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This is only "self sufficient" in the sense of I am trying to fix it myself and I know some of you out there Know Things about this type subject so I would love to hear any advice. I am Not An Athlete, to put it mildly (digging postholes, yes; running, no!) and could stand to lose another 15...

And here I thought you were offering to do it for me *twice* LOL I'd be more enthusiastic about it myself if I didn't have ample horse and chicken compost already, and if it didn't have so much straw in it as to be a matted-together semi-structural mess that's awful hard to disassemble with a...

That is certainly true but note that this is not getting sick from chicken diseases passed to humans -- it is getting sick from the environment the chickens are kept in. (Dander, mold, dust, ammonia, etc) The only substantial health risk to humans in terms of diseases passed from chickens is...

It's been too long since I lost any toenails to remember with accuracy, but I toasted a thumbnail a couple years ago and it was about 6-7 months to come fully back. As others have said, the early part is the worst. The more you can stand to leave it exposed to air (between epsom salts soaks, if...

I think there are a lot of good ideas in his books (especially the older one -- the new edition is a bit *extra*-too "Mel Bartholomew-y" for me and kind of gives me hives LOL) and I have used a lot of them. I do not however do strict Square Foot Gardening in the quasi-religious way that he...

Val, I too don't use stalls, my horse manure pile consists entirely of shed cleanings which is probably 96% pure manure (just a wee bit of waste hay mixed in sometimes), but it composts rapidly and beautifully. Perhaps it's b/c it's all wintertime stuff when the horses are eating *lots* of hay...

The cheapest and most land-efficient thing, BY FAR, is to find someone with livestock who would like regular Poo Removal. Seriously. Empty feedbags (which, coincidentally, people with livestock ALSO tend to have more of than they need :)) are good for shovelling stuff into, except for...

Well, what if you duct-tape an instant-read thermometer to a stick? Pat

I don't recall seeing any evidence-based suggestions that graining cattle has anything to do with mad cow disease? OTOH a grain-heavy diet in cattle IS implicated in the overgrowth of pathogenic E coli strains and other "food poisoning type" bacteria, resulting in both a) more antibiotic use...

Honestly I've always used the "poke a stick in to start a hole, then stuff your arm in there and see how hot it is" method. You're looking for temperatures hotter than you can comfortably hold your hand in for more than a second or two. If you want numbers, get an instant-read kitchen...

Horses in the wild do eat some grain (i.e. the mature seedheads of grasses -- that is what grain *is*), just not nearly as much as most show horses do and not, of course, all year round. Plenty of people *don't* feed their horses grain; but OTOH if a horse is in really heavy work it is not...

Those hawk silhouette things are supposed to work pretty well. Better if you put them on the outside of the window than if you put them on the inside, but supposedly they still work 'somewhat' even if they're on the inside. The spiderweb decals are also supposed to work for songbirds but I...

It only affects horses, AFAIK. There have always been neurological strains of rhino (EHV), and periodically there are outbreaks spread by show barns and so forth, and some horses die, and then the outbreak is over, and life returns to normal until next time. This is something to be aware of...

I thought you considered bacon to be more along the lines of "oxygen and water" than a mere food group, OFG :) Kala, that's what my kids have practically every weekday morning for breakfast, too (minus the lettuce usually) Pat

OFG, I totally love your food groups -- "dairy, chocolate, and whatever" :lol: Pat

Have not tried it myself (is easier for males than females, and husband is uncooperative LOL) but I know enough people who HAVE tried it. Some say it seems to make a difference, others say no difference. I'd say you can try but should not pin too many hopes on it. But, if you do try it, let us...

Have you seen Elliott Coleman's book "Four Season Harvest" (I think that is the right one) -- he talks about using low tunnels or coldframes INSIDE high tunnels to get a great deal more nighttime warmth than you would otherwise, with no expenditure at all on Active heating. Worth checking out...

For hot summer "I am just NOT going to cook" evenings, I like a big bowl of coleslaw (can have multiple veggies in it, not just cabbage/carrots) plus a couple large handfuls of nuts. I do not know whether that'd be to everyone's tastes though :P Or something out of the freezer that I've cooked...

I don't want to deal with the insurance company, this is less than our deductable (we have the highest deductable you can pick, whatever that is, I forget) and I really don't want to do anything to raise our premiums. I suppose I could call the police and see if they think we should file a...

I thought I *did* have all the valuables (such as they are :P) elsewhere... who knew that people'd steal a fencer and a set of tires??? (well, perhaps some of you knew that, but I sure didn't til now!) I believe we may start storing the tires in the basement, and contemplate a lock for the...