hanjoil Hatfield

My dad did the same with rabbits for the same reasons. I dont think anyone likes to hear a rabbit squel in pain. I used to think that anyone who eats meat should butcher at least one animal in their life to see that sacrifice first hand. I only eat what ive raised myself 98% of the time and eat vegi when away from home.

My 74 ford f-250 i-6 300 w/granny gears is the greenest vehicle i own. it sat seven years in a barnbefore i bought it . I put a fuel pump, battery, and radiator clamps on it and drove home. It sat for another four years until i had more money to sink into it. a carb rebuild, brakes rebuilt, new clutch, and a few other parts and tires from my brothers truck which he ruined the engine in and it was road worthy.  I may have sunk a fair share of money into it  and employed the local mechanic alot for an old beater, but it always gets the job done on the farm. I might drive it 1000 miles a year. There is no sense from my perspective to buy a newer truck when 100% brute 4x4 strength is needed 2% of my driving time. To keep the old beast alive and out of the scrap heap further increases the embodied energy value it has even over recycling. I look forward to many more years working with the beast.

Any time I butcher any animal I slice the throat. I thank God for the sacrifice the animal has made while the animal dies, it is not a quick death. By slicing the throat, the heart pumps most of the blood out, a bullet, hammer, or decaputation would shorten the blood pumping period and besides decaputation not alot of blood would flow immediatly. Blood clotting or thickening starts immediately, you want it out.  Im not a professional butcher but have eaten meat killed diffrent ways, IMO it does affect meat quality, and isnt that a big reason why were butchering in the first place? Quality?

has anyone had any luck or expierience with a rip-gut fence?

I currenstly raise goats and have been for the last 12 years since I was 14. I have studied and observed them all this time and have looked very much into this subject. and I would say the easy answer to your question at least for goats is no (in my climate zone 5a). Most of the winter forages that are used to feed animals in the winter should be planted with cultivation for success. the more cultivation, more chance for erosion. Your just trading a mower and rake for a plow and seeder. A cover of grass even brown and withered is a very passable cover for soil.
also, palletability comes into play, your animals may eat it, but just because they have nothing else they like. Animals desire the most densely nutritous food they can get. would you rather eat potatoes and carrots all winter or dried fruit, vegetables,grains, and other reserves you have in you pantry.
Pugging as mentioned above also comes into play. during freeze and thaw cycles hooved animals make deep pierced holes in the soil compacting it and if severe enough can damage pasture. my neihbor leaves his cattle out to fall through the sod and it is nearly impossible for me to walk on. This can also interfere with the heaving of the earth when it freezes. freeze and thaw make your soil airy and crumbly in the spring.
During the winter months  your soil organisms are mostly inactive to break down manure. when you animal deficates its poop dries up and most of the gasses escape into the atmosphere, this leaves you with little value going back to the field.

you also get into other difficultys like what type of temporary fence to use and move, moving water barrels every few days with de-icers, and the obvious, there is snow covering all the forage!
my conclusion was it is more of a hassle then anything else. Your money is better spent on a well built shelter for your climate with a covered exercise yard where the animals can get plenty of fresh air, sunlight, accessable water, poop in a small area with carbon added to make great fertilizer for your fields come summer. Keep as few animals as you can in winter to keep you feed bill/ labor down.
Winter forages are better used as a supplement to winter feeding of hay.
Buy the best hay you can buy. I do and my animals look great and are very healthy into early spring and with zero grain!
Yes no supplementation is possible but it is not worth it.

Dont know what your finances look like but a 40 miles round trip drive could be costly for a low income farmer. dont know what your standard of living is but i would cosider camping or an old travel trailer on site. you say its a mild climate.  Also, one tip of advice, when selling produce your order of importance is market, market, market, then growing produce. start small and with what others are selling. whwere im at its sweet corn, tomatoes, greenbeans. you could make your whole living with these three here. good luck, God bless

biodynamics is definetly a quasi-religion intitution. You must live by its principles and believe that the actions you are doing go beyond simple actions. there is definatley a structured belief system to it. but there is a practical side to it also. As said above they do have success with the preperation applied to the land.

find a cheap wagon or trailer and buy 3 by 3 by 8 ft bales for half the price of small squares

I have been raising goats for about 12 yrs now and heres what I know.

1. Horns make great handles. I havent had one fall off in my hand yet.

2. goats with horns get their head stuck in fence openings that are directly proportional to their head and horn width. At my place with grass fed animals, this occurs from 4-7 months of age for standard woven wire and 1-2 yrs old in cattle panels. Solution= tape or twine a stick onto the horns  of the offender across ways of their head (front) about 4 times the width of their head.
3. horn spurs can kill a goat if left unattended to grow into their skull, just as deadly as lettiing them keep getting stuck in a fence. Damage is already done. solution= use a rubber mallet and bash the spur off. spray with iodine spray and tell the goat sorry for giving it a headache.
4. Do yourself a favor and quit feeding grain, this makes their hooves and horns grow faster. I spot trim hooves when i see them. that means i trim about 1 in 20 goats hooves once a year. I have nubian, kiko, boer, spanish, and savanah blood in my herd. Kiko and savanah blood help with the hoof care.
5. most types of  fences will keep goats in. ive seen two hot wires and a ground in the middle keep adults in. You just have to keep them well fed. Most grain fed animals arent well fed, theyre just fat, and seek their original true nutrition, browse. Yes, if you have a hole they will find it . this is their curious nature.
Sorry about being brutally honest but these things hold true on my pasture.

thanks for the messages. Peter thanks for the heads up, I think i will start with a call to the USDA- NRCS office to get started on an 'official' investigation. I know mostly what your talking about. If a government agency calls it conservation than it is, everything else is up to their interpretation. I recently viewed a nrcs 'ad' on their website, it showed a guy mowing his conservation land I do know in my neck of the woods 'conservation' and 'production' are not to be mixed, or confused. it is "impossible" to do both by definition. and dont even think about bringing up words like polyculture, plant guilds, production ecologys, and the such. you will be met with a blind stare.
As for aguaculture i will have to do more research on the possiblities of the creek, trout? catfish sell well here. there is only one ok site for a dam and it would back water onto the neighbors property.
Also anyone know how to post a picture on here. I have an arial .bmp of the 36 acres but dont know how to post, maybe ill try the help section???

thanks all, please continue to post suggestions. knowledge makes us all wiser!