Hey Hunter - not sure what 'help' you are asking for..... but if you will give the age & breed of this sow, plus your goals for a pig purchase I'm sure Permies People would be happy to share their views.
I asked this same question of a professional pole building contractor here in wet Oregon. He said for extra support he likes to use a cement collar (a ring of cement around the top section of the pole). This ring would be tapered several inches above ground for water run off (if necessary) and to keep soil from the wood where it meets the ground. In Oregon water gets into the wood, but is able to escape as the cement collar is only 10" deep. Then as you say, rock is used beneath and around for good drainage. The cement collar is a bit more ridged than the rock so it helps strengthen the large poles used in horse barns, etc. I did some searching and found other types of pole collars, as well as using wood or metal beams to cross brace poles. If you are interested in more details of how the bracing is done just let me know and I will go into more detail. Apparently this bracing was how it was done in the old days.
alex wiz wrote:Jami, how much money did you all spend to get established on your homestead?
How much time did it take to get reasonably established?
What do you do for income?
Thanks.
Not much, just a down payment, but then I was in debt. I started out debit free and renting - I planned it so my utilities were cut in half and my house payment was $250 less than my old monthly rent. So my over all expenses when down from $300 - $400 a month just to move out to land My income increased from animal breeding and sales. This was just part of my plan, the rest was to set up solar fencing and back up for my pump house, and to raise all my own food. I've taken a good bite out of my grocery bill and doing better all the time. But I don't live off grid - this is one of the things I'm working toward, to have back up systems in place for all things I rely on now.
The time needed is crazy, I've never worked so hard so long with a never ending list of things I'm not getting to. But I'm under staffed here so it's not surprising that things move very slow. It's a great diet - the country life.
I have worked for myself, part-time from home, doing small programming jobs since 1997 - I could work more, but then it would cut into my life I NEED high speed internet - and electricity to run my electronics consistently.
Now I bring in money from the animal sales just so I can deduct 'farm expenses' this helps with all the things I purchase to work this land.
I could have done much more radical things like off-grid homesteading when I was in my twenties, but I am of an age now I do want I can with what I have, more than some less than others. But for me, I'd never be without some kind of power. I shoot for off grid back-up options to make my homestead self reliant. I heat with my own wood, and my electric is between $50-$100. My next step is to get past generators and add more solar. Wind and water power are not options for me where I'm at now.
Regarding the garage by the road -
Brainstorming ideas for the placement of buildings, roads, etc and land use is a great idea.... Every blue-moon I have to have my septic tank emptied (or at least I should *grin* it's been 5 years) and my well may require some parts replaced before I leave this land. These are just two examples of why you may require some type of road big enough for trucks to have access on your land. I know in Oregon fire trucks have to have certain amounts of access if you have a loan on the property and build on it, but of course this is all code regulations. I am very thankful for my roads here in muddy Oregon, but you may be able to get by without making any - like if you live in the Southwest, or plan on walking to your homestead. Just do your due diligence and you'll know what is best for your situation and goals.
I have a couple of reality-checks from my perspective/experience -
First off, neighbors. You mention this requirement a couple of times - the odds of getting decent, reasonable, friendly and helpful neighbors, are not good. Add to that the fact that you won't know about what you got in the grab-bag of your purchase until circumstances test you and your neighbors. You can try to analyze your future neighbors before buying - use google maps to view said property and how the neighbors property and house/buildings line up around your possible purchase. No line of sight is very nice. Check easements, and shared roadways. Check if any of their property stands between you and a resource such as a waterway or main road access. If on a hill check what the up-hill neighbor is doing with their land before it comes close to the property your considering. And look at how they are using their land. The one's without fences, encouraging deer/wildlife and not keeping any animals of their own are type (1), the ones who don't work at all, don't work the land and don't need/care to do either are type (2) these are the troublemakers for everyone else in my area. Enough said.
Example 1: Met another permaculture guy down the road a few miles from me when he came to buy my pigs and sheep. He has just bought an old sheep farm of 40ac and was in the process of living the dream, my animals were his first jump into livestock.
He has since had neighbors shoot at his place, and kill one of his sheep, spray roundup past their shared fence line killing off vegetation way into his land, and this nasty looking neighbor and his two grown nasty sons glare as they pass by. They are of type (1)
This is land in a farming valley, been used for farming and livestock forever.... but. I have personally found that country folk are much more aggressive and invasive than city folk dare. I've been wondering about the psychology of this for a while now.
Next item, WATER - rain fall, snow, rain shadow, etc. are all nice, but having your own underground steady water source is #1 on my list. A creek/river with water rights is okay, but as you pointed out your at the mercy of the upstream owners. A spring, up-hill would be the gold standard of land finds, or if a creek originates on your land.
Land Orientation - In my case at 43 latitude my land is sloped facing south, without any natural blockage.
Mixed Land - some slopped, some flattish, some wet, some dry. Trees are a super resource as you know
Have water and soil tested - I know it's a pain, but. My water has a lot of iron, not a big issue. However, people in the valley below me have dangerous levels of boron in all of their water - yikes. People in the valley east of the nearest small town have naturally occurring arsenic in all of their ground water. They find it very hard to sell because Banks won't loan on such land. Not all dangers come from man made sources.
To sum up, neighbors are a wildcard factor. Not much you can do about it, and they haven't made a mail-in test kit for them yet....
Water is King, so having at least a good source to start out before all your water-works and storage are in place is such a blessing.... and may be the thing that makes or breaks your dreams. Remember: water is a natural solvent, always seeking to balance it's self.
Look at land through your permaculture eyes - you'll want gravity hills and rises, places for collection, a mixed bag of features and resources for you to capitalize on and add to.
Going off grid is a whole other conversation --------------------------------------
For this I'd say moving water would be awesome!
Off grid doesn't have to mean completely without power, just providing it for one's self sustainably- IMO.
There's a thread on Dirt Road Maintenance here you may want to look at for DIY tips.
I'm not sure if you mentioned, but what area are you looking in?
Hans Quistorff wrote:A maintenance trick is to take an old bed frame and weight it with some logs. Fasten a chain to the ends so that it tows at about a 30 degree angle. Drive slowly as close to the edge as you can so the the surface is swept to the center of the road. Then drive back on the other side. This works best when the road is damp [not wet or dusty] and there is time before the next storm to pack it by driving the same as when you were grading it to pack it properly. other people will drive down the center and pack the ruts. If you personally always drive with with the drivers side wheel in the center of the road you will be surprised at how much longer it will last between maintenance.
I like the 45 degree drains under the road. What is often done with driveways on slope here is to build a 2x4 'U' channel and put it across the road at an angle to keep water from running down the ruts and washing them deeper.
I will have to look into these U channels -
I also drive on our main road like you say, one tire on the crown and one on the side keeping out of the normal ruts. But the driveway road on my place is flat, and most of it is working great even though I'm sure it could use some rock in places. That reminds me, does anyone have suggestions for keeping new loose rock from getting moved off road. I imagine applying it when the ground is soft and then compacting it would help, walking on a loose rock is so annoying.
Here are the pictures I promised - I hope they help. It hasn't been raining today, but it was last night. Water is flowing in my hand-dug ditch, but the entire low-area is not flooded just a puddle or two - so that's a big improvement. However, when lots of rain is coming down the entire area up to the berm of my ditch is flooded in 2" of water. The animal areas across the driveway are very mucky this year. I put them there because it did have rock and was very solid and nice one year ago.... In the last picture, all that muck used to be my looped driveway, but it's a steady down-hill until it flattens out just before connecting with that other bit of road in the first pictures. I have much more road, a large parking area and road to my pump house, but these are the only places that are in need of help - so I guess it's not to bad :-)
Brett Hammond wrote:So in this case, the key is ELEVATION, and KNITTED 2-INCH stone. If you build up your driveway 12 inches higher than surrounding soil, with a gradual slope on the sides of the driveway down to ground level (or ditch) so you don't have mini landslides, it doesn't matter if the driveway is saturated at the bottom or not. Because the top 12 inches will drain after rain and provide a solid base (on top of the saturated mush subsoil) that will stay solid, provided you keep the water level always 12 inches below the top of your driveway. Don't allow the water to build up along side your driveway or everything will sink. This is why a culvert under your driveway, from the ditch you dig between your hill and driveway, to the other side of your driveway, is important: to keep the water level ALWAYS 12 inches lower than the top of your driveway. AT ALL TIMES, ON ALL SIDES.
Make your driveway at least 13 feet wide so your vehicles are not putting pressure on the sides, and slop sides 40 degrees or less, from the drive down to the ground (or ditch) along side. The wider the drive, and shallower the slope, the more it will stand up to weather. One advantage to making all slopes gradual, other than lasting much longer, is that it is easier to mow any grass that grows there.
#4 - KNITTED STONES. Stones smaller than 2 inches will not last very long in a driveway. A few big stones will not last very long and will eventually sink. I put down some bricks in old pot holes and were sunk into the mud in less than a year. 12 inch chunks of concrete sunk here. If you dump a pile of 2 inch or bigger stones into mud, then will eventually sink.
The key is allowing 2-inch stone to KNIT in large numbers, and create a matt to drive on. If you put 4 inches (or more) of 2-inch stone on your whole circle drive, on top of a 12 inch base of packed dirt, the stones will knit together before sinking (provided you put the stone on dry dirt base). Never dump any size stone on top of mud unless it is an emergency and you have deep pockets, because it will sink. When the stones have time to knit together (on a dry base), there is a lot of friction between a stone and its neighbor on all sides. This side friction prevents the stone from sinking, and spreads the pressure from your vehicle out over a very large footprint. The double layer (4 inches of 2 inch stone) has a second layer that will spread that weight over an even larger area, and the 12 inches of packed dirt, even more area. So by the time the weight of your vehicle reaches the mushy sublayer 12 inches down (actually 16 inches if you count the 4 inch of stone), it is dispersed so much that nothing sinks. If you can afford more than 4 inches, then do 6 inches of stone to be extra safe. I did 4 inches of 2 inch stone over a dry base of dirt, and it works fine. My driveway fill dirt, is mostly sand, which everyone told me would not pack well and my vehicle would sink into it when it rained. But with the knitted stone on top, it is fine.
I already kind of used your idea of building up - for my hay storage tent. I had an area just above where the water is standing on my driveway now, up toward the house. This area has a large oak tree near the road and always became swampy at the back near the hill. So I had a dump truck load of washed 2" rock dumped there, sloping up from my road, about 3' deep and meeting the hillside. This is where the last 20' of french drain was buried. On this I put my pallets and car canopy. It has worked out great, so high and dry - a perfect hay barn, easy to load just off the driveway.
I cannot widen my driveway in at least one of the bad areas - the one where the cow walks is hemmed-in by large trees and pole fencing.
All my my oak-park (the center of my loop driveway) is gently slopping and has no problems. Even my road on the up-hill side is higher while my road on the down-hill side is lower - so the rain is moving without causing any issues to the roads. The area the cow walks through is a bit lower than the part where the fencing is - so bringing it up higher in that section sounds like the answer.
Cristo Balete wrote:Since your French drain can't drain anywhere else, is there a way to move it even 18 inches? If where it drains is level, road fabric or even weed block fabric and large crushed rock would help.
Funny you should say this - the second guy I hired to put in my french-drain was suppose to continue the ditch and rock all the way, but stopped at the drain part. It was a big job and he was out here for many hours, maybe he bid the job wrong, but I couldn't get him back out by then he was to busy with other jobs.
LOL - yes, my daughter and I went out during a downpour and dug a trench starting at the end of the french-drain rock (a bit up slope) to end right at the bad area that has standing water. The next day we dug a fish-pound to hold even more water, but it only helps a little.
From here we are at our front gate and the main road, so no where to go - at least not this winter. The french-drain end was flooding better section of road, but past that it went right into the cow tent (very bad) so I had to move it further down the driveway no options.
Cristo Balete wrote: You don't want it slowing down while in the driveway section, even if it's seeping after a heavy rain.
You've got that right..... but I'm in a pickle now with this extra water coming into this area that was already in use cow/car/truck. So I have some earthworks in my near future for sure.
But before I start anything *grin* I do need to learn about roads and best practices. That's where you all are helping me loads.
And I'm going to use this information to help with redesigning the cows common areas.
I agree - raise the road above the soaked land! And your right, the guy that does the road around here lives in the neighborhood and puts down what we call quarter minus - dust + small rock, and all it does is sink. But this guy is liked and respected so he has job security.
One issue with my driveway is that it is perpendicular to a steep uphill incline. My buildings/driveway are on a wide pad cut into a slopping hill. So all that winter sub-water is moving down and past my driveway to continue down hill. Add to this that the french drain empties into this area and there are no better places for it to empty to, just worse. I'd like to put in a few cisterns to pump surface water into from this area for summer watering but that's a big dream. The driveway in this area isn't that bad, but it's starting to have surface puddles during rains, and be a little soft with tire groves showing. This area is as long as a small truck, and a bit lower than the rest of the road and up-hill land. I think some large rock in this section along with some shallow surface water draining might suffice.
The area of my looping driveway I'm here to learn how to fix is where my daughter has to walk her dairy cow to get to the milking stanchion/tent. Everything worked great last winter (year 1), but this year that section of my circular driveway is a muddy bog - where did my rock go! I can actually get stuck with spinning tires in this area now, and so I have not been able to use this turn around. This area started out as 'rocked' as the rest of my road, so I'm learning that animal traffic is a big factor on all land, even when rocked.
I'm so glad to learn that the soft-squishy muck needs to be removed first - that helps a lot. And I like the idea of using the fabric under permanent animal housing or buildings.
Where I'm at - just digging ditches isn't always the right answer - for one it can call to more water, so ditches need to be only as deep as the surface you want to help drain. Any deeper and you will collect water that moves well under your road, in the subsoil. In winter our soil is 100% saturated. Another part of my problem in dealing with water coming to my driveway is if I send it out to the roadside I have to go under the main road to get to the uphill of the road where the ditching is hit and miss and I'd have to improve that too. On my side of the road there are no ditches, my land is lower and flat coming off the main road.
Venting Here - it's a big construction project to properly fix my driveway and the main road in front of my property. Now moving about 250-ish feet toward the back of my property is a seasonal creek where all of this could be sent to (in theory) - I just find it all very overwhelming (the construction parts). It sounds so easy - just hire someone! I find that they can't do what they don't understand, and won't do what they don't agree with, $700 later lesson learned. Okay venting over - sigh....
Wow, that road fabric sure is expensive. I could see it coming in handy for spot applications.
I don't know if I can find asphalt chunks, there is a lot of broken cement chunks at demolition sites around here. But I don't think I would want to head that route. A lot of heavy back work not to mention the addition of chemicals to the homestead. I do know people (relatives) who use them for walkways and such.
Okay - so my rock road that's been fine up to this fall, but now is turning into a mud bog with this years heavy PNW rains.
I've been talking with people about how one can deal with: sinking rock - rising mud, one guy said there is fabric you can put down to keep your rock from sinking. I imagine there must be other solutions too, so does anyone here at Permies have dirt road maintenance experience?
I can keep throwing rock down on my driveway, but my road community did that last year on the main road and now it's falling apart too this winter - so rocking isn't the perfect solution.
(Edit to add - I've learning that not all rock is equal : )
I too use pallets as flooring, but I have taken broken pallets apart and used their boards to 'fill in' the open places on my good pallets. It is a bit of work, but makes a nice solid floor.
I don't really like to bring cardboard or carpet to my homestead I don't want to compost these, and my dump just started charging high prices for all dumping.
Jesse D Henderson wrote:A question about avocados: I've heard of germinating them by suspending them by toothpicks in water. I'm running that experiment right now. But what would happen if I just bury the whole thing? Sometimes I forget about an avocado and when I cut into it there are roots starting. Has anyone tried this method? I would think it's closer to what would happen in nature.
I love this thread ~
Regarding Avocados I had looked up some info a while back that might be of use in this conversation -
"Avocado flowering patterns fall into two groups: "A" type and "B" type flowers. A-type flowers open female in the morning and male in the afternoon, B-type are male in the morning and female in the afternoon.
It is widely accepted that fruit production can be helped with the presence of another avocado variety, but it isn’t always required." It also can take many years to see any fruit, so don't get discouraged.
I can't grow Avocados where I live - Heavy Sigh..... but I hope this info helps those that can.
Cleaning materials of stains and light soils is fairly straight forward.
Most all 'dirt' will only be set by added heat, so boiling is not a good idea for cleaning of isolated spots, stains and debris.
Pre-treating, a problem area before washing is always recommended. In some cases, like oil and blood, only cold water is to be used.
In the case of caked on soils, physically removing all you can with a stiff brush is recommended before even pre-treating is done, as in the case of mud. {Do allow the staining material dry first}
However for general whitening, freshening and/or disinfecting of 'natural fabrics' (thanks RR) boiling works great. Think cloth diapers
There are many soil removal charts on the Net where you can look up how to remove this or that, here is one www.cleaninginstitute.org
I do like your idea of scaffolding, and can see many uses. But I would want the scaffolding to support my materials.
Around my area protection from the ground is just as important, any thoughts on how to add support to scaffolding, keeping things off the ground/soil?
Hum... I use these to secure the back panel to my trailer. They go thought a small hitch-pin. This would still involve drilling but maybe I can use the hole my my screw made
I love your idea Dale, I have gone the other route and purchased 3-way and 4-way metal fittings (on-line) to make my own simple A-frame structures (smaller, but similar to what one can buy from Costco).
My Problem with my temp-tarp buildings is: (1) firmly connecting the leg pipes to the fittings. I use self tapping screws, but these can loosen with movement (and I move mine a lot).
I imagine I should be drilling holes and running bolts all the way through the entire leg+fitting, but that is a bit over my construction comfort level. Any thoughts on this..... ?
I would be interested in learning how to build my own scaffolding. I imagine it would cost plenty, even second-hand, as it's normal clientele is in the construction business.
I'm going to go look for some on Craigslist and see what I can find.
Thanks for the great idea - Scaffolding So Many Applications!
I second, the ducks-are-our-friends sentiment Kyrt! They are great for many uses around the homestead and urban backyard.
As for using raw manure in garden beds goes - I did add fibrous manure (naturally raised alpaca & KK pig - dried and shredded with an electric leaf & twig chipper) down at the bottom with the large wood. I wanted a little extra to feed the wood's needs as it composted down, as well as to call to the organisms in the clay underneath. I like to sprinkle this powder around as needed. I use herbs to worm all my animals not chemicals.
Hot Oregon summers dries poo fast for shredding and adding as a side dressing. When feeding grasses to heritage pigs their poo comes out light and fibrous similar to horse manure - it is easy to collect and dries fast. With a good organic system I'm not to worry about pathogens, but I do keep vegetation from direct contact.
Yes, do put large wood pieces at the bottom of your bed, but do not put in wood chips. Instead save the chips for topping off the soil in the bed after the plants have reached a few inches well above the soil and chips. 6 - 8" in total height is good.
The wood you put in should be seasoned (aged/old) so as to not draw to much nitrogen from the surrounding soil and plants.
For my first bed on the farm I went around and topped the old tree stumps left by previous land owners. These were well seasoned and worked perfectly. If you don't have access to this type of thing you can advertise in Craigslist as mentioned, that you will haul aged wood laying on the ground. Many people do not like downed branches and logs that have been left to long exposed to the soil for burning in a fireplace/stove, so they just make a burn pile out of them. Sometimes even just driving around and asking can land you a great haul.
You can also add some sand and aged manures or compost to extend the soil volume. I have lots of clay, that's all my soil is.... so I added clay, sand and aged manure to a bit of purchased garden soil extending it 4x - add whole wood in the bottom and a lot of garden beds can be made. I also dressed the top of my beds with aged wood chips I had dumped free on site. If I see a tree service I stop and talk them into dumping at my place
I also use large leaves - like from my horseradish or cabbage, such as Jan mentions.
I've used plates and weighted objects in the past but it wasn't a perfect set up and I had molds from time to time.
As for your bag experiment I would say that the gas is finding a way out on those bigger jars/bags that are not ballooning while and smaller one might have been more air tight. I too would worry about the bags adding something to my ferments and so I wouldn't even try it. Thanks for sharing your experiment, I'll be interested in how it works out for you.
Roberto is correct, and you can get away with only one line of electric, using solar power to run your line. Make sure you are putting enough juice through that line, at least 1 output joule per mile (or a little less) of single-strand line. Also make sure your grounding is more than adequate for the amount of line your running (3 connected grounding rods in damp ground) should be good enough. These two items (output joules and proper grounding) are what cause electric fencing to 'not work' as intended in situations. With bears I would design on the heavy side just to make sure you don't have property damage from not having enough zap on your line. Shock and Awe is what your going for.
You will want to 'train' your bears to this line - wrap a piece of aluminum foil so it acts like a flag on your electric line, then put a little peanut butter on this small foil-flag. Put a few of these buttered flags along your line so any bear is sure to encounter at least one of them. This is a easy training tool, and will work for other garden pests as well, you only need to adjust the height of your electric line to meet the nose-level of the offending animal. You may want two lines - one bear level and one raccoon level
Lean two pallets together to form a A-frame. I secure mine by cutting scrap ply-wood into a wide triangle and screwing this at the top front and back where the two pallets touch. You may want to add some wood bracing along the bottom, from side to side - front and back for more reinforcement. This makes a small place to go into for shade as well as to rub on. Some pallets are square, while others are rectangle giving a longer side - run the long side up giving more height to the A-frame. If you have bigger animals you can secure the pallet A-frame to a base of cinder-blocks giving the structure more head room.
You can use pallets to build a climbing structure for goats too, but happily I don't have climbing animals.
I've used this same set up for a dog house - adding a floor and covering with a tarp, and for a covered compost bin - adding 3 walls under the A-frame. I use long screws to attach the pallets to each other.
I use pallets as doors into our electric pig enclosures, turned on their sides so we can just step over. I use pallet wood to make gate like doors for the sheep, cow, alpaca electric areas. And I've taken pallets apart and used the planks to fill in between the slats of sound pallets to make solid floors for my hay barn/enclosure.
Oh and one more - I like to use the A-frame at the end of a stack of fire wood, it braces the long stack perfectly until I'm ready to use the wood. I have a lot of trees, but rarely are they perfectly lined up for a nice big stack of fire wood. So I find one to use for one side of the stack and then use the pallet A-frame for the opposite end - perfect!
Sure - electric line on the inside of your pallet paddock. Place one line at nose level and one at ankle level, that should do it.
If they have no trees - I would also add some pallets secured together to form a structure, place it at the center of their area for them to scratch on or sleep under - whatever ever they like.
A natural line plaster would normally be the answer to your question for what to put onto lath, however natural plaster won't work in your 2-day time line.
Do you have good insulation behind your lath?
You know tiling your outside walls is going to make those walls freezing to the touch even with good insulation in your walls just saying, tile is a cold winter companion.
MgO board is a cementitious wall board ideal for those with chemical sensitivities.
It is non-toxic, VOC-free, and a very impervious to mold. If you have a wood-framed
wall it will be easy to attach the board to that. Good brands are Dragonboard, Mag Board and Magnum Board
You can plaster, paint or tile over MgO walls. Here are some tips on using plaster.
If not painting, the MgO boards would need to be primed.
For one thing your cob + masonry sand could be causing your mix to dry to fast. Consider watering your creation to slow down the drying speed.
The other thing I wonder is have you added straw, this gives cob more structure and helps with the consistency and over all performance even when drying. You didn't say if you added any carbon material - cow/horse manure, straw, wood chips, etc.
1) tons and tons of ideas for potential icons and where the icons will lead, so just basically adding to that list Paul started. They doesn't have to lead to a forum, it can lead to a thread too.
2) the actual icons - does anyone want to start getting nifty with some graphic art and create these things?
Hey Cassie girl - I think your #1 potential icons, is looking just about complete. And I like the idea of each icon pointing to an informative thread and/or forum, this is great.
Nicole Alderman wrote:Hmm, the contrast seemed a bit much on my sheep compared to the others. Here it is with a little less contrast.
I love those sheep! My pig needs tweaking too, but I had to run to town.... tis the season you know.
The farmer and son looks like homesteading to me, I think of a book more for homeschooling.
For those wanting to join in - The icons are 32 x 32 pix, with transparent backgrounds and a blue gradient. Have fun!
We have been producing our own meat (culling chicken, duck, geese and raising our own pork and beef) so our meat eating has increased along with bone broths, broth gravy, etc. I have recently added eating all of the pigs we butcher, adding heads and trotters to the offal we already consume.
We got a dairy cow (traded pigs for her) so raw milk, cream, butter and soft cheeses were added to our diet. We are still not milk drinkers per say - just not in the habit, but we've learned to add it to tea and other drinks on occasion.
I still look at Nourishing Traditions as the book that got me started down the road of questioning all things food, and testing my children for food allergies - changing our diets as well as taking responsibility for the foods we eat. I think any book that gets us thinking is a good book
I still don't see pigs in the line up although I see it suggested. So what is the proper way to have an icon added to the line up
Leila ~ I love your suggestions! Flaming cabbage yea!
I would like to suggest less specific icons to add to the more specific ones, like one for all birds/fowl - all typical farm animals or ranch animals - one for any food production since we can only have 6.
At first I thought the icons (know as bumper stickers) were to represent forums we were watching and/or moderating. So in line with that I would like to suggest icons for each forum category, we already have fungi *grin*
Let me know if I can help.... I will add icons as I can.
Yup John's right - stay below 120. Remember the digestive system is 98.6 to 107.6 (37°C to 42°C).
I usually warm gently, stirring and testing with my finger, but you can use a thermometer too. I shoot for slightly warm to the touch. I agree, warm foods in winter are more appealing - even slightly warmed can make the difference.
You can warm by placing in other heated foods, just watch the temps when combining. And in some cases just serving along side a hot food will make a colder item more tasty over all (think dipping a cold meat sandwich into warm soup, gravy or au jus). Could you put your kraut on a sandwich/cracker for dipping? One more idea - is making the cold 'hot' with spices, and allow to sit in a warm place until it's about 75+ degrees - now it won't be cold on the teeth or palette.
Just a few ideas . . . . let us know what you try and how it turns out.
Just found this post, and I'm sorry you lost the piglet..... that's a shame.
If it were me I would have injected antibiotics, based on weight. I've found chilled pigs of any age can deteriorate fast, sometimes in two days due to respiratory infections.
I have never used antibiotics on our pigs, never was in that position, but I did have to used them on one sow we boarded for friends. She was raised with cows and didn't know she was a pig. Once in with our pigs she decided to sleep alone outside and got a chill. It was early spring, and the nights were still cold and she was used to sleeping with her cow in a barn. She got worse each day, stopped eating altogether. After one injection, and her own warm bed, she was back to normal the very next day. I continued antibiotics in her drinking water for 3 days after the injection because she wasn't my pig and I didn't want her passing on my watch.
So I'd say - buy some needles and general antibiotics to keep on the shelf just in case of emergencies. The warming and feeding were great first aid, but once something goes to far they can succumb fast. And yes pigs can take cold temps, but it's the shocks to their systems by extremes that can make them sick fast, and sometimes with very few symptoms showing until it's to late.
So why would you be wanting him, what would his purpose on your property be?
I don't see why you would want to just keep him without a purpose. Animals are work even at the best times, and boars will grow tusks and can develop attitudes later on in life, even pet ones.
Our lap-dog of a boar, raised with every farm animal possible, is sweet as pie to us . . . . but we've had to finally eliminate the other animals that shared a large area with him. We never saw anything, but I'm guessing the food dominance took on a new twist once his tusks got longer. Gash on the cows utter, on the calf's leg, sheep's leg and now he's living alone. None of this happened until he reached 2.5 yrs. So plan on de-tusking along with the neuter.
I might keep a farm-pet for the fun of it, haven't yet but I might, but not a boar (or most any good size male) fixed or not.
This is the best time to buy these smaller breed piglets. They eat little at this age so growing them up over the winter to mature breeding age (6mo.) or through to next Fall to a butchering weight (150lb +) is the most economical strategy. But you may need to inform your future buyers about the growth rates of your smaller breed and how they differ from the larger breeds. Spring piglet purchases are better for the standard/big breeds - those you only keep for a few months over the spring/summer and then butcher.
Still there are times of the year when the pig market is lagging no matter the season, a back up plan for surprise piglets is always a good idea. I like to barter weaned piglets for culling/slaughter of animals ready to be dropped off at the butcher for cut n' wrap (lamb, etc.)
These smaller breeds do make good yard pets too.
Enjoy your new additions ~ they are soooo much fun!
Twice a day - I feed mine alfalfa hay. They seem to love oat straw too.
Also I give them about 2-4 cups each of this mix -
I make a mix up of 1/2 grass pellets and 1/2 alfalfa pellets - I soak this with a liquid (made up of 1 cup molasses, 1 cup kelp and 1 cup ACV + 5 gallons water). I add enough of this liquid to make the pellets mashed potato consistency. We also add clabbered whole milk from our cow when we have some left over now and then. When I didn't have the raw milk I would give them a little organic butter when the temps started going low.
I do not have sources for spent brewery grains, dairy cast offs, etc. But even with our poor grasses our pigs thrive.
I just love what Walter does, but I don't have the same situation, and couldn't get my pigs to eat grass hay for love or money (without soaking it in molasses *grin*).
Alfalfa pellets and a little rolled barley (put into our mix for the two cows). I mix up 3 bags Alfalfa, 3 bags grass pellets with one bag of rolled barley, or oats, or whatever I can find that is raised the cleanest. To that I add my liquid mix of 1 cup molasses, 1 cup ACV, 1 gallon milk and 1 cup Kelp to a 5 gal bucket and fill with water. Most of the time the milk is clabbered. I leave out the milk for the cows bucket as they do not like it I do feed some whole pea when I can find it grown organically.
In the winter I supplement with alfalfa hay, the pigs really love it.
My forage is still vary lacking, as I moved onto an oak forest with little light for growing grasses. Good forage makes a big difference in feeding rations for all the animals.
Chad Carlson wrote:First time posting...Southern Oregon, Mediterranean climate, red wattle pregnant sows and 2 RW feeder pigs.
The next best option locally is alfalfa pellets (15% protein).
What is every ones opinion about a mix of barley and alfalfa pellets?
The mill also has grass pellets for some variety. (9% protein)
I also plan on ditching the hog mineral mix and switching to a 50lb bag of kelp meal per ton.
Just as you listed - is what I feed my pigs. Plus naturally grown - alfalfa hay, a little oat straw/grass hay (they munch their bedding) and raw jersey milk from our own cow.
In our case we wanted to get away from chemicals and grains as much as possible. I became convinced that to do that you really have to raise your own protein source when you don't have better purchase options.
That being said - there is a place in southern Oregon called the Grange (they are online too) who sells organic feeds plus the regular junk. And last time I checked they were shipping to your door for free on orders over $99
Here's their info-
Grange Co-op: South Medford
Animal Feed Store
2531 S Pacific Hwy · (541) 772-4730
Michael Cox wrote:
How does this work out long term? One of the key pieces of advice when planting trees seems to be to avoid adding organic matter into the planting hole itself. Organic matter shrinks as it decays and the soil and roots will need to shift and settle. Air pockets will potentialy open up as the soil is washed through into teh void left by rotting wood. This process might take a good few years so the initial planting may appear successful but later on cause problems for the mature tree.
When I have had to plant on a (shallow!) slope I've made a small berm/mini-swale to help channel water to the tree and encourage infiltration. A wall just a few inches high made of wood chips seems to work for me.
The rotting wood doesn't seem to pose a issue as far as air holes go - they pack in over time with soil from the sides and top. Adding small organic matter is an issue for a couple of reasons - one it can rob to much nitrogen from the young growing tree, and it can make the soil to rich for the tree. Ask your locate nursery about the type of tree and it's soil requirements. For my apple, peach, pear & plum I was told not to add fertilizer, compost or other soil enhancers just back-fill with my clay. I instead added a little sand to my dug out clay and I turned the soil so the top 8" of darker top-soil was now down in the hole and straight clay was at the very top. I planted my tress a little bit mounded and covered with raw wood chips. So far it's been 1.5 years and no sinking. I reload with aged wood chips a few times a year do to animals moving the chips, and their breaking down. Another point to remember is I planting on a slope so the land is already higher on the high side and lower on the low side, tree settling isn't going to be a big deal in my situation. In fact keeping soil on the down hill side is, so I'm going to dig a key downhill and place a long log in it to help hold things in place around the extended base of the trees.
I'm glad your berm of chips is doing the trick, that's great.
Have you read here at Permies about hugelkultur? The bury of large wood, offers many benefits to soil, plants and the retaining of water. Here are some youtube links too Hugelkulture Results
Maybe run your own little experiments - this concept works well in planters too.
My income increased from animal breeding and sales. This was just part of my plan, the rest was to set up solar fencing and back up for my pump house, and to raise all my own food. I've taken a good bite out of my grocery bill and doing better all the time. But I don't live off grid - this is one of the things I'm working toward, to have back up systems in place for all things I rely on now.
