Daniel Griffin

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/idaho-family-says-cyanide-trap-injured-their-son-killed-their-dog/ar-BBMnqLa?ocid=spartanntp

Not sure if Im allowed to post links. But I like to read threw top stories in the news and this one to me is insane. I had no idea these predator traps were a thing!... Seems absolutely crazy, but maybe Im just severely out of touch...

What do yall think? Have you heard of this before? Wouldn't this be crazy dangerous to the environment?

Thanks for all the Great info Annie!

I was hoping by posting here I would get some feedback on some herbal remedies, fantastic to hear you have had success with that!

I will definitely be looking to how to check their eyelids so I can get a quick snapshot of their health!

And that is my plan to work on deer plot mix this fall/winter outside there paddock that I can get some home grown food/grazing for them even if it doesn't last all that long!

So far my fencing seems to work really well, I went overboard on it to make sure it would contain them and keep my male from breaking it down to get at his females!

And thats our plan as well to harvest the milk, get some meat and sell some kids to offset their cost! Thank you again very much! Its one thing to read about it but so many people say so many things, its nice to hear it here on permies that its working well for you!

Goats are awesome animals! Im loving it!

Good Day All!

I just recently got my first herd of goats! 2 mamas, 1 buck, and 2 babies (1 buck and 1 doe)! The buck is pure Nigerian Dwarf and the 2 mamas are Half Nig. Dwarf and 1 is half Lamancha and the other is half Boer but luckily there all Dwarf sizes for my setup!


I have so much too learn and am going to be looking for a book soon as I have seen a few comphrensive ones suggested online.


I love this community here at permie forums and was looking for some advice!


1. What minerals do I need to supply to them? I am currently feeding them alfalfa hay for reference. I purchased a mineral block for goats but I have seen other people online supplying them with baking soda and other minerals that the goats have access too if they want/need it. Would I be ok with just a mineral block or do I need additional minerals for them to access for their digestive tract?


2. What medicines should I keep on hand? The people we got them from gave me something for worms and bots for horses. He called it Ivermectin but thats not the name on the package. And yesterday I noticed my Buck was having some clumpy poo. Im hoping you guys can shed some light on what medicines I should have at the house and what to look for to keep my goats happy and healthy!


Those are my only questions that I know of for the moment. But if anyone has any additional advice/insight it is greatly appreciated! Thank you all so very much!

Troy Rhodes wrote:Anolther approach is a trap crop.  If there is some plant that your noxious pest really likes, plant a big patch of that out on the edge somewhere to distract them from your high value crops.

Thats a terrific idea! I think the majority of my problem is from the birds and quail. Does anyone know what they may like best? Maybe just throw out some regular bird seed and even a quail block on the other side of the yard to deter them?

Also are birds, quail, rabbits and squirrels capable of learning? Sorry if this is a stupid question... But can they learn that one side of the yard is ok, and my garden area is off limits (due to netting, electric fencing, bb guns, etc.)? Im wondering because if I plant a trap crop or put out seed they will just hit the yard even harder because they know there is food in that general area.

EDIT: Per your post above I think you covered these questions, must have been after you edited or its too early and I missed it lol! Very encouraging the squirels learned to fear your shooting skills haha! And I will just put some seed out in a pile of what im planting to really direct them! Thank you so much for your input, I feel I am heading in the right direction now!

I recently started a plot at my new place and planted a ton of cover crop seed. I planted way more than recommended because I new the birds, rabbits and squirrels would eat a TON of the seeds and I figured I would develop better control measures than this at a later date. As expected right after planting there were a lot of animals eating the seeds. After about a week to a week and a half of planting I started having tons of seedlings that sprouted! Last night I came home and found nice little pockets where some animal had dug up and helped themselves to all my seedlings and I have almost nothing left. Im not upset as failures are a way to learn and move forward and apparently now is the time to learn!

My only thought right now is I purchased a little red ryder bb gun that I plan to use at soda can targets when these animals are in the yard in hopes of scaring them with a loud noise and training them that my yard is not where you want to be. If that fails I will bring out the .22 pellet rifle and put some meat in the freezer as I figure one way or another I will be eating what I planted, so if they eat my plants then Ill eat them =P. I was also thinking of putting up posts with some bright orange flags in hopes of them learning if the flags are out so are the bb/pellet guns.

I love seeing the wildlife and would enjoy them doing more usefull things, and us working and living in harmony (maybe this isnt realistic).

I would love to hear all of your solutions to this type of problem, and I assume Ill have the problem of these critters nibbling on my growing plants once I can get them to that stage, so I do need to figure out a decent solution.

I recently moved to a 1 acre lot in Surprise, AZ to get out onto some land, enjoy nature more and be able to do some permaculture. I have met many people with horses that are paying to have their manure hauled away. My soil currently is completely bare. My question is how can I utilize a free and abundant resource like horse manure that I now have access to? Can I just spread it over the ground and use it as a mulch and source of fertilizer to improve the soil? Or do I need to add a lot of carbon material to it like straw or wood chips? Nothing is growing there right now so im not worried about burning any plants, but will the manure decompose over the winter? Will it stink to high heaven if I dont add more carbon to have a better C:N ratio? I could also try getting straw or wood chips and attempting some hot compost piles? Or are there any other uses you can think of that im missing here? Thanks

Great Points Mike!

As far as explaining how a 250lbs machine can do this is a bit difficult and will be shown more clearly once its built and we have our videos up. There are numerous small diy backhoes that handle quite a bit of work for being so small. It has to do with leverage and the power of the hydraulics. The 2000lbs of ripping force comes from the hydraulics and the main force is in the bucket curl. Stabilizers keep the machine from dragging around but there are limits, however if your in that hard of dirt or large enough rock stuck you may have to get a little creative with this machine, but again this is to superceed a pick and shovel, not take on the role of a serious backhoe. It will be manually moved around the site however once digging you can move around to your next location by swinging and using the arm itself to drag to backward or to the side (once the stabilizers are up as it does as wheels on the opposite end to assist in this). Yes you sit on the machine while operating and use your body to swing it around a full 360 reducing the need for a swing cylinder and allow faster travel. It will be a gas engine.

Harbor Freight does have a Trencher which is based off the old 80's ground hawg. A very stable and capable machine for its size. The machine we intend to produce is around the same cost due to the cost of hydraulics but the main feature being easier to store and transport, capable of getting through backyard gates and being stored in a shed. The Harbor Freight model is for those that have room to store a larger machine and manuever is 1250lbs around on site, which on slopes and through trees maybe difficult as it is roughly 12' x 5' and ours will be around 2.5' x 5-6' when not extended.

Your suggestion of a little pushing blade and post hole auger is well received!!!

Tyler, that you very much for your feedback! I completely understand your point of small earth moving equipment not being able to move much.

Our main reasoning and motivation for this endeavor is to be able own our own backhoe and be able to move it around tight spaces between existing trees in our woodland that we do not want to cut down but still get earthworks established within. This machine is not intended to be equivalent to a large machine, but rather a ten fold increase over a pick and shovel. For us personally we did not have the funds to afford a larger tractor, be able to haul it, or have anyone nearby to borrow or rent one from.

We are hoping there are others in our situation that would see some benefit from something more affordable, compact and a vast improvement over a shovel.

We will have our first prototype up and running soon and plan to put it through its paces in varied terrain and work to resolve any issues we find to make a efficent machine for its size.

P.S. Our proving grounds will include 1 site with heavy clay and steep slopes and the 2nd site will feature extremely rocky terrain. After our prototype is up and digging I will start another thread to post progress and videos. This one is just intended to ascertain is there is a market for this idea as we move forward.

Thanks again to all who take the time to read!

We are starting a small startup company and we looking to get some feedback and interest from the community. We are currently designing a small mini-backhoe that will be capable of 7' reach, 5' digging depth, approx 250lbs, 360 degrees swing, 2000lbs ripping force, 12" bucket, small enough to fit through any doorway, capable of being towed behind any car or truck, or capable of being strapped down in a standard size truck bed.

optional attachments could include
-thumb for grapple feature
-tilt-bucket feature (or angular bucket)
-ability to utilize hydraulics to split wood

Total price would be around $2-3000 range with optional attachment possibly being an additional fee.

We would very much like to hear from you. What are your overall thoughts? Would you be likely to purchase such a product? Does this product fill a niche for you? Suggestions to improve our design that you would like to see incorporated? And anything else you can think of!

We greatly appreciate your help on this! We fully expect to have our first model up and digging in less at 2 months time!

Englander 24-ACD !!!

Finally after many hours of googling for related stoves I found it! I found one website that mentioned the shape and size of the glass could be a big help in determining the stove. The glass size didnt help, but the door shape sure did! Led me to one site that had indentical doors which gave me the manufacturer and one more search to finall find it! Hope this info can help someone else in the future!