Becoming Self Suffincient

[philyaw539]

Hi everyone! I wanted to start this thread for people like me who wanna become more Self Sufficient. Right now I have a small garden with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Orange Flesh Watermelons, and Bell Peppers! I just planted some Contender Garden Beans behind one of my chicken coops to see what they will do! I have 60+ chickens/bantams, 4 Ducks, 21 Bobwhite Quail, and I'm hoping to start a good business out of these and the several different breeds I have. I have a Little Giant Still Air Incubator with an Automatic Turner that I hatch chicks in and I also try to sell Eating Eggs/Hatching Eggs! I want to make a raised bed for beans and buy some Red Wigglers from Wal-Mart plus potting soil to start a little place for beans! Feel free to share ideas/pictures and what you are doing at your Homestead!

 

[Chasitity]

How do you like the quail? We are thinking of getting some. At our home we have maggot buckets we hang from outdoor cages for extra protein for the chickens. It sounds gross, but the girls love it. I am all about saving money where I can, without compromising health or happiness.

 

[philyaw539]

I like the Quail! They won't start laying until next spring though! They have attracted wild Quail though and it's pretty cool hearing them calling back and forth! Their really EASY to take care of! How does the maggot bucket work?

 

[RichnSteph]

We're thinking of quail as well but will need to see where we are with the rest of our additions/upgrades to the house and land before we take on anything else. We don't have maggots but I do have a composter full of Black Soldier Fly larvae that are going to be feeding our flock of meat birds and layers.

 

[Chasitity]

I like the Quail! They won't start laying until next spring though! They have attracted wild Quail though and it's pretty cool hearing them calling back and forth! Their really EASY to take care of! How does the maggot bucket work?

You take a bucket with a lid (we use kitty litter buckets), drill holes in the top, then drill smaller holes in the bottom. In the bucket put rank food such as rotten meat close lid. Put a rope through the bucket handle and raise bucket up on tree branch or beam. We have a beam on our outdoor cages. The flies love this and enter through larger top holes leaving maggots behind which burrow out of the smaller holes and drop below to the chickens.

 

[philyaw539]

You take a bucket with a lid (we use kitty litter buckets), drill holes in the top, then drill smaller holes in the bottom.  In the bucket put rank food such as rotten meat close lid.  Put a rope through the bucket handle and raise bucket up on tree branch or beam. We have a beam on our outdoor cages.   The flies love this and enter through larger top holes leaving maggots behind which burrow out of the smaller holes and drop below to the chickens. 

That's a neat idea!

 

[philyaw539]

We're thinking of quail as well but will need to see where we are with the rest of our additions/upgrades to the house and land before we take on anything else. We don't have maggots but I do have a composter full of Black Soldier Fly larvae that are going to be feeding our flock of meat birds and layers.

Quail are really interesting birds and they whistle a little song all day and sing to each other! I also need to make upgrades and get everything I have now sorted out before I add anything new! I'm really wanting to add a breeding flock of Seramas! I have one little Serama rooster I hatched from an egg, I will post a picture of him in a little while! Their really friendly and extremely tiny and easy to take care of!