This Is A First For Me

[jacksun]

Granted, some do, but some of the Amish around us seem to be lacking that skill. Our land is heavily infested with coccidia due to the previous Amish owner refusing to use wormers on his stock. I know this because we ran sheep with his and both his and our sheep died from coccidia while under his care and grazing on our property. We wound up giving him our remaining sheep and had one necropsied. It was so heavily infested with worms that there was no saving it even if it had lived. All the land around us owned by Amish is overgrazed, including the timber which is heavily damaged by cattle being grazed in it. Some of the Amish around us have kennels and raise dogs. My heart breaks for these animals because I see the pens that they are being kept in. The 8th grade education isn't teaching them proper animal husbandry or land stewardship.That is coming from generational knowledge passed down from father to son.

We have estimated that we found the remains of at least 10,000 dollars worth of
dead livestock on our property when we took possession of it. Mostly cattle and sheep remains with a few goats.

The Amish operate strictly on tradition and on the Ordung of their particular community. They do what their Bishop tells them to do or what they had passed down to them. Breaking from the Ordung is strictly prohibited.

We wound up getting information from the local county extension on how to successfully raise sheep and gave it to him. He wound up selling his flock of parasite resistant Katadin sheep which are parasite resistant anyway for another flock of Katadin's. It's like DUH! He didn't want to use medications or chemicals on his sheep to save them and keep them healthy even though they were dropping like flies from heavy parasite load. Sorry. That is animal cruelty in my thinking.

Don't get me wrong. Our Amish are good neighbors and we frequent their businesses regularly. I admire their dedication to community and their faith is inspiring. I just think if that if what I've seen is a masters in farming, they need to go to a different school.

Agreed there are a few bad apples all over. I know of an ag teacher with a masters. went to his farm counted 14 dead calves and cows. I told him that was bad He said he ran out of hay and said oh well they were insured.

 

[microchick]

Jacksun. That is just plain sad.

 

[lazy gardener]

Incredible. Yes, you can't paint any group of people with a broad brush.

 

[Spartan22]

The Amish may only have a 8th grade education in our world But they have a masters in farming. Because they live it.

I totally agree! I deal with a lot of them w/ my work here in Ohio, most of them have masters in practical living (lots of common sense). Some are brilliant, I can put them side by side with college educated person. Quite a few of them are excellent successful business people, that work hard doesn't flaunt of their wealth (some are millionaires) employing hundreds of people, yet living very simple life. I do have biz degree and taking my masters, yet I've learned so much more about their financial disciplines and not being in debt.

Taking all that into account will I feed my chickens hog food? Maybe not, until I know exactly it's content which may vary from feed to feeds.

 

[microchick]

After living in the middle of an Amish community for 7 years now, I'm beginning to see that communities vary from community to community the same way neighborhoods vary in non Amish communities. You have your upper class neighborhoods, your middle class neighborhoods and your lower class areas. You can travel two roads over from the rural area where we live and the Amish farms look 100% different. They are immaculately clean and orderly, picture postcard pretty. Many of the Amish farms around us look like Fred Sanford's back yards. 2/3rds of the non Amish population around us refuse to have any dealings with them reporting incidents of trespassing, unauthorized hunting and petty theft mostly done by young Amish that they have caught in the act. Sad really.

I'm not a stranger to their way of life. My father was Pennsylvania Dutch born and raised in the heart of Pennsylvania. I grew up hearing him talk to us using Pennsylvania Dutch phrases and language. He farmed with teams from the time he was 7 years old and was an accomplished horseman. He was not Amish but he lived that type of life and often spoke of the farms being super clean and orderly to the point that you 'could eat off of the floors'. I can remember my mother, who was a neat freak, telling me that they made her feel like a slob.

What happened to some of the Amish around us is unknown to me. We know there was trouble in the community with a Bishop and about half of the population moved out.

We are not all cut from the same cloth. That being said, I think y'all can understand why I am leery about feeding my pampered flock Amish mixed hog feed.