Mangelwurzels?

[weisemaries]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a Mangelwurzels? Do you put them out for the goats to eat fresh, or is this something you can save for winter?

[pookshollow]

Mangels, or mangel wurzels, are a type of beet grown for animal fodder. Since they are a root vegetable, they can be kept in storage and fed through the winter.

The Wurzels are (or were) a "folk" group from the seventies that did a lot of comic songs to do with Zummerset (Somerset), cider drinking and crumpet. Ooh arrh!

[madness]

I'd never heard manglewurzels! We tried the sheep on mangels and they turned their noses up at them. But they had been in storage and I wondered if maybe had just gotten too old.

[sherry in Maine]

kind of like giant turnips or beets or something . . .

[weisemaries]

Thanks for the info! Are they easy to grow?

[Alice In TX/MO]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangelwurzel

[TwosCompany]

I'm thinking of growing some too. I don't have the greenest thumb though....

[billooo2]

In the USA I think the more common trem is, "mangel." If you do some research on the internet, in Great Britain they seem to usually be called, "fodder beets." According to some sources they used to be commonly grown here in the USA, but when farm machinery became more mechanized, it was easier to use grains.

I was at a grazing conference a couple years ago. At lunch, I happened to sit across the table from one of the speakers. I asked him if he knew anything about using mangels with dairy goats. He replied, "I don't know about goats, but they use them a lot with diary cows in Europe. They shred then before they feed them. They have found that mangels increase BOTH production and butterfat!"

There are different varieties, the most common seems to be Mammoth Red, and they supposedly average 15-20 pounds/each.........and about 2/3 grows above ground.

[Alice In TX/MO]

http://sustainableseedco.com/Heirloom-Beet-Seeds

[Horse Fork Farm]

i remember reading somewhere that they cause sterility in your bucks that is not reversible???

[CraterCove]

This is really interesting. I am always looking for ways to contain the costs of my livestock to the labor I can put into them. Growing these Mangrel sounds like it could be made part of a larger growing your own stock food plan.

I'd like more input on the supposed buck sterilization worry, if anyone has info on it.

[Alice In TX/MO]

It's the seeds of the mangel, not the critters that eat it, that can be sterile. They had a problem with production of viable seed in the 1940s.

[Pony]

I grew some from Jung's this year, and I'm just tickled pink (or slightly magenta, if you consider the color of the mangel).

Chop off the tops, feed some fresh, dry the rest for later. Then, store the mangels for the upcoming Winter.

I chop them by hand, but you can use whatever method you want to chop them for your livestock. My goats eat them like there's no tomorrow!

Oh, and Johnny's Seeds has the best price for them:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.as...rchTerm=mangel

[Pony]

They show a great root chopper on Victorian Farm. I don't recall which episode, though.

[mekasmom]

I had never heard of them, but I love the name!
Turnips and pumpkins also make great fodder.

[Pony]

Originally Posted by mekasmom

I had never heard of them, but I love the name!
Turnips and pumpkins also make great fodder.

One of the archaeologists on Victorian Farm (Alex) has a Liverpudlian accent, and seems to also have a bit of a sinus problem. When he says, "Mangelwurzels" it sounds like "Mangowuzzles" - which we think is a GREAT name for them.

When I bring them out to the goaties, I call out, "Here comes your wuzzels!" and they get all excited.