BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

Speaking of "Breeding for production", I picked up my chicks from Ideal today - 15 Naked Necks and 10 New Hampshires.



I was originally going to get CXs this fall, but my waitlisted Naked Necks for Fall 2016 suddenly became available so I cancelled that order and went with this. The plan is to keep the best few for breeding (straight NN and NN/NH hybrids, for meat) and send the rest to freezer camp. All very healthy active chicks except one that seems to be blind and also have a neurologic issue of some sort. They have Nutridrench (so they have electrolytes), and I've been giving this one drops of Nutridrench water every hour or so - as "palliative care" of sorts, because I don't think she'll make it. She wants to be around the other chicks and stubbornly tries to follow them around by sound (she tracks to little groups making noise), and when she hits a brooder wall she sort of "feels" her way along the wall. She's happier in there with them, so I'll let her be for now... (If she survives, I'll toe punch her so I don't breed from her.)

- Ant Farm

 

[gjensen]

The idea that an animal will provide a lot for the soil, is the same animal that removes a lot. So to speak. An animal living on a lot of a land exclusively, and with no resources brought in, will have contributed equally once it dies and returns to the earth itself. There is no profit without investment. You have to bring a resource in from the outside in order to see a return.

To sum that up, a cow on pasture is only returning to the pasture what it has consumed. To return all of it back, it has to die on that land.

That does change when the forage is brought in, and they are fed. That is also contrary to any "sustainable" model.

A homestead like effort in the Sonoran and similar deserts is an interesting topic.

 

[cyborg]

 The idea that an animal will provide a lot for the soil, is the same animal that removes a lot. So to speak. An animal living on a lot of a land exclusively, and with no resources brought in, will have contributed equally once it dies and returns to the earth itself. There is no profit without investment. You have to bring a resource in from the outside in order to see a return.

 To sum that up, a cow on pasture is only returning to the pasture what it has consumed. To return all of it back, it has to die on that land.

 That does change when the forage is brought in, and they are fed. That is also contrary to any "sustainable" model.

 A homestead like effort in the Sonoran and similar deserts is an interesting topic.

It is pretty much a given around here that you will have to import feed for any livestock, the only other option is free ranging cattle on LOTS of land with few cattle. Even so, the ecosystem is pretty fragile, and the land is easily overgrazed.
Down the road from me about 5 miles, a man has several hundred acres. He keeps most of this in alfalfa and hay. He has about 40 acres along the Santa Cruz river that he runs about 100 Black Angus cattle on. Without the stock, this would normally be fairly green ground, but the cattle have eaten everything down to bare dirt.
About 4 months ago, his hay barn caught fire, and he lost an entire years crop. He was forced to sell all the cattle. Everyone's noses are thankful. This plot of land is coming back now, better than it was, with all the added organics.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

he's now pondering having a cow or two. We only have five acres of mostly sterile dirt and lots of rock...but he's positively enchanted by the idea of home-grown beef, and he'd like a bison even more. If he keeps going down this path we're probably going to have to relocate from the arid lands of southern AZ to someplace a bit more lush and conducive to being grass farmers.

5 acres of "sterile dirt and lots of rocks" won't get you much beef or bison but you could have more red meat than you ever wanted with muscovy ducks. They don't need much water, since they're a different species than other ducks. They make red meat. I have heard it tastes much like beef and can be eaten as a steak.

Look, this is muscovy meat:



Looks a lot like beef, doesn't it?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

5 acres of "sterile dirt and lots of rocks" won't get you much beef or bison but you could have more red meat than you ever wanted with muscovy ducks. They don't need much water, since they're a different species than other ducks. They make red meat. I have heard it tastes much like beef and can be eaten as a steak.

Look, this is muscovy meat:



Looks a lot like beef, doesn't it?

Aaaaaaand THAT's why I'm already planning to get chocolate muscovies next spring...

- Ant Farm

 

[gjensen]

It is pretty much a given around here that you will have to import feed for any livestock, the only other option is free ranging cattle on LOTS of land with few cattle. Even so, the ecosystem is pretty fragile, and the land is easily overgrazed.
Down the road from me about 5 miles, a man has several hundred acres. He keeps most of this in alfalfa and hay. He has about 40 acres along the Santa Cruz river that he runs about 100 Black Angus cattle on. Without the stock, this would normally be fairly green ground, but the cattle have eaten everything down to bare dirt.
About 4 months ago, his hay barn caught fire, and he lost an entire years crop. He was forced to sell all the cattle. Everyone's noses are thankful. This plot of land is coming back now, better than it was, with all the added organics.

I used to make a trip out there every year. It hurt my feelings to see the over grazing in the Chihuahuan Desert. There was a large contrast between what was and was not. A beautiful place and a beautiful part of the country.

The Sonoran desert, and especially around Tucson is amazing.

I considered moving out that way permanently, but I did not. I did miss the humid southeast if I was gone too long. My heart is in the low country of SC. In particular the coastal sea islands. It is truly God's country.

I long for the desert though. The rocks under my feet. The big skies. The coming rain in the desert has a smell all of it's own. I love it there. It is a magical place, and I treasure my memories climbing around in the sky islands. My health may not let me do as I did do, but it would be nice to visit anyways.
I miss searching talus slides for Twin Spotted Rattlesnakes, or Rock outcrops for the Rock Rattlesnakes. Boulder fields for the Speckled Rattlesnake, and Arroyos for Black Tails. I miss the Tarantulas and Diamondbacks crossing the roads at night. The Coyotes, and Mountain Lions. I miss the Scorpions, and the Gila Monster.
I love the high desert of northern Arizona. The Native American history, the Grand Canyon. The Painted desert. I miss the Trans Pecos Valley, and the Organ and Franklin mountains. I would stop here on the way in and out. Something about that place resonated with me.

Maybe one day. I might have to place some Carlos Nakai (sp?) tonight.

I want to make it clear, I am not against grazing when done responsibly. There are places that I wish were left alone.

 

[gjensen]

The soil out there is not all bad. It is improve the structure, add water, and nitrogen. In many ways, it is better than what we have here. That is certain.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Maybe one day. I might have to place some Carlos Nakai (sp?) tonight.

Oh I love Carlos Nakai. I like to put Mythic Dreamer on repeat/loop...

- Ant Farm

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

The soil out there is not all bad. It is improve the structure, add water, and nitrogen. In many ways, it is better than what we have here. That is certain.

STRONGLY recommend the book "Growing food in a hotter drier land" by Gary Nabhan, who has a farm on the edge of the Sonoran desert. Describes a lot of land management techniques (including those 1000+ years old) that fit that setting, but are also somewhat cross applicable for me here in South Texas...

- Ant Farm

 

[Mini Meat]

This is an interesting TED Talk by Allen Savory

About animals and their relationship to the land.