Are any of you going to try putting up hay the way Ken says the Croatin's do. I thought a tarp hung in our goat barn would be great. What do you think? We are growing millet now (anyone else use millet?)

-- Lynn (johnnypfc@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001

Answers

Lynn- I have been thinking of growing millet but could not find any seed locally this year. When I was a kid my father used to plant it as a winter cover crop in the pasture, but that's all I know about it. I wanted to grow just a small patch of it to supply my chickens. What kind do you grow? Where do you get the seed? How large an area do you have planted in millet? I guess it is a warm-weather plant if you are growing it now? How do you harvest/process/store/feed it? Okay, I'll stop- but I appreciate any info you can supply. Thanks.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), June 09, 2001.

Yes, I was told it is a summer crop, we live in NC. We planted about 3 acres and all I know is the bag said pearled millet. We have never harvested it and are not sure what we will do. I guess cut it down by hand. Did you read Ken's trip on going to Crotia to do a heritage study (I think if memory serves me). It was posted in the last couple of weeks and probably is not far down in the posting. I can find out if the local guy does mail order if you are interested, but he will not be open till Monday. Let me know!

-- Lynn (johnnypfc@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001.

Lynn:

The hay would need to breath as it cured. Putting it on a tarp may cause the bottom of the pile to rot. Alojz put his on poles crosswise on what use to be the pig sty. It would settle and his rule of thumb was if the hay pile reached the ceiling (about 7') at the start of winter he would have enough to see the rabbits through it. Remember it was a bit often, not a lot at once.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), June 09, 2001.

We bought our millet seed from Shumway...broadcast by hand and cut it with a scythe and piled it bit by bit in a corner of the barn. The chickens LOVED it and I used it all winter long as bedding in their coop and they scratch all the seed out. If you are going to use it for goat hay, you cut it after the seed heads have just formed and before they start to dry. Dry it like you would hay and you can bale it or put it up loose.

-- diane (gardiacaprine@yahoo.com), June 10, 2001.

Well, I plan to plant millet this year, mostly as an experiment. I have pet birds who will be glad to try any of the seed heads in the milky stage as well as if they get mature enough to be dry (depends on when I manage to get the garden done!). I plan to use the bird seed I've got. I buy it in various sizes, from 1-10 lbs. at a time. I have white proso millet, yellow millet (this is the kind that is usually sold in sprays in pet stores), red millet, and brown Japanese millet. Also have some "mega-millet" and canary grass seed that I may try.

I got my seeds (which I mix and feed to the birds) from Hornbecks (bird supplies): http://hornbecks.com/catalog-sections-foods- hornbeck-s-basic-seeds.html The seed prices are fairly cheap, about $0.85 for a pound BUT then there is shipping. Probably only cost effective if you're buying a number of items at the same time.

You know, you probably could just get a good birdseed mix and sprinkle that out, if you don't mind that your various seeds will be mixed together. A basic parakeet seed would probably be good to try.

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), June 10, 2001.

I used to raise millet for my cockatiel in window boxes and would use seed remnents from the pet store feed box of millet.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), June 10, 2001.