Rain, Rain Go Away...

Over the past few days, with all the rain, working to fix drainage in the pasture is front and center. Since moving to our farm we have been working to better our land as well as we can. A little history... our property used to be a crop field the grew soybeans and sweet potatoes so the soil has been depleted from the heavy farming. We also have 0.8 acres that is deemed a Wildlife and Fisheries conservation area on the northwest portion of our pastures that we own, but can not modify in any way. We don't mind the conservation area due to the privacy and large diversity of wildlife that call it home, we just have to work around it.

A problem that I fight due to the poor drainage is that the soil holds more moisture than I would like. I have three pastures, would like to divide back into two, and I run into a problem being that along the conservation area the soil stays saturated and unusable at heavy rain times. This moisture also causes hoof problems if the herd is in one of the back two pastures. Hoof rot/scald is something that I fight often and is disheartening and very hard to eradicate once it has started.

I took the time to go to my local USDA and NRCS office to talk to the the agents about any possible grants or programs that may help me. I learned a LOT on my visit, from micro loans, to seeing maps of my property from the 80's. I learned that my property has always been a bowl of sorts within the conservation area and that the elevation to all drainage outlets is higher and may pose a problem to move water away from my property. I will have the agents from NRCS come and survey the property, totally free, and see what the options MAY be to help move water away from my fields.

I have worked to mitigate the hoof issue as well as I can being that Louisiana is a heavy humidity and lots of rain type of climate. I have tried to dose with hoof and heal, use wraps made with diapers, Ziplocs, and vet wrap, while stalling to dry lot the animals. I have purchased neoprene boots to keep moisture out and cleanliness in, but today while shopping at Five and Below I ran across pet rain boots that I had the lightbulb go off and say "this may work for my sheep". I am always looking for creative new ways to cut costs and find new ways to make my life a little easier.

I got home and with the rain that has been falling everyday, I had a sheep that was limping (SHOCKER... NOT) so I took this as an opportunity to test out the new rain boots. I caught her, she is a sweet girl, and I cleaned the hoof, treated with hoof and heal, packed with paper towel, and put her new shoe on. I actually like the rain boot more that the one I purchased meant for sheep. Being that the neoprene is stretchy it fit the hoof snuggly and the boot has a Velcro strap to wrap around the pastern to hold in place. I will check the boot when I feed today to make sure that there is no moisture inside.

I just wanted to share my little hacks and ideas so that they may help someone else who is battling issues like I am.

Happy Homesteading and don't forget to mind your barn.

Miss Matilda modeling her hoof boot.