Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[chickenboy100]

hello everyone....been hiding for a bit, been crazy busy with life....got to show you something... This is my new baby...Anastazia.(pomeranian)..Ana is her call name. She is was 9 weeks old friday, we got her at 8wks. She is a spit fire!! AND>>>> *****Katherine turned 1 on the 8th... And to keep this all chicken worthy..we have been getting 3 eggs a day from 6 chickens...(1 is still too young & the other 2 are recouping from molting)..we also put or turkey & meat bird orders in for march & may... ..now all we need is some warmer weather to get that garden going and we are back in business!! Hope everyone is doing well..I have a ton of reading-catching up to do..1,000+ posts...Have a good one all!!

Awwwww so cute!!!

 

[LisaYolkUm]

hello everyone....been hiding for a bit, been crazy busy with life....got to show you something...




This is my new baby...Anastazia.(pomeranian)..Ana is her call name. She is was 9 weeks old friday, we got her at 8wks. She is a spit fire!! AND>>>>
*****Katherine turned 1 on the 8th...

And to keep this all chicken worthy..we have been getting 3 eggs a day from 6 chickens...(1 is still too young & the other 2 are recouping from molting)..we also put or turkey & meat bird orders in for march & may...

..now all we need is some warmer weather to get that garden going and we are back in business!! Hope everyone is doing well..I have a ton of reading-catching up to do..1,000+ posts...Have a good one all!!

Okay................these are cute pictures..........very cute................I just am a little worried............it seems the animal baby is getting more mention than the adorable baby girl...............hmmm what is going on here?

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Wing, how bout Tilapia in the basement?. I thought this article was interesting, especially how they 'control breeding' with guapote.

http://www.nicaraguadispatch.com/news/2012/07/hydroponics-tilapia-with-a-side-of-veggies/4570

 

[Blarneyeggs]

We do the same with chores when kids stay over. We've had some funny comments too.

And...so much for that goat proof fence…lol She's not over it yet!….my Great Pyr has come close to clearing it, but not yet. She's not in that pen normally, I imagine if she wants out bad enough, she'll clear it.

Lily is adorable!

what a beautiful goat! love her coat.............the colors and her face is so sweet! just love this photo

I appreciate that, nobody seems to like her much as personality wise she's a bit shy. But what she lacks in personality, she makes up for in udder.

Gotta love kids' views of the world! LOL
And Lily is a cutey! I didn't know goats came in Calico!

I told her that she better have a good job if she doesn't want to have to take care of her own animals. Dwarf Nigerians come in blue eyes as well as almost every color coat, Lily is considered a tri~color.

She is pretty! I want goats but hubby says no. I need more land and maybe then I will get my goats.

Thank You! She is 'my' goat, and she knows it. The kids have all laid claim to the other goatees, but Lily is my special girl.

 

[wingstone]

Wing, how bout Tilapia in the basement?. I thought this article was interesting, especially how they 'control breeding' with guapote.

http://www.nicaraguadispatch.com/news/2012/07/hydroponics-tilapia-with-a-side-of-veggies/4570

NO !!!!!!
I draw the line there, had a sister in law with fish tanks and I thought they stank....

I agreed to try this on small scale but it has to be out in the barn,,,besides we are on borough water here at the house,,,between the cost of water and all the crap they put in it, the fish would die,,,,honestly some nights I can smell the chlorine in it just like a swimming pool....

need to do a lot more research,,,If the electric would go out, how long can fish survive in that situation,,,,it can take us a couple hours to get to the farm at times..I am assuming if he wants to do plants also he would need some kind of grow lights inside the barn......

see what I mean,,,these are still basic questions,,,he would just dive in and figure all this out as he goes,,,,I prefer to find someone already doing this and lean on them

 

[chiques chicks]

NO !!!!!!
I draw the line there,   had a sister in law with fish tanks and I thought they stank....

I agreed to try this on small scale but it has to be out in the barn,,,besides we are on borough water here at the house,,,between the cost of water and all the crap they put in it, the fish would die,,,,honestly some nights I can smell the chlorine in it just like a swimming pool....

need to do a lot more research,,,If the electric would go out, how long can fish survive in that situation,,,,it can take us a couple hours to get to the farm at times..I am assuming if he wants to do plants also he would need some kind of grow lights inside the barn......

see what I mean,,,these are still basic questions,,,he would just dive in and figure all this out as he goes,,,,I prefer to find someone already doing this and lean on them

I have a friend who can get trout fingerling from the local private trout nursery. I think they need super clean Water though. I've thought of getting some to throw in the creek here. It is an unstocked section here. We have also considered damming a section ofa spring on the property for same.

 

[stake]

I have a friend who can get trout fingerling from the local private trout nursery. I think they need super clean Water though. I've thought of getting some to throw in the creek here. It is an unstocked section here. We have also considered damming a section ofa spring on the property for same.

Wing/CC:

Trout need cold water and deep to survive the summer....1/2 the trout that are stocked in PA won't live through the summer...warm water fish are better...and you really want to build a pond and should have natural springs to feed it....Catfish can tolerate the cold and the heat the best...but the cost of aquarium space would not work (yes, I have had aquariums since I was 10)

If you have enough land and can make the pond big enough and it in a drainage area that may work....I have heard of a few farmers with ponds they just get some bass and cats seed the pond and go fishing when they are hungry....pan fried bass and scrambled eggs is a great breakfast. I am not an authority on the subject, but I do know one family that built a lake/pond on their hunting cabin property....always thought if I hit the lottery, I'd do the same....my two cents....

 

[dheltzel]

well hubby surprised me today with plans of his own,,,,,this man wants to raise fish to eat, I better start some research, is this even a possibility, he insist it is............I never even had a goldfish let alone big fish.....but he does have a point, we eat fish atleast twice a week.... can you tell,,,I think he is nuts..

Everyone needs a hobby! My hobby was primarily tropical fish until about 2 years ago (bred and sold literally thousands of little fishies in my day), and I have a BS in Horticulture, so Aquaponics (the name they give combining hydroponics and aquaculture) is of great interest to me. It sounds like a fantastic idea, too good to be true, and I believe it is, at least on any scale beyond a hobby.

The major thing keeping this from ever breaking even in PA is the cost of heating the water. Solar can contribute, but will not be enough in the winter months unless you implement a very capital intensive system. You might be able to overcome that with a lot of work, but there is no magic way to make this profitable. If it could be profitable here, it would be far more profitable in the south, and given the lack of commercially viable aquaponics companies anywhere in the US, it's a long way to breaking even in PA. That said, if you want to "eat" the heating and labor costs by treating it as a hobby, go for it.

Of course most of us could never produce our own eggs and meat at the cost we could buy it in the supermarket. It's a fun pastime and we don't count the costs of our labor and lots of other things. Home grown eggs might easily cost $10 a dozen or more if we really calculated the costs. If you approach fish the same way, it could be a lot of fun. If the resulting tilapia fillets costs you the equivalent of $42 a pound and you can buy them in the store for $5.99, who cares? You had fun doing it.

If you do go down this path and want any advice, just ask. I've never tried "aquaponics" in the sense they are using it now, but I understand the principles.

And if anyone in SE PA is interested in tropical fish, PM me. I can tell you about a fantastic auction on March 1st that always has incredible deals. Think "livestock auction specializing in tropical fish".

 

[chiques chicks]

Well aware of the needs of the common fish.

 

[kalbach8]

I have plans to set up for rabbits this spring, nothing large scale, just enough for us and family and maybe sell a few...

well hubby surprised me today with plans of his own,,,,,this man wants to raise fish to eat, I better start some research, is this even a possibility, he insist it is............I never even had a goldfish let alone big fish.....but he does have a point, we eat fish atleast twice a week.... can you tell,,,I think he is nuts..

You can place the 8-12 foot round blue pools in your basement with pumps for the winter they are like 3 1/2 feet deep. My friend raises Koi and does it this way then they also have a large pond that they made outside for summer time with pumps.