Jolene Csakany

I want to buy an auger for making holes in the soil, both for planting and for the posts of a mobile electric fence.  The soil here is incredibly rocky.  

Does anyone have a recommendation for what brand to buy?  Or is it a stupid idea to get one when the soil is rocky?  
Are there any other recommendations for making holes in rocky soil- both small holes for the electric fence posts and larger ones for planting things?

I was considering this one at Amazon, it gets a lot of positive reviews but also a warning that it's a frequently returned item.  I'm happy to shop some place other than Amazon, I hate to support them but it was an easy place to look at a wide selection.  
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XMTTFPR/?coliid=I1ZQ3CBOJ8CWZW&colid=9M3ABGWFQLEU&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_gv_ov_lig_pi_dp

I want to spend as little as possible, but can spend up to $50 or a little more if someone says it's been good in rocky soil.  Thanks

Tereza Okava wrote:

Jolene Csakany wrote:Mookie

I just have to stop this thread and say that my incredibly predatory Mookie says hi to your incredibly predatory Mookie!!

Your Mookie is also incredibly adorable!  My Mookie was actually named Millie, but it evolved into Mookie and she answers to both.

William Bronson wrote:

I have considered getting a bunch of outdoor  bunnies, just for the poop, but I realized that I'm too softhearted to dispatch a sick bunny and too poor to pay more vet bills for them.
Chickens I can put out of their misery, but it's hard.
Rabbits would be harder still.

Understandable, I couldn't do it either.  I am thinking about dispatching my rooster right now, as I have been offered a less aggressive one and it's hard to say good bye- even to an animal that wants to attack me (or mate or show dominance- all makes rooster scary problem to humans).  

I fostered pregnant rabbits for my local shelter when I was in a different location.  Brother Wolf paid for all their vet bills, including spaying and neutering all the babies before they were rehomed.  And the shelter was proactive about rehoming the rabbits too (my ex was worried we would be stuck with all the rabbits and questioned my sanity, but the adorable babies won over his heart).    That shelter would also pay for the care of animals that needed hospice care.  When I am better set up at my new home, I will start contacting local shelters to see if I can find a similar program.  It may be something you want to try if you want more animals for poop, but can't handle the cost of their care.  Many people buy adorable baby bunnies as pets, and then decide it's not the right pet for them and bring them to the shelter so there are usually plenty to be had.  

Unfortunately, my current dog (adopted when I was still renting) is incredibly predatory.  She can control herself around the chickens if I'm supervising, but a small mammal would drive her insane and I'm sure the rabbit would pick up on this even if well fenced and be stressed by her intensity.  Until Mookie's time on earth is up, having rabbits doesn't seem convenient enough for me.  
I had two wonderful pet rabbits as a kid- one was a New Zealand White and the other was a mini Dutch. I have always wanted a Belgian Hare since I saw them at the state fair.  The Belgian Hare is a domestic rabbit bred to look like a hare, not an actual hare and it's huge with huge feet and so cool looking and supposed to be super smart and a good pet if you can give them the space they need.  

Until I'm ready for rabbits, I've been collecting deer and porcupine poop when walking the dogs.  My land is mostly wooded, and there are an insane amount of both the deer & porcupine here and piles of pellets everywhere.  It's pretty easy to scoop the poop with my hand along with some forest topsoil/leaf mulch and so I bring a bag on walks for it and been adding this to the garden beds instead.  

I also had a min lop eared rabbit who was very aggressive and not the best pet.  While the other rabbits learned to use a litter box in the house, she didn't seem to pick up on this despite my efforts at different set ups.  She could also be very aggressive, which I've read is not uncommon for female bunnies as some (not all) can be hormonal, and in their readiness to breed are inclined to bite people.  She liked to be pet, but when you stopped she would bite you because she wanted you to rub her head for hours.  She would growl at guests and attack them.  She was fearless with people.  Luckily, I was able to rehome her with a family that just wanted an outdoor rabbit to feed and care for and they loved her.  

The New Zealand and Dutch were males and loved everyone.  Even though the New Zealand lived outside, I would bring him indoors and he used the cat's litter box with no training. The Mini Dutch Rabbit lived indoors and we had to have him neutered because he would rape the cat, although it was a male cat he would grab it and hump him and the cat did not appreciate this.  After the rabbit was "fixed," the cat would attack him (but not severely because he was a gentle cat, he'd hold him and bite his ears but never actually draw blood or hurt the rabbit) but the poor bunny would be confused over what the issue was and just wanted to be friends once his hormones weren't a problem.

I'm on 20 acres in upstate NY.  The property is mostly wooded, but there are several small clearings throughout it filling in with brambles, the front yard is cleared and has southern exposure.    There is a small creek.  I just moved here in September and am new to permaculture and would love more seasoned help in getting things started.

I share a lot of the same goals and would love to have some goats around.  I have worked at micro goat dairies in the past both making cheese and milking/goat care.  

If this region is someplace you would consider, than please send me a message.
If not, good luck in your search.  

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I need to serve some bees an eviction notice. They moved into the eaves of my house and can't stay there. But I can't bear to poison them. Perhaps I could issue a relocation notice? Is there a particular uniform to wear and a ritual I might observe?

If it's honey bees you are looking to evict, then you may want to advertise on craigs list and see if your region has a local beekeeping club.   A lot of bee colonies died last winter, and so beekeepers are on the lookout for wild bees they can capture.    

Asking for and checking references could be helpful, if you're not doing that already.  

If you want an animal that is going to be dedicated to killing rodents, I think a Jack Russel or similar breed is a better bet than a cat.  My mutt is very predatory and will spend all day killing rodents outside.  Bring her in and she lays on the couch and ignores the mice I had to trap.  She killed two when we first moved here, and then just stopped caring about indoor rodents.  I've always adopted, but you never know what you will get with a mixed breed.  I'm in a new area, but I never had a problem with voles bothering my potatoes or other veggies when I lived in NC with clay soil.  I didn't have a fence or other protection, and before my dog there were a lots of rabbits and groundhogs too; but my garden was free from all small mammal pests after I brought her home and she wasn't even outside all the time.  I used to put the sweepings from inside the house in the garden too.  
You can buy predator pee and try that as a deterrent.  There is coyote, fox, bobcat, and mixes available to help scare rodents and rabbits away.  

I have worked on two farms that swore by Jack Russel dogs for rodent control.  Cats can be useful, but they are not usually as obsessive about it as a dog bred for this purpose.   These dogs will want to do nothing else, and if you can deal with the damage from their digging, they will kill, kill, kill whether they are hungry or not, and they never get bored with it.  They will cry by the door for you to let them out to hunt.

You can contact a Jack Russel rescue and they often know if there is a predatory one available in a foster home.  I know one of the farms had adopted an adult Jack that was given up for being too predatory.  The other farm had sought out a breeder that produced dogs for this trait, and participated in earth dog trials.  They raised the puppy around chickens and cats, so the dog didn't bother those.  If you brought this dog by the pond he would hunt bubbles in it.  Their hunting is an obsessive compulsive disorder.
My dog is not quite as dedicated, but she seemed effective enough in our past location.