Pasture Poultry, Feed Freedom, Duckweed & Natural Flock Health with Blaze of Bad Baxter Farm

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<v Jennifer>We are here with Blaze from Bad Baxter Farm.

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<v Jennifer>Why are you bad?

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<v Jennifer>Oh, gosh.

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<v Jennifer>Everybody thinks it's because I think I'm a badass, but it's more because I learn everything the really bad way.

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<v Jennifer>So I feel like we try and do things the hard way and learn the hard way, so we try and show everybody else that they don't have to do that too, so we're just bad.

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<v Jennifer>I always tell people, the lessons you learn in life that are either the most expensive.

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<v Jennifer>Are the most painful are the ones you never forget.

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<v Jennifer>But it's very, and I know that because that seems to be how I figure stuff out too.

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<v Jennifer>Yes.

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<v Jennifer>We call it the Bryant backwards.

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<v Jennifer>I like that.

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<v Jennifer>David doesn't, David would rather go forward, so well, welcome to the podcast.

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<v Jennifer>It's good to have you.

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<v Jennifer>Thank you for having me.

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<v Jennifer>I've been enjoying following you guys as well.

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<v Jennifer>Oh, good.

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<v Jennifer>So tell our listeners about yourself if they're not familiar with you.

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<v Jennifer>We're bad.

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<v Jennifer>Baxter, farm of Winnet, Oklahoma.

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<v Jennifer>We started off, I actually started off I.

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<v Jennifer>With some autoimmune issues that I was wanting to figure out on my own.

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<v Jennifer>And so I first did some education with becoming a nutrition coach just to try and figure out my own stuff.

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<v Jennifer>And then that, that led me down the rabbit hole of wanting to grow as much of my own food as possible.

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<v Jennifer>And I think I'm just that weird type a personality that once you start you can't stop.

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<v Jennifer>And so a small garden became livestock and then more animal focused.

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<v Jennifer>And so now we're pretty much raising almost all of our own food other than just like the luxuries that I'm sure we could do with that if we wanted to, but.

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<v Jennifer>I don't see the problem with that.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah I still like my coffee and people pick on me for that, but other than like the luxuries, we are pretty much growing all of around me and we are definitely more animal based, but I do grow a garden more for fun and to feed our livestock as well.

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<v Jennifer>Okay.

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<v Jennifer>So go back for just a minute.

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<v Jennifer>Did you figure out your autoimmune or if you wanna talk about it?

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<v Jennifer>Of course, yeah.

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<v Jennifer>It was multifaceted.

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<v Jennifer>I, my daughter and I do have celiac disease, but I was, I haven't spoke about this in a while and I don't know if this is too much information, but I was getting sicker and realized that it had to do with my breast implants that I had over 20 years ago.

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<v Jennifer>They were saline and full of mold and wow.

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<v Jennifer>I actually had those removed and basically just went on a healing path to cleanse my body.

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<v Jennifer>And in that, I just started realizing that with the autoimmune and inflammation, my body just reacted better to meats than it did fruits, nuts, vegetables, and obvious grains.

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<v Jennifer>And i'm not a hundred percent carnivore and I don't recommend that long term for everybody just because it's tough to stick with.

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<v Jennifer>But I do, I feel very passionately about seasonal and local eating.

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<v Jennifer>So that kind of just falls into a heavy meat diet.

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<v Jennifer>For most places that can't grow year round.

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<v Jennifer>But I do like my veggies.

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<v Jennifer>Variety is the spice of life, right?

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<v Jennifer>Yes.

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<v Jennifer>I joke around about it'cause I just love Brussels sprouts, but I'm very aware that they don't love me back oh my goodness.

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<v Jennifer>We joke because our freezers are so full,'cause we do raise our own meat and everything too, that.

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<v Jennifer>We'll have ribeye for breakfast just because we have stacks of them, yeah.

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<v Jennifer>Rolling.

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<v Jennifer>Rolling right now.

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<v Jennifer>You can't even do that at Waffle House.

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<v Jennifer>Okay.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>Don't let anybody make fun of you for steak and eggs, because No, and you don't wanna order one at those restaurants anyways'cause it's gonna be a tiny little piece of nastiness and yours is better at home anyways.

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<v Jennifer>I know there's not many places left that we can eat out because we'll go and then.

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<v Jennifer>David will be like halfway through it and he'll like, okay, this one's gone too, because you can just do it better at home.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>So really there's, if you ask him, he'll say, the only thing that's really left is like seafood that we can't get here.

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<v Jennifer>But I'm pretty much on the verge of figuring all that out too.

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<v Jennifer>So I'm all fortunate about it.

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<v Jennifer>'cause I do miss seafood being.

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<v Jennifer>From the west coast and I actually couldn't figure out what to cook for dinner tonight.

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<v Jennifer>So I have venison, pork, belly, and chicken out.

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<v Jennifer>That'll be, we're gonna have venison as the main and then pork, belly and chicken as the side me when you can't figure out what you want to do.

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<v Jennifer>Just having options.

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<v Jennifer>Have a smorgasbord well, and that's what a buffet is and people go there like crazy.

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<v Jennifer>Like when you can be able to pull out all of that from your freezer.

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<v Jennifer>I feel like that, it does, it suits us better to keep it for ourselves than when we were trying to sell it to other people, honestly.

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<v Jennifer>And I know that sucks because like I still really try to push, find local and supporting local and eating seasonally, and that I have a group for Oklahoma that I started for that reason.

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<v Jennifer>But we used to offer a poultry CSA and sell to the public, and because it was corn and soy free poultry, it got really popular really fast, but.

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<v Jennifer>I just couldn't keep up and I just kept feeling like that money was better being in our freezer than it was in our pocket.

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<v Jennifer>So we, that's the thing we gave that a few years ago.

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<v Jennifer>I still sell a little bit of stuff here and there seasonally when we have excess, but I don't commit to a full grown Cs a anymore, right?

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<v Jennifer>I don't sell a whole lot locally.

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<v Jennifer>I used to process turkeys and sell'em at the end of the year and I could have sold 40 times more than I did, but.

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<v Jennifer>You've processed Turkey, I'm sure, and it's not a feat for the casual, processing a Turkey that can break your nose if they catch it wrong with their wing.

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<v Jennifer>And I've seen stars more than one time, and I just assumed it being my freezer.

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<v Jennifer>I quit doing it if several years ago.

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<v Jennifer>There's a high demand for Turkey.

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<v Jennifer>Turkey and Quell.

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<v Jennifer>We will sell during the holiday season just because there's such a high demand for it.

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<v Jennifer>But yeah, I agree with you.

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<v Jennifer>It's the turkeys are you gotta be strong.

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<v Jennifer>It's a lot of work.

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<v Jennifer>Yep.

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<v Jennifer>So you got into this because you wanted to make yourself better and you're getting better.

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<v Jennifer>Yes.

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<v Jennifer>That you feed yours differently than like we do the average person.

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<v Jennifer>You're more pasture, right?

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<v Jennifer>Yes.

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<v Jennifer>We're trying to work towards feed freedom as much as we can, just because I feel like, especially during the dreaded COVID era.

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<v Jennifer>I felt very lucky to be on our own little island where things were not affecting us.

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<v Jennifer>And I remember running into town for something and it was probably mineral'cause I still do feed minerals to my cows and stuff.

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<v Jennifer>And I walked into the feed store and the feed stores were just completely empty and bare.

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<v Jennifer>And I mean we had been striving for feed freedom up until that point, but it really hit me at that moment that.

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<v Jennifer>We were really lucky that our animals were pretty self-sustainable on their own because that the grocery stores and the feed stores being empty did not really affect us all that much.

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<v Jennifer>And so it just really drove me harder to figure out the things to where, and'cause I say all the time, livestock have been doing this a lot longer than we've been trying to help them.

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<v Jennifer>And so many people just think a chicken's gonna die if you don't feed it.

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<v Jennifer>And it probably will if you have it cooped up in a tiny cage.

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<v Jennifer>But I think as homesteaders, we should be striving to do better than concentrated food operations that are containing their animals in all spaces.

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<v Jennifer>So my big thing is if you give them the space to rotate and graze as they should, then you shouldn't be having to help them all that much.

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<v Jennifer>And we're just trying to find that happy medium in balance.

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<v Jennifer>I'm not completely there yet myself, and to be honest, when my daughter got sick, I didn't care what my helpers were feeding my animals at that time.

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<v Jennifer>So I don't ever wanna come off as perfect, and I think people think that my tough love attitude is.

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<v Jennifer>Not so nice, but I think it's because I've lived it and I felt the difference.

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<v Jennifer>And even just eating a corn and soy fed chicken versus one that was not fed corny.

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<v Jennifer>And even when we had our CSA, we were getting tons and tons of calls from people who thought they were allergic to poultry, but, or pork even, but they could eat ours.

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<v Jennifer>And it was because we weren't feeding'em the GMO glyphosate filled corn and soy feed.

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<v Jennifer>And there's still gonna always be a market for that.

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<v Jennifer>People are gonna want that still because fast food is cheaper and some people can eat it just fine and don't I say that they're used to the inflammation that they don't feel it.

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<v Jennifer>But when, and those people telling me stories about.

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<v Jennifer>How our chicken was making it possible for them to have meat again.

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<v Jennifer>We felt really bad when we had stopped doing that ourselves, but my daughter's allergic to soy too she, she can have our eggs and she can have our chicken and she can have our pork and she can't have sore bought.

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<v Jennifer>So it definitely makes a difference.

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<v Jennifer>It does.

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<v Jennifer>I have a soy sensitivity.

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<v Jennifer>I'm not gonna say I'm allergic to it, but I have, if I eat it, I know.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>I'm eating it, so I have to, if I want to have something, I have a few things that I like that have the soy in it, and so I just have to make sure I space'em out pretty far.

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<v Jennifer>And I know, so what poultry do you have on your farm?

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<v Jennifer>We, golly, we have most of it, we have chickens, turkeys, I just recently brought back quail geese.

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<v Jennifer>Muskogee ducks and regular ducks.

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<v Jennifer>I'm really enjoying the ducks over the chickens just because they're proving the, their worth when it comes to foraging over food.

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<v Jennifer>I'm, my goal is probably to be done with chickens by 2028.

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<v Jennifer>That's my goal.

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<v Jennifer>I don't know if I can win my husband over on that one, but I would like to fully to ducks.

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<v Jennifer>So let's talk about that for a minute.

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<v Jennifer>I know you had breasts for a long time and you've got, have you got rid of them?

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<v Jennifer>No, but I've, I think I've already put it out into the universe that this will be my last year.

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<v Jennifer>And I'm such a stubborn person that once I put it into the universe, I will not change my mind.

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<v Jennifer>I have done the breast.

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<v Jennifer>I think I misspoke.

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<v Jennifer>I think we moved to Oklahoma in 2012 and breasts were one of my first researches and they were gaining popularity.

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<v Jennifer>So I've had them for the longest time and I've just seen, I think I compare it to what's going on with the Cooney pigs right now is they've just gained so much popularity so fast that it's almost been at a detriment to the breed standard in a lot of ways.

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<v Jennifer>And we made a mistake with purchasing from a certain large scale hatchery and it really decimated the quality of our breast flock, and it took me a long time to.

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<v Jennifer>Get it back to where I wanted it.

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<v Jennifer>And now at this point, I just feel like it's such an oversaturated market that I'm always really interested in bringing back breeds that need a reef return.

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<v Jennifer>But I feel like at this point I've been doing them so long and I'm seeing other birds do better.

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<v Jennifer>That it's time for me to just bow out and say that, it, I, it's because, yeah.

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<v Jennifer>I think I got my breasts in 2013.

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<v Jennifer>They were one of the birds that I moved from our other house that got taken by the tornado out to here.

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<v Jennifer>I, I moved up, I moved specific animals to a farm friends while we moved to this farm, and I will never move with livestock again after this.

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<v Jennifer>No, that's an experience for somebody else.

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<v Jennifer>I didn't once to, no, I'm not doing that again either.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>I love the breast.

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<v Jennifer>I think that they're a great table bird.

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<v Jennifer>I'm, I am fascinated with.

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<v Jennifer>Agriculture and food history, and especially French cuisine.

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<v Jennifer>So I'm not anti breast at all.

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<v Jennifer>I just have recent, I, we went through a rollercoaster of experiences with them and they're so popular now that we're just okay, we can make some different decisions and feel like we help with the process.

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<v Jennifer>So why do you wanna get out of chickens?

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<v Jennifer>I really think that chickens and goats are some of the first things that people get for a homestead, and I just think that they're the most financially draining ones.

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<v Jennifer>Just because they're popular animals, I don't know that they're the best.

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<v Jennifer>And I just think that ducks are a lot more self sustain sustainable than chi chickens.

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<v Jennifer>And that's definitely breed dependent too.

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<v Jennifer>'cause we're still learning with our duck breeds.

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<v Jennifer>I'm making some adjustments, but I think we've just been doing this long enough that we don't have to do all the fancy breeds anymore.

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<v Jennifer>We just need to do what works.

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<v Jennifer>And if they sell extra, they sell.

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<v Jennifer>I don't ever get in over my head with anything to where.

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<v Jennifer>I'm panic panicking about not selling something.

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<v Jennifer>Like I said, I'd rather it be in my freezer most of the time anyways, but it's just funny because we had another French bird, the lale.

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<v Jennifer>I do regret getting rid of those, but somebody offered me a whole lot of money right after my daughter was injured and I just was like thinking I was done with farming.

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<v Jennifer>So I took it and I definitely regret that.

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<v Jennifer>I do still have a little lale rooster that I'm running over some naked ducks, so that'll be interesting.

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<v Jennifer>Little project for me, but for the most part, I'm not doing the more expensive breeds.

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<v Jennifer>I'm just doing what works for us.

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<v Jennifer>And that's Delaware and the French naked necks, and.

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<v Jennifer>Like I said, I'm trying to convince my husband, I don't even wanna do, I mean our ducks are still right now outlay laying all of our chickens, and I'm assuming that's because of the way we feed them.

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<v Jennifer>But I also think that's telling because they're not getting much other than fodder right now.

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<v Jennifer>They're having to go forage for their food.

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<v Jennifer>So this is telling me that even the pekins are doing better laying than the Delaware, definitely better than the breasts.

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<v Jennifer>The brush are just making me mad right now.

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<v Jennifer>Okay, so you don't have anything cooped?

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<v Jennifer>Everything is free range.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>We use, we either use tractors or we rotate free range.

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<v Jennifer>We have the kovich tractors that we can move daily, and then we have stationary pens that we rotate who we let out during breeding season.

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<v Jennifer>In wintertime it's a free for all, for everybody.

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<v Jennifer>But now that I'm hatching and selling, obviously I have to make sure everybody's separated.

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<v Jennifer>If we're, if we have chickens and the tractors, then we'll move the tractors daily and then, I choose a duck breed to let out.

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<v Jennifer>Right now we're just doing peckings and khaki Campbells, so they get every other day.

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<v Jennifer>And then I have my mags in my garden and another run for my geese and musk.

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<v Jennifer>So they all have plenty of space to forge.

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<v Jennifer>I use the ducks in the garden to weed and bug repel too, actually just mocos in there because it's green and up, so yeah.

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<v Jennifer>So I put my ducks in the raise.

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<v Jennifer>I have raised garden beds.

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<v Jennifer>Yeah.

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<v Jennifer>So I put them in there.

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<v Jennifer>I've hog panels around them to keep.

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<v Jennifer>The chicken's out.

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<v Jennifer>The chickens for whatever reason, won't fly over'em.

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<v Jennifer>And the ducks can't fly.

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<v Jennifer>My ducks can't fly.

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<v Jennifer>So I just put them in there and they, yeah, they're great in the garden.

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<v Jennifer>I love ducks in the garden.

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<v Jennifer>I do agree with you that ducks are very underrated as a homesteader animal.

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<v Jennifer>I've done'em all also, and I'm not a fan of Guinea.

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<v Jennifer>If you wanna make money, sell guineas because they're just money making machines.

00:16:29.634 --> 00:16:31.718
<v Jennifer>But I don't ever want them again.

00:16:32.088 --> 00:16:32.418
<v Jennifer>I hate.

00:16:34.114 --> 00:16:35.014
<v Jennifer>Yeah, exactly.

00:16:35.014 --> 00:16:35.943
<v Jennifer>They're so horrible.

00:16:36.124 --> 00:16:43.374
<v Jennifer>And then but the ducks now we have 18 acres and the ducks are just free everywhere.

00:16:43.823 --> 00:16:48.593
<v Jennifer>And we have zero, I'm not gonna say zero, but as close to zero as you can get.

00:16:48.923 --> 00:16:51.999
<v Jennifer>Ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers, they eat them all.

00:16:52.318 --> 00:16:52.859
<v Jennifer>I agree.

00:16:53.848 --> 00:16:54.058
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:16:54.088 --> 00:17:05.818
<v Jennifer>When we moved here, the mosquitoes, you could just, it was like a wall in the evening time and now I can go out there and there's literally maybe two on the whole property on a daily basis.

00:17:06.179 --> 00:17:06.929
<v Jennifer>I totally agree.

00:17:07.139 --> 00:17:09.179
<v Jennifer>I get so fed up with people saying, guineas are good.

00:17:09.179 --> 00:17:09.808
<v Jennifer>Tick eaters.

00:17:09.808 --> 00:17:11.038
<v Jennifer>I'm like so are ducks.

00:17:11.609 --> 00:17:14.609
<v Jennifer>Ducks do just as good and they're not nearly as annoying.

00:17:15.209 --> 00:17:15.359
<v Jennifer>Gu.

00:17:16.169 --> 00:17:20.759
<v Jennifer>Mess with my personal mental health of calm and quiet farming.

00:17:21.719 --> 00:17:21.989
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:17:21.989 --> 00:17:23.999
<v Jennifer>And the ducks laugh at all your jokes.

00:17:24.149 --> 00:17:24.568
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:17:24.568 --> 00:17:25.134
<v Jennifer>So absolutely.

00:17:25.364 --> 00:17:26.014
<v Jennifer>They're great.

00:17:27.134 --> 00:17:30.764
<v Jennifer>I like them and they don't care of the grounds like the chickens do too, like the scratch.

00:17:31.064 --> 00:17:33.294
<v Jennifer>Obviously chickens are good for, turning.

00:17:33.604 --> 00:17:38.014
<v Jennifer>We were using them under our rabbit cages to turn compost and stuff like that, and that's great.

00:17:38.014 --> 00:17:39.304
<v Jennifer>But they also tear up the.

00:17:39.528 --> 00:17:41.588
<v Jennifer>Ground, and ducks just don't do that.

00:17:41.588 --> 00:17:48.549
<v Jennifer>They aerate, they poke holes and aerate, but they're not messing with your lawn and trying to kill everything you plant a lot of the times too.

00:17:48.549 --> 00:17:50.619
<v Jennifer>So we really enjoy the ducks.

00:17:50.619 --> 00:17:52.719
<v Jennifer>I put the ducklings in the gardens all the time.

00:17:52.719 --> 00:17:56.739
<v Jennifer>Just that's their free range, learn to free range space until they get big enough.

00:17:56.788 --> 00:17:58.799
<v Jennifer>So I have a really big question.

00:17:59.099 --> 00:17:59.189
<v Jennifer>Okay.

00:18:00.089 --> 00:18:06.999
<v Jennifer>Can you have enough ducks to get rid of your mosquito and your tick population?

00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:11.119
<v Jennifer>If you don't have a pond or something like that?

00:18:12.409 --> 00:18:13.339
<v Jennifer>I think so.

00:18:13.429 --> 00:18:14.899
<v Jennifer>I'm assuming you guys have a pond.

00:18:15.604 --> 00:18:16.044
<v Jennifer>I don't.

00:18:16.663 --> 00:18:17.124
<v Jennifer>Oh, okay.

00:18:17.384 --> 00:18:29.163
<v Jennifer>But I do have a plethora of mosquitoes to the point that I've even put bat houses up to draw in bats to help with that problem.

00:18:30.784 --> 00:18:32.349
<v Jennifer>But they're like everywhere.

00:18:33.038 --> 00:18:34.119
<v Jennifer>I don't have a pond.

00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:34.934
<v Jennifer>We have a well.

00:18:35.604 --> 00:18:46.254
<v Jennifer>We have one that somebody tried to dig on the property before we bought it, and it's, it has a natural spring coming out of the back, back hill, so sometimes it'll hold water, but most of the time there's no water in it.

00:18:46.254 --> 00:18:51.774
<v Jennifer>So for us, we have some like seasonal rivers on our back pasture.

00:18:52.374 --> 00:19:00.354
<v Jennifer>We have 20 acres, but the ducks pretty much probably have access to eight of that, and we just provide swimming pools for them.

00:19:00.544 --> 00:19:13.324
<v Jennifer>I don't know how long y'all have been following me, but I actually bought a little duck splash pad last year during the summer and did a little reel, but they, you can even put a sprinkler out for'em and they're okay.

00:19:13.324 --> 00:19:16.619
<v Jennifer>But, I don't like those plastic kitty pools for them.

00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:23.344
<v Jennifer>I buy some on Amazon that are the foldable type that have drains in the bottom and side, so they're a lot easier to clean out than just buying the little.

00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:26.309
<v Jennifer>Cheapos from the big box stores.

00:19:26.669 --> 00:19:29.819
<v Jennifer>But I'm also not a clean freak when it comes to stuff like that.

00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:37.729
<v Jennifer>Like obviously I'll clean my animals' waters out here and there, but they're exposed to all of the elements in nature anyways.

00:19:37.729 --> 00:19:41.959
<v Jennifer>And so if they wanna make a mess with their water, then I just allow it until I get to a point where.

00:19:42.959 --> 00:19:54.269
<v Jennifer>Success really is understanding that farms are not sanitary places and the more they have exposure to the good bugs, the more they can defend themselves from bad bugs and that type of thing.

00:19:54.269 --> 00:19:55.319
<v Jennifer>Just like in our garden.

00:19:55.329 --> 00:20:05.989
<v Jennifer>A lot of times I feel like probably I tell people all the time, like my first 12 to 17 chickens cost me more money than every single bird that I have on my farm right now.

00:20:05.989 --> 00:20:12.199
<v Jennifer>And that was just me trying to learn and medicate the heck out of every single issue.

00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:14.089
<v Jennifer>And we got to a point where.

00:20:14.334 --> 00:21:02.354
<v Jennifer>We were like the only, the strong survive.

00:21:02.354 --> 00:21:13.503
<v Jennifer>And when I started hatching and having closed flocks and just allowing them to do their thing, then all of a sudden we weren't having to treat all of these issues anymore.

00:21:13.503 --> 00:21:27.074
<v Jennifer>And it not like I'm gonna let ever let an animal suffer, but when you have strong livestock, they might make more livestock, strong livestock, and then you don't start, don't seem to keep having all of those issues anymore.

00:21:28.558 --> 00:21:29.598
<v Jennifer>That's how they build it up.

00:21:30.278 --> 00:21:33.644
<v Jennifer>I need you to pause for a minute while I grasp my pearls.

00:21:34.739 --> 00:21:39.378
<v Jennifer>So you don't medicate, you don't hospitalize, you don't do any of that stuff.

00:21:39.669 --> 00:21:41.649
<v Jennifer>I use a lot of natural stuff.

00:21:41.649 --> 00:21:43.769
<v Jennifer>The only time, I'm not anti anything.

00:21:43.769 --> 00:21:52.683
<v Jennifer>Don't let, don't like, obviously, my daughter went through a lot of medical stuff and I never once told her, don't not take the medicine.

00:21:52.683 --> 00:21:55.354
<v Jennifer>So of course, like we actually had some.

00:21:56.219 --> 00:22:03.134
<v Jennifer>Pigs donated to us for a raffle, actually for her fundraising to get her to a hospital facility.

00:22:03.134 --> 00:22:07.423
<v Jennifer>And those pigs were very sick when they got to my farm, and we didn't realize it.

00:22:07.423 --> 00:22:09.913
<v Jennifer>So heck yes, I medicated them.

00:22:10.013 --> 00:22:14.084
<v Jennifer>They, the thing is that's something that I don't want to.

00:22:14.909 --> 00:22:17.878
<v Jennifer>Keep, I don't wanna eat, I don't wanna consume.

00:22:18.149 --> 00:22:22.348
<v Jennifer>So we try very hard to fix the situation before.

00:22:22.588 --> 00:22:27.328
<v Jennifer>And that's the thing, like I think I have not had to worm an animal on my farm.

00:22:27.959 --> 00:22:39.058
<v Jennifer>I don't think I I'm trying not to lie, I'm trying to make sure I don't lie about this, but I feel like since we've moved to this property, I think it was like 20 16, 20 17.

00:22:39.509 --> 00:22:51.519
<v Jennifer>I've wormed pigs one time and it was when we got some new pigs and I was scared and wanted to be safe, but I don't feel like we have had to medicate since trying to constantly grow strong flock and stock.

00:22:52.068 --> 00:22:53.328
<v Jennifer>When we started off in her.

00:22:54.963 --> 00:23:03.124
<v Jennifer>New we were definitely doing all of the things and medicating and trying to fix things, and I just kept feeling like it was just creating weaker and weaker animals.

00:23:03.213 --> 00:23:05.943
<v Jennifer>And we definitely had that issue with goats.

00:23:06.013 --> 00:23:07.784
<v Jennifer>I definitely had to medicate some goats.

00:23:07.784 --> 00:23:13.388
<v Jennifer>But now where we're at, I have not had to fix those problems because I feel like they are.

00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:17.519
<v Jennifer>Strong, they're strong animals, and it's the same thing.

00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:21.048
<v Jennifer>We develop herd immunity and get stronger.

00:23:21.098 --> 00:23:29.628
<v Jennifer>The less we rely on those things, if we're eating healthy, we're doing the right things, then we should be able to combat those things.

00:23:29.628 --> 00:23:31.249
<v Jennifer>And that's not everything.

00:23:31.249 --> 00:23:33.019
<v Jennifer>But even for instance, Cox.

00:23:33.108 --> 00:23:35.328
<v Jennifer>Cox, say it coy.

00:23:35.568 --> 00:23:36.828
<v Jennifer>I don't know how to say the whole word.

00:23:36.919 --> 00:23:37.528
<v Jennifer>Toxicosis.

00:23:38.483 --> 00:23:40.223
<v Jennifer>We were treating for that all the time.

00:23:40.854 --> 00:23:41.693
<v Jennifer>Yes, thank you.

00:23:42.233 --> 00:23:57.473
<v Jennifer>And I went to an American Pasture Poultry Association Convention and Jeff Maddox from, for Trail Feed was speaking and he wasn't, I don't know how to say this, because I did buy his book.

00:23:57.743 --> 00:24:00.294
<v Jennifer>I bought his book more for the rations than I did for his book.

00:24:01.933 --> 00:24:14.834
<v Jennifer>I knew I, I didn't want to follow his recommendations, but he did say that milk would help with coccidia prevention.

00:24:15.374 --> 00:24:23.024
<v Jennifer>I'm not saying that milk will treat it, but it made sense to me that like yogurt or whey is a probiotic.

00:24:23.144 --> 00:24:33.284
<v Jennifer>And so we started doing that and he was basically talking about it, but then still saying he didn't recommend it because their feed had other probiotics in it and blah, blah, blah.

00:24:33.314 --> 00:24:37.693
<v Jennifer>But that's what clicked in my head was, then why not just use the milk?

00:24:37.753 --> 00:24:42.344
<v Jennifer>And so we were having problems with Cox Acidosis in our.

00:24:42.659 --> 00:24:52.199
<v Jennifer>Flocks up until that point, and now we start all of our chicks on one day old chicks, they get whey or they get yogurt on top of their fodder.

00:24:52.199 --> 00:24:56.679
<v Jennifer>And we have not had any type of co iios outbreak since.

00:24:56.778 --> 00:24:58.729
<v Jennifer>I wish I could say the same for our rabbits.

00:24:58.729 --> 00:24:59.784
<v Jennifer>I think our rabbits have a really.

00:25:00.483 --> 00:25:04.913
<v Jennifer>A rabbit in the past have had a really hard time tractoring because, and I believe that's what the problem is.

00:25:04.913 --> 00:25:08.693
<v Jennifer>But our, we have not had a problem with that in years.

00:25:08.784 --> 00:25:13.193
<v Jennifer>And so all of our birds get yogurt away from day one.

00:25:14.124 --> 00:25:19.903
<v Jennifer>And people keep telling me that the birds are dairy intolerant and I'm just if they are, then they're not telling me about it.

00:25:19.903 --> 00:25:25.199
<v Jennifer>'cause they're doing better than ever when we were trying to buy it all the time and treat'em all the time through the wet season.

00:25:25.249 --> 00:25:29.689
<v Jennifer>It's just working for us and I do try to be very careful about that.

00:25:29.689 --> 00:25:31.489
<v Jennifer>I'm not saying that milk treats it.

00:25:32.193 --> 00:25:34.354
<v Jennifer>I'm saying that milk helps prevent it.

00:25:34.624 --> 00:25:43.384
<v Jennifer>The, from, the probiotics and it does something to their gut, just like it does something to our gut and it helps prevent, it makes them stronger, have a stronger immune system.

00:25:43.699 --> 00:25:44.868
<v Jennifer>And can help prevent it.

00:25:45.229 --> 00:25:48.259
<v Jennifer>If somebody ends up with that, then definitely treat it.

00:25:48.969 --> 00:26:03.388
<v Jennifer>I'm not completely anti-medication and I don't want an animal to suffer, but I'm just saying that the more we've gone back to nature and just really tried to focus on what they would have access to in nature, just like us.

00:26:03.388 --> 00:26:06.419
<v Jennifer>It's like we're so out of our element with what we eat on a daily basis.

00:26:06.419 --> 00:26:20.628
<v Jennifer>And no wonder our human our nation is sick, but the way that we've try and feed our livestock, we try to mimic as much as possible how they would eat in the wild, and that has just grown bigger and stronger flocks and herds for us.

00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:24.588
<v Jennifer>I feel like I'm talking too much, you guys.

00:26:26.308 --> 00:26:26.318
<v Jennifer>No.

00:26:26.318 --> 00:26:26.649
<v Jennifer>I like it.

00:26:26.649 --> 00:26:27.638
<v Jennifer>We want you to preach it.

00:26:28.028 --> 00:26:35.318
<v Jennifer>That's that's what we try to preach to people is to do these things, feed your animals correctly.

00:26:36.038 --> 00:26:38.348
<v Jennifer>Take care of your grass and your ground.

00:26:38.729 --> 00:26:40.048
<v Jennifer>You tell people that.

00:26:40.554 --> 00:26:41.963
<v Jennifer>It's a management issue.

00:26:41.963 --> 00:26:54.564
<v Jennifer>It's you don't need to throw all kinds of medications at the birds, and they're like, it's not my fault, but there's things that you can do to keep the birds healthy.

00:26:55.374 --> 00:26:57.173
<v Jennifer>Without giving them antibiotics.

00:26:57.233 --> 00:27:03.114
<v Jennifer>And yeah, so when people confirm that, we're just like, yep.

00:27:04.294 --> 00:27:13.903
<v Jennifer>And I think like closed flocks makes a huge difference too, because when we were ordering in birds and eggs all the time from other people, we were having those problems and.

00:27:14.878 --> 00:27:18.479
<v Jennifer>Animals get used to their environment just a tomato seed does.

00:27:18.479 --> 00:27:24.388
<v Jennifer>And so every year you grow tomatoes from the same seeds, that tomato's gonna get stronger and so is the birds.

00:27:24.388 --> 00:27:29.479
<v Jennifer>And yep, we're really nitpicky about who we access new stock from.

00:27:29.479 --> 00:27:33.919
<v Jennifer>And it's not very often, but that's just been my life.

00:27:33.979 --> 00:27:35.449
<v Jennifer>My lesson in all of it is.

00:27:36.084 --> 00:27:50.024
<v Jennifer>Gosh, I made so many mistakes when we first started and so I'm cool about telling people it's okay and you don't wanna get focused on the perfectness, that it just stops you from even trying.

00:27:50.084 --> 00:27:51.223
<v Jennifer>'cause that's how we learn.

00:27:51.223 --> 00:28:04.449
<v Jennifer>But then also just because we want all the animals doesn't mean that we have the space and time requirements for those animals and some, so it is important to me to acknowledge the fact that we have to.

00:28:05.538 --> 00:28:10.588
<v Jennifer>Find a happy medium between, farming and veganism when it comes to stuff like that.

00:28:10.588 --> 00:28:17.078
<v Jennifer>Because I make'em all mad you guys because it's just tell farmers to stop using chemicals.

00:28:17.078 --> 00:28:26.679
<v Jennifer>And I tell vegans that they're killing just as many animals and there's gotta be a happy medium more we can come together and just fight the concentrated food operations instead of each other because they're.

00:28:27.134 --> 00:28:42.774
<v Jennifer>We shouldn't be having pigs in stationary mud, lots in our backyards just because we want a pig, and I understand sometimes why we get angry people coming at us for me, when it, when that's what they see.

00:28:42.834 --> 00:28:46.923
<v Jennifer>And I just think like proper hoof to soil or tail to.

00:28:47.713 --> 00:28:48.403
<v Jennifer>Whatever.

00:28:48.403 --> 00:28:54.524
<v Jennifer>And that's why I kept not doing quail and rabbits for the longest time because I couldn't figure out how.

00:28:55.584 --> 00:28:55.644
<v Jennifer>Oh.

00:28:58.074 --> 00:28:58.644
<v Jennifer>Hello.

00:28:58.703 --> 00:28:59.304
<v Jennifer>You guys there.

00:28:59.304 --> 00:28:59.933
<v Jennifer>You're okay.

00:29:00.318 --> 00:29:00.749
<v Jennifer>You're okay.

00:29:01.749 --> 00:29:02.618
<v Jennifer>It was your turn.

00:29:03.739 --> 00:29:05.838
<v Jennifer>How are you doing the quail then?

00:29:05.929 --> 00:29:06.919
<v Jennifer>How do you raise your quail?

00:29:08.118 --> 00:29:08.479
<v Jennifer>Hello?

00:29:08.479 --> 00:29:09.019
<v Jennifer>Hello.

00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:12.318
<v Jennifer>How can you hear me?

00:29:12.618 --> 00:29:15.838
<v Jennifer>So we just brought back rabbit quail again.

00:29:16.838 --> 00:29:17.229
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:29:17.229 --> 00:29:18.999
<v Jennifer>Can you hear me?

00:29:19.659 --> 00:29:20.078
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:29:21.078 --> 00:29:21.499
<v Jennifer>Can you hear me?

00:29:24.499 --> 00:29:24.798
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:29:25.038 --> 00:29:25.459
<v Jennifer>Hello.

00:29:26.209 --> 00:29:26.598
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:29:27.598 --> 00:29:27.959
<v Jennifer>Okay.

00:29:27.959 --> 00:29:38.759
<v Jennifer>We just recently brought back quail and rabbits, but we just had decided that if we couldn't raise them naturally in a colony, that we weren't gonna do it anymore.

00:29:39.239 --> 00:29:45.334
<v Jennifer>And I had tractored rabbits in my garden and struggled with the rainy seasons, and so we just.

00:29:46.304 --> 00:29:56.284
<v Jennifer>Got some meat mutts and threw'em in a old Turkey hoop house, and they probably within 24 hours, showed so much difference in person.

00:29:57.284 --> 00:29:58.604
<v Jennifer>It was going so well.

00:29:59.653 --> 00:30:01.003
<v Jennifer>She's really good to talk to.

00:30:01.274 --> 00:30:03.463
<v Jennifer>Like we haven't had to pull information out of her.

00:30:05.743 --> 00:30:06.104
<v Jennifer>Okay.

00:30:06.104 --> 00:30:08.413
<v Jennifer>So how do you keep your rabbits in your quail?

00:30:09.403 --> 00:30:14.564
<v Jennifer>We just recently decided to just try colonies one more time.

00:30:14.663 --> 00:30:19.794
<v Jennifer>I guess I was tractoring them ahead of the, that, but not necessarily a colony style.

00:30:19.794 --> 00:30:23.213
<v Jennifer>And the quail stopped laying in a tractor setting.

00:30:23.213 --> 00:30:33.324
<v Jennifer>I think they were getting too skittish and scared and the rabbits were having problems with the moisture and the ground, so they were getting sick.

00:30:34.608 --> 00:30:45.328
<v Jennifer>We just went ahead and took some old chicken and Turkey coops and made'em tur or quail and rabbit cages and they just completely changed personalities and seem so much happier.

00:30:45.358 --> 00:30:50.608
<v Jennifer>The rabbits now have had several litters of babies and the quail.

00:30:50.608 --> 00:30:54.159
<v Jennifer>I go, I actually went in there today and just sat there and watched them and just.

00:30:54.413 --> 00:30:57.144
<v Jennifer>They act like little wild birds.

00:30:57.144 --> 00:31:09.104
<v Jennifer>And so I just feel like that's much more my style, especially when I'm preaching, proper space that it just works for the type of environment I wanna provide for them.

00:31:09.104 --> 00:31:12.733
<v Jennifer>And now I have a lot of friends that have rabbits and quail in cages.

00:31:12.733 --> 00:31:18.699
<v Jennifer>I'm not against it, and I might tell you a year from now that I was wrong, but right now it just seems like.

00:31:19.548 --> 00:31:27.528
<v Jennifer>So much more of a natural, helpful scenario that seems to be working just like everything else as nature had intended it.

00:31:29.449 --> 00:31:29.778
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:31:29.778 --> 00:31:31.159
<v Jennifer>And it depends on your purpose.

00:31:31.159 --> 00:31:35.058
<v Jennifer>You're raising the quill for yourself, so that would work.

00:31:35.209 --> 00:31:38.538
<v Jennifer>Whereas I am raising them to sell hatching eggs.

00:31:38.943 --> 00:31:43.024
<v Jennifer>So I need them up where they provide clean hatching eggs.

00:31:43.449 --> 00:31:43.669
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:31:43.673 --> 00:31:43.894
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:31:44.193 --> 00:31:46.213
<v Jennifer>So it's a different purpose.

00:31:46.314 --> 00:31:46.943
<v Jennifer>But yeah.

00:31:47.064 --> 00:31:47.483
<v Jennifer>All right.

00:31:47.534 --> 00:31:50.263
<v Jennifer>So let's talk about Duckweed for just a minute.

00:31:50.263 --> 00:31:54.314
<v Jennifer>And Carrie may not even know that you grow like so much Duckweed.

00:31:55.844 --> 00:31:56.233
<v Jennifer>Oh my gosh.

00:31:56.233 --> 00:31:59.294
<v Jennifer>And I plan on expanding on that hugely this spring.

00:31:59.294 --> 00:32:00.943
<v Jennifer>So I'm excited to talk about it.

00:32:02.774 --> 00:32:04.604
<v Jennifer>So tell us why you're doing that.

00:32:05.594 --> 00:32:07.153
<v Jennifer>I have a favorite website.

00:32:07.183 --> 00:32:08.983
<v Jennifer>It's completely free.

00:32:08.983 --> 00:32:16.423
<v Jennifer>It's called edia.org, and that has really helped me try to convert.

00:32:17.294 --> 00:32:20.024
<v Jennifer>Bagged feed, I call it fast food now.

00:32:20.413 --> 00:32:21.223
<v Jennifer>Bagged feed.

00:32:21.223 --> 00:32:24.013
<v Jennifer>It's helped me convert it to more natural options.

00:32:24.013 --> 00:32:30.903
<v Jennifer>And so at, one point I had gone to feed Edia and I'm like, what in the world can I do to replace soy and a bag of fast food?

00:32:31.324 --> 00:32:42.173
<v Jennifer>And so I just kept coming into, obviously we have a we love black soldierly larvae here, but I haven't figured out how to grow that through wintertime here in Oklahoma.

00:32:42.173 --> 00:32:45.403
<v Jennifer>I know there's a farm in Arizona that does it, and I wanna be that.

00:32:45.403 --> 00:32:48.703
<v Jennifer>But the thing that worked well for us was Duckweed.

00:32:48.733 --> 00:32:52.124
<v Jennifer>In the past we've been growing it and the same thing.

00:32:52.124 --> 00:32:59.983
<v Jennifer>We were using it through the warm seasons to feed all of the livestock because it's so high in protein and can completely replace soy.

00:33:00.449 --> 00:33:01.558
<v Jennifer>Nutritional wise.

00:33:01.558 --> 00:33:15.298
<v Jennifer>So I was trying to dehydrate enough to feed it through to the livestock through the wintertime and that, I was doing it, but not on enough scale to completely get rid of our growing fodder in the wintertime.

00:33:15.298 --> 00:33:22.409
<v Jennifer>So this year I actually designated a hoop house to trying to keep it alive all winter, and I was successful.

00:33:22.409 --> 00:33:22.923
<v Jennifer>And so now.

00:33:23.699 --> 00:33:34.979
<v Jennifer>My goal is to completely fill that hoop house with more containers so that I have duckweed going full-time all year long, and enough that I can supplement all of my livestock with it.

00:33:34.979 --> 00:33:38.909
<v Jennifer>But it has definitely been a game changer and a money saver for sure.

00:33:40.989 --> 00:33:41.979
<v Jennifer>And it's not hard.

00:33:42.009 --> 00:33:47.489
<v Jennifer>I've had duckweed in the past and it's very similar to what they call water lettuce, right?

00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:47.788
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:33:48.179 --> 00:33:48.778
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:33:49.409 --> 00:33:51.358
<v Jennifer>It just floats on the top of the water.

00:33:51.638 --> 00:33:54.159
<v Jennifer>But now if you have ducks, I have a pond.

00:33:54.189 --> 00:33:54.608
<v Jennifer>Okay.

00:33:54.788 --> 00:34:02.659
<v Jennifer>So if I were to throw it out on my pond, the ducks will eat every speck of it before it has a chance to start accumulating.

00:34:02.749 --> 00:34:04.489
<v Jennifer>So you, yeah.

00:34:04.489 --> 00:34:06.048
<v Jennifer>And I have to be really careful with that.

00:34:06.048 --> 00:34:08.599
<v Jennifer>'cause I have an article coming out in a magazine in.

00:34:09.409 --> 00:34:16.548
<v Jennifer>I think May, June, and they were very adamant about me mentioning that you don't wanna release it into waterways because it's invasive.

00:34:16.548 --> 00:34:23.269
<v Jennifer>But like I say, if you own goats or livestock, nothing, or ducks for that instance, nothing is invasive.

00:34:23.509 --> 00:34:29.959
<v Jennifer>But yeah, I had a lot of people ask me about it early on and they bought some, and they were just like my ducks ate it all.

00:34:29.959 --> 00:34:46.559
<v Jennifer>And I'm like, yeah you have to have a designated space to grow it where they can't get to it or they're gonna devour it, and we're really huge on trying not to use the word feed and use the word supplement because I still expect my livestock to be able to find 90% of their food 90% of the time.

00:34:47.189 --> 00:34:55.058
<v Jennifer>I'll say 75% of the time because we do a lot of fodders in winter, but we don't feed maths amounts of food.

00:34:55.148 --> 00:34:57.548
<v Jennifer>We try to supplement just to be safe.

00:34:57.768 --> 00:35:03.853
<v Jennifer>In case they're struggling or if I see, I have a duck right now, but I thought it was a niacin issue.

00:35:03.853 --> 00:35:10.043
<v Jennifer>But I'm, I just think that she's it's a pecking and I think she's struggling with her weight and her foot.

00:35:10.043 --> 00:35:15.503
<v Jennifer>And so of course I have her separated and I'm babying her a little more and she's getting some extra duck weed right now.

00:35:15.503 --> 00:35:19.493
<v Jennifer>But for the most part, I expect all of my livestock to go find all of their food.

00:35:19.493 --> 00:35:24.743
<v Jennifer>And then we just give them these as treatments so it doesn't have to be a massive amount.

00:35:25.318 --> 00:35:33.838
<v Jennifer>But because the duckweed is going so well, I am trying to really multiply how much we can grow in a small space.

00:35:33.868 --> 00:35:39.438
<v Jennifer>And it's been, really cool and interesting'cause so many people will be like, my animals won't eat that.

00:35:39.678 --> 00:35:41.148
<v Jennifer>I can get the quail to eat it.

00:35:41.148 --> 00:35:42.768
<v Jennifer>I top their fodder with it.

00:35:43.338 --> 00:35:55.908
<v Jennifer>Of course, it's much easier in the summer spring, late spring and summer when there's black soldier fly larvae available too, because we'll basically give them their fodder and top it with duckweed and black soldier fly larvae, and then they just go to town on all of it.

00:35:55.908 --> 00:36:02.298
<v Jennifer>So like right now, if I were to be starting new quail, it might be a little harder for me to get them to eat the duck weed.

00:36:02.808 --> 00:36:07.278
<v Jennifer>My turkeys love it, but it's like my rabbits, for instance.

00:36:07.278 --> 00:36:09.168
<v Jennifer>They would prefer it dehydrated or dry.

00:36:09.218 --> 00:36:12.938
<v Jennifer>We're just still trying to figure it all out and what works for everybody.

00:36:13.058 --> 00:36:17.798
<v Jennifer>But it has been definitely one of the biggest money savers that we've started to raise.

00:36:18.938 --> 00:36:21.068
<v Jennifer>So how do you plant duckweed?

00:36:21.803 --> 00:36:22.863
<v Jennifer>It floats Uhhuh.

00:36:23.243 --> 00:36:23.863
<v Jennifer>It floats.

00:36:24.098 --> 00:36:24.428
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:36:24.428 --> 00:36:39.118
<v Jennifer>And it's really it's a, especially if you have other livestock, it's a really good closed loop system because you do have to purchase some to start usually, unless you can find some wild, but you only need probably a quarter of a cup of few tablespoons of it.

00:36:39.118 --> 00:36:43.708
<v Jennifer>And when it gets hot, it multiplies faster than any other plants on the planet.

00:36:44.158 --> 00:36:47.868
<v Jennifer>If you were to have say, three to five containers of duck.

00:36:48.903 --> 00:36:56.133
<v Jennifer>You could harvest from one, and by the time you got to the fifth one, the first one would be completely multiplied again and you could start over.

00:36:56.233 --> 00:36:59.203
<v Jennifer>All it really needs, it's really not even super picky.

00:36:59.203 --> 00:37:03.563
<v Jennifer>Like we were trying gosh, what was the other aula?

00:37:03.983 --> 00:37:05.153
<v Jennifer>We were trying a Zola too.

00:37:05.153 --> 00:37:08.663
<v Jennifer>And Azula was much more particular about how much phosphate you fed it.

00:37:08.663 --> 00:37:09.413
<v Jennifer>But Duckweed.

00:37:09.893 --> 00:37:18.473
<v Jennifer>As silly as it sounds, we throw some rabbit or cow manure in the water and that stuff just multiplies faster than we can feed it, especially in the heat.

00:37:18.473 --> 00:37:22.733
<v Jennifer>So having it in the hoop houses has helped us keep it going through the winter.

00:37:22.733 --> 00:37:29.313
<v Jennifer>And that last ice storm that we had, I was really worried that it was gonna go dormant, but it still just kept going.

00:37:29.363 --> 00:37:34.538
<v Jennifer>I'm, so you can, I'm, you can take like a storage tub and just put some water in it.

00:37:35.108 --> 00:37:36.158
<v Jennifer>Throw these in it.

00:37:36.158 --> 00:37:36.248
<v Jennifer>Yep.

00:37:37.358 --> 00:37:39.818
<v Jennifer>When it fills up, do it again.

00:37:39.818 --> 00:37:42.558
<v Jennifer>And, get yourself five or six of them and.

00:37:44.263 --> 00:37:44.593
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:37:44.593 --> 00:37:48.628
<v Jennifer>And I take it all out and leave a handful in there and it'll replicate itself.

00:37:49.168 --> 00:37:49.408
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:37:49.408 --> 00:37:54.418
<v Jennifer>We usually try and harvest half and I'm huge on telling people don't invest in some fancy system.

00:37:54.418 --> 00:37:57.868
<v Jennifer>You don't need pumps or bubblers or anything like that.

00:37:57.918 --> 00:38:03.828
<v Jennifer>We use 250 gallon p IBC totes and, we'll, we actually split'em in half.

00:38:03.828 --> 00:38:10.208
<v Jennifer>I use the top half for raised beds in the bottom we use for duckweed and growing minnows out.

00:38:10.568 --> 00:38:16.038
<v Jennifer>The minnows will eat the duckweed, but if you only have a few in each container, they'll actually handle the mosquitoes.

00:38:16.518 --> 00:38:19.788
<v Jennifer>And we use the water for our garden.

00:38:19.788 --> 00:38:30.618
<v Jennifer>So we are still rotating out the water every once in a while, but the duckweed is not picky, so you just feed it some manure and drain that water every once in a while on your, onto your garden and you're, you've got.

00:38:31.358 --> 00:38:34.848
<v Jennifer>A closed loop system, if you have some cold manure rabbit.

00:38:34.968 --> 00:38:36.168
<v Jennifer>Rabbit works really well.

00:38:36.498 --> 00:38:42.678
<v Jennifer>We'll use some really dried out cow manure sometimes, but for the most part, you literally.

00:38:43.753 --> 00:38:46.123
<v Jennifer>Use the bottom half of an IBC tote.

00:38:46.843 --> 00:38:47.533
<v Jennifer>Hook it up.

00:38:47.588 --> 00:38:50.558
<v Jennifer>They make adapters for those to get it to a hose pipe.

00:38:51.188 --> 00:38:51.428
<v Jennifer>Yep.

00:38:51.428 --> 00:38:51.908
<v Jennifer>That's what we have.

00:38:53.198 --> 00:38:53.973
<v Jennifer>And do whatever.

00:38:53.973 --> 00:38:59.133
<v Jennifer>Or you could get one of those Rain barrel kits and cut a 55 gallon drum in half.

00:39:00.123 --> 00:39:00.843
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:39:02.223 --> 00:39:02.728
<v Jennifer>Other thing duct.

00:39:04.263 --> 00:39:05.133
<v Jennifer>Yeah, you don't.

00:39:05.133 --> 00:39:05.523
<v Jennifer>No.

00:39:05.523 --> 00:39:10.383
<v Jennifer>And actually the rain barrel kits are what I have on my water catchment on the back of my house.

00:39:10.383 --> 00:39:17.023
<v Jennifer>And I even keep a goldfish in each of those just to to make sure that we don't have any algae buildup in there.

00:39:17.083 --> 00:39:29.073
<v Jennifer>So obviously if we were it as potable water, we'd boil it, but the goldfish will keep the mosquito larvae and the algae down and we use the same kind of setup for the IBC totes for.

00:39:29.543 --> 00:39:32.273
<v Jennifer>The duck weed and yeah, we do have those connectors.

00:39:32.323 --> 00:39:41.613
<v Jennifer>We'll just let it go and if it seems like the duck weed's slowing down, then we'll drain some of that water out onto the garden plants and refill it and add some more manure and just keep going with it.

00:39:41.673 --> 00:39:46.463
<v Jennifer>So there's nothing fancy about it, like she said, Jennifer said, don't overthink it.

00:39:46.463 --> 00:39:48.863
<v Jennifer>It's just a super simple solution for.

00:39:49.843 --> 00:39:56.323
<v Jennifer>A mon a, a major money saving thing, but I do feel like it has helped the livestock be healthier for it too.

00:39:57.743 --> 00:40:02.243
<v Jennifer>It's a high protein, if memory serves, it's 40, 45% protein.

00:40:02.273 --> 00:40:05.003
<v Jennifer>It's like the highest protein plant.

00:40:05.723 --> 00:40:06.263
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:40:06.263 --> 00:40:09.833
<v Jennifer>And that was one of the issues we were having with wanting to bring back quail.

00:40:09.833 --> 00:40:15.603
<v Jennifer>I just didn't wanna go back to trying to use the organic crumble and I just was.

00:40:15.888 --> 00:40:23.298
<v Jennifer>I just kept telling myself, if I'm gonna bring the rabbits and the quail back, I wanna do it in a way that I don't have to depend on the fast food feed bags.

00:40:23.298 --> 00:40:29.568
<v Jennifer>And the black soldier fly larvae was great in the warm seasons, but then I was just what do we gotta do in wintertime?

00:40:29.568 --> 00:40:38.458
<v Jennifer>Because the quail and the Turkey needs such a higher protein, it's very interesting to see the chickens, the chickens and even the quail sometimes would try and snub it at first.

00:40:38.518 --> 00:40:46.328
<v Jennifer>But, I talk about it like raising a child on a happy meal and then trying to hand them some grilled chicken salads.

00:40:46.788 --> 00:40:51.828
<v Jennifer>It's like sometimes you have to break them in slow if they're used to the chicken nuggets and the soda pop.

00:40:51.828 --> 00:40:54.408
<v Jennifer>And so many people will say, oh, my animals won't eat that.

00:40:54.408 --> 00:40:57.348
<v Jennifer>And I'm just like, take away the fast food slowly.

00:40:57.348 --> 00:41:05.578
<v Jennifer>You don't wanna do it all at once and then, lose an animal or all of a sudden have'em stop laying egg, but you can move'em back into a more.

00:41:05.998 --> 00:41:06.928
<v Jennifer>Natural style.

00:41:06.928 --> 00:41:13.798
<v Jennifer>There's still wild chickens all over the continent, all over the world, so clearly they don't need our help.

00:41:13.978 --> 00:41:24.358
<v Jennifer>It's just a matter of, like you were even saying with your quill, you, there's a difference in, in raising for profit too, because you want the maximum output.

00:41:24.358 --> 00:41:34.188
<v Jennifer>So for me, I'm just not necessarily interested in the maximum output, but just keeping healthy animals that are gonna produce enough there, there are definitely differences.

00:41:35.383 --> 00:41:52.048
<v Jennifer>So my first experience with Duckweed, and I've dabbled at it before, but my first time was probably a dozen years ago or so, and I put it in, I had a big fish aquarium with these free goldfish that you went at the carnival that like grew to like 18 inches long.

00:41:52.328 --> 00:41:56.938
<v Jennifer>But I actually put it in their aquarium and they ate it.

00:41:57.028 --> 00:41:58.378
<v Jennifer>That's what they ate.

00:41:59.458 --> 00:42:07.828
<v Jennifer>Yeah, we still have our minnows in with the duckweed that's in our hoop house right now, and they've survived the winter just off eating the duckweed.

00:42:07.828 --> 00:42:12.778
<v Jennifer>And there's still plenty that I've been feeding it about twice a week to all of the livestock.

00:42:13.558 --> 00:42:13.888
<v Jennifer>Yep.

00:42:14.818 --> 00:42:18.718
<v Jennifer>Anything else you wanna add to, you're gonna have to just come back and talk more through.

00:42:19.718 --> 00:42:20.918
<v Jennifer>Tough love mentality.

00:42:20.918 --> 00:42:22.838
<v Jennifer>I think people misconstrue in a lot of ways.

00:42:22.838 --> 00:42:28.183
<v Jennifer>I'm just really passionate about health and combining that with homesteading because I think that it's not always.

00:42:29.678 --> 00:42:30.428
<v Jennifer>Together.

00:42:30.968 --> 00:42:33.508
<v Jennifer>But I will add, minnows are hilarious.

00:42:33.508 --> 00:42:37.228
<v Jennifer>If you feed minnows to your ducks, you don't even have to watch TV anymore.

00:42:37.228 --> 00:42:39.238
<v Jennifer>You guys, it's the best thing.

00:42:40.108 --> 00:42:42.178
<v Jennifer>Or ta holes tadpoles are the same.

00:42:42.638 --> 00:42:43.718
<v Jennifer>Yes, absolutely.

00:42:43.958 --> 00:42:48.608
<v Jennifer>But no, I've really enjoyed talking to you guys, and I know we all don't farm exactly the same.

00:42:48.608 --> 00:43:09.548
<v Jennifer>And I hope people do see that, like my passion is not just me trying to be cruel, I just think there's a lot of different ways that we would all be better to get back to nature, and so I'm just trying to show that there are other ways to do things and it's not impossible to get broke, broken away from the feed bags and the dependence on big agriculture.

00:43:10.173 --> 00:43:22.333
<v Jennifer>The whole part, the whole thing of, homesteading and being self-sufficient and things like that is to be able to be self-sufficient.

00:43:22.398 --> 00:43:34.983
<v Jennifer>And so that's, if you can grow your own food and grow its own food, you combine that with a saying that my friend Rip Stary says.

00:43:36.108 --> 00:43:37.428
<v Jennifer>You are what you eat.

00:43:37.578 --> 00:43:38.148
<v Jennifer>Eat.

00:43:38.688 --> 00:43:39.108
<v Jennifer>Yes.

00:43:39.158 --> 00:43:41.828
<v Jennifer>And that's why I think it's great that you're doing quail, Jennifer.

00:43:41.858 --> 00:43:44.258
<v Jennifer>'cause you know how I feel about Cornish Cross Chicken.

00:43:44.258 --> 00:43:48.068
<v Jennifer>We could have a whole nother hour long conversation about that, but let's be real.

00:43:48.068 --> 00:43:53.558
<v Jennifer>When it comes to like having real self sustainability on a farm, you need self-sustainable birds.

00:43:53.558 --> 00:43:55.568
<v Jennifer>And that's not buying your birds from Tyson.

00:43:56.438 --> 00:44:05.158
<v Jennifer>So I just think quail and Turkey and goose and duck are all really great options when it comes to switching, doing the real swap.

00:44:06.178 --> 00:44:07.078
<v Jennifer>Exactly.

00:44:07.388 --> 00:44:13.308
<v Jennifer>You'll I'm game for you to come back and talk about the Cornish, but I think we're about outta time for today.

00:44:13.638 --> 00:44:14.573
<v Jennifer>So we've Okay.

00:44:14.658 --> 00:44:16.938
<v Jennifer>We've really enjoyed having you on today.

00:44:16.938 --> 00:44:18.108
<v Jennifer>It's been a pleasure.

00:44:18.138 --> 00:44:18.618
<v Jennifer>It's been fun.

00:44:18.618 --> 00:44:19.098
<v Jennifer>Thank you.

00:44:19.098 --> 00:44:22.698
<v Jennifer>Tell everybody how they can get ahold of you and where they can find you on social media.

00:44:23.493 --> 00:44:31.953
<v Jennifer>So I don't really have a up, up to date website anymore, but I do still mostly have my following on Facebook at Bad Baxter Farm.

00:44:31.953 --> 00:44:36.063
<v Jennifer>I am starting to do some blogging on Substack.

00:44:36.243 --> 00:44:39.183
<v Jennifer>It's called Rural Ramps by Bad Baxter Farm.

00:44:39.513 --> 00:44:43.623
<v Jennifer>Not really into YouTube, but I do have some published stuff coming out here.

00:44:44.313 --> 00:44:46.773
<v Jennifer>Shortly, so to be continued.

00:44:48.063 --> 00:44:48.753
<v Jennifer>Sounds good.

00:44:49.323 --> 00:44:49.593
<v Jennifer>Yep.

00:44:49.783 --> 00:44:51.373
<v Jennifer>We'll talk to you again, I'm sure.

00:44:51.703 --> 00:44:52.123
<v Jennifer>Yeah.

00:44:52.183 --> 00:44:52.513
<v Jennifer>Thank you.