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Raising Guinea Fowl !

Many people have never seen, much less heard of, guinea fowl. Visitors, on spying their first guinea, invariably ask "What is that—a turkey?" Nope, but not a bad guess. Like turkeys, guineas are Galliformes, a group encompassing all chicken-like birds. But while chickens are members of the pheasant family, turkeys and guineas each have a family of their own. Native to Africa, they are known for traveling in large, gregarious flocks. Guinea fowl were introduced into Europe by 15th century Portuguese explorers, and then arrived in North America with the early settlers. There are seven species of guinea fowl, of which the "helmeted pearl" is by far the most common, and certainly the weirdest looking, with its oddly shaped helmet, white, featherless face, bright red wattles, and gray polka-dotted feathers.

Ask those who keep guineas why they have them and you'll get a different answer every time. Chicken and turkey farmers keep them to ward off poultry-eating predators. Ranchers turn them loose to discourage rattlers and copperheads. Country dwellers like the way they gobble down disease-carrying ticks. Orchardists use them to drive off marauding birds. Farmers put them to work patrolling for row crop pests. Guineas do all this without damaging crops. Sure, they'll take the occasional peck at a cultivated plant, but they much prefer insects, weeds, and seeds.

Free-ranging guineas spend most of their days foraging. They work as a team, marching chest to chest and devouring anything they startle as they move through the grass. When they discover a special treat—a rodent, for example, or a small snake—they close ranks, circle their prey, and move in for the feast. All the while, they keep up a steady stream of whistles, chirps, and clicks, a sort of running commentary on the day's hunt.

But these little foragers have their faults. Like chickens, guineas are natural-born scratchers—I once watched a week-old guinea scratch vigorously in a saucer of starter mash while others stood by trying to catch bits of mash sailing through the air. Nevertheless, a guinea doesn't scratch as enthusiastically or as persistently as a chicken, and is far less likely to dig up garden seedlings, although they are attracted to freshly worked soil and will spend hours digging holes for luxurious dustbaths. Once I acquired a whole flock of guineas simply by arriving on the scene moments after they had devastated a friend's blossoming snap beans.

In addition to the minor inconveniences caused by dusting and occasional scratching, guineas have other characteristics that some people find somewhat less than endearing. For one thing, the hens lay only seasonally, and the young are quite delicate. Guineas are also a noisy bunch, making them a poor choice where high-strung neighbors live nearby. Because of their continuous conversations, guineas cannot be snuck into housing developments as chickens often are. It's probably best because guineas don't take kindly to confinement; they much prefer the freedom to prowl their home base. In this respect, a guinea has the same independence as a barn-born cat—it'll eat your food and tolerate your presence, but a guinea will never be your best friend.

Goat Towers : An Idea Whose Time Has Come

A set of towers, spread across the globe, have given goats the opportunity to make good on their evolutionary heritage and farmers a chance to leave an unforgettable impression on visitors. And don't worry -- there hasn't been a single report of the goats falling.

While we might be used to seeing goats grazing on a mostly two-dimensional pasture, the animals are not strangers to heights. Moroccan goats have been seen climbing trees and the internet has gone gaga over photos of wild goats in precarious places.

Sometime in the 19th century, Fernando Guedes da Silva da Fonseca decided to give his livestock a place to make good on their heritage. He tucked his Torres das Cabras into a leafy enclave at Aveleda, a famed winery in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal.

No one recognized the brilliance of his idea for about a century, when Charles Back decided to build a goat tower of his own at Fairview Wine and Cheese in South Africa in 1981. The tower now serves as a playground for the 750 Saanen milk goats at and has also become of the most identifiable aspect of the Fairview brand.

A number of farmers worldwide have copied the idea since. David Johnson built the 31-foot “The Tower of Baa” at his farm in Findlay, Illinois. Ekeby farm brought a tower of their own to Norway and made it the central pillar of most of their marketing materials. Endres Manufacturing Company in Waunakee, Wisconsin built the first steel goat tower when they had some extra time at the machine shop because, why not?

Last but not least, Silky O’Sullivan’s bar in Memphis, Tennessee has also jumped on the goat tower band wagon for the amusement of both their patrons and their goats. The goats there might be having a bit having a bit too much fun. One blog post at Atlas Obscura reports that customers let the goats have a sip or two of their beers before the animals climb the tower.

You can go ahead and call them follies (apparently, that’s what you actually call this sort of European garden structure). But regardless of human opinions, the goats seems to love the vertical elements.

Feeding Horses that are Hard Keepers

Much like teenage boys, some horses seem to be able to devour every bit of feed in sight, and still not gain weight. Unlike the teenage boys, however, and unfortunately for the owners of these hard keepers, this generally isn’t just a stage that the horse is going through. So, what is the best way to feed a horse to increase weight gain to the desired level, and then maintain it there?

First, start by taking a Body Condition Score and determining the current weight of the horse, and tracking those two elements over time, so you can know for sure if you are making progress or not. It’s easy to fall in to the trap of trying to remember what the horse was like a couple months ago, so a tracking program will help give a fact basis to your feeding program.

Second, weigh both the hay and any grain you are feeding your horse. A bathroom scale can do the trick, or especially handy is a fish or luggage scale that you can hang a bucket from. Every barn has a different scoop, from the old reliable coffee can to a plastic scoop purchased at the feed store. Weighing the scoop, then weighing it with the feed in it, allows you to mark your scoop so you can see where to fill it to for various feeds & weights of that feed. Note that not all feeds weigh the same, either, so measure each one independently.

Third, ensure that the horse is receiving enough forage in the diet. This is the base of any feeding program, and a good target is to be feeding 1.5% of body weight in forages. For a 1000 lb horse, that means at least 15 lbs of hay. Weigh a few flakes of hay and see just what a flake is from your supplier. Not all small square bales are created equally!

Fourth is the grain portion of the diet. A key thing to look at in evaluating feeds for hard keepers is the “Crude Fat” content of a feed. A basic corn/oats/mineral sweet feed mix will likely run around 2.5-3.0% fat, since that is what is naturally present in a lot of grains. These are fine for easier keepers, but many active horses need more – there are a variety of horse feeds on the market today that are in the 6-7% fat range, and a few horse feeds even reach up to the 12% fat range. Remember to feed within the guidelines printed on the tag, so that you get the nutrition portion of the diet correct. Start your horse on a higher fat diet slowly to allow them to adjust to the increased fat, and work up to a level where the weight starts to come on. Once you’ve reached a desirable weight and body condition, you can begin to back off the amount fed until you determine the amount of feed that will help maintain your horse for the long haul.

How to Choose Good Quality Wheat

Wheat is mainly utilized for consumption. Wheat is transformed into flour so that human can consume it through various methods. Wheat is mainly utilized for making bread and also other bakery items. Owing to its high rates, the utilization of wheat is limited for animal feed and industrial purposes. Today wheat is grown throughout the world. It is adaptable to diverse elevation, climates and soils. But when it comes to select good quality wheat then it should be selected on the basis of quality aspects mentioned below.

Wheat quality mainly has two aspects. The foremost is the physical quality, which refers to freedom from foreign matter, soundness of wheat and cleanliness. The second is the processing quality, which means suitability for diverse uses. These aspects should be considered while selecting good quality wheat. However, wheat is categorized according to the protein content and the texture of the endosperm. The way the grain breaks down while milling depends on the texture of the endosperm. The property of the flour and its suitability for diverse uses depends on the protein content.

The endosperm texture may be vitreous or mealy. The mealy or vitreous character is hereditary, but is not affected by the environment. Therefore, einkorn wheat, emmer wheat and macaroni wheat are some wheat with vitreous kernels, whereas club wheat and bread wheat are mealy. Vitreous kernels are translucent and look bright under strong light while mealy kernels are opaque and look dark under similar situations.

Wheat types are mainly categorized as soft or hard and as weak or strong. Vitreous wheat is strong and hard in nature while the mealy wheat is weak and soft however the association is not invariable. Hardness is related to the degree of adhesion between protein and starch. Softness and hardness refer to the way in which the endosperm breaks down while milling. World wheat's are arranged to their degree of hardness as extra hard, hard, medium and soft.

The strength of wheat relates to its baking quality. Strong wheat can be used to create good crumb structure, big loaf volume and high-quality keeping qualities. This type of wheat is rich in protein. Hard wheat is used to produce flour that we use in our day to day life and to produce bread. The weak wheat possess low protein contain and this kind of wheat can only produce small loaf that too with coarse crumb structure. This kind of wheat is perfect for manufacturing cakes and biscuits but they are unsustainable for bread preparation.

Whole wheat is ground for individual use by the families. Whole wheat is mainly utilized for the production of unleavened bread across the globe. It is estimated that very less nutrient loss occurs in such type of production. Typically, every consumer prefers to purchase the variety that caters their requirements in regards to performance. You will not find loads of information about the performance of diverse varieties in indigenous wheat preparations. Consequently, selection is completely based on experience and personal knowledge of the consumer.

How to Store Green Beans !

Green beans, also known as string beans or snap beans, are in the same family as shell beans, such as pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans. Yet unlike their cousins, green beans’ entire bean, pod and seed, can be eaten. Green beans range in size, but they usually average four inches in length and are deep emerald green in color. They contain tiny seeds within their thin pods. Green beans are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free. They are also a good source of Vitamins C, A, and K.

How to Select and Store

If possible, purchase green beans at a store or farmer’s market that sells them loose so that you can sort through them to choose the beans of best quality. Purchase beans that have a smooth feel and a vibrant green color, and that are free from brown spots or bruises. They should have a firm texture and “snap” when broken.

Store unwashed fresh beans pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days.

Many people wonder about the possibility of freezing green beans, or purchasing green beans that have already been frozen. Both options can work—green beans are definitely a vegetable that can be frozen. We’ve seen several research studies on the nutritional consequences of freezing green beans, and most studies show the ability of green beans to retain valuable amounts of nutrients for 3-6 months after freezing. If you don’t have fresh green beans available on a year-round basis, purchasing frozen green beans can definitely provide you with a nutritionally valuable option.

If you wish to freeze green beans we recommend that you steam the green beans for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let them cool thoroughly before placing them in freezer bags and storing them in your freezer.

It is good to remember that the passage of time appears to lessen the concentration of multiple nutrients. There appears to be less nutrient loss at 3 months than at 6 months, and you may want to limit your freezer storage of green beans (whether frozen at home or pre-purchased in frozen form) to about 3 months for this reason.