Homesteaders

[RustedOak]

Well, I finally read all the posts and now I'm looking to converse. Yet it seems it has suddenly gone quite here. Everyone must be out picking and canning at this point, I guess.

Well I'm looking to work toward sustainable living. I am living alone yet I have family just up the hill and in town, so I will be looking to provide for them too, as much as I can reasonably. I have 9 acres that abut my family's trust land of about 50+ acres that I have already been told that I will be able to use for this purpose.

Currently I have 14 chickens, mixed breeds. 8 hens are just about ready to start laying, actually just got my first egg on Tuesday, but must have been laid on Sunday. I have 4 more hens that are several week younger, with their brother who will be culled due to a cross beak. I have a Giant Jersey Black rooster that has grown up with the 8 older hens and is being a good companion for tem from what I have observed so far.

I just caught a program on NPR yesterday about natural Weed Control. Goats. So It looks Like I that will be my next project for the sustainability and getting the land ready for a rotational livestock scheme I plan on using.

Thanks for all the info that you all have previously shared and all the info that you will share.

Fuzzy Moto.

Welcome! I'm an urban homesteader currently but will be getting ahold of 20 acres soon, 19 of which has grown wild since the 70s, covered in weed trees and undergrowth. Goats will be my go to to do the clearing of the understory in movable paddocks, followed by chicken tractors.

 

[rancher hicks]

Welcome! I'm an urban homesteader currently but will be getting ahold of 20 acres soon, 19 of which has grown wild since the 70s, covered in weed trees and undergrowth. Goats will be my go to to do the clearing of the understory in movable paddocks, followed by chicken tractors.

Oooh Waco, Texas. We had hoped to visit there in May/June but with the storms we didn't make it. Perhaps next time we're in Texas. We were in Conroe.

 

[Loc20chick]

I'm also looking to get more self sustaining, I started the journey last year and still have a long way to go. This is a nice thread. I'm yet to read all the posts.

I have expanded m garden this year and have not bought green leafy vegetables in several months now, have frozen some and given more to friends. Also getting an abundance of tomatoes that I'm freezing, making spaghetti sauce and giving to friends too. That's about all I have in the garden. I planted an apple tree last year that has given me a few apples this year, I'll need to read more on pruning and maintaining it. Bought two more fruit trees (1 apple and 1 peach) when they went on sale, will be looking for more before fall.

As for chickens I started last year with 9 layers, now I have a total of 47, I hatched 33 this year from some of my eggs and others. I plan on letting the chickens multiply to get a self sustaining flock as opposed to buying meat chicks every year. I know free range and my breeds not being purely meat birds (cornish X) will grow slower but that's the way I was raised and I love the gamey taste.

Next spring I would like to expand on the garden and have more variety of veggies. Will be checking what other veggies I can plant this late.

Failures so far: Ducks

they were easy to maintain and used less feed but they were extremely dirty kept pooping on the deck, hard to process and also could never train them to get in the coop at night by themselves which made it harder on family travel. I was always worried they would be eaten by foxes.

 

[Loc20chick]

Oooh Waco, Texas. We had hoped to visit there in May/June but with the storms we didn't make it. Perhaps next time we're in Texas. We were in Conroe.

Conroe!!! did you go to lake conroe? Ilived up I-45 in the Woodlands Spring area a couple years ago and went to lake conroe a few times. I don't miss the humidity now. I still have family there.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'm also looking to get more self sustaining, I started the journey last year and still have a long way to go. This is a nice thread. I'm yet to read all the posts.

I have expanded m garden this year and have not bought green leafy vegetables in several months now, have frozen some and given more to friends. Also getting an abundance of tomatoes that I'm freezing, making spaghetti sauce and giving to friends too. That's about all I have in the garden. I planted an apple tree last year that has given me a few apples this year, I'll need to read more on pruning and maintaining it. Bought two more fruit trees (1 apple and 1 peach) when they went on sale, will be looking for more before fall.

As for chickens I started last year with 9 layers, now I have a total of 47, I hatched 33 this year from some of my eggs and others. I plan on letting the chickens multiply to get a self sustaining flock as opposed to buying meat chicks every year. I know free range and my breeds not being purely meat birds (cornish X) will grow slower but that's the way I was raised and I love the gamey taste.

Next spring I would like to expand on the garden and have more variety of veggies. Will be checking what other veggies I can plant this late.

Failures so far: Ducks

they were easy to maintain and used less feed but they were extremely dirty kept pooping on the deck, hard to process and also could never train them to get in the coop at night by themselves which made it harder on family travel. I was always worried they would be eaten by foxes.

Well now for what it's worth I got five Blue Swedish and they were in the yard with the chickens. All seemed to do okay together. C.Rocks mostly. Anyhow they got tossed in with the chickens a few times so after not long really they started to go in with the chickens.

Too I had them in the run with the chickens for a time. Not sure what breed did you have? I made sure they're food was inside the run too.

Even though I eventually let them out into the yard, they still went in with the chickens. I had to give them up but plan to get more next year perhaps.
I don't have any pictures of the run not in winter.

Conroe!!! did you go to lake conroe? Ilived up I-45 in the Woodlands Spring area a couple years ago and went to lake conroe a few times. I don't miss the humidity now. I still have family there.

No didn't have a car most of the time. DD had baby so time was spent there.

 

[Fuzzy Moto]

I have thought about the Swedish Ducks for here, too. I am just not quite ready to jump into that project yet. Need to finish my Trailer project and get it registered so the person that I went in with to get a tractor with can bring it to their house to use to.

I never thought about having the chickens follow the goats. I would just work about predation with the tractor being farther away from the house. I will have to look into ways to make the Chicken tractor more secure while leaving it able to help restore the land to balance, so I can rotate a variety livestock through.

Hicks - I already was aware of you, due to being on the Local (New England/New York) Chicken Stock pages. I am new and did go to the Shark Snipers in New Hampshire this year, leading me to succumb to chicken math and incubating.

 

[Loc20chick]

Well now for what it's worth I got five Blue Swedish and they were in the yard with the chickens. All seemed to do okay together. C.Rocks mostly. Anyhow they got tossed in with the chickens a few times so after not long really they started to go in with the chickens.

Too I had them in the run with the chickens for a time. Not sure what breed did you have? I made sure they're food was inside the run too.

Even though I eventually let them out into the yard, they still went in with the chickens. I had to give them up but plan to get more next year perhaps.
I don't have any pictures of the run not in winter.



No didn't have a car most of the time. DD had baby so time was spent there.

I had pekins and Muscovys the scoveys could fly but always came back to the compound. I wanted to avoid keeping them caged in the run cause I have a pretty big pond stocked with fish that the ducks loved to swim in, and also when I locked them in the run would be so muddy and full of flies. Unfortunately my lands only 2.07 acres so the pond is pretty close to the house.
Then they would also get in my garden even when fenced, I can't afford a very high fence in the meantime.

I'll look into the swedish ducks I had not thought of any other type.

 

[Loc20chick]

Looking into ways to feed the fish so the bass in it can grow and multiply. I'll be learning how to fish I guess, last year i got discouraged I didn;t catch any but my 11 year old cousin caught a huge bass from the pond.

 

[rancher hicks]

I had pekins and Muscovys the scoveys could fly but always came back to the compound. I wanted to avoid keeping them caged in the run cause I have a pretty big pond stocked with fish that the ducks loved to swim in, and also when I locked them in the run would be so muddy and full of flies. Unfortunately my lands only 2.07 acres so the pond is pretty close to the house.
Then they would also get in my garden even when fenced, I can't afford a very high fence in the meantime.

I'll look into the swedish ducks I had not thought of any other type.

I didn't keep them in the run all the time. When they were young and just so they got trained. All breeds are not the same temp.

I didn't want Muscovy's BECAUSE I knew they could fly and I was not up to clipping wings. I did like that they roosted. We have no pond but we do have a creek. No clear access to it though and they surely would make their way to it.

We have just under three acres and I've no time or desire to clear it. We're too old. Right now I'm just focused on what is clear. It's enough.

I'm sure the duck threads can help sort out which breeds might work best.

 

[KlopKlop]

Here are the things I am planning for my homestead-
Near future:
Build a wheel hoe
Large rain water catchment for watering garden (1/8th acre)
Prepare a new planting bed and grow wheat and/or oats (some for me, some for chickens)
Attempt to grow horseradish
Transplant in rhubarb from my parents place

Long term plans
Convert 3 acres of current corn/bean ground to pasture
Fence in existing grassland and new pasture
Design paddock rotation system
Add grazing animals (sheep or cattle)
Attempt to grow out 2 feeder pigs