i've seen a few places in the past that were vegan and took in horses or other farm animals which were going to be put down simply for convenience. i'm surprised that no one has combined that with a permaculture homestead. it would seem the perfect mix: rescue farm animals and in the process gain the benefits of their grazing and manure.
I am actually thinking about doing this? I am a vegan and would like to rescue a few critters to help graze. I would love to find places that I could contact to rescue animals from being slaughtered or killed.
-Patty
If you are ever looking for horses the BLM in Wyoming and Colorado rounds up and sells wild horses . There have been reports in the paper this year about these animals going to slaughter houses. But remember I said wild horses.
Here is a link to a few groups that do rescue. My personal picks would be sheep for keeping the grass mowed and goats for keeping the brush cleared. I have always loved goats as companion animals but you need a super good fence - my preference is electric - if you don't want them to clear out all of the plants that you want to eat.
I hope to have goats again by this time next year.
Just contact local police and humane society groups and vets. The county sheriffs often have to investigate reports of animal cruelty. They pick up animals and have to find hoes for them. People are abandoning horses like crazy, due to the recession. You should not have any trouble getting animals. People give them away free to good homes often.
I often wish I had two horses again for company. Mine died of old age at 32 and 28. I know I can always get them free or cheap. My sister rescued about 20 and bought three. She had them retrained for pony club children, some of them. But then she had trouble paying for the others ultimately and had to get rid of her herd. She has 3 now.
Carl Badgley : I understand what you are saying, and i think it is a good idea ! However you need to look at other peoples expectations Here!
Wild horses do not eat grain every day, the Rescue people will probably expect you to provide additional feed, Wild horses are naturally
Un-shod. Your horse will probably have hoof issues that will need the attention of a farrier for trimming and will automatically recommend
shoes. You will be opening yourself and your property to the rescue people 24 -7 ! They will often 'recommend' vet visits ! Expect to cover all
vet bills yourself !
Oh yes ! Your Older horse will probably need to have his teeth floated with a wood rasp !
I Think that you might find that a few goats or sheep might be a place to start ! After the 'Rescue people' get to know you, you might be able to
say to them - I can't afford to have X here right now, and ask them for some help. You will be treated like part of 'their Rescue team', so thats
the good and the bad of it. That and surrendering the right for them to come onto Your Property at any time ! Y.m.m.v.!!!
For the Future/Good of the Craft and all its Guilds ! As always, your questions and comments are solicited and are Welcome ! PYRO - AL
My family and I are doing just that! We picked up EATING a vegan diet a little over a year ago. I hunted and was raised on a farm till i was 18 when i joined the military. I'm 25 now and have met some great people that are doing great things with a vegan diet so I figured I'd give it a try and so did my wife. What you are talking about is exactly what we are wanting to do when I retire. Right now we are in the process of incorperating permaculture and homesteading into our semi-urban life. So far we have recieved 8 chickens and are currently looking to rescue around 2 rabbits. We live on a little under a half an acre, in a neighboorhood where having these things are little frowned upon, but if my kids want animals... I'm going to make it happen. We are setting up an aquaponic system and finishing up our chicken tractor this weekend. Though it will be quite some time before we get to have the permaculture homestead of our dreams, we are planning on do as you described in the future.
Here's a link to the YouTube page that i have started. I wanna have it up to share and learn from others.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ParksAquaGreenHouse
Unwanted pot belly pigs are supposedly swamping rescues, and they're great under apple trees - they eat the drops that contain the eggs for major apple pests. After a year of them eating all the fallen and bad apples your pest load should drop considerably so you can grow good apples with no spraying. They also eat all the unwanted food scraps and will till a garden area for you.
My second favorite would be rabbits because their manure is so useful - it won't burn plants and can be directly applied. Mine eat the waste hay from the goats (goats waste a LOT of hay!) in winter and in summer eat chopped grass from when we mow or weeds we pull.
Third favorite for me, personally, is goats. They happily eat unwanted brush, trimmings from trees and shrubs, poison ivy, etc. and are great hiking companions. And I find them very pleasant to be around.
Cows, horses, goats, etc. need hay through the winter and are a bit more expensive to feed because of that.
Some rescue groups are very bossy, others are happy to just have a place to take some unwanted animals that they weren't sure what they were going to do with. I got two of my pot belly pigs from someone who took in "rescue" animals from the SPCA. They were going to eat one of the pigs until I bought her, and she had been a pet. I was thinking, "They don't screen the people very well around here, do they?"
Renate Haeckler wrote:Some rescue groups are very bossy, others are happy to just have a place to take some unwanted animals that they weren't sure what they were going to do with. I got two of my pot belly pigs from someone who took in "rescue" animals from the SPCA. They were going to eat one of the pigs until I bought her, and she had been a pet. I was thinking, "They don't screen the people very well around here, do they?"
It is amazing how flexible some people's principles are when they run out of other people's money...
I thoroughly recommend rescued battery hens. They need a little bit of TLC at first but most of their feathers usually grow back and they even lay eggs although that isn't of importance to me. They make good compost and pest controllers as well as good friends! I don't recommend rescuing a cockerel, did that and regretted it. We still have him because we have no other choice. I also recommend rescuing sheep from a farm. They are just like dogs.
my local human society has a whole lot of 3 and 4 month old chickens right now and if I had a coop and run for them and could keep them safe at this time from coyotes and foxes and bob cats I would be bringing them home tomorrow. i definitely plan to watch my human society's web page once I am ready and get my animals from them. i want ducks or chickens mostly for pest control and their poop will be welcome as well. my humane society has a vegan pot luck every year for thanksgiving and many of the employes have vegan bumper stickers which I love
Hi everyone! I thought this might be a good spot to jump in. This is exactly what some friends and I are working on. We are hosting a vegan pdc this summer and we are aiming to incorporate rescued farmed animals as a permaculture based animal sanctuary. WildEarthSanctuary.org
Cheers, Joe
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