BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[colburg]

Quote:
No worries. The 1:1 cow:acreage just comes from what I'm seeing in the orchard this year. Which also has to do with a larger than normal amount of irrigation water and better rains this year. 20 is on the light side because they'll also need hay in the winter when I pull them out of the orchard in late fall. We could probably run upwards of 40 head this year, but that would exceed the current winter hay budget and would turn the pasture(3 acres) into a large pile of poop. The 200 chickens is merely a guess. We have 50 layers free ranging the entire orchard right now and I know that's not nearly enough. They would also have to share the pasture for about 2 months in the late fall until we finish harvest. I want to work some meaties(or just our male White Rocks) into that rotation as well. Turkeys are undecided at this point. I really, really, REALLY, want pigs, but my wife is scared of them and this is one area that she has really put her foot down on. I'm slowly wearing her out on the idea though. One day, I WILL HAVE PIGS.

 

[southernmomma]

We use the electric netting to mob "browse" the goats on the invasive blackberries taking over the property. It keeps them in (which says a lot) and the few dogs that have touched it have not wanted to go anywhere near it again. This is our first year using it, but it's holding up really well considering how often we get it tangled in the blackberries.

Setup is easiest with two people and you do need to mow where the fence will be to keep it from shorting. It's also really important to keep it hot. Ours has at least 6000v running through it and all of the animals keep a safe distance. It did take a little while for the Nubians to figure out where their ears were in relation to the fence.

What a great picture!

Keeping it hot enough does seem to be the ticket to success~ I had read an account where it was closer to 3500V and it was being challenged.

M

 

[southernmomma]

@colburg Swine is a topic of conversation here as well. Specifically Large Black Hogs for some reason. I hate how intelligent they seem, I would prefer to not feel as though they knew what was coming. Perhaps that is part of taking ownership of my food source though~ much preferred over contributing to the conventional big business regardless of how guilty I feel in the moment.

I'm not familiar with that part of the country so I'm curious to the amount or quality of the forage. Do you feel the layers are heavily supplementing their diet by ranging in the orchard. I suspect they are.

I hope you share pictures or description of the WR and WR X carcass quality

M

 

[bramblefir]

Thanks!

We did a lot of research to find out what the voltage needed to be to deter goats and the most common response was at least 6000v. Our fence charger can generate a lot more voltage than that (I believe over 8000v), but our cheap voltage meter only reads up to 5500v. We also use 2 grounding rods for larger pens (3 or 4 sections with each section being 164'), but I've heard of folks using 3 rods in really dry climates.

 

[colburg]

Quote:
I've butchered several hogs and if they have food in front of them, they don't know what hits em. This year is great for the forage. Even the areas of the orchard that are near 100% shade will grow about 18" in 3 weeks. The other areas that get more sun will gro 2'-4' in 3 weeks. It's almost all annual koicha and bermuda grass. Both are good sources of protein. The layers are definitely supplementing with weeds, seeds, and insects. During the winter they were fed ~3 gallons of fermented grains/layer pellets per day. Now they get 3/4 to 1gal of food per day and the rest comes from ranging. There aren't any WR that are ready to butcher yet. We should have some WR/Turken crosses in 10-15 weeks. If I can remember I'll get pics.

 

[alisar]

I wanted to chime in on hogs - my grandma said they used to soak grains in hard liquor then feed it to the pigs. The pigs would pass out and then you would off them with minimal trauma and work. I always wondered if this would work with chickens!

 

[bmvf]

The all grass dairies around here are at a stocking rate of 1 cow per 3 acres for the entire farm. These are mostly organic dairies that mob graze with 21-45 day rotations based on grass growth. Beef cows won't eat as much because they aren't making as much milk as a dairy cow. I think a stocking rate of 1:1 may be too much unless your willing to feed bought hay during slower growth. You can take it slower, add 7-10 cows to get to 2 acres per cow for your 20 acre orchard. Add more cows if you need more.

 

[colburg]

The all grass dairies around here are at a stocking rate of 1 cow per 3 acres for the entire farm.  These are mostly organic dairies that mob graze with 21-45 day rotations based on grass growth.  Beef cows won't eat as much because they aren't making as much milk as a dairy cow.  I think a stocking rate of 1:1 may be too much unless your willing to feed bought hay during slower growth.  You can take it slower, add 7-10 cows to get to 2 acres per cow for your 20 acre orchard.  Add more cows if you need more.

1:1 can be done on irrigated land with wells at least that's been my experience with beefers. Since we're flood irrigated you may be closer with the1:3.

Our plan is to merely breed the cattle till we have a herd that fits well with the land and management style we have.

I was hoping you would pop up on here because I wanted to ask if you or anyone you know has baled annual koshia or Bermuda grass? I swathed 15 acres yesterday. Plan on baling Tuesday if the dry weather keeps up.

The guy I borrowed the swather from just laughed when I told him what I wanted to do. But if I can cut the feed bill in half by feeding half alfalfa and half my own cuttings through the winter,then I don't mind being laughed at.

Cheers,

 

[bmvf]

Quote:
I haven't baled either of those forages, we don't grow them here.

You need to know what's best for your area with the grazing. Make sure you get things right because you can overgraze which can reduce yield and maybe kill your grass in the process. For myself the toughest thing is pulling the cows back and feeding them more in the barn when grass growth starts to slow.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Hi folks...I'm up to my earlobes with work but I thought I would drop in and deliver a couple messages.

Brother tells me he and dad get frequent PMs but have no way to respond to them since they are banned.

Brother did ask me to tell 3riverschick that all is fine and if she ever gets in a position to have the rabbits,
the offer is good. We have rabbits running out of our ears too and the kits are absolutely adorable! But I'm
a realist and know what they are on this earth for.

I'm glad to see the thread has picked up a bit of life...might have something to me realizing I was causing so
much trouble by being such an AZZ!

Dad is still in Brazil or a he writes, 'Brasil'. We think he will home by his 65th birthday... 8/30. He has young 'tutor' helping
with his Brasileiro and he will have to shake loose of her before he leaves...

Turk