Jess172 journal: I want to do it all!

[Jess172]

X2 on the bacon! We already have the deep freeze full of venison, turkey, rabbit, and catfish that we get off the property throughout the year. We eat about two deer a year and anything extra we have we give to my parents next door. They already said when I get ready to raise a cow or pig they want to go in on half the cost of it so they would get meat from it to. I think between all of us there wouldn't be any waste. We have our own meat processing room that we do all our deer in and I would save a lot of money doing it ourselves. We got a friend who process their own livestock so we could learn from them. I still have lots to research before I get to that point though. First things first: this years main focus is raising chickens and ducks and trying to get something in the garden to grow

 

[Jess172]

Well the geese came back today. Swam a little bit in the pond then walked around the property checking everything out. Looking for a good spot to make a nest maybe? Then later on there was a great blue heron standing by the pond. That's the most bird activity I've seen on the pond since we moved here. Word must be getting around in the bird community that we are friendly folks

 

[Denim Deb]

Now you need to get an osprey and a bald eagle.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Way cool! Maybe they will hang around for awhile!

 

[Jess172]

Now you need to get an osprey and a bald eagle.

Lol nah I wouldn't wanna fight them for my chickens. I'm already going to have trouble with the coyotes. Atleast I can get after those with my shotgun.

 

[Jess172]

Way cool! Maybe they will hang around for awhile!

I hope so. They're fun to watch.

 

[Denim Deb]

See, now I'd rather have the eagle and the osprey than the geese! Osprey are fish eaters, and while eagles will eat chickens, they don't normally if other food is available. Whereas the geese will poop all over the place, increase in numbers and make water unusable for other things because of bacteria. We have a big problem in this area w/resident Canada geese.

 

[Jess172]

I think there's too many hunters around here for them to be a problem in my area. I have fears of having a protected species making its home on my property. If they become a problem, there is nothing you can do about it. Although to be fair a bald eagle would be much less trouble than say bats in the attic. I've just heard way too many stories of people getting protected bats in the attic and having to leave them there while they destroy their house. And maybe I just worry too much.

 

[Denim Deb]

That's a big difference between here and there. Around here, there's too many people that don't want anything to be hunted. So as a result, in some areas, certain animals can become a real nuisance-including black bear.

 

[Jess172]

Oh I'm so glad we don't have bears in my area. Supposedly there has been one seen on some trail cams in the next county over but it's not been confirmed. Yes, everyone hunts everything where I live. It's one reason I'm getting Rouen ducks instead of mallards. They wouldn't make it through hunting season.