Homesteading

[nullPointer]

I'll spare everyone the derailment of bringing it all back up again, but I explained myself clearly (and with some links) a few pages back. If you want to know more, take a look there.

Ah yes, thanks Dave. I had seen some of your other posts referencing the issue, but somehow missed the main one. Sorry about that.

[Hazerd]

Homesteading... just going to leave this here, cause this is my thought of this topic.



*runs and hides*

[AppleQueso]

so homesteading = a dating sim with farming minigames?

[MrPopo]

And I've watched goats and hogs both repeatedly bash their head into things for no reason, along with people. I think that's just a personal quirk.

I've watched small children do the same thing.

[marurun]

Now, we are looking at something else - another type of animal that can be raised on our property, but it must meet some minimum criteria:

1. It can't be predatory (toward humans of course, but also the chicks, as they free range).
2. It can't be damaging to the property (ie, no goats)
3. It must be content to live in an 1/4 acre space, perhaps 1/2 acre if we needed to
4. Ideally does not require heat or lights (this can be done, but is additional investment we'd ideally avoid - we get to -50 windchill every winter, there will be an insulated enclosure, so probably -10 is the worst they experience)

We're looking for meat or fur, either or both. My wife is an accomplished knitter, quilter, and spins her own fabric. Best ideas for us?

There may be some varieties of goats that are not problematic, though goats are social as well, so you'd need a couple of them. Ostrich, maybe?

[samsonlonghair]

Now, we are looking at something else - another type of animal that can be raised on our property, but it must meet some minimum criteria:

1. It can't be predatory (toward humans of course, but also the chicks, as they free range).
2. It can't be damaging to the property (ie, no goats)
3. It must be content to live in an 1/4 acre space, perhaps 1/2 acre if we needed to
4. Ideally does not require heat or lights (this can be done, but is additional investment we'd ideally avoid - we get to -50 windchill every winter, there will be an insulated enclosure, so probably -10 is the worst they experience)

We're looking for meat or fur, either or both. My wife is an accomplished knitter, quilter, and spins her own fabric. Best ideas for us?

There may be some varieties of goats that are not problematic, though goats are social as well, so you'd need a couple of them. Ostrich, maybe?

Ostriches are not appropriate for children. They are big, mean, territorial birds. Their ancestors were dinosaurs, and they know it.

1Alpacas are a possibility

We have 5 acres, but 3.5 is wooded, 1/2 an acre is the garage and playground, 1/4 an acre is garden, 1/4 acre is mound septic area (massive), so we are left with about 1/2 an acre of useable land. We had considered alpacas, but the startup cost is/was considerable more than many other similar animals - particularly knowing we'd want at least 2 and probably 3 as they need companionship (being herd animals). When we looked a few years ago males were $1,500 and females were $3,000-10,000...looking now the market has really come down. Will run the idea by the boss again...

Based on your criteria and your space, I would say sheep. There are many different types of sheep, as forlorn mentioned, and different breeds have different temperaments. Also, some sheep are bred for meat, some for wool, but I don't know of any who are good for both. Usually Wool sheep taste awful, and meat sheep produce poor wool. Hey Forlorn, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here. I take it you know sheep better than I.

Let's talk about destructive animals for a moment. You mentioned goats as an example of a destructive animal. True, my first goat was rather destructive, but that was my own fault for poorly mismanaging my goat. Now that I'm better at managing goats, I would say that they can actually improve the land. Let me explain. When we moved in to our last home, the land was completely overgrown with Virginia creeper, kudzu, and other destructive plants. There were parts of the back yard I could hardly even access. After staking the goat out there, we were able to clear the land of unwanted thorns, thistles, vines, and other problematic plants. Now the back yard looks twice as large. As a bonus, the goats are fertilizer factories. So now, the soil is much richer too. Consider goats if you have any underbrush that needs to be cleared.

If there's one farm animal that seems most destructive to me, that would be the pig. I've never had a pig (I hear they are rather sweet tempered creatures) because I can see what a terrible mess they make. Even if there's only a single pig, that one animal seems to tear up the ground and foul up the land. Maybe this is another case of humans mismanaging the animal, but they always seem destructive to me. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

[fastbilly1]

If there's one farm animal that seems most destructive to me, that would be the pig. I've never had a pig (I hear they are rather sweet tempered creatures) because I can see what a terrible mess they make. Even if there's only a single pig, that one animal seems to tear up the ground and foul up the land. Maybe this is another case of humans mismanaging the animal, but they always seem destructive to me. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

One pig can be managed like a large dog, Ive done this a few times. However, if you leave it alone too long it will go feral - as little as three weeks. If you have multiples, it becomes much more difficult.

Now that I think about it, why cant you fence wooded area?

[samsonlonghair]

One pig can be managed like a large dog, Ive done this a few times. However, if you leave it alone too long it will go feral - as little as three weeks. If you have multiples, it becomes much more difficult.

Wow. Feral in only three weeks? I had never heard that before. I have heard that a domesticated pig can produce wild pig offspring who can, in turn, produce wild boar offspring. So you can go from completely domesticated pig to wild boar in the span of only three generations. I did not know that the domesticated pig can go feral in only three weeks. Most domesticated animals need humans to survive. I guess no one ever told the pig that.

Now that I think about it, why cant you fence wooded area?

I think that's a good point. Wooded areas can be fenced in. Hey Mjmjr25, is your three and a half wooded acres adjacent to more woods, or is it stand alone? If it's adjacent to more woods with wild animals, I can understand why you wouldn't want to keep livestock there.

If underbrush is an issue in your wooded area, you already know what solution I'm going to suggest.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I used to live on a 200-acre family-owned farm but have since moved... Down the street.

I'll likely plant some crops once the snow melts and get back into canning and pickling. But that's about the extent of it.

[fastbilly1]

Wow. Feral in only three weeks? I had never heard that before.

It is what I have always been told. I have never tested it because wild hogs are terrifying. The beginning of Princess Mononoke got it right - run and shoot them in the eye.