Judging by the demand for livestock guardian dogs, a LOT of people are doing so. Our Maremma is pregnant and we have seven people already on the list to get one.Anyone raising their own food besides gardens? This spring I did the little chicks from rural king for the kids and now we’re getting roughly a dozen a day since it got cold. Was about 2 dozen a day before thanksgiving. Also the kids show pigs in 4-h and we have one butchered every year. We plan on having the older chickens butchered after they’re done laying.
That’s way thicker than mine. I’ll look into it.First pic is unused netting...second the fenced in area.third close up of netting. I apologise for the poor quality..my tablet sux
We’re in a rural area and own all the land around the house. Just recently sold our last horse in June and have a little over and acre pasture. Was thinking of getting a couple sheep or calves for lawnmowers and eventually meat.If you raise livestock KEEP IT OUT OF SIGHT FROM THE ROAD. As I have discovered from experience all it takes is one do-gooder to bring you months of misery even when the worst thing the state veterinarian comes up with is recommending a slight modification to your feed mix.
Put up a privacy fence.We’re in a rural area and own all the land around the house. Just recently sold our last horse in June and have a little over and acre pasture. Was thinking of getting a couple sheep or calves for lawnmowers and eventually meat.
Coup is in back and hardly seen. Pigs are 95% of the time inside the barn. Only time out for them is when the kids are walking them or washing them.Put up a privacy fence.
My 3 year old calls them chicken bombs.We have backyard chickens keeping us well-stocked in breakfast butt nuggets.
Look at the pecker on that one.
If I may offer some advice. I raised chickens for years. Build your coop, I spent a few hundreds and built a cool that was several times larger than the one I would have bought for the same money.I was considering getting into chickens for both eggs and meat but I have no idea where to start. I've heard they eat the hell out of ticks and other nasties so that would definitely be a plus where I'm at. I'm guessing they require a decent investment in a pen/house?
They’ll start laying at roughly 6-8 months old. I would stick with 1 or 2 different breeds. We have 6 different breeds and a few ducks. Eggs are all different sizes. Rhode Island reds are good hardy birds. Bantams lay little eggs. Half the size of a regular brown. We put ours in a galvanized water tank to start with so it’s easier to keep track of them especially when they’re small. Start the chicks out with some starter feed and then at about 4-5 months go to an adult feed. We use Kent eggstra egg layer Crumbles. They seem to do well on it. Get a small feeder and drinker. Fresh water daily and fresh bedding 1-2 times a week. Shavings are good. This is from our experience this year as we started just after easter last year. Others may have better advice.This spring we're getting chickens. We've never done it before, but we've talked about it for years and have helped other families when they've been out of town. It's overdue.
Where I live, I know we have coyotes, raccoons, fox, hawks, eagles and barn cats. We're going to buy one of those chain link fence setups with a roof because whatever enclosure we use will be under constant attack.
Any advice on the "start kit" of supplies we'll need when we get the pullets? I've been debating on how far out to start buying chicks because I don't know the timeline of getting them old enough to produce.
Also when I put our outside fence up I put chicken wire down into the dirt away from the fence so predators wouldn’t have a hard time digging under the fence.This spring we're getting chickens. We've never done it before, but we've talked about it for years and have helped other families when they've been out of town. It's overdue.
Where I live, I know we have coyotes, raccoons, fox, hawks, eagles and barn cats. We're going to buy one of those chain link fence setups with a roof because whatever enclosure we use will be under constant attack.
Any advice on the "start kit" of supplies we'll need when we get the pullets? I've been debating on how far out to start buying chicks because I don't know the timeline of getting them old enough to produce.
They’ll start laying at roughly 6-8 months old. I would stick with 1 or 2 different breeds. We have 6 different breeds and a few ducks. Eggs are all different sizes. Rhode Island reds are good hardy birds. Bantams lay little eggs. Half the size of a regular brown. We put ours in a galvanized water tank to start with so it’s easier to keep track of them especially when they’re small. Start the chicks out with some starter feed and then at about 4-5 months go to an adult feed. We use Kent eggstra egg layer Crumbles. They seem to do well on it. Get a small feeder and drinker. Fresh water daily and fresh bedding 1-2 times a week. Shavings are good. This is from our experience this year as we started just after easter last year. Others may have better advice.
Also when I put our outside fence up I put chicken wire down into the dirt away from the fence so predators wouldn’t have a hard time digging under the fence.