My backyard suburban farm - Page 4

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Posted: 7/14/2014 1:57:41 PM EDT

[#1]

So 11 Cornish crosses and red rangers at eight weeks and ten saxony duckling at over four weeks, plus six 8 week old rabbits and eight four week old rabbits means a LOT OF FEED !!!!! :-)

Plus four adult geese, three adult Muscovy ducks (and two little ducklings ) and three egg laying chickens.

At this moment I'm using about $50-60 worth a grains a month to feed the birds. I'm not sprouting for the rabbits at all, they are on feed (which at 14.50 pre 50# doesn't seem worth replacing ) plus they are eating the lawn.

Hopefully this week the Cornish crosses get slaughtered. Then after the other Muscovy mother finishes hatching chicks I can get rid of those three ducks. I also plan to harvest the two youngest geese once I have the plucker and do the Cornish hens but haven't made up my mind for sure about that yet.

Posted: 7/16/2014 1:52:04 PM EDT

[#2]

My rabbit tea system for my straw bale garden.

I was doing a system where I drained the poo through a bucket with holes in the bottom but it took too much work for no advantage.

Now I just fill a bucket 1/2 -3/4 full of poo and fill it to the top with water and let it steep for a day or two. Then I split that between four buckets and fill them to the top with water and then poor it on the plants.

My garden isn't awesome but I'm pretty happy for my first time ever and first time using straw bales (of anyone I know)

We are getting peas, beans, lettuce of all types, and strawberries. Melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, etc are all coming along.

Posted: 7/16/2014 8:18:57 PM EDT

[#3]

Wow, with all these birds I have been flying through the feed. I thought double but it's way more than that.

I'll be out of that $150 worth of whole grains and rabbit feed by next week.

For that $150 I've raised 11 meat birds , half to harvest weight ( I lost one really big one to suicide)

I've got 10 saxony ducks to a pretty good size.

I have maintained 3 adult ducks, four adult chickens, and three adult geese, along with bringing a gosling to almost full size.

I have maintained four adult rabbits and got six to 3/4 of the way to slaughter. Add eight that are just a few weeks old and aren't eating feed but their momma is eating triple.

Still $150 is a lot.

I got three more adult chickens last night and we lost one of ours last week.

Next week I'll harvest half the meat birds and I'm really learning towards the two youngest geese.

I'd really like to get back to a maintenance flock. The yard is too crowded.

Posted: 7/18/2014 2:19:11 PM EDT

[#4]

For the urban or suburban farmer, this is what I think I've learned so far :-)

Even though I haven't figured out incubating yet, I think ducks may be a better choice than chickens for eggs and/or meat.

Without the noise of a rooster you can pick a good multipurpose breed and raise meat animals, plus have eggs. Or you can get a few really good egg ducks and have as many eggs as with chickens but they are more fun to have around, they mow the lawn etc.

Now that I've picked a breed of duck that lays 150-200 eggs a year I should have plenty of eggs to figure out incubating with. I can sell most of the hatchlings on CL and pay for all the feed required for the ones I raise to eat.

----------------------------

Rabbits are number ONE. With stacking cages and an area the size of two stand up freezers, you could raise enough rabbit to eat 1-2 per week, or eat one a week and sell enough to pay for ALL your rabbit expenses. 300# of rabbit meat a year is reasonable if you want, 150# without really trying. I'm aiming to harvest 6-8 rabbit every four weeks. I probably need one more doe to be able to do that reliably.

------------------------------

Bees: I don't really have any expereince yet, but it seems like the least work of anything I've done with potential for good payoff. The idea that I can get 50# or possible way more honey from my hive per year for almost zero work and no feed costs etc is pretty attractive. I can't possible use all that , unless I really get Into mead making :-) but it's free after startup costs. And if you are patient on CL you can get hives for nearly free and in the spring capture a swarm for free also.

Posted: 7/22/2014 6:29:59 PM EDT

[#5]

Cool! Enjoying the updates.

Posted: 7/27/2014 9:55:18 PM EDT

[#6]

We slaughtered five Cornish crosses, one red ranger, and two geese; and tried out the new plucker.

I lost one Cornish a couple,weeks,ago, a big fat one :-(. He got his head stuck in a fence and we found him dead.

I didn't grow them as fast this time. I probably should have given them all the feed they wanted the last two weeks. I didn't weigh them yet but they were a bit smaller than last time. One was sickly the whole time and had a big abcess I tried to drain a couple times. She was real small and I decided to skin her.

I also killed one red ranger but after plucking realized it was pretty small so the other three I'll grow out with more feed for three more weeks or so.

I killed the gosling at four months , though he looked good sized he was pretty small under his feathers. I guess there is a reason we have Christmas goose. I'll grow them at least six months next time. I killed his mom too, decent sized. I ll weigh everything tomorrow when I seal them up.

I put all of them in an extra refrigerator to age at 38 degrees for three days. Then I will vacuum seal.

The plucker worked ok.

We need to re gear it to spin a little slower and it needs more of the rubber tines to make the process a bit softer.

Even not perfect it saved hours on just that many birds.

Posted: 7/28/2014 10:26:57 PM EDT

[#7]

The geese have totally adopted the saxony ducklings.

The ducklings aren't so sure about the change in demeanor. ;-)

Posted: 7/29/2014 12:28:56 AM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
New ducks are doing great. One of my Muscovies has been sitting a while, the other has a 16 egg clutch. I'm deciding about trying the incubator again and slightly changing the temperture and seeing if i can do it this time.

Eight new baby rabbits born two nights ago and it looks like my other isn't pregnant :-(

<a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5422_zpsf5b8538f.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5422_zpsf5b8538f.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5429_zps204d8e44.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5429_zps204d8e44.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5427_zps6d96671e.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5427_zps6d96671e.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s823.photobucket.com/user/_RAGNAR_/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5425_zps4441cf9e.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz154/_RAGNAR_/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_5425_zps4441cf9e.jpg</a>

View Quote

I am very surprised that you don't have a herd of young Muscovies by now. Back on the farm (in Iowa) best my dad usually did was 80% when he would hatch them. Leaving the eggs under the mothers, we were running an average hatch rate of 95%, and most mothers would sit on 19-24 eggs. Would usually get 3 hatches per year out of each mother as we would pick up the babies as soon as the mother would leave the nest with them.

As for you incubator temperatures, you need to spend a bit of $ and get a good digital thermometer so you can at minimum figure out which thermometers you have are right/wrong. Also, once you get your incubator temps set, shouldn't need to ever adjust them.

When I was a kid, dad started out with the styrofoam and metal incubators, then moved up to a couple Sears and Roebuck wooden incubators along with a very old locking refrigerator converted to incubator. Now that he's "retired" and my brother and I are not around to help, he runs just the refrigerator as his hatcher as it's easier to clean, and 3 sportsman 1502's so he doesn't have to turn eggs.

Posted: 7/29/2014 10:50:00 AM EDT

[#9]

Yeah bad luck I guess, maybe I just got a mom that doesn't have good instincts .

The older mom is sitting, I should know in another week if she's better at the job.

Posted: 7/29/2014 1:57:07 PM EDT

[#10]

Thanks for documenting your experience. How large is your property? Any noise issue / complaint by a neighbor?

Posted: 7/29/2014 7:46:05 PM EDT

[#11]

I just have a large yard, about 1/4 acre total property. It's fenced on one side and that the side the animals mostly live on. That side also has a large hedge

The neighbors over there have lots of dogs who bark a lot. They have said they like hearing my animals, which is the only reason the geese stay, though the geese are actually pretty quite overall.

My backyard is shared with another house and that neighbor is elderly and likes seeing the animals in his backyard. They don't go there much actually

Most the animals can roam a few other yards also, as there are almost no fences in my neighborhood. Lots of really old people and everyone seems to like them. I give about four different neighbors eggs every month or two. A good reason to have extra chickens.

For the most part the animals don't roam much. They only use 1/2 the backyard 90% of the time. radiating out from their nesting area

The chickens like to talk after they lay an egg but that's mostly after 10 am, the geese will yell for a couple seconds a few times a day. Otherwise it's pretty quite.

Posted: 7/30/2014 12:02:34 AM EDT

[#12]

Can you detail a bit how you made the plucker?

Posted: 7/30/2014 10:37:02 PM EDT

[#13]

My buddy built it. He used a large plastic garbage can, a bench grinder motor, and air hose and bolts.

There are some videos on youtube for a $20 chicken plucker, that's basically what he copied.

It goes too fast and need more air hose tines. But it works pretty damn good. Broke a couple legs and the geese where too heavy for the bottom tines.

Plucker

Hopefully this link works.

Posted: 8/3/2014 1:37:37 AM EDT

[#14]

Waiting for the writeup on the goose rescue.

Just watched the video.

Posted: 8/4/2014 1:38:35 AM EDT

[#15]

Yeah, I don't know what the dumb ass did but he ended up twenty feet down stuck under the blackberry bushes. I came home and found out right before dark. I had to rig a rappel , get the headlamp, gloves, jacket , etc and go down , dig him out, put him in a big cargo bag and have him raised up. Then get myself back up.

Great way to spend the night after working on the range in the sun all damn day

Posted: 8/4/2014 7:53:14 PM EDT

[#16]

I'm going to call my first year gardening and my straw bale gardening a semi success. I'll get a decent amount of food from it and I learned a lot.

Also the peppers in containers are doing pretty good. I don't know that I'll have a harvest big enough I can store or anything but we have peppers.

Posted: 8/7/2014 9:26:44 PM EDT

[#17]

Rabbit , duck, garden integration.

This gives a couple good ideas. I learned a couple things and it confirmed others (rabbit/duck combo)

That's 500-600# of rabbit meat a year plus duck. This system was giving only 20# free duck meat a year. I don't know how many duck eggs but muscovies aren't prolific layers. I can see my current system giving me 300# of rabbit meat and I hope the same in duck. The Saxony ducks grow like crazy compared to the Muscovies. At eight weeks they are huge. I'll try to get a weight on them in the next few days as I need to band them. I want to figure out the biggest growing girls and boys at 12 weeks so I can keep them as breeders.

I should also end up with about 15 duck eggs a week which should be enough to eat and hatch. If I can sell hatchlings all the better as they will pay for feed.

I just learned my ducks LOVE rabbit pellets, so as this says, no more waste. I had one rabbit that spilt a lot of pellets, now I don't care.

I also just fed my chickens some rabbit pellet mash and will see how that goes. I can see adding a little to their diet also just to get different nutrients. It's 22% protien at $13.50 per 50#

Right now everyone eats sprouted grains and rabbit pellets and forage. No other commercial feeds besides the rabbit food.

Posted: 8/8/2014 12:22:17 AM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:

I am very surprised that you don't have a herd of young Muscovies by now. Back on the farm (in Iowa) best my dad usually did was 80% when he would hatch them. Leaving the eggs under the mothers, we were running an average hatch rate of 95%, and most mothers would sit on 19-24 eggs. Would usually get 3 hatches per year out of each mother as we would pick up the babies as soon as the mother would leave the nest with them.

As for you incubator temperatures, you need to spend a bit of $ and get a good digital thermometer so you can at minimum figure out which thermometers you have are right/wrong. Also, once you get your incubator temps set, shouldn't need to ever adjust them.

When I was a kid, dad started out with the styrofoam and metal incubators, then moved up to a couple Sears and Roebuck wooden incubators along with a very old locking refrigerator converted to incubator. Now that he's "retired" and my brother and I are not around to help, he runs just the refrigerator as his hatcher as it's easier to clean, and 3 sportsman 1502's so he doesn't have to turn eggs.

View Quote

Yeah I obviously don't get incubating. I'll get better thermometers and if that doesn't do it I'll get way better incubators.

A guy was just showing me his industrial incubators. Had a 300 egg one for sale. I bit more than I need. He also said he thought duck eggs were the hardest. He did quail and turkey.

I hope among the new ducks I get some good moms. Maybe I'll even just start letting some of my hens go broody and see if they do a good job with duck eggs.

The muscovies have to go. The male won't stop fighting. I guess if I really needed to I could get rid of the geese but honestly I just don't like the Muscovy drake and I do like the geese. So here in a week or so when the other female is done sitting they go.

Maybe part of their mothering problems have to do with all the other animals. If they were somewhere else who knows maybe they will figure it out.

Posted: 9/4/2014 12:54:28 PM EDT

[#19]

update:

I harvested the last four red ranger meat chickens and six rabbits last monday. The rabbits were a couple weeks older than norma and they all came in at over 3# and some over 4#. I was ant feeding either the rabbits or chickens enough. that last month they should have had food 24/7

The Saxony ducks are doing great and i think i have three females and seven males. If thats true I'll keep two males and harvest the rest. I need another month to be sure who's who.

It looks like we are going to have a late but decent garden harvest.

I think the epson salts worked and I've made oyster shell tea that i think will work.

Posted: 9/4/2014 1:56:25 PM EDT

[#20]

Posted: 9/6/2014 1:31:39 PM EDT

[#21]

Awesome thread. Thanks for keeping us updated and sharing your thought processes on which breeds are working best.

What cookbook is that with the rabbit recipe in it?

Posted: 9/17/2014 2:05:40 PM EDT

[#22]

Well I cured the bottom rot in the tomatoes but seemed to have done a number on the squash at the same time. Somehow too much calcium and magnesium ?

The squash are still alive but the leafs are definitely burnt looking.

Peppers are out of control. Now to figure out what to do with them. We aren't super pepper eaters and they did WAY better than I thought.

Harvested the last of the red rangers and six rabbits. I have eight more rabbits about 4-6 weeks from slaughter and nine more that are a month old. Hopefully two females should birth in the next two weeks.

Rabbit production is finally where it should be. The new rabbits have very good mothering instincts and the boy figured out how to get the job done after his second try. He was maybe too young first time.

I had four main problems with the straw bales. We started a little late with sprouts, we could have been 4 weeks earlier. I had the bales way too wet the first month and that for sure messed with growth. I had nutrients off which caused early flowering. And last rabbit poop alone wasn't providing the minerals needed. So our crop may not produce much for canning, just for eating fresh. We will get dozens of squash and will can peppers etc. but not the tomato crop I wild have liked. We have fall and winter stuff growing now also.

Here in the next couple weeks I'll harvest 5-6 of the male Saxony ducks. I hate to keep feeding two males when I only need one, but I also don't like the idea of only having one male. They are a rare enough breed that getting a new adult male quickly if I lost him would be a problem. Once I'm running and always have a few ducklings of all ages growing to slaughter weight it won't be that big of a deal. As then I'm only out of the duck business for a few months as I fully mature a male.

Posted: 10/7/2014 1:42:08 PM EDT

[#23]

Damn lost a duck to a predator the other night. Looks like a big fight. Eventually whatever it was hit him to a fence and then tried to pull him through.

I'm guessing raccoon. I've never seen one in this neighborhood in the five years I've lived here. I put out one live trap. I'm borrowing two more.

I caught the neighbors cat in the early evening. I have a hard time believing he did that. But I water boarded him anyway for trespassing. That should keep him away. I then slept out ,,so I could hear if SHTFas I thought he might come back being he was semi successful.

Besides live traps, anybody have easy and effective anti predator ideas? I was really hoping the geese would be a decent deterrent.

Posted: 10/7/2014 4:33:21 PM EDT

[#24]

I've been hoping for this but it just hasn't been convenient or productive enough until now.

I've been wanting to get old produce to feed my animals. The commercial grocery store is ambivalent and won't give but a little box on occasion plus it's not on the way to work or anything.

My fiancé stopped by the hippy grocery store on her new route and they gave us about 3-4cf of old veggies. (Two very large boxes) Mostly soft stuff like lettuces etc, as hard stuff goes to food banks normally. They said she could stop whenever she wants and they have about a box a day. There is a list of people to get it , so we will see how much it produces.

This could at a minimum cut our feed costs in half, and could easily do better than that of she can get two stops a week that score like today did.

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Posted: 10/8/2014 1:08:47 PM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
Damn lost a duck to a predator the other night. Looks like a big fight. Eventually whatever it was hit him to a fence and then tried to pull him through.

I'm guessing raccoon. I've never seen one in this neighborhood in the five years I've lived here. I put out one live trap. I'm borrowing two more.

I caught the neighbors cat in the early evening. I have a hard time believing he did that. But I water boarded him anyway for trespassing. That should keep him away. I then slept out ,,so I could hear if SHTFas I thought he might come back being he was semi successful.

Besides live traps, anybody have easy and effective anti predator ideas? I was really hoping the geese would be a decent deterrent.

View Quote

A friend uses mountain lion urine in his backyard to keep domestic cats out. Not sure if it'd work on raccoons.

Posted: 10/8/2014 4:02:33 PM EDT

[#26]

I've gotten lazy. I used to pee the perimeter. I've had many friends have great success doing that for cats and dogs. I've stopped neighbors cats from coming in my house by doing outside the thresholds and the cat door.

I caught a possum last night at the spot in the fence where the duck was located. He's probably the villain. I borrowed two more traps and am setting them up all around. I think I'll just keep them out all the time.

Posted: 10/16/2014 12:46:15 AM EDT

[#27]

Well I've had three traps out for a week. The possum I caught two nights after the duck was killed has been the only predator caught. Since nothing has happened I'm going to assume he was the perpetrator.

I'll keep the traps loaded and put fresh bait in every week.

I have caught two of my own chickens but they seem to have figured out not yo keep doing that.

Posted: 10/16/2014 12:55:39 AM EDT

[#28]

Do you have a game cam on the trap?
The coons around here are live trap savvy... some steer clear but others will pick it clean and either not trip it or have learned how to release themselves.
After too many pics like this:

I had to switch tactics to <edit - more effective measures>

Posted: 10/16/2014 3:17:58 AM EDT

[#29]

Well they will have to do. I'm not willing to kill my cats or my neighbors cats.

No I don't have a camera set up. I figured whatever got part of a meal wouldn't wait long to come back.

Posted: 10/16/2014 7:01:24 AM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:

Well they will have to do. I'm not willing to kill my cats or my neighbors cats.

No I don't have a camera set up. I figured whatever got part of a meal wouldn't wait long to come back.

View Quote

Can certainly understand your concern. Another option for you then are the dog proof coon paw traps.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/duke-raccoon-trap?a=703137&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=WX2*0186667000000&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CPjU3u6BscECFSgV7AodGT8AaQ

Posted: 10/16/2014 8:42:42 AM EDT

[#31]

This is great stuff! I wish I had thought of the hay bale idea. My property is very steep and the soil tends to wash away. I'm thinking I am going to try out that idea next. Thanks for the thread!

Posted: 10/16/2014 1:45:49 PM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:

Can certainly understand your concern. Another option for you then are the dog proof coon paw traps.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/duke-raccoon-trap?a=703137&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=WX2*0186667000000&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CPjU3u6BscECFSgV7AodGT8AaQ

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Well they will have to do. I'm not willing to kill my cats or my neighbors cats.

No I don't have a camera set up. I figured whatever got part of a meal wouldn't wait long to come back.

Can certainly understand your concern. Another option for you then are the dog proof coon paw traps.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/duke-raccoon-trap?a=703137&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=WX2*0186667000000&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=CPjU3u6BscECFSgV7AodGT8AaQ

That may work.

Posted: 12/1/2014 4:28:55 PM EDT

[#33]

Thought I'd make some updates as I've neglected to keep up n this.

Had some bad times with predators :-( very upsetting and demotivating. Hopefully getting it all sorted out.

On the good side for a bunch of salmon for cheap fresh from the boat.

Smoked 8, canned 3, froze 3 whole for BBQs, canned about 12 half pints of roe

Posted: 12/1/2014 4:32:01 PM EDT

[#34]

We also made about 40# of sauerkraut :-)

Two different buckets of 20# just in case something went wrong

It's still fermenting. It will be time to can it soon.

Posted: 12/1/2014 4:44:12 PM EDT

[#35]

Rabbits continue to go gangbusters.

We canned the last batch so we are not as reliant on the freezers.

Did a neat deboning technique on them. We also separated front legs and canned them all together, that way it's a "rabbit wing" meal. Also all the scrap pieces we will hand grind and mix with boar for sausage. Otherwise it was hard to figure out what to domains the bellies.

I have another nine I'll process in two weeks and eight more about four weeks after that. I have two that should birth in the next week and another that I just bred. Eight rabbits every four weeks is a pretty easy goal.

Went to a farm sale and got some deals. I just discovered Facebook groups for local homesteaders, and local buy/sell groups . A great way to find super deals and also to build a bit of community with like minded people.

Posted: 12/1/2014 4:50:36 PM EDT

[#36]

Marinating rabbit :-)

Our buck sprays and it bounces off the wall and gets on him , so we give him baths every once in a while.

Deboned rabbit. It's fast once you do a couple.

Canned rabbit stock and chicken stock.

Canned tomato soup

Canned salmon.

Posted: 12/1/2014 4:54:04 PM EDT

[#37]

Motivational pics :-)

Smoked salmon, sauerkraut, pickles, capers, and salmon roe.

pineapple duck (Incredible)

Apple Rabbit

And a random pic of my final pepper harvest

Posted: 12/1/2014 6:11:04 PM EDT

[#38]

Awesome and inspiring. Thank you for sharing with us.

Posted: 12/1/2014 6:23:23 PM EDT

[#39]

Quote History

Quoted:
Did a neat deboning technique on them.

Went to a farm sale and got some deals. I just discovered Facebook groups for local homesteaders, and local buy/sell groups . A great way to find super deals and also to build a bit of community with like minded people.

View Quote

As always, thanks for sharing.

Could you talk a little more about the deboning technique you use, or maybe share a link to it?

I'd be very interested in those FB groups if you wouldn't mind sharing, either here or in PM.

Posted: 12/1/2014 7:17:52 PM EDT

[#40]

Deboning a rabbit

As far as Facebook I just searched "farmstead" and such and found local ones (skagit, snohomish, Duvall, etc)

Posted: 12/1/2014 7:32:48 PM EDT

[#41]

Nice update and great pics!

Please describe the process of canning roe.

Posted: 12/1/2014 7:45:44 PM EDT

[#42]

Salmon roe

Not how we did it but close and in retrospect this is how we will do it in the future.

As far as canning, it's canned and frozen. I couldn't find any good info on the net for pressure canning. All the CDC guidelines would result in mush. Obviously it is commercially canned safely. I plan to research more.

I can't say I'm big on eating bait :-) But once brined it is good as a side , on smoked salmon, on an omelet etc. mostly I'm trying to figure out how not to waste. So extras bits of salmon skin and other stuff get frozen to feed to the cats , etc

I figure 12 half pints isn't much to figure out how to eat in a year. If we come up with more ways to eat it I'll do a lot more next year. I got a caviar cookbook from the used bookstore that has a hundred recipes so I imagine we will find some we like.

Posted: 12/1/2014 9:32:21 PM EDT

[#43]

Thanks. I now understand that you are putting prepared roe into jars and are freezing it. Like you, I'd never heard of canning roe at home but wonder how they are able to commercially can it.

Kudos on the waste not, want not approach!

*** I tried salting and refrigerating roe from a channel catfish just to try it. Results were a bit earthy. Doubt I'll try catfish next time, but now I know how to handle it the next time someone offers me a paddlefish.

Posted: 12/1/2014 9:44:23 PM EDT

[#44]

Water bath canning salmon roe

I found this, of course becuase of the legally ridiculous world we live in they tell you it's not safe. The issues they bring up are easily surmountable.

I'll probably try it next time.

Posted: 12/2/2014 3:23:00 AM EDT

[#45]

Thank you for all the pictures. Good luck with the predators.

Posted: 12/2/2014 11:33:17 PM EDT

[#46]

Thanks. I've been locking everyone up at night ,which is a PITA especially as a Christmas vacation is coming up. I can get someone to come feed and water every day but dawn and dusk wrangling is to much to ask.

I bought an electric poultry fence. Hoping I can get it hooked up and it works. There is no way with my yard to keep it from touching stuff so I'm hoping it works.

I've also been trapping and putting out posion at night.

Posted: 2/3/2015 10:55:42 PM EDT

[#47]

Not a lot of updates

Just cruising along with rabbits and ducks. Ducks haven't started laying yet. I'm getting about 6-8 rabbits at 3.5# dressed every four weeks.

I've been selling a few as we can't actually eat that many with just two of us. The upside is it pays for feed for the ones we eat. So free rabbit not counting what I've got I to them. If I can sell 4 a month I'll get my money back and eat free rabbit in a year.

Starting seeds in the greenhouse this week. Then I need to get the beds ready in the next month. Looking for free wood to build raised beds with. I got a line on free good compost from a Facebook homestead group.

We attended a country living expo put on by WSU. We took the science classes. Fecal exams, chicken necropsy, and poultry health issues. Going to a avian flu talk this week and hopefully starting a bee class this month.

It appears my bees survived the winter. I'm going to add more hives and try to attract or capture swarms.

Posted: 2/4/2015 5:40:25 PM EDT

[#48]

Thanks for posting your "journal" for your hobby garden. Very interesting and inspirational for all us city dwellers.

Posted: 2/5/2015 2:05:11 AM EDT

[#49]

Just to keep a record of everything here I'll add some stuff from another thread

Went to northern Alberta and harvested a buffalo. I sold half to friends and we kept half. With only a two person household half is enough for a year for us.

My first time and I was first up to bat. Honestly at 100 yards I didn't spot the difference between big and huge. I could tell big vs small but it wasn't until later that I could tell huge ones. So mine ended up at about 575# hanging. The biggest one hung at 940#

Oh well next year :-)

Posted: 2/5/2015 2:05:55 AM EDT

[#50]

That was a lot of work

I'm happy with how we did considering the biggest aniimal we've done before was a small deer.

About 100# of steaks, roasts, and stew meat. Almost that in burger and jerky. Only left the bones in the rib eyes and the shank roasts so that's almost all meat weight.

We will get at least 12 quarts of stock also. Maybe double that.