Tennessee

[21hens-incharge]

I am less worried about it knowing they will eat them. But they will always freak me out. ( I guess I am a sissy)
Kind of sad that where I live now so many pesticides have been used we don't even have grasshoppers anymore. I have been in this house for 13 years and swear I have only seen one tiny grasshopper.
I am looking forward to living where it is at least green.
Doing the math and being a giant worrier it is looking like perhaps buying the land and then putting a place on it in a couple years. Two maybe three years tops then I want to move. There is a structure on it right now but we found out late last night it is not livable. Bummer there.
( Boss found out I am thinking of moving and is talking promoting me to get me to stay. Not sure I want the job but the money would help me get the place in Tennessee.

) DH has friends down there and family in Mississippi. It would be a good move for him and I think for me as well.
Over 20 acres is a very tempting thing for someone from the country living in the city and desperately missing the country.

Thanks RedRidge and DMrippy. I am really wanting this move to be a positive one for my family.

Thanks again

Babs

 

[RedRidge]

I am less worried about it knowing they will eat them. But they will always freak me out. ( I guess I am a sissy)
Kind of sad that where I live now so many pesticides have been used we don't even have grasshoppers anymore. I have been in this house for 13 years and swear I have only seen one tiny grasshopper.
I am looking forward to living where it is at least green.
Doing the math and being a giant worrier it is looking like perhaps buying the land and then putting a place on it in a couple years. Two maybe three years tops then I want to move. There is a structure on it right now but we found out late last night it is not livable. Bummer there.
( Boss found out I am thinking of moving and is talking promoting me to get me to stay. Not sure I want the job but the money would help me get the place in Tennessee. ) DH has friends down there and family in Mississippi. It would be a good move for him and I think for me as well.
Over 20 acres is a very tempting thing for someone from the country living in the city and desperately missing the country.

Thanks RedRidge and DMrippy. I am really wanting this move to be a positive one for my family.

Thanks again

Babs

I can honestly say I've seen no cock roaches here. The biggest problem we have had is ticks. Want the goods news or the bad news?
Bad news first. .. guineas are noisy.
Good news... they'll solve your tick problem in one year. ;-)

 

[21hens-incharge]

The property we are looking at is 20+ acres so guineas are an option I think. There are turkeys and deer visiting the land on a regular basis too.
It is both terrifying and exciting to plan on pulling up roots to head south.

 

[The Colonel]

Tennessee is awesome. You'll love it here just for the view alone. I sometimes get tempted to leave, but then I sit on the porch and couldn't think of being anywhere else in the world. I hope your move goes well.

 

[DMRippy]

The property we are looking at is 20+ acres so guineas are an option I think. There are turkeys and deer visiting the land on a regular basis too.
It is both terrifying and exciting to plan on pulling up roots to head south.

The GREAT news about guinea they will fix the ticks in a very few days to weeks. When we bought our farm we would find 2-3 ticks a DAY! The first spring we had guinea we found about 4 the first of the year then only one or 2 more, this year we have found 4 all total and only one was embedded. Most of my flock was killed off so as my population depleted the ticks increased. From 26 down to 7. I have a few more that will be allowed to free range in the spring. Most will say penned up for eggs as I have some nice colors this year.

Good luck and I hope things work out for you!

 

[RedRidge]

The property we are looking at is 20+ acres so guineas are an option I think. There are turkeys and deer visiting the land on a regular basis too.
It is both terrifying and exciting to plan on pulling up roots to head south.

When we first moved here we spent a lot of time fencing all 50 acres. Each of us routinely had 20-25 ticks to pull off each night. Seven guineas and a year later and i only had 2 ticks the entire year.
Lots of turkey, deer and bobcat here. If you plan on small ruminants then the deer can be problem - deer worm has run rampant here the last few years die to all the rain. But... as we've discovered... a few Maremma can solve a plethora of predation and health issues. ;-)

 

[purplehen]

I live in Loudon co. I could meet you in Knoxville when you come down. Would love to have him.
Paige

 

[21hens-incharge]

We have been talking about a few cattle and perhaps goats. I am thinking if deer worm is an issue for them I would rather skip having them. No need to invite trouble and all.
I like dogs so one more reason to get another or two.

The dogs I have now should have been good bird dogs but being stuck in town lol I am stuck with a couple couch potatoes.
Bob cats means I will need to make certain the birds are well fenced in even with a chicken tractor. (planned on that anyway)
A friend of ours did a tour of the property today with the realtor. He said there are 3 chicken coops there that are not listed in the ad.

The house is for sure a tear down and redo. I kinda already expected that.

Wondering about having farm turkeys if there are wild ones coming through. I really want to have some palm turkeys.

Doing a lot of this lately

.

 

[DMRippy]

I am sure it depends on where you are but we have never seen a bobcat at our place. Possum, raccoons, deer, turkeys and coyote are more plentiful. We let people hunt our property and we request they shot coyote. They are taking livestock and pets too much here.

 

[MountainGoat]

Your mention of bugs reminds me of some organic farmers who just relocated to East TN from England. When we were talking, one of them mentioned being a little unnerved by all the variety of life (specifically insect life) here. She said there weren't half so many kinds of bugs where they came from. I teased and told her to buy an Audobon guide and buckle in.

Truthfully, I find the variety of life comforting and fascinating - your grasshopper comment is unnerving for me. Here, some of the scariest looking (like assassin bugs) are your friend for sure if you garden, and some of them (butternut wooly worms, for example) are just incredible to see in real life. I saw something that looked like tiny blue sweat bees this summer sipping water from the soil in a pot and have still not identified it. Fleas and ticks and roaches do exist, of course. But there are ways of managing them. And in 30 years of TN life, the only time I've ever dealt with roaches was one time in an apartment in town, for what that's worth. I've also never dealt with bobcats (it's coyotes, possums, raccoons for us) or meningeal worm, but that just goes to show how much things vary over even a few miles. I had a friend an hour north in TN who's had bears to deal with. Also, it's wet down here, and parasites are an issue for goats. Because of that, preventative care can be high maintenance even without the deer worms, so most people stick with cattle, hogs, and horses. I love mine, though.

Also, I think the Colonel's summed it up about right. Wouldn't trade my mountain views, whatever lives in them.