Recent content by FarmerRob

Instead of hardware cloth I use 2" x 4" woven wire laid out flat on the ground and connected (wired) to the base of the coop and run fencing. I covered that wire with a little dirt, and when doggies or other diggers try tunneling they quickly run into a barrier that cannot deal with. I also...

I have tried the cornmeal, however, it works best if you use a stone-ground cornmeal. They cannot digest it and it will kill all the ones who eat it. The workers carry food to the queen so it should kill off the colony eventually. My favorite non-chemical approach is a dose of DE...

Shock collar with a long range remote. Highlands has a good post about how he used one to train a dog anyone else would have thought untrainable. I don't remember if it is on this forum or on his farm blog. If you can't find it here Google Sugar mountain farm blog and you will find it...

ARE YOU SERIOUS????? What diseases did the racoon have? What vile germs were in it's mouth? Did it have rabies? I am sure someone will come along here and say that it is OK if you just cook it enough, however, I do not think I could ever cook it enough to make me feel safe eating that or...

Lots of Ventilation--just so long as they can avoid being in a draft or getting soaked. Clean dry air. Ammonia doesn't just smell bad it will make your chickens sick and kill them if it gets too concentrated.

I agree completely with hempeckedmuch. Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation is the key to keeping the chicks healthy. Only time you need to worry about heat lamps is when you are brooding baby chicks. Once they are fully feathered they are insulated. Check out Robert Plamondon at...

Does that "tight coop and run" include a generous amount of electric offsets? If not then I think you are missing the most important component in making your coop and run into Fort Knox for poultry. I recommend an energizer of at least 6 joules released (BTW "joules released" is the only...

Try Muscovie ducks (but don't eat the eggs, the birds are just too delicious to was by eating it as an egg;) and Jumbo Ringneck pheasants. For eggs I would stick to something like a Golden Comet chickens or a Khaki Campbell ducks--they will give you excellent production. When they have...

Quote: If they are weaned piglets they should not need a heat lamp but they will need LOTS of clean hay to snuggle under--they will pile up together and sleep warmly. A three-sided shelter should work nicely, just make sure it has its open side away from the prevailing wind and is deep enough...

I suggest a killing cone mounted to an outside barn wall or to a tree. You can get a good deal on one from e-bay--they are MUCH more expensive from the poultry supply companies/hatcheries...

The tub style pluckers can do quail etc but they use slightly softer rubber fingers than the standard. They also use a greater number of those fingers. The tub set up for quail will also do the chickens and turkeys.

Food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is the BEST way to deal with roaches, as well as all other creatures with an exoskeleton. No chemicals or poisons are needed. DE is safe to use around your home, your children, your livestock, and your pets. You can read all about it at this link...

Welcome!!! What kind of ducks and geese do you breed? If you are able to post some pictures of your birds or your farm I am sure everyone here would be interested to see your lovely country place.

If it were me I would rest them a couple of days then vacuum seal and freeze. Then do a slow thaw in the refrigerator the day before you want to cook it/them.

Here is a link to how Walter (Sugar Mountain Farm) retrained his toughest case. Great story. http://flashweb.com/blog/2006/03/killer-kita-training-the-untrainable.html