Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[ShrekDawg]

We're getting pretty serious about both goats and the Guinea Hogs!! I've been talking about them to my husband for several years, but the coronavirus has made him more interested. I think he enjoys the chickens almost as much as I do, which helps. We have 5 acres and a barn surrounded by an overgrown barbed-wire cattle fence, so if two non-carpenter types can figure out a way to erect proper fencing without going bankrupt, I think we may take the plunge. At this point, I don't even know enough to ask proper questions, so I'm researching as much as I can. If you know of any books or online resources that are particularly helpful, I'm all ears.

Have you been on Backyard Herds, BYC’s sister site?? There’s a lot of knowledgeable people there that may be able to help. Of course, there’s knowledgeable people here too, but it’s a little bit more geared towards those kinds of animals. are you planning on getting them for milk or just pets/brush clearing or? ND are so cute.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I went for a brief walk in the woods today and did yesterday too and I’ve decided I need to start hiking.

This was just on our property and pretty brief but it was so invigorating haha much more so than a normal walk. I think all the hills and brush I had to step over/navigate around helped. Regular walks are mostly just flat. Plus I’m realizing I also kind of find them boring. Idk, woods/nature walks or hikes are much more interesting to me. I didn’t see any nature but still. Could hear the birds at least.

 

[21hens-incharge]

We cut down 2 giant lilacs in the way of building a duck house, 3 staghorn sumac, 1 ailing flowering pear, spent zebra grass in prep for new growth and prepped garden beds.

I was pleased to see lots of big earthworms in the raised beds.

The ducklings spent time in their small section of the chicken run. Yes 7 ducklings still fit in their tiny pool.

I got the brooder cleaned and babies are back in it. Hubs helped get them back in. That was greatly appreciated.

I am beat but still need to make dinner.

 

[muddy75]

Woo hoo!! Got my first ever pheasant egg today!!
View attachment 2108865

congratulations!! I have first 9 on day 10 in the incubator....another 9 in the nest with that my female will go broody and sit on them, and I removed one that had a visible crack and ate it for breakfast this morning!

 

[blackandtan]

congratulations!! I have first 9 on day 10 in the incubator....another 9 in the nest with that my female will go broody and sit on them, and I removed one that had a visible crack and ate it for breakfast this morning!

Can’t incubate mine, the cock pecked it and there’s cracks but still good to eat
Ideally I’d love the hen to sit on a nest but we’ll see...

 

[FortCluck]

We just got 53 meat chickens from TSC for a really good deal. We won't be needing any meat once the chickens, turkeys, ducks, and quail are butchered.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

We're getting pretty serious about both goats and the Guinea Hogs!! I've been talking about them to my husband for several years, but the coronavirus has made him more interested. I think he enjoys the chickens almost as much as I do, which helps. We have 5 acres and a barn surrounded by an overgrown barbed-wire cattle fence, so if two non-carpenter types can figure out a way to erect proper fencing without going bankrupt, I think we may take the plunge. At this point, I don't even know enough to ask proper questions, so I'm researching as much as I can. If you know of any books or online resources that are particularly helpful, I'm all ears.

Goats-
The first thing to think about is what type of goats you want. Milk? Meat? Pets? Cute?
Ok, they are all cute but specific breeds excel at different things and there are differences in their care. And small goats are as good, if not better, escape artists than large goats. That said proper fence is not hard and will save you a mountain of worries and headaches.
Same for pigs. I did not actually have hogs, but was constantly helping a friend with hers. She did not have a good fence and hers got out all the time. Same with her goats too.

The site has changed some since I was there last, but I would imagine this place could keep you busy reading info for months-
https://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm

Lots of good information for goat newbies. Geared more towards dairy goats and dairy breeds, but many of the things carry over to meat goats and the smaller breeds too.
Some people swear by having a strand or two of hotwire inside field fence for goats because goats do respect electric, but I had 5' field fence on my farm and never once did any of my goats get out.... over, under, or through my fence. Not ever.
And field fencing is not hard to put up. I installed nearly all my fence with my own hands and my truck (to add light tension to stretch the fence) and later with my tractor.
If cost is a consideration, goats will respect electric fence and a 4 or 5 strand hot wire fence will keep in most goats and usually pigs too.
I did not add any electric fence until years later to keep my horse from pushing on it, and even then it was only one strand at the top.

Depending on where you are on the country parasites will big something you will want to read up on and at least have a basic plan to start with.

Diseases too. It's easy to not know what you are doing when you go out to buy your first goats, fall in love with a cute face, and end up bringing home a goat with devastating disease. Read up on those so you can learn what to look for and what to stay away from.
Most responsible breeders will be very up front about how they manage their goats and should be able to mentor you on what to expect in your area of the country.

But really...the big thing to figure out first is ...meat, milk, or both?
All goats are cute, and be warned...they are like cookies...you can never have just one!

 

[MROO]

Sundays are interestingly different now. Drove past a local church and the pastor was on the porch and a handful of people were parked spaced out with one person sitting behind their truck in a lawn chair. Another man we know who is a preacher has started doing sermons online- has one on YouTube and mostly on Facebook. He’s reached a huge audience of people outside of his church. For religious services, it seems a broader audience is tuning in and more people are curious about the Bible.

In a non-religious aspect, the hometown grocer has been limiting to ten customers in the store at a time which is odd to see as they usually are always full. Thrift stores are closed down which was something we liked to do on weekends- go yard sale hunting and thrift store browsing. Work is at a halt, eye doctor won’t see clients...but in the positives- a lot more time with family and a lot more time for baking! Lemon pound cake in the oven as we speak.

Y’all stay safe and healthy.

Our pastor is doing online services, too. His wonderful wife serves as his acolyte, while our music and choir directors handle the music. They're both professionally trained, so the music is amazing - especially when the piano and the violin pair up. There's usually someone from our Vestry in the pews, but never more than two or three. It's sad and uplifting all at the same time. It's also neat to see services from other churches. Again, I'm really into the music - and there are an awful lot of gifted musicians in our religious institutions. I love it!

 

[muddy75]

Our state has officially opened up all dental procedures as of 11:59pm tonight!!! I’ve been doing a bit of online shopping today in preparation......I ordered an infrared thermometer and some “fashionable” N95 masks.......I’ve actually been preparing my office for this type of situation for years now.....I have way more square footage than the avg office, private treatment rooms, hepa filtration, minimal staff, minimal traffic, one patient at a time etc etc......that’s part of what was sooooo frustrating about current situation

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Our state has officially opened up all dental procedures as of 11:59pm tonight!!! I’ve been doing a bit of online shopping today in preparation......I ordered an infrared thermometer and some “fashionable” N95 masks.......I’ve actually been preparing my office for this type of situation for years now.....I have way more square footage than the avg office, private treatment rooms, hepa filtration, minimal staff, minimal traffic, one patient at a time etc etc......that’s part of what was sooooo frustrating about current situation

Grabbing my shoes ! LOL