Homesteading

[mjmjr25]

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.

It's a 40 acre plot, divided into 5 / 5 / 10 / 20. So, our side of the private road has 20 and they abut each other, yes. We are the middle 5 acre plot of the 3 plots.

[samsonlonghair]

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.

It's a 40 acre plot, divided into 5 / 5 / 10 / 20. So, our side of the private road has 20 and they abut each other, yes. We are the middle 5 acre plot of the 3 plots.

Ah, so you couldn't keep livestock there. I understand.

You mentioned a quarter acre septic mound. I'll admit my ignorance here. I don't know much about septic systems. Can you keep livestock there, or is the septic mound toxic to them?

[fastbilly1]

You mentioned a quarter acre septic mound. I'll admit my ignorance here. I don't know much about septic systems. Can you keep livestock there, or is the septic mound toxic to them?

They would probably be ok around the tank. But based on how much he paid for it, I would not risk it.

[s1mplehumar]

lol @ homesteading on a gaming forum.

Gardening is fun and rewarding, but it's not keeping us alive (yet?) It's not often I agree with Dave....but I kinda do this time around.

[mjmjr25]

You mentioned a quarter acre septic mound. I'll admit my ignorance here. I don't know much about septic systems. Can you keep livestock there, or is the septic mound toxic to them?

They would probably be ok around the tank. But based on how much he paid for it, I would not risk it.

Correct, sadly this (septic) is mostly unusable land. Can't be used for gardening or livestock...or play, really.

It isn't from being toxic at all - in fact it is incredibly fertile and wildflowers of all sorts grow with reckless abandon. The issue isn't the tank either - the tank itself is a 10,000+ pound concrete behemoth beneath 8' of earth. The issue is the mound itself. Because of the type of soil we have and the size of our family; our mound is 30' across and 120' long - it would make an excellent sledding hill or area for livestock to graze...however, it is filled with a piping dispersal system which must be kept weed and ice free. Walking on it in winter (human or animal) creates a layer of ice on top of the mound which freezes deeper than the pipelines and blocks them from dispersing out the sewage. Whereas, a blanket of snow actually provides insulation and keeps the ground from freezing to the pipeline. Many folks put deer fencing around their mound as the deer from just walking across a few dozen times is enough to create that top coat of ice and then the sewage backs up into the house before you know it...we are lucky in that we at least were able to put it in a location that it looks like a natural hill, and not just some random mound septic system.

[jp1]

lol @ homesteading on a gaming forum.

Gardening is fun and rewarding, but it's not keeping us alive (yet?) It's not often I agree with Dave....but I kinda do this time around.

Gardening isn't keeping you alive? Wait, farming is gardening right? I still don't get the problem with the homesteading topic. We have everything else here, why not discuss this?

I do know what you meant to say, but I think that there are some folks who do live off of their gardens and livestock. It certainly isn't outside the realm of possibility.

[s1mplehumar]

lol @ homesteading on a gaming forum.

Gardening is fun and rewarding, but it's not keeping us alive (yet?) It's not often I agree with Dave....but I kinda do this time around.

I do know what you meant to say, but I think that there are some folks who do live off of their gardens and livestock. It certainly isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Sure they do, just not on racketboy. I kid! I'm just picking apart a topic that seems like something that is better lived than talked about on a forum. Here's my contribution to the topic.

[Forlorn Drifter]

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.

You pretty much have it down here. I would say its incorrect to say that wool sheep taste worse than meat sheep, because taste isn't affected by breed. An angus cow tastes no different than a longhorn. The difference comes in fat content and age, but I'm not too up on how all that changes with sheep, other than they need much less fat content than most animals, and that most find mutton to be unappealing. I can get into what breeds of sheep would be best for what if anyone would like, but I'm not going to put it here.

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.

I don't know about 3 weeks, but they will go feral fast. Its a sight to behold. A domestic hog isn't nearly as hairy, nor does it have the tusks of a feral hog. When a domestic hog goes feral, it will grow hair and teeth like nobody's business. They also get more aggressive and aggravated when they go feral. I've never understood the tusks and hair growing though- maybe it is a hormonal thing? I'm not really sure.

[dsheinem]

I SHIT Y'ALL NOT

I am currently sitting next to this super hipster couple at a brewery. The topic of conversation? Buying some land that can be fenced in for chickens and ducks, flying kites, and basement hydroponics.

[jp1]

I SHIT Y'ALL NOT

I am currently sitting next to this super hipster couple at a brewery. The topic of conversation? Buying some land that can be fenced in for chickens and ducks, flying kites, and basement hydroponics.

You are at the same brewery Dave. A hipster brewery.