An apocolypse herd/flock

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I would veer away from dual-purpose chickens or anything else that relied on grain for survival because grain is not an easy thing grow here, and in an "apocolypse situation" shipping it in would not be an option.

I would go with a light, cold hardy foraging breed of chicken known more for egg production and survivability. Maybe even some bantams thrown in to breed with the flock and encourage broodies.

I would winter two pairs or trios of rabbits to make summer time meat rabbits.

I would probably try a small herd of goats for milk and meat, but I don't know that I could really get them to thrive here without the supplements and grains shipped up.

I would not keep a cow, I would not keep a pig. Their feed requirements would be too great to overwinter even a pair for breeding stock. I would probably go with grabbing up some caribou babies in the spring and domesticating them for milk, meat, pack and plow and go back to being a reindeer herder.

Other than that, it would be all about hunter/gatherer mode, and just keep my fingers crossed that in a sticky spot when the grocery stores close, most would opt for getting out of dodge and leaving Alaska instead of decimating the wildlife populations.

 

[kingsfarm]

Calicocallie - Lemans sells permanent canning lids and rings...Lemans catalog on line...hope this helps...G
Chickens - game hens - look up this breed, light,free rangers, egg layers, broody (I have one setting now) also have Buff Orps - RIRs these are great as long as you have feed .. I heard Barred Rock are the other type chickens for Louisiana weather...can anyone else comment from Louisiana?

 

[Lifesong Farm]

I olnly got through page 6.
I would have to add meat goats and fiber goats in with my dairy goats. They taste good and can eat almost any plants. I would also add a couple more of my Spanish Mustangs. Those horses are loyal (have protected me and my goats), eat little and eat things that have made other horses sick. My chickens and rabbits would stay. Not sure if I would add cows and pigs or not.
Ig already have my heirloom fruit trees in the ground and I have my nut trees planted. Only thing I think we would need are canning supplies, finish the garden and 100 acres for my friends to start a fenced comunity where we all work together.(I have 2 friends who are good with the herbal treatments)

 

[PhoenixAngel429]

This is actually an interesting topic. Where I live we can handle this kind of farming thing. I would get some mules to help plow. My finacee had a bad experiance trying to tame a stallion he bought. I told him he shouldn't get that horse, Maybe now he'll listen to me.

I would also keep goats, dairy and such. I plan to also have gunieas and turkeys.

 

[LMiller49]

Quote:
I have calvary line Arabian horses. Those horses were the ultimate survival animals. they were fed dates, milk, grasshoppers, and some stories even say meat. They went days without water, and even longer without food. They survived scorching days and freezing nights. I have seen my horses eat things that would kill most horses. My old mare has coliced and survived three times without medicine to help her.

They are also extremely loyal, stunningly smart, and very durable. My old mare saved my skin a couple of times, will ditch anyone she doesn't know who tries to jump on her, is very gentle around children, and is extremely calm and patient.Just don't get those flighty thin boned over bred show lines. get the thick bone sturdy calvary lines. Best horses i've ever had and won't get any other again.

In a pinch, I hear horse meat is very tasty.

And which bloodlines are these?

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I have calvary line Arabian horses. Those horses were the ultimate survival animals. they were fed dates, milk, grasshoppers, and some stories even say meat. They went days without water, and even longer without food. They survived scorching days and freezing nights. I have seen my horses eat things that would kill most horses. My old mare has coliced and survived three times without medicine to help her.

They are also extremely loyal, stunningly smart, and very durable. My old mare saved my skin a couple of times, will ditch anyone she doesn't know who tries to jump on her, is very gentle around children, and is extremely calm and patient.Just don't get those flighty thin boned over bred show lines. get the thick bone sturdy calvary lines. Best horses i've ever had and won't get any other again.

In a pinch, I hear horse meat is very tasty.

And which bloodlines are these?

She is a polish calvary line, but if you can get your hands on the old foundation bloodlines, which I don't know if they even exist anymore since I know very little about bloodlines, I would suspect they would be far hardier for self sufficiency and forage than many show bred horses.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

Quote:
And which bloodlines are these?

She is a polish calvary line, but if you can get your hands on the old foundation bloodlines, which I don't know if they even exist anymore since I know very little about bloodlines, I would suspect they would be far hardier for self sufficiency and forage than many show bred horses.

If you can't get your hands on any of them I would look into the Colonial Spanish Mustangs. These old Indian ponies are hardy creatures. They haven't changed much since they washed up on our shores.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
She is a polish calvary line, but if you can get your hands on the old foundation bloodlines, which I don't know if they even exist anymore since I know very little about bloodlines, I would suspect they would be far hardier for self sufficiency and forage than many show bred horses.

If you can't get your hands on any of them I would look into the Colonial Spanish Mustangs. These old Indian ponies are hardy creatures. They haven't changed much since they washed up on our shores.

I've considered it but I wouldn't know where to look for good mustangs. I Love the Arabian loyalty and personality, but it is hard to find the old hardy lines of Arabians.. I lucked out with sammy. I ended up with her, the two of us were both wild and scared and damaged from abuse and formed a strong bond that, from what I understand isn't uncommon with Arabians and their owners. I have had her for over 15 years now and still marvel at her. Other horses have come and gone, but Sammy has always stayed.

 

[GarlicEater]

This thread is full of win

That's fascinating about how to raise rabbits, just dig in fencing 30" deep around a large area, let 'em dig their housing, feed 'em. Really cool idea.

I need to "rehome" my geese, but in exchange I need to learn about sheep and get a couple-few of the buggers. Our neighbor keeps his sheep on his side of the fence after April 1, so we need something to graze stuff down after that time and sheep are excellent. Keep broadleaf stuff down, keep elm seedlings under control, acacia seedlings, etc., and are not too hard to feed through the dry season. And they nip the grass not root it out by the roots. And, lamb is delicious!

For transport, a human on a bicycle can't carry as much as a horse and wagon, but a 30-mile trip with 100lbs or a bit more is do-able in half a day. The bicycle boom of the 1880s-90s is fascinating to read about. It took vulcanized rubber, good steel, and modern bearings to give us the bicycle. As long as we have these things, we can have bikes to ride. It's funny, where I live there's car, bike, and horse traffic and everyone seems to get along pretty well.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
She is a polish calvary line, but if you can get your hands on the old foundation bloodlines, which I don't know if they even exist anymore since I know very little about bloodlines, I would suspect they would be far hardier for self sufficiency and forage than many show bred horses.

If you can't get your hands on any of them I would look into the Colonial Spanish Mustangs. These old Indian ponies are hardy creatures. They haven't changed much since they washed up on our shores.

Many of the old Spanish Mustangs have Andalusian dna in them. its been documented. Very hard feet rarely need trimming and surprisingly the foundation arabians are very similar both bloolines I believe are short one vertibre. Shorter backs better stamina. Intelligent horses by slective breeding.... One by nature one by Ancient breeding regimes.

Intelligent horses and Mules for that matter take an educated hand in training to get the most out of them. Definately not for novice people. And often times they bond to one human... their human.