Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

I love those calves!!!! Congrats!! 5 weeks and we should have babies!



I got to see the new cows yesterday!! Oh my gosh... There is a baldy cow and she has tiny DARK red dots all over her face! They r all pretty. There is one really old one who is in tough shape but the guy got tgem from an auction. He is a cow jockey... He buys gets them back in shape a little and then. They dont want to be touched but let us get within a few feet of them. They r still nervous simce they r seperate from the other cows.


Yesterday I fed two trays of fodder and they ate it all!! They LOVE it!! I am worried for my muscovy drake.... He is madly in love with the CX hen... He follows her every where and when she lays down he lays down right next to her and preens her!! I worry that if somethingbhappens to her he will get depressed...


Also I am thinking of selling my pair of african geese or the breeder quad of Pekins. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Once again it is time to tell my goose story... I am sure many of you have not seen it... It will explain my attempt more and my reaction to geese...

I copied and pasted from a thread I started a couple years ago..




I bought 6 geese this spring from a young, and I mean young girl. She advertised on craigslist. She was very polite. She was about 10 years old. I am guessing. I called her to buy some Guineas. She sweet talked me into the geese.

She said they were white Embden geese. 4 are white. 1 is white with grey tips on the feathers, the other is grey.

I hate the geese! But they are fun to watch. They bully the turkey chicks. They bully the chickens. The Poop everywhere and all the time. They have eaten every shred of lettuce in the garden. They wander all over the farm.

I even stuck my hand in a wad of goose poop when crawling out from under my truck.

When did they start going into my sheds? They can turn a waterer into brackish slime in 4 minutes. They drank a gallon of milk in about 4 minutes!

I need to know what is wrong with me?

Why do I keep them around?

Will I like them better if they reside in my freezer?

Will my wife ever forgive me for the flowers and veggies of hers they have ruined?

Do they have to sit at the bottom of my steps and poop?

Does anyone know of any redeeming qualities they might have?

Did the little girl know the geese would do these things?

 

[NathanZee]

Sorry, I have not been that gullible in 60 years..

I think you are hopeless.

Once again it is time to tell my goose story... I am sure many of you have not seen it... It will explain my attempt more and my reaction to geese...

I copied and pasted from a thread I started a couple years ago..




I bought 6 geese this spring from a young, and I mean young girl. She advertised on craigslist. She was very polite. She was about 10 years old. I am guessing. I called her to buy some Guineas. She sweet talked me into the geese.

She said they were white Embden geese. 4 are white. 1 is white with grey tips on the feathers, the other is grey.

I hate the geese! But they are fun to watch. They bully the turkey chicks. They bully the chickens. The Poop everywhere and all the time. They have eaten every shred of lettuce in the garden. They wander all over the farm.

I even stuck my hand in a wad of goose poop when crawling out from under my truck.

When did they start going into my sheds? They can turn a waterer into brackish slime in 4 minutes. They drank a gallon of milk in about 4 minutes!

I need to know what is wrong with me?

Why do I keep them around?

Will I like them better if they reside in my freezer?

Will my wife ever forgive me for the flowers and veggies of hers they have ruined?

Do they have to sit at the bottom of my steps and poop?

Does anyone know of any redeeming qualities they might have?

Did the little girl know the geese would do these things?

All those problems could be fixed with two VERY SIMPLE solutions.

1. Give them their own little hut and a electric fence. Then they won't bully, and they won't eat anything you wish to remain. And they won't drink your milk, or poop on your steps

2. A clean and simple waterer can be made for them using a 5 gallon bucket. All you do is drill 3-4 holes in the side a couple of inches from the top, and just big enough for them to stick their heads in. Then they can easily drink and wash their faces, but can't muddy everything.

 

[jerryse]

I no longer raise ducks but like to eat them . I used to live where the creek ran through my property . They would spend a lot of time on the creek . Avoided the coons by staying in deeper pools at night . The muscovy loved hunting bugs in the neighbors pasture after he got rid of his horses . Coyotes learned to wait for them . That ended the easy raising of ducks .

 

[duluthralphie]

I no longer raise ducks but like to eat them . I used to live where the creek ran through my property . They would spend a lot of time on the creek . Avoided the coons by staying in deeper pools at night . The muscovy loved hunting bugs in the neighbors pasture after he got rid of his horses . Coyotes learned to wait for them . That ended the easy raising of ducks .

I just do not have the right place for waterfowl. I have no water source. I already have enough coops and pens to make my wife question my actions. BTW I did try a fence with the geese. They simply stuck their heads under the fence and lifted their way under it.

I also do not like the wet mess they make. With the turkeys and chickens I do not need them keeping a place wet enough for earthworms to find a place to live.

My DW hated the geese worse than I did. If I had kept them she would have went on strike until all birds were gone. Sometimes I need to keep the war department happy here at home.

I like duck and geese stuffed with sauerkraut and roasted.

 

[memphis]

Holm & Nathan....sadly I have to agree with Ralphie on the duck/goose debate. After owning ducks/geese/turkeys/chickens.....I much prefer my sweet turkeys!!!

 

[SleepyOwl]

This is a little late, and I missed some of the posts, so maybe this was already talked about. @duluthralphie

I have done some research on Dexters, since I plan on having some someday. I plan to raise them and mostly sell heifers to homesteaders who want a small milking cow or as breeding stock, etc, and raise some of the boys as beef. Maybe I will even milk one for a while. (I am not sure how long that will last, because I'm a bit on the lazy side, but I want to at least try. )

Anyway, unless you plan on breeding and raising them yourself, they are probably not the best choice, unless you aren't worried about cost. They do make great beef cows, especially if you plan to grass finish. They do great on grass/hay only, and if you let them mature enough, will marble up a bit, too. They also will butcher out at a higher live weight to finished cuts ratio than most cattle. That said, if you are just planning on buying steers to raise for butcher, you pay quite a bit for them in the first place, similar to buying a steer that will get twice the size. I haven't researched alternatives much, but I am going to guess you could find much better deals on crosses that will give you a lot more meat for the same amount of money. Of course, this is all second hand information, as I don't have any yet.
This guy raises Dexters (he also raises pigs and chickens) but anyway here is one perspective on Dexters... http://thebeginningfarmer.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-dexters-right-breed-for-me.html

 

[KlopKlop]

This is a little late, and I missed some of the posts, so maybe this was already talked about.  @[COLOR=0066CC]duluthralphie[/COLOR]

I have done some research on Dexters, since I plan on having some someday.    I plan to raise them and mostly sell heifers to homesteaders who want a small milking cow or as breeding stock, etc, and raise some of the boys as beef.  Maybe I will even milk one for a while. (I am not sure how long that will last, because I'm a bit on the lazy side, but I want to at least try. )

Anyway, unless you plan on breeding and raising them yourself, they are probably not the best choice, unless you aren't worried about cost.    They do make great beef cows, especially if you plan to grass finish.  They do great on grass/hay only, and if you let them mature enough, will marble up a bit, too.   They also will butcher out at a higher live weight to finished cuts ratio than most cattle.  That said, if you are just planning on buying steers to raise for butcher, you pay quite a bit for them in the first place, similar to buying a steer that will get twice the size.  I haven't researched alternatives much, but I am going to guess you could find much better deals on crosses that will give you a lot more meat for the same amount of money.   Of course, this is all second hand information, as I don't have any yet.    
This guy raises Dexters (he also raises pigs and chickens) but anyway here is one perspective on Dexters...  http://thebeginningfarmer.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-dexters-right-breed-for-me.html

I agree. If you are just looking for feeders, secrets may not be the best choice due to the novelty pricing but the are so cool! I hope to have one some day

 

[KlopKlop]

I've had a busy weekend and nothing that interesting to share. The weather wants to be sunny here but the grey is winning out. Depressing to say the least

 

[Cebarmlds]

You could be having a mini blizzard

 

[KlopKlop]

You could be having a mini blizzard

That is due tonight and/or tomorrow