ideas for cutting expenses

[Patty A]

In what ways have you found to help cut expenses for your pets and livestock?

A couple of things we have been doing is grooming and Vet what we can on our own.

We are always on the look out for better deals on hay and grain. The prices seem to go up each time we visit the fed store for grain or seed of anykind. I can't seem to find a better way for grain.....

I refuse to buy cheap dog food (and have LOTS of dogs! our own plus we care for two that belong to other family members), but I do watch for coupons and try hard to find them to use with each purchase.

We stockpile hay for the winter, and make sure we have plenty on hay to take us through until summer and the next cuttings. But there has to be a better way of cutting cost on many of these things.

We gather leaves in the fall as a treat for our goats, they love them in the winter and will fight for the old dry leaves. We also toss in some veggies that they enjoy, but not to many as it can lead to stomach problems. We hand cut weeds and grass......

We toss veggies and fruits to the chickens and they free range in the summer time.

The house birds get special seed that is ordered out of California, shipping costs are bad but by buying bulk I really save on the good seed instead of the yucky stuff they have here at the store. (It even smells BAD!)

What have you tried? Have you found substitutions that have helped you?
Do any of you make your own treats? or your own dog food?
If you have any ideas, please share.......

[larabelle]

I make my own dog food: lots of veggies, chicken, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken liver. My dog loves it and he is really healthy and I think it is cheaper in the long run due to no need for veterarian visits for miscellaneous illnesses.

[staciah]

Petco has vaccine clinic and they are alot cheaper than vet visits because you don't have the appointment fee's. It usually costs me $100 for vaccines at Petco and it used to cost me $200 or more at the vet.

Look for county vaccine clinics are your local SPCA: Rabies clinics are usually free.

[sueh]

I make my own dog food: lots of veggies, chicken, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken liver. My dog loves it and he is really healthy and I think it is cheaper in the long run due to no need for veterarian visits for miscellaneous illnesses.

thanks for the tip. My family will be adding to our family in the next few months.
Can you tell me how you go about making your dog food?


Thanks
Sue

[homesteadmamma]

We plan on making our own dog food this coming year.

We've cut back a bit on her food seeing as it's too cold for her to go for her long walk that she does most of the year. She is a pom.

We do all our own grooming. Dd never misses a day.

With our cat, we purchase no name clumping litter which we found to be just as good as the more expensive litter. Our cat also stays inside, so picks up no illnesses from other animals or garbage.

[nvmommyx6]

One thing you can do to cut on livestock expenses is pick a patch and grow your own mix. Here it is oats, grass' and alfalfa. I wont be needing it for my horses anymore but my Mom will be buying it for her goats!!

[rainbowgc]

I found this to save on frontline: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Month-Supply-Frontline-Plus-Sizes/dp/B0011TPA9U/ref=pd_bbs_12?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1229875076&sr=8-12"]Amazon.com: 8 Month Supply Frontline Plus Kit for Cats of All Sizes 3 6 12: Home & Garden[/ame]

It is a kit to use to split up the larger packs of Frontline for smaller animals.
Also I use our local pet clinic for check ups and shots.

[brook]

I have found Hay (alfalfa) Replacer Pellets for goats is less waste then alfalfa (we don't have rounds only bales here). I use a hog feeder to put the pellets in, the goats have to nuzzle the lids up, take a bite and back away to chew.

I also find that cubes are cheaper to feed and can be ordered by the ton in a huge bag on a pallet. Usually I have a min. of 2 tons fore delivery. A bit more of a pain to haul out to the goats because they are square and don't want to cooperate like round feed does! LOL!

I have a cement mixer which I use to mix my own feed, Corn, Oats, Barley (COB) or Wheat or what ever grain. Ordering a ton of any the above mentioned runs about $250-$300 a ton and that is far cheaper then buying a bag at a time. I am not concerned about the grain bugs since they are there no matter what.. by the bag or ton. I find a shovel of this and that and the concrete mixer dies a nice job of blending for me.

When I had a small dairy it was necessary to blend my own feed, adding soya pellets, Black Oiled Sunflower Seeds (BOSS), beet shreds, COB

Feeding dairy goats is a bit different feed then feeding meat goats, each require a bit different formulation.

Chickens.. free range and scraps.. and what ever the goats missed.

Rabbits, I used a commercial pelleted mix

Dogs, RAW feeding not sure this is the place to get into this. I also pressure or slow cook for days.. bones until soft and smashed up into nothing. Any bones not able to do this I remove from the broth they create and throw away, adding any grain.. wheat? oats? and vegetables, left over or otherwise. I always add pumpkin for fiber and helps keep the dog regular. I also feed dry, a multi vitamin and we are good to go..my dogs are kind of big.

When I had doves and pegoins, I purchased a commercial mix for them.

I realized that I needed to sell enough animals each year to pay for the feed for my foundation herds, flocks, and gaggles.

[brook]

I do all my own vet work. the only thing in california I can't do is rabies. Then I go to the clinics.. keep the dogs in the truck and have the vet tech come out and do them all.

Since I also have a problem with mosquitos, I also use heart worm prevention. Having goats sure makes it easy to have what I need on hand for the dogs, using ivermec injectable orally for them.

Yeast infections are not a stranger to my dogs with their long floppy ears and swimming! silly dogs. I keep a supply of tea tree oil for that problem. I use tea tree oil on me when needed since it is an antibacterial and antifungal.

I am not recommending anyone else use what I do.. just making conversation as to what I use. Only a vet can recommend medical and I am clearly not a vet nor do I play one on TV (darn it!) lol!

[madhen]

I rotate my goats/donkeys, so that they can eat fresh grass/brush in one field until they have knocked it down, while another field is being allowed to replenish and go to seed. I have four fields for them now, and I'm thinking about doing some more cross-fencing in order to make a total of six.

My chickens are free-range, although I do supplement their diet with commercial feed and multi-vitamins/calcium supplements.

I raw feed the dogs.

My parrots/finches are just flat out spoiled. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate their feathers into jewelry, which will at least help them earn their keep, rather than be the lazy little moochers they are right now.

[Laura2]

Dogs and Cat - I always buy cat and dog food with coupons and only buy it for $0.33/lb or less. Also, I sign up for free samples or free bags of food and mix it in with their regular to stretch it. Currently they are not eating what I would like them to be eating ideally. But right now this is all that I can afford. I hope to start buying better food when we are in a better place financially. I buy flea medication in bulk. They only get their vaccinations from the local SPCA clinic which I have found to be much cheaper than going to the vet.

Hamsters - I make their food mixture with what I have on hand: cereal, dog food, bird seed, oatmeal, pasta, dog biscuits... Toys are paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls.

[Patty A]

Madhen, I have used the feathers from Keets, African grays, Quakers, Cockatiels, and Love Birds to do indian dream catcher ear rings. The little feathers work great for them and the feathers look awesome on them.

I also blow the eggs from the geese and paint them. The painted eggs sitting in a basket looks great at Easter time. I have tried the small eggs form the little birds, but man they are so fragile! But they do look nest as a center piece for Easter time.

There is also painted feathers, for those that CAN paint.
http://www.paintedfeather.com/Feathers.htm