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Posted: 1/7/2014 5:27:11 PM EDT
[#1]
What, no sheep?
Seriously, sounds like quite a little farm you got going there. I look forward to hearing more about it. |
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Posted: 1/7/2014 6:28:46 PM EDT
[#2]
:-)
If I had a least an acre and good fences I'd have some sheep and goats. As it is, these animals only need a little run with cheap fencing. I let them run around the yard also but I don't have fences so they visit the neighborhood a little. Nobody minds but I'm going to have to do something about it at some point. |
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Posted: 1/7/2014 10:37:06 PM EDT
[#3]
Quoted:
My chickens are the nicest since we raised them from chicks. The geese are my favorite so far. I know geese have a bad rep but I like them. These were raised by a young girl to be show geese, so they want to like us, they just don't know us yet. What kind of chickens? Their breed often dictates their temperament but raising them from chicks does help. Geese can get very attached to their owner and wary of strangers, even aggressive. I could never get near any of my dad's geese when I went home for a visit but they always greeted him warmly. Where are the pics? 
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Posted: 1/7/2014 11:50:21 PM EDT
[#4]
The chickens are all varients of rocks. Barred, Plymouth, etc.
I got them becuse the sign in the feed store said they were nice and were good backyard chickens ! :-) I've posted some pics in other threads . I'll dig some up. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 12:19:03 AM EDT
[#5]
And a girl with a gun. :-) 
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Posted: 1/8/2014 12:25:09 AM EDT
[#6]
Don't answer if you don't want to for PERSEC reasons, but what body of water is that? Any fish in it? What kind? The ducks and geese must love it! Does your property go down to the water's edge? Great pics.
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Posted: 1/8/2014 12:29:14 AM EDT
[#7]
That's Puget Sound, so yes there are fish in it :-)
But we are over 200' almost straight up. No access. For scale, in the first pic the boat you see is a multi-hundred car ferry. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 8:49:32 AM EDT
[#8]
My god that is absolutely beautiful! Congrats to you.
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Posted: 1/8/2014 10:00:21 AM EDT
[#9]
That's pretty damn cool.
Any predator problems with your free-range birds? |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 3:01:43 PM EDT
[#10]
They have a pen at night. I only let them run around when I'm home in the afternoon.
But no we don't have anything, not even raccoons around here. Well we do have bald eagles, but they cruise off the edge of the cliff and I've be over seen them look at anything but the water. Now that I have geese the pen area should be even safer. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 3:15:29 PM EDT
[#11]
What the hell kind of rifle is that? I've been around the block with guns, but never seen one of those.
ETA: I do recognize the sturmgewehr on the bench. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 3:28:27 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What the hell kind of rifle is that? I've been around the block with guns, but never seen one of those. ETA: I do recognize the sturmgewehr on the bench. FG42 one of the rarest modern rifles in private hands. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 4:26:38 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
FG42 one of the rarest modern rifles in private hands. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
What the hell kind of rifle is that? I've been around the block with guns, but never seen one of those. ETA: I do recognize the sturmgewehr on the bench. FG42 one of the rarest modern rifles in private hands. Nice. Nazi Germany produced a lot of really cool stuff - just not much of it. |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 5:04:17 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What the hell kind of rifle is that? I've been around the block with guns, but never seen one of those. ETA: I do recognize the sturmgewehr on the bench. Glad somebody noticed the gun, but I worried nobody noticed the girl :-) |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 7:50:06 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Glad somebody noticed the gun, but I worried nobody noticed the girl :-) Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
What the hell kind of rifle is that? I've been around the block with guns, but never seen one of those. ETA: I do recognize the sturmgewehr on the bench. Glad somebody noticed the gun, but I worried nobody noticed the girl :-) People are trying to be respectful. We're not going to act like horn-dogs in the tech forums.
Is there anything to stop someone from falling off the cliff? Can the animals fall off? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 1/8/2014 8:34:54 PM EDT
[#16]
It's not quite a cliff, really steep though. You'd have to try to fall down it, and if you did it would be hell to get back up.
Lots of vegetation so the animals shouldn't go down it. They are pretty conservative. The don't go far and they normally move pretty slow. A few years ago I used to see raccoon tracks coming up part of it, but is threw a ton of branches down there and haven't seen anyone make a trail in a long while. |
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Posted: 1/9/2014 9:56:01 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Glad somebody noticed the gun, but I worried nobody noticed the girl :-) We share some FB friends and comment on some of the same threads. 
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Posted: 1/9/2014 10:15:23 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We share some FB friends and comment on some of the same threads. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Glad somebody noticed the gun, but I worried nobody noticed the girl :-) We share some FB friends and comment on some of the same threads. Do we argue ? ;-) |
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Posted: 1/10/2014 12:06:30 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:Do we argue ? ;-) Do I look that stupid? ;) I just sit on the sidelines and make snarky comments.
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Posted: 1/11/2014 9:53:55 AM EDT
[#20]
Are you gonna tell us about the girl or not?
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Posted: 1/11/2014 3:19:44 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's not quite a cliff, really steep though. You'd have to try to fall down it, and if you did it would be hell to get back up. Lots of vegetation so the animals shouldn't go down it. They are pretty conservative. The don't go far and they normally move pretty slow. A few years ago I used to see raccoon tracks coming up part of it, but is threw a ton of branches down there and haven't seen anyone make a trail in a long while. Got it. 
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Posted: 1/15/2014 2:05:19 AM EDT
[#22]
Depending on which ferry that is, there is a good chance my house is in the background in that pic.
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Posted: 1/17/2014 6:06:44 PM EDT
[#23]
Very cool, and great view!
We are about to get some Indian runners and khaki Campbells. Do you have a problem with the mess your ducks make? I've several people try to discourage us from getting them. |
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Posted: 1/17/2014 11:31:50 PM EDT
[#24]
That's the Clinton ferry
We keep all the birds in a run that's about 12' x 30'. I let them out to run the yard when I'm home in the afternoons some times. I've added another 12' x 20 ish area that is going to be for the geese only as I guess they get super protective when they raise young. We don't have a patio, but a slightly raised deck with railings. So the animals can't get on it. If it was a patio I'm sure they would crap all over it. And .....the girl is my GF and that's a friends FG42 :-) |
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Posted: 1/18/2014 4:35:09 PM EDT
[#25]
Can you give some detail about your fodder system?
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Posted: 1/24/2014 9:05:41 PM EDT
[#26]
I guess my thread on it went away
There are lots of youtube videos on it. Basically soak whole grains for 24 hours with a cap of bleach, rinse and spread in container about an inch thick. Soak and drain daily (I only do it every other day) Stuff grows like crazy, I feed it to the ducks , geese, and rabbits when it's about six inches high (7 days or so) I'm doing oats, wheat, rye, and barley. I pave done flax and sunflower also. I've been throwing a handful of flax in with the other grains lately. |
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Posted: 1/26/2014 3:14:20 PM EDT
[#27]
Quoted:
Are you gonna tell us about the girl or not? That's my GF ;-) We were at a social for PNW defense contractor types. My friend owns the FG. It was the first rifle she'd held. She's since learned a bit about shooting. |
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Posted: 2/6/2014 4:48:08 PM EDT
[#28]
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Posted: 2/6/2014 4:53:17 PM EDT
[#29]
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Posted: 2/9/2014 9:58:15 PM EDT
[#30]
Great scenery. Super jealous.
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Posted: 2/10/2014 10:05:18 AM EDT
[#31]
Very cool! I love Toulouse and Muscovies. Very jealous of your little flock. Do they all house together?
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Posted: 2/10/2014 2:48:27 PM EDT
[#32]
they all live together but they don't like each other much
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Posted: 2/10/2014 11:49:55 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
<a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4070_zpsb2b9c953.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4070_zpsb2b9c953.jpg</a> Fourteen goose eggs. They are pretty protective of them, especially when she's laying. Are you going to let her hatch them all? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 2/11/2014 12:10:28 AM EDT
[#34]
I wasn't planning on getting in the way. I'm hoping my ducks and geese will just do their thing without assistance.
I has gotten below freezing though and supposedly that effects the hatching rate. Once again though I just want them to do their business without me. |
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Posted: 2/11/2014 7:26:17 PM EDT
[#35]
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Posted: 2/11/2014 7:30:19 PM EDT
[#36]
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Posted: 2/12/2014 7:30:00 AM EDT
[#38]
Couple of my friends are looking into raising rabbits. Any weird things go on with them, that you don't really think about until you have them?
by the way awesome pics. |
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Posted: 2/12/2014 11:17:58 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
About 23# of rabbit drying <a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg</a> Can you explain "drying"? I always just clean, wash and freeze. |
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Posted: 2/12/2014 1:12:13 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can you explain "drying"? I always just clean, wash and freeze. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
About 23# of rabbit drying <a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg</a> Can you explain "drying"? I always just clean, wash and freeze. I'm trying to get all the extra water off them first. I don't have any science behind me, but i think more water on the meat equals more freezer burn. I just left them out for a couple hours and rotated them and shook them off, patted them down, etc. |
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Posted: 2/12/2014 1:21:39 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Couple of my friends are looking into raising rabbits. Any weird things go on with them, that you don't really think about until you have them? by the way awesome pics. They are the easiest thing possible, they breed like....well...:-) Doing it again I'd get some stacking wire cages. I'm going to get some as soon as I find some on CL for cheap, or I'll try my hand at making them. I'll keep the tractor and put the young in it after they ween. But honestly with feeding them fodder, they really don't need to eat the grass. If you want to go away for a long weekend etc and have a older litter you need big water bottles and some gravity feeder or something. I'm still working out how to handle that. Of course you have to be willing to kill them, and they are pretty damn cute. Two females will probably give you all the rabbit you want to eat. 3-4 females and you could trade somebody for duck, eggs, honey, etc. I'm trying to work a trade of the stuff I raise with a small commercial fish distributor I know for salmon, halibut, cod, etc. Two females on a conservative breeding schedule will give you one 2.5-3 pound rabbit a week to eat. Call that half meat for easy math and thats a dinner for two, plus a little leftovers maybe. |
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Posted: 2/12/2014 6:46:15 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm trying to get all the extra water off them first. I don't have any science behind me, but i think more water on the meat equals more freezer burn. I just left them out for a couple hours and rotated them and shook them off, patted them down, etc. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
About 23# of rabbit drying <a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4117_zps735782ac.jpg</a> Can you explain "drying"? I always just clean, wash and freeze. I'm trying to get all the extra water off them first. I don't have any science behind me, but i think more water on the meat equals more freezer burn. I just left them out for a couple hours and rotated them and shook them off, patted them down, etc. Ok, that makes sense. |
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Posted: 2/13/2014 12:31:34 AM EDT
[#43]
What method do you use to dispatch the rabbits? Can't tell if you are using a 22 or the dislocated neck via broom handle method. Do you mind sharing the reasons you chose that particular method? Thanks!
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Posted: 2/13/2014 11:54:14 AM EDT
[#44]
I've just been shooting them in the head. But I'm thinking next time I'll just use blunt force trauma w the back of the hatchet head.
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Posted: 2/13/2014 1:38:39 PM EDT
[#45]
my thoughts on shooting them is they don't struggle at all from being picked up etc. it worked with the first batch, this group had a few that flopped all over etc after being shot.
Next time I plan to just use blunt force trauma with the back of the axe head while holding them from the back legs, then putting them right on the chopping block and taking their heads off. We will see if thats cleaner. |
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Posted: 2/13/2014 2:45:05 PM EDT
[#46]
You might look into the "hooks" for dispatching. It is fool proof and immediate. Less chance to screw up, compared to a whack to the head.
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Posted: 2/13/2014 5:19:23 PM EDT
[#47]
I don't keep, or harvest rabbits, so I cannot speak on a first hand basis, but I've looked into something along the lines of a 'rabbit wringer' (vid posted below). It seems a quick and no nonsense way to dispatch of rabbits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNxo7GFEXWw#t=186 |
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Posted: 2/13/2014 10:47:28 PM EDT
[#48]
I've seen that. Looks pretty clean. More money than I want to spend for my little bitty operation. Prior to this I'd only killed maybe six rabbits. I just karate chopped them and knocked them out.
I figure next time I'll just hold them upside down and smack them with the back of the hatchet. If I don't like that technique I'll go back to the head shot. It's pretty easy. |
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Posted: 2/17/2014 6:04:04 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They are the easiest thing possible, they breed like....well...:-) Doing it again I'd get some stacking wire cages. I'm going to get some as soon as I find some on CL for cheap, or I'll try my hand at making them. I'll keep the tractor and put the young in it after they ween. But honestly with feeding them fodder, they really don't need to eat the grass. If you want to go away for a long weekend etc and have a older litter you need big water bottles and some gravity feeder or something. I'm still working out how to handle that. Of course you have to be willing to kill them, and they are pretty damn cute. Two females will probably give you all the rabbit you want to eat. 3-4 females and you could trade somebody for duck, eggs, honey, etc. I'm trying to work a trade of the stuff I raise with a small commercial fish distributor I know for salmon, halibut, cod, etc. Two females on a conservative breeding schedule will give you one 2.5-3 pound rabbit a week to eat. Call that half meat for easy math and thats a dinner for two, plus a little leftovers maybe. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Couple of my friends are looking into raising rabbits. Any weird things go on with them, that you don't really think about until you have them? by the way awesome pics. They are the easiest thing possible, they breed like....well...:-) Doing it again I'd get some stacking wire cages. I'm going to get some as soon as I find some on CL for cheap, or I'll try my hand at making them. I'll keep the tractor and put the young in it after they ween. But honestly with feeding them fodder, they really don't need to eat the grass. If you want to go away for a long weekend etc and have a older litter you need big water bottles and some gravity feeder or something. I'm still working out how to handle that. Of course you have to be willing to kill them, and they are pretty damn cute. Two females will probably give you all the rabbit you want to eat. 3-4 females and you could trade somebody for duck, eggs, honey, etc. I'm trying to work a trade of the stuff I raise with a small commercial fish distributor I know for salmon, halibut, cod, etc. Two females on a conservative breeding schedule will give you one 2.5-3 pound rabbit a week to eat. Call that half meat for easy math and thats a dinner for two, plus a little leftovers maybe. Thanks for the info, appreciate it. |
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Posted: 2/17/2014 6:21:39 AM EDT
[#50]
Interesting thread. Thank you for all the pictures.
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