Just curious who else is living super frugal

[MamaRoo]

Quote: Just got this from my farm group:

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Profitable-Poultry

 

[ScottnLydia]

yep, here we cross breed with dorpor also; i had many lambs from what we call baladi /dorper... here, anyting that comes from the 'old timers' or from the arab villages or from home grown style is called baladi: we have balaladi chickens, baladi goats, baladi cucumbers (a very sweet variety but needs lots of space and water) , not sure how to describe to an american what baladi means (its actually arabic term not hebrew) but i guess 'homegrown', 'old style' are the two best terms.
anyhow, baladi are usually all purpose animals or veggies that may not be wonderful producers or fast growers but are usually hardier, easier (throw them down/out and they fend for themselves with a bit of help) and in my opinioin tastier then more speciallized breeds or varieties of things. nowadays, baladi anyhthing costs twice as mucha s it has become a gourmet term: lamb baladi, etc...

I didn't know that Dorpers were popular that far North. All I knew is that they were developed in South Africa for their varied climate conditions by crossing Persian Blackheaded sheep with Dorsets (I think), and that some were exported to the US. I really love their rapid growth, easy care (no shearing, resistance to parasites, etc.) and ability to thrive in our climate (up to 107 in summer, below 0 in winter) and able to get fat on 'weeds'. Their flavor is sublime!

There has been a lot of talk here about "landrace" stock, crossbreeds that are adapted to local conditions. Sounds similar to your "baladi" concept, just not as much tradition. We are also using the word "heirloom" a lot for something handed down, but not necessarily 'low care'.

Raising sheep for me is very interesting here in the middle of 'cattle country'. I have to special-order certain items from the feed store, and people look at me like I've got lobsters crawling out of my nose when I tell them I'd rather eat lamb than beef (and I would)!

 

[Spifflove]

Well I gave up cable TV and movies but I pay more for a smart phone.

I gave up eating out and Starbucks but pay more for organic food.

I gave up my gas guzzler for a hybrid but I buy $50 in chicken feed a week.

Now I am supposed to come up with $20k a year for healthcare?

Being frugal sure is expensive.

 

[erinszoo]

Quote: Sounds good to me! We have a couple of grape vines but just for making jelly out of. Some years we get enough for a batch of raisins too but Oklahoma isn't exactly known for grape growing. Our winters get too cold and our summers too hot. Isn't it great being able to produce shop in your own yard? I haven't bought lettuce at a store in so long. This year we are adding to our rain barrel set up and looking at adding a storage tank in our cellar for gathering that rare rain water we get to help out on water costs. We'll see how that goes.

 

[DennisK]

yep, here we cross breed with dorpor also; i had many lambs from what we call baladi /dorper... here, anyting that comes from the 'old timers' or from the arab villages or from home grown style is called baladi: we have balaladi chickens, baladi goats, baladi cucumbers (a very sweet variety but needs lots of space and water) , not sure how to describe to an american what baladi means (its actually arabic term not hebrew) but i guess 'homegrown', 'old style' are the two best terms.
anyhow, baladi are usually all purpose animals or veggies that may not be wonderful producers or fast growers but are usually hardier, easier (throw them down/out and they fend for themselves with a bit of help) and in my opinioin tastier then more speciallized breeds or varieties of things. nowadays, baladi anyhthing costs twice as mucha s it has become a gourmet term: lamb baladi, etc...

I was reading an article in Mother Earth’s News (this Feb/March issue) which is about, what they termed, “Landrace” sheep. From what I understand, it is kind of like baladi in that the breed of the sheep is developed to whatever environment they are living in. The author of this article claims he does not interact much with the sheep; so those that survive produce offspring more acclimated to that particular environment. It is an interesting idea, but I need to find a breed to start with. I do know I want to start with hair sheep.

 

[DennisK]

I have always been warned not to eat too many eggs – indeed, to eat only egg whites. This is because eggs are supposed to increase your cholesterol levels. Because I am not one to waste a good source of protein, and because we have an abundance of eggs this year, my diet has included a lot of eggs. So it was with some trepidation that I visited my doctor to review my lab report. I just got the results yesterday only to find my cholesterol levels to be in pretty good shape – 125. Go figure!

 

[mickey328]

There's a lot of conflicting information out there, Dennis. The latest I've seen is that eggs are NOT the big bugaboo they've been touted to be vis a vis cholesterol...neither is butter for that matter. Plus the fact that these are natural, unrefined, unprocessed foods goes a long way...our bodies know what to do with the stuff in them, unlike say...hydrogenated vegetable oil...our systems get a taste of that and ask whisky tango foxtrot

 

[Spifflove]

I have always been warned not to eat too many eggs – indeed, to eat only egg whites. This is because eggs are supposed to increase your cholesterol levels. Because I am not one to waste a good source of protein, and because we have an abundance of eggs this year, my diet has included a lot of eggs. So it was with some trepidation that I visited my doctor to review my lab report. I just got the results yesterday only to find my cholesterol levels to be in pretty good shape – 125. Go figure!

I just stopped eating the yellows. Since my most productive layers are ducks and they are high in cholesterol. But I learned that although my dog wont eat chicken eggs, he will eat duck yellows!

Its a win win

 

[mickey328]

I recently tried a little experiment: I put a 5 gallon bucket in each of our showers with strict instructions that when running the water to warm and when lathering, to direct the spray into the bucket. I was totally amazed...it averages 2 gallons of perfectly clean, unused water goes down the drain per shower! With 4 people in the house, that adds up very quickly! I use the water for the starts and houseplants and dump the excess into a barrel outside. It's rumored we'll have water restrictions this summer and I don't want my garden to suffer for it. Rough calculations indicate we save a minimum of 25 gallons a week. I keep a jug beside the kitchen sink as well...for the same purpose. Plus I often think twice about whether I really need hot water to wash my hands...if they're greasy and really icky, then hot water is called for, so I catch the run off in the jug. But often, a rinse in cool water will work just fine. Took some doing to not reach automatically for the hot water tap, but think I've got it now I just know there were a LOT of times when I shut it off just about the time it was about to get warm...so all that water we paid to heat was now sitting in the pipes between the water heater and the kitchen sink, just cooling off.

 

[ScottnLydia]

I was reading an article in Mother Earth’s News (this Feb/March issue) which is about, what they termed, “Landrace” sheep. From what I understand, it is kind of like baladi in that the breed of the sheep is developed to whatever environment they are living in. The author of this article claims he does not interact much with the sheep; so those that survive produce offspring more acclimated to that particular environment. It is an interesting idea, but I need to find a breed to start with. I do know I want to start with hair sheep.

I read that too. I was a little confused by the way he described his Katahdins, he said his lambs were born weak and wobbly, took hours to get up,or something like that. Mine are standing right away, walking in minutes and running, if need be, in hours. He also wanted horns for handles. I've had both. Not a bad point.

Katahdins are great, Dorpers are excellent, crosses work wonderfully. Google images of Dorpers and you'll see why I like the way they are muscled!

They don't need much care, but 'palling around' with them is fun! He has a commercial herd, I just have a personal one. We're all buds. It's all what you want.

P.S. I had forgotten to mention that, with regards to your concern for cholesterol, a Texas A+M study found hair sheep meat (specifically Katahdin) had about half the cholesterol of chicken or turkey! My grass-fed carcasses have very little fat on them, yet always cook up moist and tender! I think it's some kind of magic.