Processing Goat Meat

Here are a couple of diagrams:

Building a Winter Shelter for Two Young American Guinea Hogs

We just bought two female American Guinea Hogs from breeder Cathy Payne of Broad River Pastures. The weather is getting colder and the young pigs (gilts) needed a good shelter from the elements. A cold front was approaching and we needed a shelter fast. So, Katrina and I built one on Sunday.

We considered a few designs, but decided we wanted to keep the hogs in an unused plastic doghouse we already had on our property. The hogs sleep together and the doghouse is small enough so that their body heat can help to warm the small space.

The walls of the doghouse are thin, and there is a crack in the roof which would have let in water in heavy rain storms.

Plus, we wanted a structure that would allow the pigs to leave their house to eat food and still stay out of the rain and wet conditions.

Finally, we wanted a structure that was flexible enough so that it could be modified as the pigs grew to their full size of more than 100 pounds, or for when the summer heat would require a more airy structure.

The video below shows what we came up with for our shelter. We think it will work out well in our climate here in western North Carolina.

A couple of the features are used in our other animal husbandry. First, we like the base of our system. We use plastic pallets because they do not rot in wet weather. They also keep our livestock up off the ground so they stay dryer.

Next, we use rubber horse mats. Sometimes we cut these if necessary with a reciprocating saw, but in this case we did not need to make any adjustments. The mat fit down neatly on top of two pallets. These two features give our animals a nice base, and it makes it easy to clean up with a hose when we need to tidy up their space.

Straw bales are used in a lot of instances for insulation. It is cheap and works well. We just piled it up around the exterior of our shelter with the doghouse in the middle. I think the hogs will stay cozy in their house in the coldest of North Carolina nights.

We used metal roof from some scraps we had on our place from earlier construction projects. The problem with metal roof is the condensation will form and drip onto hay. This could cause mold which is not a healthy situation. We sought to minimize it with some insulation.

The last thing I will say about our shed is that it is probably not appropriate for a more northern climate with frequent heavy snowfall. I don't think the roof will hold a very heavy load. If you live where you have a lot of snow, consider adding another set of posts and a beam in the middle. Also, you could make the pitch a bit steeper to encourage the snow to slide off the shed roof.

That is it. This is a very, very simple structure that can be made easily with very minimal carpentry skills.  Here's the video.

Herbal Treatment of Goats

Like all domestic goats, internal parasites can be a problem in a goat herd. In the wild, goats are nomadic creatures who roam the countryside. Domestically, goats are confined to paddocks and pastures where they continuously re-graze. Thus, parasite infestations are more likely in domesticated goats than their wild cousins. 

My friend Amicus and I use herbal treatment for internal parasites in our goat herd. We have found that Molly's Herbals Original Worm Formula System works well to keep our little herd in the North Carolina Piedmont healthy. 

Chemical dewormers are harsh and kill certain species of worms indiscriminately.  Other species are unaffected by the chemical dewormers. Unless you get a good fecal test that is well interpreted, you may often have to buy a regimen of different chemicals until successful.

Chemicals in our dairy goat is not desired. We are drinking our goat Edna's milk, making cheese for us and our chickens, and yogurt. I am not willing to risk chemicals passing through the goat system and into ours.

Jean Duval, agronomist, M.Sc., the author quoted above suggests indiscriminate killing of the worm species is unwise.

gastrointestinal parasites play a role similar to earthworms in the soil; that they "aerate" the digestive system when it is overloaded by too much silage, grain or green hay. 

Ecological Agriculture Projects, CONTROL OF INTERNAL PARASITES IN RUMINANTS, Jean Duval, agronomist, M.Sc. (McGill University Oct. 2002). 

One response to the Vet's suggestion may be to use Ivomec Plus.  This is a stronger herb that ivermectin. It has an anthelmintic (clorsulon) designed specifically to eliminate Liver fluke worms.

Guinea Harvest

We ate two of our guinea fowl last week. Both were males about one year old. The birds were leaders of an older set of guineas.

We still have four birds from the older flock. These birds, which join the younger flock of 21 birds from time to time, seem to interfere in the larger group roosting in their safe coop. 

Katrina has requested that I turn these four into meat for our freezer. I suspect that this weekend we may be harvesting four more guinea fowl --meat for the humans.

I am at peace with eating our livestock. We give them a good life. Our job as the human is to be a good steward. We do our job. We keep our guineas safe from predators. We see that they have shelter and quality food. We keep their environment clean and healthy.  

They are very happy animals. They range around our place clucking, trilling, bee-bopping, squawking and occasionally screeching at our old cat. They run here and there, clowning around, and eating bugs. That is a guinea life. A good one.