Pigs are the fastest growing animal on the farm.
They grow 2-3 lbs. a day up to 1000 lbs. Market weight, however, is 250-300 lbs. so unless
a pig is used for breeding they rarely get that big.
Yes. Llamas do spit, however, they rarely
spit at humans. Spitting is an act of aggression and they usually spit only at other
llamas. If a llama is hand-raised by humans, then they think of humans as one of them and
they may spit. Our llamas have been raised by their mothers, so they do not spit.
Pigs roll in the mud because they
do not have sweat glands and the mud helps keep their bodies cool in warm weather. Mud
will also keep the flies and other biting insects away.
Hay is a mixture of
different plants, including grasses, alfalfa, clover and timothy. Hay is used as
a food source for animals. Hay is harvested as often as weather in that state
permits it to grow. Northern climates, such as Michigan, have short growing seasons, so
hay may only be cut for 4 months. Hay is dried for several days after cutting, raked into
piles and then baled. It is essential for the days following cutting to be dry. Any
moisture left in the plant creates mold that is bad for the animals (and makes humans
sneeze) so if it rains during the process the hay is ruined. That is where the phrase
"Make hay while the sun shines" originates.
Straw is a by-product of oats and wheat. Straw is used for bedding.
After the grain is harvested away, the plant it grows on is left to dry. After a few days
of drying, the straw is then baled up. Because the grain is gone, little nutrition is left
for the animals.
Chewing a cud
is what all ruminants must do in order to eat properly. A ruminant is any animal with
multiple stomach chambers and no upper teeth in the front. Because they cannot chew well
they ingest their food almost entirely whole the first time. The first chamber of the
stomach retains the food for a time, then forms a 'mass' called a cud, and then burps the
cud back into the mouth of the animal to be re-chewed. Per day, a cow spends 6 hours
eating and 8 hours chewing cud. Animals that are ruminants include: cattle, sheep, goats,
llamas, reindeer, and bison.
The Holstein
breed produces the most milk of all the breeds. An average cow weighs about 1500 lbs.
and milked twice a day, produces about 10 gallons of milk.
A Maverick is not a
breed of cattle at all. A maverick is any cattle that breaks away from the herd and is
not branded.
A horses' teeth are constantly
changing throughout it's lifetime. Horses live approximately 25 years, but there are some
that live into their 30's and in rare cases, even 40's. As they grow older their teeth
grow longer, and that's where the phrase "Long in the tooth" comes from.
Sheep have 8 glands that produce
Lanolin. That Lanolin gets absorbed by the wool. Lanolin, after shearing, is extracted
from the wool and used in many cosmetics such as hand lotions.
Worldwide, goat milk is drank more.
A Ewe (mother sheep) will usually have 1-3 lambs
for one pregnancy. However, there is a breed of sheep, the Chevot, that commonly has 6-8
lambs. These lambs must be fostered, either to other ewes, or hand-raised by humans.
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