How do you use your space?

[gettinaclue]

Me,

I have heard and considered milky spore but from my understanding, it takes a year or two for enough of it to build up in your soil to make much of a difference, and it's also very costly for us since our yard is pretty big.

An old coworker highly recommended it, had nothing but good things to say. But I can't hang with the price tag.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[freemotion]

Free.... Why did you say you yogurt was "not for human consumption?" Is t a liability thing?

yup

 

[freemotion]

gettinaclue, do an online search on chicken tractors. There are so many designs out there, just because one specific one was too heavy to move, does not mean they all are too heavy. They come in every shape and size and material.

I built my first coop out of 4 sheets of plywood and a few 2x4's, it was simply a box that is 4' wide x 8' long x 4' high. It is a struggle for dh and I to move it, but it is not meant to be a tractor. It is meant to be movable, though, if I change my mind about it's location or use. I use it for young birds when they move out of the house but too young to join the flock, still needing hawk protection. I use deer netting on top of the smallish pen I built around it with t-posts, also easily relocated. I did learn to take the deer netting down each time, when snow shredded it for me the first winter.

I may use it as a buckling shelter if needed one day, will have to improve and enlarge the fence.....or move it to the big pasture and section off an end of it.

You could always milk one of your fiber goats. You wouldn't get as much, but it is still something. DH doesn't have to drink it, but you could make a little feta, some yogurt, and maybe goat's milk soap to sell. Pay for that feed!

I posted a picture of my mini-tractor, I will look for the link. I actually use it to till my gardens in the spring. eta: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1662

After 15 years, my dh is finally trusting me, that my projects will usually benefit us and not be too costly if I am mistaken. I always do tons of research and talk to people and if possible, visit and observe, too. He is kinda used to me pulling into the driveway with an animal in a dog crate in the back seat of my little Hyandai! Somehow, even when I tell him in advanced, he still manages to be startled by the actual appearance of the critters. "I didn't think you were serious!" Goofball!

 

[gettinaclue]

Thank you Freemotion! You have been sooo helpful!!!

But I do want to ask...

Where do I go to read up more on this Bayer thing? Just google it?

 

[freemotion]

Yes, google it....someone posted a link to a great article yesterday on another thread, so you could search for that, too. Can't remember where I saw it, but I followed the link and it was a good article.

 

[reinbeau]

I'm gonna get me a chicken coop next year but I'm just agonizing over where to put it. We also want turkeys and hubby has always wanted some ducks so we'll get some of those as well. The goal is to butcher them and eat 'em.YUMMY

Have you ever seen this Chicken Moat style of run and coop? I truly wish I'd seen it before I built what I did - it's adequate, but this is truly marvelous, and you've got the space! Just a suggestion...

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

I'm gonna get me a chicken coop next year but I'm just agonizing over where to put it. We also want turkeys and hubby has always wanted some ducks so we'll get some of those as well. The goal is to butcher them and eat 'em.YUMMY

Have you ever seen this Chicken Moat style of run and coop? I truly wish I'd seen it before I built what I did - it's adequate, but this is truly marvelous, and you've got the space! Just a suggestion...

I love that idea! I think I will do that since we are starting to fence everything in and let my broilers have the moat and a small pasture!

 

[gettinaclue]

Reinbeau,

Thank you for that link! That is a fabulous idea!

I love MEN...let me spell that out...I love Mother Earth News but had never seen that. :bun

 

[Dixiedoodle]

We own 100 acres and lease another 70 for hunting. We actually 'use' a small amount of the property. I have an orchard with 10 apples, 4 peach, 2 fig, 8 blue berry, 2 plum, 5 pear, rows of black, dew, raspberries, 2 cherry, pomegranate, persimmons and a small vineyard w/ muscadines.

I have always thought that these plants can/could be planted in a 'yard'--just replace: the foundation plants with the blueberries, shade trees with the pear and apples, specimen trees with the cherry and plum, let the brambles grow on a fence and use the grapes as a cover for the back porch. Put strawberries, herbs in hanging planters or in large pots. Sprinkle veggies thru out the landscape plantings and you can have a huge var. of veggies at your backdoor.. Almost every home has an 'outbuilding' that with modifications, could be used for a few hens.

You don't really need big--just think 'outside the box'.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

We have roughly 7 acres (give or take) and 2 acres of that has the house, the garden, 100+ chickens, 2 pear trees, 8 blue berry bushes, and the goat/calf shed. Then we have another .5 acre of pasture for goats/calves that we are currently working on expanding so we should have about 4 acres fenced for pasture when we are done. Then we have .5 acres of trees and another .5 acres (roughly) we are going to be growing hay on.