Managing flock in Collapsing Economy: Bye Bye Birdies.

[Kaceyx73]

Thank you, phasian.

While I'm on a tear, let me point some of you in the direction of Hope.

If you live very near a big volcano, I think you already know what you need to be doing. If you are referring to something like Yellowstone going off, why? There are some things you will never be able to adequately prepare for. Accept it. That is a key component of hope, acceptance.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

We can't prepare for asteroids, super-volcanoes, and the like. They also aren't that common. We can prepare for local disasters, terrorist strikes, union and other political idiocy, natural disasters, fires, floods, etc. We can even plan for and prepare for full scale nuclear war. Stop listening to those that say you cant, and start WORKING with those that KNOW they CAN!!!

Here are a few things you CAN do.
Learn to grow and harvest rice. You don't have to have a paddy. Their are upland rices that don't need flooding, and even lowland rice can be grown in irrigated soil without flooding. Rice doesn't need to be milled for human consumption, which makes it that much more attractive for home growing. Grow a few plants in large containers. According to SRI method of rice, one plant per square foot is ideal in rich soil. See how much you get per plant and figure how much space you would need.

Start setting your heat and cooling system to keep it from getting too hot or too cold, instead of keeping it at a certain temperature. 60-65 in the winter and 75-80 in the summer will drastically reduce your bill. Use a window unit or portable small heater to keep the space you are in the most warmer/ cooler.

Every trip to the grocery store, inquire with your bakery if they have any of those icing buckets empty. Most will give them to you if they have them. Wash thoroughly, and fill with dry beans, rice, sugar, flour, etc. They are food grade, and have the rubber seal on the lid. They can also be purchased for around 2 bucks at HD and lowes. If you plan on drinking lots of kool-aid type drinks, plan on lots of sugar. Otherwise, plan on a 5 gallon bucket lasting a while. Flour, if only used for gravy and thickening will last quite a while. If you have the stuff to make bread, it won't go very far.

Learn to purify water, and make a distiller. With a distiller, you can make even swamp water pure. It is just a wooden box with a glass top slanted, and a pvc gutter to catch the condensed water and guide it to a bucket. Leave it in the sun.

Remember, the most dangerous animal on earth is a starving human with no hope. Prepare yourself mentally and physically. I could write a book full of simple things that anyone can do. What they all do, when cultivated by a determined soul, is provide HOPE.

Know your enemy. It is you.

Know your friends, and help them to understand this new force welling up within you.

Be contagious.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Plausable events need not involve asteroids or super-volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions which are much smaller like those that promoted the little ice age of the 16th to the 19th centuries or the year without a summer (1816) could present a challenge for gardening. CME (coronal mass ejection) is thought to have postential of taking out large portions of electrical grid for an extending period of time (months or years according to some estimates).

It is our population size and low food reserves for population as a whole that make many compensation methods for food and water in need of revision, especially if disaster where to start at beggining of growing season for crops whe reserves at lowest.

 

[Kaceyx73]

centrarchid,

Not sure what your point was. As individuals, we have to start preparing. It may be easiest to start by putting back a months worth of food. Email me and I will send you a spreadsheet for Excel, but will also work with the free OpenOffice suite if you don't have Excel. It allows you to figure how much of various foods you need for a given amount of time. It also lets you input the cost, and see which items cost the most in the long run. For example, breakfast is by far the cheapest meal, free eggs not withstanding. Buying cream of wheat, grits, oatmeal, and bulk pancake/waffle mix, it is entirely within reason to spend $50 for breakfast for 6months and a family of 4. For lunch, start with a months worth of ramen noodles and start adding in can soups. Variety is good. Individual progresso, chunky, and chef boyardee are around 1.25 at wally world, and cheaper at salvage store (bent can store). For dinner, rice and beans bought in bulk with whatever meat you can get will get you through the roughest of times. Its not about having top shelf items on hand, just having food to start with.

Always have a supply of seed on hand, and at least a year or 2s worth in the freezer. Start gardening this year if you aren't already. Learn various vegetables, and concentrate on the ones your family likes and that can produce the most, and that you can do the most with. Potatoes, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, etc. Freeze enough green beans in ziploc bags for a couple of months, can the rest. A canner can be operated over a propane grill, or can even be used over wood you can control the height. Get a good canner and learn to use it. It isn't difficult. You can still buy jars at most grocery stores, as well as supplies and spices. Spaghetti noodles are cheap to buy in bulk, so grow a lot of tomatoes for sauce. Someone did mention canning meat, and they are spot on. Most canning guides give you tips and recipes on such. As a matter of fact, even your own wonderful federal douche bags at the USDA even produced a home canning guide which includes canning meat.

If you never take steps to prepare you and yours, you will never be prepared. Start now. Do what you can within your own budget and dietary constraints.

Now, as to what disasters are likely, think terrorism, Katrina, train derails carrying toxic chemicals, etc. Most of these make it a smart option to have at least a few days worth of supplies in a bag that can be grabbed in a hurry for short term events like these. Politically correct folks call them 72 hour bags, while preppers refer to them as BOBs, or bug-out bags. The media love to deride such folks as nutjobs, even though their own beloved government recommends you do it. Check the red cross and homeland security.

As for bigger events like prolonged depression, civil strife, CME, volcanic activity like you mentioned, the homesteading mantra will guide you. You cannot control what others do, nor the government, but you can take care of yourself. Now I understand that some folks live in large metropolises like NY. You can prepare for small scale events by stocking up. Big events, well thats a horse of a different color. Its like living in the shadow of a volcano. It WILL go off one day. When it does, don't blame me or expect me to take responsibility. I will likely help, but the nation can't be expected to rebuild every time there is a disaster, especially the ones you see coming.

Oh, and as for the electrical grid... don't forget what happens when we all have to buy a plug in car, and we all get off at 5 and go home and plug in. Zap. Your government knows the grid can't take it, yet they push it anyway. Now that we are in debt with little hope of ever repaying it, guess its time to add in a few more trillion for a new grid. It will happen someday, but with a nuclear Israel that WILL use them to defend itself, and a middle east on the tipping point, and knowing that Israel is the most likely starting point for WW3, you might wanna use that as the impetus to get started.

Something will happen. Maybe just your area, maybe national or global. Your government won't be there to help, or at least in a timely fashion. Its up to you. If you wanna know how to get started ask. We will help. I am sure as heck not going to do it for you though.

 

[flowerchild59]

I have enjoyed reading this thread. I plan on getting some delawares and keep my dark cornish that I have. The cornish have been amazing birds, gd layers of brown eggs and I would like to have a sustainable flock. I would like to add the delawares just because they are good meatbirds and i need a roo of some type and thought it would be a good choice.

 

[Tala]

If the economy collapses my chickens will be free ranged again. I assume I won't have a job, so I'll watch over them with my gun all day if need be.

If you REALLY think the economy is coming crashing down that soon, you'd be smart to start breeding and training good LGDs

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah....the larger the dog, the more meat you will have when he is dressed out.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Allright now darnit! You are talking about one of my headaches. What are you going to feed that oversized pooch? Before you resort to eating him of course.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Points were multiple. First, intensity or amplitude of a disaster needs not be that great to overwhelm our society, rather just widespread. I see our government as being a very effective aid when a disaster is regional or short term like with a hurricane or blizzard.

It is the longer term or more widespread disaster that concerns me. With disasters to date, our government has had adequate resources. Bigger disasters will result in social breakdown through which a “country boy” is not likely to survive. You are correct in indicating the biggest unknown is the other guy (people). The problem is if you are in a location like where I live, even if you have 5 years worth food and water tucked away, you will not be able to keep it. Others will overwhelm your defenses and take it. Therefore to increase odds of surviving, you need friends / neighbors with whom you can pool resources and defenses. Basically you will have to adopt a much more localized government or social organization that can defend you.

I can put away food to last 6 months very easily and have plenty of land to provide food assuming weather does not kill garden. I am a nutritionist so setting aside quality foods easy. I will also eat anywhere in the food chain without having to be starved. Some bugs are tasty. My interest is in developing a survival system that will bring pretty much everyone through. That will increase odds technology / knowledge can be salvaged. Saving just self is a distant second best option.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Allright now darnit! You are talking about one of my headaches. What are you going to feed that oversized pooch? Before you resort to eating him of course.

In a bad economy when you have human and natural predators to worry about, a GUARD dog is probably one asset that I'd continue to feed. A purely pet, not so much.
I assume that there will be a lot of dead predators that the dog can eat without resorting to sharing it your livestock, but even when you butcher or hunt something there are always "extra" parts you can feed it. Hubbs might have to fend for himself, but my guard dog takes care of me so I will take care of her.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Allright now darnit! You are talking about one of my headaches. What are you going to feed that oversized pooch? Before you resort to eating him of course.

In a bad economy when you have human and natural predators to worry about, a GUARD dog is probably one asset that I'd continue to feed. A purely pet, not so much.
I assume that there will be a lot of dead predators that the dog can eat without resorting to sharing it your livestock, but even when you butcher or hunt something there are always "extra" parts you can feed it. Hubbs might have to fend for himself, but my guard dog takes care of me so I will take care of her.

Tala,

Think about this. I could be your neighbor and be eating those same predators for miles around because to me they are simply good eats. There will be other human neighbors too that will be doing same.

EDIT: Also game animals targeted for recreational harvest would not last a month if human population as whole starts going after it. This includes deer and turkey which have been extirpated from much of their range before when hunting pressure would have been much lighter.