Guava Foraging

Many of the common wild guava trees are dropping fruit. In fact, they've been going off for a couple of weeks now. The sweeter guavas that I'm intentionally growing are just starting to produce on the homestead. I have one with a white interior, and another that's pink, both nice flavored. These are the ones we save for ourselves. The wild ones don't taste too nice and are sour. They go to feed the livestock. 

Some years are better for guavas than others. This year is one of those abundant years. I have 3 tree patches that I visit on my way home from town, plus I have 2 friends that save me the guavas that fall near by their homes. This gives me plenty of fruits for the livestock to enjoy. Right now I'm getting between 6 and 10 gallons of fruits a day. That's a lot, but the animals eagerly consume them all. 

The sheep, goats, and donkey will eat them fresh right out of the bucket. The pigs prefer them mashed or broken up, mixed with cooked cracked corn (oats or barley is acceptable too) or dog kibble, and a few blenderized papayas or pineapple skins mixed in. The chickens eat them mashed and mixed in with their regular slop. I've had other people tell me that their animals won't touch them. I suppose mine have been so accustomed to Mom's Famous Slop & Glop that they are willing to eat all sorts of weird stuff mixed in it. Good thing because those guavas help extend their food supply.