Nevadans?

[americanvalkyrie]

Hi, Julia!

Hmmm, what would I have if I had the money, time, resources, etc. About 4 ewes and one ram for breeding up some tasty meat... and the wool would be a nice bonus. A dairy goat. More rabbit cages, and more chickens. But I'm very happy with the chicken breeds I have now. I'm not interested in any kind of show chicken, since my primary concern is food and having animals that pay for themselves. I don't want a horse. I believe that, unless you're into shows or sporting or need them to drive cattle, horses are a money sink.

But then, to have all that, I'd need my dream farm: 10 acres with an irrigation source and a pond, at least 1 acre just for gardening and a small orchard, and probably two houses... one for my family, and one because we always seem to have a family member who needs help and could work for food. Maybe even to let Joe use when he doesn't graduate, so he can still work to earn a living and manage to be semi-independent at the same time.

 

[Lacy Blues]

HI! How fantastic finding fellow chicken farmers in Nevada. I live in southwest Reno - Urban Farmer.
At this time we have 6 chickens:
Bard Rock "Brosia"
Buff Orphington "Popcorn" This group is 6 months old
Aurucana "Egger"
Silver Wyndotte "Nevada"
Swiss Autralop "Charlotte" This group is 3 1/2 months
Rhode Island Red "Misty"
Two homemade coops - Will send pics, hopefully they can be integrated soon.
My little Misty is not feeling too well today - Brosia has a runny poop issue, I need a good chicken doctor. Who do you Northerners recommend? I am so attached to my girls can't imagine anything happening to them. Great layers, but have slowed in the past month with the cold snap. Don't blame them OY!
Ok - headed back outside into the coop to sit with my younger ones, make sure Misty is comfy. Looking forward to getting to know my fellow farmers and Nevadans (and close Californians)
Julia xoxo

Hi Julia,

You don't need a veterinarian. Get Misty some plain unsweetened yogurt, only about a tablespoon if she isn't used to it. Also, you can give her some cheese, cooked rice, blueberries and a few drops of olive oil. All of these will slow digestion so she won't have runny poops. You might have some kind of heat source over her to keep her warm. It's AWFULLY cold out there this week. Either that or you can put her in a dog crate or something like that with lots of clean bedding so she can snuggle down and be toasty.

Keep her warm and keep the "slow food" coming.

This thread is for fermenting feed. It makes a remarkable difference in their digestive processes. Come on over and check it out. It's really simple to do and will save you money on your feed bill. It's not just for meat birds. Most people on there use it for their laying flocks and are very pleased with the results.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds/4060#post_10209259

 

[SunnyDawn]

When we went to Ecuador we found that horses are still used in a lot of towns instead of cars. I mean cars are everywhere but folks still ride horses into town too. I imagine horses aren't any more expensive to keep up than cars are. I love that life there was more real somehow than life seems here. I also loved that even in the middle of large cities you could hear the sound of roosters crowing. I don't understand that part of our society that regulates a person's ability to raise/grow their own food. I guess I'm showing my age but when I was young the idea of not being able to have a garden or to have to get permission to get a few chickens was something we never would have thought possible.

IDK if any of my wish list animals are big money makers but, if money were not an issue, I wouldn't care about that. In my lifetime I've been in survival mode and I've had times where money was not something I ever worried about. In either state it's hard to think of living differently. However I think it's important to dream big no matter what. I would just enjoy the heck out of them and that would be the payoff for me.

Oh, I also definitely want a milk cow! I don't want to milk her, I want a ranch hand for that, but I love, love, love fresh milk!!! I can just picture making all kinds of baked goods with fresh milk, butter and fresh eggs! YU-UH-UM!

And I still plan to get calves this spring!

 

[NevadaRon]

I like the idea of mules because they are smarter and more sure-footed than horses. I'm not interested in galloping around the countryside, but pack trips into the Sierra wilderness sounds like a lot of fun! I've hiked into it a couple of times but that was many years ago when I was in much better shape.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Definitely Nigerian Dwarves, Alpacas, and Mini Donkeys. I think about it often, I'd have the most fricken adorable farm ever. Might even get me a Zebu Mini cow!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Oh duh I almost forgot about the bull terrier rescue kennels we would have too

 

[SunnyDawn]

I like the idea of mules because they are smarter and more sure-footed than horses. I'm not interested in galloping around the countryside, but pack trips into the Sierra wilderness sounds like a lot of fun! I've hiked into it a couple of times but that was many years ago when I was in much better shape.

Very cool! My grandparents used to have a mule and he was VERY smart! He wouldn't do anything unless you asked him nicely and clucked you tongue at him. lol

Definitely Nigerian Dwarves, Alpacas, and Mini Donkeys. I think about it often, I'd have the most fricken adorable farm ever. Might even get me a Zebu Mini cow!

Oh duh I almost forgot about the bull terrier rescue kennels we would have too

Awwww! Sounds awesome! I would love to come see your alpacas.

 

[SunnyDawn]

OK all. I have been working on the recipe page but it is woefully short on recipes so is nowhere near where I'd like it to be. Still I'd like it if y'all would check it out and let me know what ya think so far. We can make adjustments as we go so it is easier to navigate. Here's the link... Recipes (thanks Ron for the easy to follow directions on how to link stuff easily. I will get all the links done properly soon).

So far the only ones approved to edit this page are Aubrey, Missy and myself. Anyone else can just post their recipes here and one of us will copy and paste them onto the recipe pages.

If you have suggestions for improvement to any of the pages just shoot me a pm. Thanks everyone!

 

[sherylreno]

The recipe page sounds cool and all but I can't access it because I'm not an administrator.

There seems to be a problem!


Permission denied! Please login as administrator. As an option, you can certainly go back and try something else.
Still not helpful? Try one of the following article categories, then.

 

[Peep_Show]

Dreaming is free and hope only costs a (lottery) dollar.... Sunny, you asked the question that takes me off to my Happy Place.

IF money were not an option and there was helpful labor available, oh yeah, a cute hobby farm with goat barn for the Nigerian dwarf goats and a dedicated milk room (for cheese making), some sheep (for meat, mainly), a cider orchard, veggie garden, art house/shed for my studio with a picture window to look out on the set up, lots of sunflowers and other flora, and of course chickens -- Cinnamon Queens, an assortment of Marans, BLRW, TJ's, Australorps, perhaps an EE or two, some light Sussex and Columbian Wyandottes (just love white and black chickens) -- and turkeys (Heritage breeds, like Bourbon reds). If keeping a roo were okay, then definitely some breeders in the Marans pen and red and barred-gene whites for making my own sex-links. It would be nice to have a separate cookhouse set up with a giant pantry and canning kitchen, freezer (for meat and veggies) and fridge for farm produce storage and for pilsner carboys (beer making....)

Much as I like them, not sure I'd do the horses again even with help...a lot of work and a quick way to a broken heart as they're so darn fragile for being as big and powerful as they are. Such noble sentient creatures. But, then again, if the grandkids wanted a pony or two I'd probably change my mind. My ex in-laws had emus that were a lot of fun as chicks, but not so much so when they got to be big opinionated birds.

And, of course, lots of (under)dogs underfoot.... We're big into rescues, especially those that don't get picked first for adoption (too big, too old, too fuzzy, wonky legged). (Hey, who am I to claim perfection?) We may have brought home what somebody views as damaged goods, but ultimately we got the BEST deal in town!