If you want to start a small farm or just have a few farm animals, you need to know how to care for them. You must look after your horses, cows, and chickens to ensure they stay healthy and safe from predators. Get started with these basic tips for taking care of your farm animals.
Give Them Food and Water Daily
Farm animals need proper nutrition to grow strong and gain immunity from common infections. Also, your animals won’t produce as much if they’re malnourished, resulting in lost profits. Depending on the type of animal, they may need to graze or get certain nutrients added to their food.
Plus, nutritious foods will ensure animals have good digestive health capable of supporting their metabolism all year. For example, ensuring proper equine nutrition in the winter is especially important when nutritious pastures are covered in snow. Ultimately, supplemental vitamins and minerals, regular health checkups, and good hydration are key to happy livestock.
Ensure They Have Shelter
You’ll also want to protect your farm animals against foul weather. Extreme heat, cold, high winds, and flooding can put your farm animals at risk, and you don’t want to leave them at the mercy of unbridled weather events.
The best shelter is a sturdy barn with a roof and walls surrounding the animals. However, you can also use a chicken coop, shed, or other building for smaller animals. The space should be free of predators and provide a warm, dry place to go when the weather is harsh.
Keep Their Living Space Clean
Since your farm animals will spend time in their shelters, you need to keep the space clean. Bedding can become saturated in urine and the floors covered in feces if you don’t keep up with maintenance. If you let things go too long, you and your animals might experience poor health from unsanitary conditions.
Start by removing the hay from the floor, along with all manure and urine. Then, spray the area clean with a hose or other water source. Once finished, add fresh straw and let the animals return.
Provide Adequate Care Year Round
If you want to raise healthy livestock, you must perform basic tasks to ensure they’re safe, healthy, and well fed. With these tips for taking care of your farm animals, you won’t have to second-guess your approach.
