BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[gjensen]

I'm not really planning to force my birds to eat alfalfa.

I bought that extra alfalfa because it was available ...some years it's not easy to get around here but this year was a bumper crop and I feed it to my lactating dairy goats.

Certainly the chickens will pick around it and perhaps glean some of the notorious goat wastage but I think one would be hard pressed to force them to eat it. At $14 bucks a bale, it would make more sense to sell off a few bales of alfalfa and use the money for chicken food.

Long before it comes to that...I'd just eat the whole bunch.

My birds will eat it in the deepest part of winter if there is no green forage to be had. They will not eat a lot, and they should not. It is low in energy. What you will have is one day you will notice the feeder with it needs to be refilled. They will pick at it here and there when the snow is on the ground. It will be good for them then. It will not be much of it. With all that you have, you would not miss the little they did eat.

 

[gjensen]

Exactly. I argued with my father in law on the subject of gmo. He said we've been doing it for thousands of yrs. He's 76 I don't think he realizes what they have been doing lately. The whole gene splicing thing is scary. Baboon genes do not belong in horses, tobacco genes do not belong in carrots.
I do not think we need to be messing with nature to that extreme.

I agree. I draw my line at crossing species etc. When they go farther, I do not like it. I do not want anything to do with it.

My perspective is different than some. I see that we are stewards of all that is here. That in a sense it does belong to us. I do not take issue with humans getting good and efficient at using what we have been given. I do take issue when we try to re-design what we have been given.

 

[bnjrob]

If you don't mind, could we speak about insanity for a few moments? I mentioned the dairy herd in the above post but I didn't take the time to mention that two of my offspring want to turn one of the old chicken barns into a grade A dairy...Insanity? We don't have enough to do? Around here, most people won't even consider tasting goat milk, much less cheese.

We do make a lot of cheese for ourselves and a few friends but they want to tap into the same folks they are working on/with for the capon 'pie-in-the-sky' proposition. But that does seem to be gathering steam and it might just work out to at least be a break-even scenario.

The building is solid, having been once an old cow dairy barn and it wouldn't take much to do what they want. There's already hot/cold running water but who will do all this work? Truthfully, 'ol dad has a few health issues that demand targeted treatment tout de suite and that is not a 'perhaps' situation.

It would require using the 'part time' gals to come back full time and someone will have to pay them. I wonder who? These people are chock-full of ideas that require investment capital and hard work and they know I'm an easy touch. We have massively increased our herd size and plan to double down this breeding season...like right now.

Who knows...I might be dead in a month so I'll just say full steam ahead but save enough cash to have my body burned and the ashes cast up around the snake den.

I love my kids!!

Hahaha! Was talking to my dad the other day and told him I've joined a beekeeping group because I want to get some honeybees. That's in addition to plans later on for a dairy cow, or two, or three. He asked me if I didn't have enough to do with all the other animals and gardening and such that I do around here. Apparently the insanity is not just at your place.

 

[hellbender]

I wish I could find a reliable source of goat milk around here! Without having to take out a loan to get a gallon at Whole Foods. Raw goat milk would be even better. I love making cheese. Chevre is so easy. However MA won't even allow people to buy sparklers, let alone raw milk.

In my opinion, your money would be just as well spent buying whole pasteurized cow milk as to buy outrageously priced pasteurized goat milk. Once it's been through that process, the unique and special qualities are destroyed.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Hahaha! Was talking to my dad the other day and told him I've joined a beekeeping group because I want to get some honeybees. That's in addition to plans later on for a dairy cow, or two, or three. He asked me if I didn't have enough to do with all the other animals and gardening and such that I do around here. Apparently the insanity is not just at your place.

Me, too!!! I'm going to try to take a beekeeping class this fall to get some info, and maybe next year, my first bees.

- Ant Farm

 

[bnjrob]

Me, too!!! I'm going to try to take a beekeeping class this fall to get some info, and maybe next year, my first bees.

- Ant Farm

Too bad we're at different ends of the state.

 

[DesertChic]

If you don't mind, could we speak about insanity for a few moments? I mentioned the dairy herd in the above post but I didn't take the time to mention that two of my offspring want to turn one of the old chicken barns into a grade A dairy...Insanity? We don't have enough to do? Around here, most people won't even consider tasting goat milk, much less cheese.

We do make a lot of cheese for ourselves and a few friends but they want to tap into the same folks they are working on/with for the capon 'pie-in-the-sky' proposition. But that does seem to be gathering steam and it might just work out to at least be a break-even scenario.

The building is solid, having been once an old cow dairy barn and it wouldn't take much to do what they want. There's already hot/cold running water but who will do all this work? Truthfully, 'ol dad has a few health issues that demand targeted treatment tout de suite and that is not a 'perhaps' situation.

It would require using the 'part time' gals to come back full time and someone will have to pay them. I wonder who? These people are chock-full of ideas that require investment capital and hard work and they know I'm an easy touch. We have massively increased our herd size and plan to double down this breeding season...like right now.

Who knows...I might be dead in a month so I'll just say full steam ahead but save enough cash to have my body burned and the ashes cast up around the snake den.

I love my kids!!

Ah, yes...the ever-growing list of projects, adaptations, and energetic "new" ideas. For us, the more we pay attention to the news and what's going on in the world the more my husband and I talk about becoming completely isolated and self-sustaining. While I'm finishing up the construction of what will hopefully be the last of the enclosed runs for my younger and breeding chickens, 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.

And still sending good thoughts your way, Ron.

 

[hellbender]

Ah, yes...the ever-growing list of projects, adaptations, and energetic "new" ideas. For us, the more we pay attention to the news and what's going on in the world the more my husband and I talk about becoming completely isolated and self-sustaining. While I'm finishing up the construction of what will hopefully be the last of the enclosed runs for my younger and breeding chickens, 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.

And still sending good thoughts your way, Ron.

Thank you for the good thoughts! Just a thought...You could start with a couple of good dairy goats...that start could give you the milk for your family PLUS a baby beef...they simply bloom on goat milk (scour-free) and far easier to manage than dairy cattle.

 

[cyborg]

Thank you for the good thoughts!  Just a thought...You could start with a couple of good dairy goats...that start could give you the milk for your family PLUS a baby beef...they simply bloom on goat milk (scour-free) and far easier to manage than dairy cattle.  

I think that is my next step, a pair of dairy goats. I love making my own cheese, and a couple of weedeaters would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hellbender]

I think that is my next step, a pair of dairy goats. I love making my own cheese, and a couple of weedeaters would be greatly appreciated!

Considering where you live, a couple of GOOD Nubians would work well in the warmer climate. A bit less milk produced but usually far more butter fat content...excellent for cheese making!!!