. For animals that are or have been really struggling we also like to consider BetterDaze(tm) for additional wellness support with its very mindful collection of herbs historically used for a wide range of phytochemical components. Here's to a very happy and healthy season for you and all of the creatures under your loving care! Look for other articles in our blog on parasites and on giving herbs. https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p811/GI_Soother_Digestive_System_Support_16_oz.html https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p818/DWA_%28tm%29__-_16_oz__supports_body_in_foreign_matter_removal.html https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p874/Herb_Mix_MMune_%28tm%29__immune_system_support__8_oz.html https://www.firmeadowllc.com/store/p418/Herb_Mix_BetterDaze%E2%84%A2__8_oz.html  All of you in the cold snap areas please remember to bundle yourselves well and stay safe. You will need extra calories to stay warm. Protect your skin! Please make sure your animals (even pigs) have extra grass hay accessible to help them create warmth and deep bedding.
Be sure they are in areas where the wind and weather can stay off of them and not blow in from the sides. Some overhead fresh air movement is good- I like mine at the eight foot level so it's not near me when standing or my stock. Fragile, old, or very young animals may need to be in a heated area such as a milkroom, tackroom area, enclosed heatable stall or even a back porch or extra bathroom (40 degrees for a room is plenty warm as long as they have good food and bedding). Be extremely wary of heat lamps which are responsible for many barn fires. They can shatter if they fall, if an animal bumps into one, or if an animal shakes their head and spashes water droplets on it. Offer warm water to drink if possible with black strap molasses (not feed store, but health food store) in it for more b vitamins. You can also put a large pinch of cayenne herb powder per large goat, a small pinch per small goat in their water to help them with endurance, more b's and help warm their core more and support their heart. Fragile animals can be carefully drenched with their cayenne if you mix it with one or two ounces of water. BIG HUGS From All of us at Fir Meadow LLC  Yes you can store herbs for long term! Our products (www.firmeadowllc.com) are Best by generally two years from date of manufacture although we have had customers use products up to seven year old with favorable results (not recommended!).
The enemies to your herb blends are heat, greatly fluctuating temperatures, light, age and moisture so those are the situations we want to avoid for them. For herbs to be used within the next month or two often keeping them in their packaging and in a cupboard is sufficient. Herbs and blends that you will be keeping for longer than two months I suggest that one pull out a couple of months worth and keep that in the barn in a sealed freezer bag, lidded canning jar (be careful around concrete!), or a sealable plastic jar remembering to store it out of direct light. Also be sure to use a clean spoon or scoop and do not get any moisture into either container. The remainder can be kept in the original packaging in the house in a cabinet. For those that want to store herbs beyond a year or two or for seasonally used products (like Ewe-Ter-N) I suggest you double bag the product you don't plan to be using that year and place it in the freezer. Most herbs as long as you didn't introduce moisture to them will keep for years in that manner. If one is making an infusion (strong herbal tea) any excess can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator. Excess can be frozen in ice cube trays and double freezer bagged for later use. I would use twice the amount for any cubes that I pulled from the freezer. Always put the current date on any bags of cubes. For those making dosage balls with black strap molasses, organic peanut butter or raw honey which do not have a water content you can keep excess balls in the refrigerator for approximately a week. I would store them on a lower shelf since cold settles usually making that the coldest area of your fridge. Any that you'd like to keep longer than that double freezer bag and keep in your freezer. You may want to freeze them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet before you bag them so they don't freeze together. Herbs can also be stored indefinately in alcohol and for multiple years in raw organic apple cider vinegar and then straining the liquid before using. They can also be kept in olive oil this way for approximately two years. Remember to keep these out of light, to use sterilized containers and to label them with a date. Happy Herbing! |
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