Do some people think free range = no food?

[SkyWarrior]

Quote:
I don't think anyone was bickering. I thought it was a lively and interesting discussion.

 

[TheMainException]

I think it happens at times, but I have noticed that when I let my birds out to free range, they eat a lot less. It saves me a lot of money to let them free range. They fill up on bugs and grass and other things and don't eat the feed as much then. But I would still feed them, they need their calcium and protein and such that they would probably never get in the wild to fulfill my desire for eggs and healthy, happy birds.

I don't like keeping them in a run all the time, but it saves my garden and does deter some predators. It's harder for some of the hawks to get them so long as they are in the run. But it's equal amount of work whether they are fenced in or not. I still have to let them out of the coop in the morning and make sure they are safe at night. They are both fun and for the eggs for me. (dual purpose, lol)

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Sky warrior probably has it right.

For the ratio of birds to land that I have, combined with it being dried up grass this time of year, I have to feed them although they eat considerably less feed when on grass
In the spring they don't eat much feedstuff at all, coz there is forage aplenty in the yard
If I were to live at my parent's place, there is a whole lot more bug type forage I doubt I'd have to feed them much at all.

How well your animals do on the pasture depends a lot on the quality of the range. Lots of people think free range is all the rage and don't really understand the full concept. I see lots of pastures around town that are mostly overgrown with bitterweed, whereas my grandpa used to get out on the tractor and cut that stuff down before it had time to go to seed, and therefore improved his pasture over a couple of years and didn't have to grain the cows or horses he kept on it.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Sorry ya'll got busy encoding youtube videos... Nope I live in coal city, no lead to mine. Would if I could though. Lead only causes cancer in California...

I'm no where close to there.

Im going to try to explain my "lazy" farmer concept.

Two farmers live side by side on matching 30 acre farms.

Farmer one goes out an finds the cheapest little tiny $1000 tractor he can find.

Farmer two goes to the tractor dealer an get a tractor rated for a 30 acre farm.

Both farmers start plowing there fields.

Farmer 2 can plow an acre an hour an in two good long days hes ready to plant his crop. Two good hard days later his crop is in the ground an he is on the couch holding a remote.

Farmer 1s little tractor has to work to get an acre a day done. It takes him a month to get his ground ready to plant. Its about another month till he gets all 30 acres planted.

Few months later farmer 2 is out harvesting. His crops are all ready the same week. To get his crops in he brings in help an in a few days hes done an cornered the market by being first. Its almost a month till farmer 1s crops are ready to come in. When they do its not all at one time. He has an acre of crops to pic a day. Not two hard for one man. Now being late in the year an only bringing in a little at a time hurt his price but he does sell his crops.

Now who is the better farmer?
Farmer 2 made way more money on his crops than farmer 1 but he has been paying a few hundred dollars a month on a tractor payment for the last 4 months. He now has to pay that payment for 12 months till hes next crop comes in. He also has to pay the workers that helped him pick his crop. So how much did he make?

Farmer 1 don't have all those expenses, his income is almost all profit.

So who made more money?

Odds are that they both made about the same. So it would seem that farmer 2 did better because he made the same with less work...

What if next year there is a drought? A failed crop is not the end of the world to someone with low overhead.
Farmer two has to pay for that tractor. An because what crops he does get all come in at the same time he still has to pay those workers to bring it in.

By the time farmer 1s crops come in then there is a shortage an he can get top dollar for what little he does get.

It only takes one bad year to kill a high profit high overhead operation. An bad years are part of the game.
A low overhead, low profit operation is more stable.

Now if they have several good years an he gets that tractor paid off he would be better off than farmer 1... But farmer one at that point would have had enough time to save to buy a used tractor just like his for half the cost. An odds are that farmer 2 would go get else to make farming easier an go in debt again.
Ive known people that were a half million in debt on equipment an don't understand why they cant break even.

Same with feeding livestock. You can work with what your land will support an have a low overhead operation or you can over stock an buy grain an have a higher income but higher overhead operation.

Both work but I like the one where my livelihood does not depend on all good years an no breaks in the supply chain.

 

[Dora'smom]

I'm betting that cheap little tiny tractor breaks down a lot.

 

[Beekissed]

Probably does. But since one doesn't have to make monthly payments, one can accumulate an emergency repair fund....or even fix it by oneself if it is a simple, older model.

I often have this discussion with folks who argue that their new car, along with the payments, is a more wise investment than my older and paid for vehicle. There is no guarantee that a new car won't break down or that the problem will be covered under warranty. Then you have a car in the repair shop that still has to be paid for.

Good maintenance and prudent driving can make older model equipment very worth saving the cash to buy it outright.

 

[Tala]

Dora'smom :

I'm betting that cheap little tiny tractor breaks down a lot.

My thoughts exactly! But I guess if the farmer has so much extra time in-between mini-harvests then he can afford to spend it "under the hood" of his tractor.

On the other hand, my aforementioned grandpa bought a small junker Kabota tractor that didn't run, and fixed it up to be better than his old tractor (though both work). My grandma was skeptical of the whole ordeal, but he came out on top. There's somethin to be said for having some get up and go about stuff like that. Same grandpa took two junk brushhogs and made one working one, that is what he used to work on the pasture.


and I'm with Beekissed, my 18-year old Ranger actually needs less work than DH's 10-year old Explorer --- main difference is the auto 4x4 and the super-fancy-ABS system.....the fancier the stuff gets the more complcated it is when it breaks. We're putting in a wheel hub because you have to replace the whole dang thing to get a new ABS sensor, and a CV joint axle but at least that's a normal wear part (though, it's one that my simple 2wd Ranger doesn't have!)​

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I would rather have something that I could fix myself than something new that I cant.... I can break anything but I cant fix everything. Older an simpler beat new an fancy any day.

I got 8 years out of my 91 chevy with only oil changes before someone hit it. I now drive a$900 84 suburban.... Never paid over $1500 for a car in my life. Never spent more than $500 in repairs in a years time. Ive also never been stranded.... Why would I buy something that cost $20K to do the same job?

 

[TennesseeTruly]

We free range a lot of our flock including chickens, ducks, all our guineas except for the young keets, and geese. In the spring, summer,and fall, our feed bill is considerably less than in the winter time but we still put feed and of course water out for them.

They all go into coops at night as well. Although, I will say that the guineas rarely touch their food that we put down for them. We do know that will change when the weather gets colder.

Our flocks have 35 acres to free range on and believe me, there's not a tick or a grasshopper to be found around here. LOL

Laurie

 

[booker81]

Everyone's time has a price, and everyone's price has a different value. I work full time, full time farming does not appeal to me. However, a level of sustainability does appeal to me, which is why I have a large garden, I do a large amount of canning, I hunt my red meat and process it all myself and now I have my own eggs, and come spring , my own meat chickens (which will be used to clean up and fertilize the garden before the next growing season.

I catch flack at work for the amount of gardening and canning I do, but come some sort of disaster, I'll be eating good, and if there is no disaster, I never purchase Christmas gifts, I give away canned goods. Who wouldn't want a jar of Caramel Apple Butter? Some Sweet Relish? Wild Blackberry Jam? Just with those items, the time it takes to make them is evened out by not spending a dime on gifts, plus never having to buy those items ( I make enough to last the whole year for ourselves, plus a lot extra to give away. A thank you card is nice, but a pint of strawberry Jam tastes a lot better. I also factor in my own enjoyment - it's relaxing for me to work on projects that increase my own abilities.

I let my chickens loose during the day, but we only own an acre of land - nowhere near enough to support them. Right now my garden is done, so they have access to that, but again, I can't support them without supplemental feeding. I do like using them as garbage disposals for leftovers and kitchen scraps - they love canning time as well because they get whatever ends up in the Foley mill - lots of tomato stuff, apple stuff, random seeds, etc.