Pigs, you will get no disagreement from me that they are very hard on fences. If they want to be elsewhere they usually can manage to do so either by brute force or by intelligence [smart as dogs!]. The Old Ram said that he thought they were getting into his property through holes made by wombats or roos. Since he was the man on the spot and he didnt mention that he thought the pigs were busting his fence I took his thoughts to be correct. He also didnt mention why they might prefer his land to other land. [Probably they liked his improved paddocks] My thought was that if his fences were tight they might bypass his land for easier targets. ~gd
ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.
- Thread starter The Old Ram-Australia
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dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
I would be starting with a few sheep and trying to get local customers for our extra lambs. Selling to "locals" would be first choice, since the nearest auction/markets are a long drive. Gas costs could easily eat a fair chunk of the market income.
If some of the buyers for the ethnic populations wanted to pick up at the farm - that would be very welcome.
Having woolies is a priority for me, as some of my ss goals will need my own wool supply.
Hair breeds are getting popular for the lamb/mutton sales.
If some of the buyers for the ethnic populations wanted to pick up at the farm - that would be very welcome.
Having woolies is a priority for me, as some of my ss goals will need my own wool supply.
Hair breeds are getting popular for the lamb/mutton sales.
Neko-chan
Lovin' The Homestead
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Neko-chan
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The Old Ram-Australia
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G'day Gang,welcome to another batch of aimless "meanderings"................In a recent post I spoke about "ghosts" who visit.~gd has advised that they are known as "lurkers".This term to me is most "offensive",it is neither friendly ,welcoming or in any way "nice",so to all of you who take the trouble to visit I will refer to as "my ghosts".(my journal,my rules")
Thursday: The usual ,up in the dark,blah,blah ,blah.
Friday: First thing was to go into town and pick-up the Fox Baits.40 chook heads all packed up nicely,ready and waiting, on the way back from town I called in to let a few more of the neighbors know that we would be "baiting" our place on Sat.The reason for the delay was that we had 36mm(1&1/2ins) of rain yesterday and I wanted it to dry out a bit.Checked the ewe's and topped up their "mix containers",took the dogs for a run and took some pic's for the journal.Moved a water trough up to where the ewe's are now as the pigs have meant I have had to change the paddock they were to lamb in.
Q & A:..I note with interest that you all managed to "amuse" yourselves,but I will try to clear up "some" of the confusion that I have caused.......Our feral pigs are not unlike the European Wild Boar,just as "nasty" when confronted and capable of doing you serious damage.The main point of entry was on a drainage line,it was a slight depression under the standard 7 strand barbed/plain wire fence.They have two methods of "breaching " a fence ,they charge and hit it at high speed ,breaking one or more wire strands or as in this case they put there snout under the bottom wire and "force" it up and just "push" through(BTW they are more than capable of lifting a steel star post out of the ground).~GD's comment that our improved pastures were a lure is most likely right,as they had come through "rough" bush to get to our place.On the subject of the repair,there is lots of grass seed in the paddock ,the problem is that where they have churned it up badly we really need to rake it all flat first ,but we are unwilling to start until we know they have been taken care of.
DL: From memory its your aim to have quite a few sheep,the question I would pose is,"how many fleeces can you sell or use l a year?"Straight Bred Meat Sheep,command a premium over those of the Dual Purpose Breeds.Off farm sales are another premium ,but you may have to kill,gut and skin these sales.
N C: It has been our experience that Wombats just "dig" under when confronted by a fence that they cannot just pass through.Although we did note with interest that when the Pigs came to one of our "new fences"(there is a picture in an earlier post)the design is a sufficient deterrent and they merely followed it until they came to one of the older fence types(to upgrade all of our fences is not feasible at this time due to the cost,remember we have "miles" of boundary and internal fencing).
~GD: I had a look at the CRP Program and its like you said its mainly environmental now,but it seems to me that depending on your State,you may be able to derive some income by participating in one or more of their programs(If it was me I would certainly explore it).
Well gang,I think that has me caught up for now,here are some of the pic's from today.
shows the lack of damage to the underlying grasses,due to the spraying of the Scotch Thistle
pasture damage
pasture damage
point of entry,top center,bare patch in front of tree.
Hope you all enjoyed your visit(friends and ghosts alike),til we chat again regards.T.O.R..................................
Thursday: The usual ,up in the dark,blah,blah ,blah.
Friday: First thing was to go into town and pick-up the Fox Baits.40 chook heads all packed up nicely,ready and waiting, on the way back from town I called in to let a few more of the neighbors know that we would be "baiting" our place on Sat.The reason for the delay was that we had 36mm(1&1/2ins) of rain yesterday and I wanted it to dry out a bit.Checked the ewe's and topped up their "mix containers",took the dogs for a run and took some pic's for the journal.Moved a water trough up to where the ewe's are now as the pigs have meant I have had to change the paddock they were to lamb in.
Q & A:..I note with interest that you all managed to "amuse" yourselves,but I will try to clear up "some" of the confusion that I have caused.......Our feral pigs are not unlike the European Wild Boar,just as "nasty" when confronted and capable of doing you serious damage.The main point of entry was on a drainage line,it was a slight depression under the standard 7 strand barbed/plain wire fence.They have two methods of "breaching " a fence ,they charge and hit it at high speed ,breaking one or more wire strands or as in this case they put there snout under the bottom wire and "force" it up and just "push" through(BTW they are more than capable of lifting a steel star post out of the ground).~GD's comment that our improved pastures were a lure is most likely right,as they had come through "rough" bush to get to our place.On the subject of the repair,there is lots of grass seed in the paddock ,the problem is that where they have churned it up badly we really need to rake it all flat first ,but we are unwilling to start until we know they have been taken care of.
DL: From memory its your aim to have quite a few sheep,the question I would pose is,"how many fleeces can you sell or use l a year?"Straight Bred Meat Sheep,command a premium over those of the Dual Purpose Breeds.Off farm sales are another premium ,but you may have to kill,gut and skin these sales.
N C: It has been our experience that Wombats just "dig" under when confronted by a fence that they cannot just pass through.Although we did note with interest that when the Pigs came to one of our "new fences"(there is a picture in an earlier post)the design is a sufficient deterrent and they merely followed it until they came to one of the older fence types(to upgrade all of our fences is not feasible at this time due to the cost,remember we have "miles" of boundary and internal fencing).
~GD: I had a look at the CRP Program and its like you said its mainly environmental now,but it seems to me that depending on your State,you may be able to derive some income by participating in one or more of their programs(If it was me I would certainly explore it).
Well gang,I think that has me caught up for now,here are some of the pic's from today.
Hope you all enjoyed your visit(friends and ghosts alike),til we chat again regards.T.O.R..................................
Gday Ram, as you said your journal, your rules [YJ, YR] I did not coin the term I just reported it.
Since hogs are omnivores is there any chance of them eating those special chook heads?
CRP program while there were some environmental elements to my original place [one all season watercourse and some wet lands] they will be destroyed by the highway construction. However I may look into it, you can never know what the government might do.
~gd
Since hogs are omnivores is there any chance of them eating those special chook heads?
CRP program while there were some environmental elements to my original place [one all season watercourse and some wet lands] they will be destroyed by the highway construction. However I may look into it, you can never know what the government might do.
~gd
Neko-chan
Lovin' The Homestead
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The Old Ram-Australia
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G'day,Well ~GD you have "paid your rent",that is a TOP idea,Jenny found a few "dead lambs and we will pick them up after lunch and fix a bait inside and leave them near where they were digging last time ,many thanks,...T.O.R.........................................
I remembered that a study I had read about research in New Zealand showed that Dogs, Cats, and Pigs were the non targeted animals most likely to be killed. Evidently both in NZ and the empty spaces of SW Australia this bait is dropped by air because of lack of people to bait from the ground.~gd
