4,777 answers about horses & farm animals
Horses and farm animals run on routine — feeding schedules, hoof and health care, safe fencing and calm handling, in all weather. This page gathers the horse and farm animal library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic from daily care to travel and senior animals. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
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615 answers in Home & Lifestyle — page 12 of 26
A Rhode Island Red's first year is one of poultry's best-value budgets: chicks and pullets of this famous heritage layer are inexpensive, the birds are notably hardy, and health spending on a well-kept flock is often nil. The costs that remain are the honest ones — a secure coop and run built before the flock arrives,…
A Pygmy goat's first year costs a moderate purchase price — registered show and breeding stock at the top, pet wethers at the friendly end — plus infrastructure that refuses to shrink just because the goat did: complete, climb-proof fencing, dry housing with a raised sleeping platform, and then genuinely small running…
A Plymouth Rock chicken's first year costs a moderate purchase price — chicks are inexpensive, point-of-lay pullets of this heritage dual-purpose breed cost more — and then the standard chicken budget at a slightly generous scale, because a Rock is a big bird with an appetite to match. The main lines are a secure coop…
A Pekin duck's first year is a study in contrasts: the ducklings are among the cheapest birds in poultry, yet a Pekin grows faster and heavier than almost any other duck, so feed becomes the dominant cost within weeks, alongside predator-proof housing, a bathing setup, and deep bedding for a bird who makes water-based…
A Muscovy duck's first year starts cheap — ducklings of this common breed cost little — and then spends its money on scale: a Muscovy drake grows into one of the largest domestic ducks, eats accordingly, needs housing and a run built for big, strong birds, and can fly well enough that fencing height or a wing-clip…
A Leghorn chicken's first year is among the cheapest in poultry: chicks and point-of-lay pullets of this classic laying breed cost little, and a Leghorn's light body and efficient laying mean her feed bill runs below heavier breeds. The money that does get spent goes where it always goes in chicken keeping — a secure…
A LaMancha goat's first year costs a moderate purchase price — registered dairy does from milking lines cost the most — plus the full standard goat budget: serious fencing, dry housing, a continuous hay bill, and, because this is a dairy breed, the concentrate ration and milking equipment that production requires if…
A Khaki Campbell duck's first year costs far more than the duck herself: day-old ducklings and started pullets of this laying breed are modestly priced, but the real spending is a predator-proof house and run, a water setup she can bathe in and dunk her head in, quality layer feed once she comes into lay, bedding, and…
A Gloucestershire Old Spots pig's first year starts with a higher purchase price than commoner breeds, because this is a rare breed with a limited pool of registered piglets, then settles into the classic pig-keeping costs: strong fencing, a solid ark, deep bedding, and a steady feed bill as a big-framed, unhurried…
A Boer goat's first year combines one of the higher purchase prices among goat breeds with the two costs goat keepers underestimate most: fencing strong and complete enough for a large, determined goat, and the quantity of forage and feed a fast-growing Boer eats on his way to full size. Add shelter, minerals, hoof…
Expect a Berkshire pig's first year to be dominated not by the piglet's purchase price but by setup and feed: secure fencing and housing built before he arrives, then a large, steady feed bill as a fast-growing Berkshire eats his way to full size, plus bedding, routine veterinary care, and equipment like troughs and…
Prepare a pig for fireworks night by settling the herd into its usual pen or hut well before dark, with deep straw to burrow into, feed given on the normal schedule, and pen fencing and gates checked for the weak points a startled pig can charge. Pigs tend to freeze, squeal, and bolt a short distance rather than run…
Prepare a horse for fireworks night by deciding early — based on his temperament and what he is used to — whether he is safer stabled or turned out, then making that place as injury-proof as possible before dark. Horses are hurt on fireworks night mainly by running through fences, colliding with field obstacles, and…
Prepare goats for fireworks night by securing the herd before dark in their most escape-proof pen or barn, with hay and water in place, fencing and gates checked for the gaps a startled goat will find in seconds. Goats panic athletically — they climb, leap, and squeeze — and a herd spooked at night tests boundaries it…
Prepare ducks for fireworks night by bringing the flock in before dusk and shutting them into their house for the night, with water deep enough for head-dipping and feed available, rather than leaving them out on the pond or run. Ducks startled in the open at night can scatter, fly fences they never challenge by day,…
Prepare a donkey for fireworks night by keeping his world exactly as he likes it: with his bonded companion, in his usual shelter or field, fed at the usual time, with fences and gates checked before dark. Donkeys react to noise thoughtfully rather than explosively, but a donkey alone is a donkey under real stress, so…
Prepare cattle for fireworks night by moving the herd well before dark into the most secure field you have — sound fences, shut gates, away from roads and bonfire sites — with water available and nothing new introduced. Cattle spook as a herd, and a herd that runs together can go through a weak fence that has held…
Chickens cope with fireworks night best when nothing about their evening changes except that it happens earlier: get the flock shut safely into the coop before dusk and before the first bangs, with feed and water inside, and check the coop is secure against panicked fluttering and opportunistic predators alike. Most…
A pig cannot sweat, so very hot weather is genuinely dangerous for him unless you provide his cooling system for him: shade over his resting area, drinking water he can reach all day, and a wallow — mud is how a pig cools himself and protects his skin from sunburn at the same time. A pig without a wallow will foul his…
A pig insulates with fat rather than hair, so in very cold weather he needs a draft-free shelter he can fill with deep straw and burrow into until only his back shows. Keep the bedding dry — damp straw loses its loft and its warmth — feed generously because a working gut and good condition carry a pig through cold,…
Help a horse through very hot weather with shade he can stand in all day, water that is clean and constantly available, salt in his diet so he replaces what sweating takes out, and work moved to the early morning or evening. A resting horse in heat should still be breathing steadily; rapid breathing that does not…
A horse copes with very cold weather mainly by eating: constant forage keeps hindgut fermentation producing heat, so keep hay in front of him around the clock in a snap, give him shelter from wind and rain, and keep water drinkable so he keeps eating. Rug by the individual — clipped, thin, elderly, or shivering horses…
Goats are among the better heat copers on the farm, yet very hot weather still calls for shade with air moving through it, clean water in several places, and feeding weighted toward the cooler evening. Goats pant and sweat modestly and will seek a breeze on their own; what catches them out is humid heat, shade that…
A goat copes with dry cold reasonably well under a fluffy winter coat, but wet cold defeats him — rain, damp bedding, and drafts chill goats faster than low temperatures alone. Give the herd a shelter that keeps rain off and wind out at goat height, deep dry bedding with a raised, dry lying area, constant hay to keep…
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