Anyone living off the land?

[newbie32]

I found an article from the University of Arizona about fruit and nut trees. Very interesting. I definitely need to get a few nut trees. Here is the link http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1269/

 

[LBejaran]

Sooo I want to talk about dwarf goats if anyone has any. How many quarts do you get from 1? how often? Do they cost a lot to feed? Male goat to female ratio, ect ect

I may be wrong, but I think a lot of people keep their males separated from their females. It prevents the milk from being contaminated and also allows for you to choose when you breed your goats. Also, some people just rent out a male goat for breeding. It's a little less worrisome and more cost effective. You don't have to feed him (you just want him for his bod, hahaha!).

I'm not sure about dwarf goats but I know that there is a certain breed of dairy goat that produces about a gallon per day. I'd have to look it up. Even if it produced 1/2 a gallon per day, that's a lot of milk!

Edit: Nigerian Dwarf goats can produce as little as a few cups of milk per day to about 2 quarts. Some people find that, due to the work it takes to milk the small teats of the dwarf goat, it's easier just to have a larger goat.

 

[galanie]

I've been told that yes, having an intact male with the females makes the milk taste horrid. If there are breeders anywhere around, it might be worth it just to have females and then just have them bred when you want them to be.

 

[newbie32]

So I will just get the one male and let him roam by himself. I plan to have 2 grazing sections that I will rotate them in. I will just keep the male in one while keeping the females in the other. The Pygmy dwarf goats usually produce 1 to 2 quarts a day. The trick-I read-is to milk them twice a day. I realize it will be harder because of small teat but I like sweet milk and dwarf goats have naturally sweet milk

If for some reason I do end up getting very small amounts of milk then I will get a standard size. The other purpose of not doing standard size is that dwarfs take up way less space.

 

[newbie32]

Update: My bean experiment has failed

. So on to plan B- I will now throw the beans outside and splash them with water. I might splash them a few times a week for 2 weeks. If I have growth then experiment worked. If no growth then I will need to actually plant them and I will tell my friend that she had magical beans LOL

 

[galanie]

Update: My bean experiment has failed . So on to plan B- I will now throw the beans outside and splash them with water. I might splash them a few times a week for 2 weeks. If I have growth then experiment worked. If no growth then I will need to actually plant them and I will tell my friend that she had magical beans LOL

 

[Baymule]

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on backyardherds.com they have a very active goat forum that you would enjoy.

 

[newbie32]

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on backyardherds.com they have a very active goat forum that you would enjoy.

oh yes I found it the other day, thank you! I just kinda wanted to talk about everything as far as homesteading on here. I did find another homesteading thread after I created this one.

OH UPDATE: I might be getting a few acres in Montana!!!! Hubbys mom owns land that she inherited-its all native trust land. Anyways, she said today that we can have a few acres. We don't know how far from any town it is, or if it has water or electric. She has only seen the land once but she said she will be going soon to look.

Any ideas on how to get things started for an affordable house and electric?

 

[Baymule]

Depending on what natural resources are on the land; rocks, timber, etc. will determine what you could use to start a home. Here are some ideas.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/index.htm

http://www.daycreek.com/

http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/wood/cordwood.htm

http://www.byoh.com/

I would start with a camp trailer, build a sturdy barn, floor in part of it and move in. Then start building my home out of whatever materials I deemed it prudent to do so with. Getting it dried in with a good roof would have to be accomplished in short order, as if you only did part, weather, rain, snow, ice would ruin what you had built. You could even use old tires, called earthship homes. Some of them get ridiculous in price as they are suddenly fashionable.

 

[newbie32]

okay let me check out these links

I checked them out. One doesn't work but the rest are great! Thank you very much!