As I look out the window at the lawn covered in leaves, and think about how I am going to keep my goats dry this winter, it occurs to me I might be able to solve both problems in one sitting.  Despite the fact that we have placed a huge amount of straw down for the goats’ bedding, they are still making it wet.  Buying more straw will only result in spending more money on wet bedding, and we are running out of places to put the dried leaves picked up out of the yard.

So today we will try an experiment, and use some of the dried leaves we pick up to pad the bedding in both the goat and chicken houses.  This would be a bad idea if the leaves were not completely dry, so if you try it on your farm, make sure you start with completely dry bedding materials.  Leaves are not the only homemade bedding you can use.  Sawdust from cutting your winter’s wood is a great bedding option for chicken houses.

One of the things I like best about small farming is being able to use my creativity to reuse items we produce here and save money, while still ensuring my animals are healthy and well cared for.  Dried leaves that are going to break down anyway make an excellent bedding material, plus the goats and chickens will have fun playing in and chewing on them.

What are some creative methods you implement to cut costs on your farm?