This weeks preps check-in

[QuietH3art]

Finally built my easy use chicken feeders and put them up.
My wife suggested doing the same for the rabbits, but I have a feeling they'd simply gnaw at the PVC soon enough (and that can't be good for them). Maybe using gutter material instead?

I wish I could do something like that but my goats would have those torn down and emptied before I could blink my eyes. Since everything free-ranges here, they don't get much feed anyway so I'm going to have to stick with the twice daily feedings that do separate the chickens from the goats for a short time.
Galvanized metal is about the only way to go with rabbits. They may be worse than goats for gnawing through things. You can find rabbit feeders that look very similar to the chicken feeders you made. As handy as you are, I'm sure you could make something similar for much less.

 

[Gazrok]

Thanks. Yeah, something like that could work... Pretty much anything for the bunnies will be affixed to the wall. So far, I have a great watering idea for them. I took the nozzles off of normal bunny water bottles, and guess what? They screw PERFECTLY onto 2 liter bottles. So, holds more water than those puny bottles (and I can cheaply replace them often).

We're converting one of the horse stalls into a bunny habitat, to give them more room. (We have 11 stalls and only ever used all of them ONCE...so not a big sacrifice for space and giving them more room to jump around.)

 

[QuietH3art]

Thanks. Yeah, something like that could work... Pretty much anything for the bunnies will be affixed to the wall. So far, I have a great watering idea for them. I took the nozzles off of normal bunny water bottles, and guess what? They screw PERFECTLY onto 2 liter bottles. So, holds more water than those puny bottles (and I can cheaply replace them often).

We're converting one of the horse stalls into a bunny habitat, to give them more room. (We have 11 stalls and only ever used all of them ONCE...so not a big sacrifice for space and giving them more room to jump around.)

You do realize that bucks will kill baby rabbits? Other does might, as well, if you plan to keep them all together.

 

[jimLE]

Okra coming in faster than we can pick it . Squash that I thought was dieing off made a come back and is still putting on a little . Pumpkin patch that is " out side the wire " by it self is huge plants full of blooms and every time the little pumpkins get about football size and start to turn yellow the chickens get them . Stopped by the local big box and bought some 5.56 and 9mm filled another ammo can . Finaly did something I have wanted to do for decades and ordered me some Bamboo plants . I ordered the kind that was imported from China in the 1920's by USDA not the huge timber Bamboo like Moso but the kind used for fishing poles and crafts . Make good ****y traps too .

lucky you.my okra plants are doing great..but ive only gotton enough for one meal so far..but yet more is on the way thoe..i stoped at the local dollar genaral store,to buy a shot foot/step stool for my mom to get in and out of the van.mainly for after her back surgry..and a guy there gave me a bag full of okra.. ..so i got okra till i get more from my plants..

 

[Dani]

After morning chores today I ended up making Provolone (hunny's request) which is a stretch curd cheese, so took about 7 hours. Since I have a sick babe and running in and out during rest periods on checking on Annie, we ate leftovers. . . Chicken Enchiladas, Lasagna, or Corned Beef Hash, your pick.

 

[psalm 7]

Provolone is great , We had leftovers too from grilling last night .

 

[Brent S]

Okra coming in faster than we can pick it . Squash that I thought was dieing off made a come back and is still putting on a little . Pumpkin patch that is " out side the wire " by it self is huge plants full of blooms and every time the little pumpkins get about football size and start to turn yellow the chickens get them . Stopped by the local big box and bought some 5.56 and 9mm filled another ammo can . Finaly did something I have wanted to do for decades and ordered me some Bamboo plants . I ordered the kind that was imported from China in the 1920's by USDA not the huge timber Bamboo like Moso but the kind used for fishing poles and crafts . Make good ****y traps too .

I have to keep my birds in their enclosure as they trash everything I planted! I would love to let them range but there safer from predators as well this way.

 

[Brent S]

Bamboo, that is a GREAT idea. Makes a good barrier and natural fence too.



Yeah, I'm still working on how I will do a better waterer. I have some ideas. I think my simple one will win out.

I'll take a pict of mine for you shortly.

 

[Brent S]

Finally built my easy use chicken feeders and put them up. Made and put up two of them in different spots in the coup.

Holds a lot, so I don't have to put feed out as often, and the gravity feed means they always have access. In addition, stays dry in the rain. A little pricey for all the components though, but still under $15 per feeder (and I have enough left over PVC pipe to make two more if I wanted. It's the elbows and the caps that are pricey. I could have gone with a cheaper simple cap too, but I like the ease of the screw off kind. Otherwise, would have had to put a hook or handle to make the simple cap easy to remove.

My wife suggested doing the same for the rabbits, but I have a feeling they'd simply gnaw at the PVC soon enough (and that can't be good for them). Maybe using gutter material instead?

Here's my water, just about the same design.

 

[Dani]

Finally built my easy use chicken feeders and put them up. Made and put up two of them in different spots in the coup.

Holds a lot, so I don't have to put feed out as often, and the gravity feed means they always have access. In addition, stays dry in the rain. A little pricey for all the components though, but still under $15 per feeder (and I have enough left over PVC pipe to make two more if I wanted. It's the elbows and the caps that are pricey. I could have gone with a cheaper simple cap too, but I like the ease of the screw off kind. Otherwise, would have had to put a hook or handle to make the simple cap easy to remove.

My wife suggested doing the same for the rabbits, but I have a feeling they'd simply gnaw at the PVC soon enough (and that can't be good for them). Maybe using gutter material instead?

Made something very similar as a waterier for the pigs, instead of elbow attached a nipple. This is a recent thing and so far has worked out great. It is located on the outside of their pen, so they will not chew on it. . . they just get the metal nipple part.

 

[Dani]

This may not be a 'prep'. . . but my day and need for a good vent!

Today started out great until. . . Went out to get my milk from the dairy fridge to make my cheese of the day and noticed that the temp was at 52 F (It was fine last night). Not a good temp for milk, but it was still cold so thought I would go ahead and try it out. By 1 pm, I had got to the point were I add in the rennet and let it sit up 30 minutes to form curds. Wasn't ready so waited and waited.

It was almost feeding/milking time when I thought the curds were almost firm enough so started the norm with no problem. Fed everyone and then went to milk. Tried to get Betsey in the staunch; she wasn't ready so we played ring a round the feed trough a couple times. Then she headed for the staunch. She put her nose on the left side of the door of the staunch and swung her head right to close it and just walked right thru the milking parlor and out the front door(this time of year I leave it open for the slight breeze that may be blowing thru) . . . so we played ring a round the tractor and walked to the front gate and back to play the ring a round thing once again. I finally put up a barrier so she couldn't walk past the milking parlor and was able to heard her back in and turned around to go up the staunch. . . finally!!

After that, came back in to cut my curds and they bubbled at me. . . yeah that went to the pigs (They can eat anything).. No way was I even taking a chance on those curds and as for the other milk in the fridge. . was poured down the drain. Ended up filling my bottles of the new milk and just threw in the freezer. Need to get a new dairy fridge, unfortunately. Yep, today was just one disaster after another

 

[Wiredog8]

Sorry to hear all that Danil.
I scored 1000 rounds of ,22 long rifle ammo. Been over a year since I seem a brick on a shelf any where.
And I frequent a lot of different towns.
So I am happy.

 

[Brent S]

Made something very similar as a waterier for the pigs, instead of elbow attached a nipple. This is a recent thing and so far has worked out great. It is located on the outside of their pen, so they will not chew on it. . . they just get the metal nipple part.

How long have you raised pigs. Heck for that matter is there any farm animal you're not good with!!! A friend was telling me about his 1 pig a year he raises and almost has me convinced its a good idea. I'll be done with my fencing this fall and will have some additions shortly afterwards.

 

[Brent S]

This may not be a 'prep'. . . but my day and need for a good vent!

Today started out great until. . . Went out to get my milk from the dairy fridge to make my cheese of the day and noticed that the temp was at 52 F (It was fine last night). Not a good temp for milk, but it was still cold so thought I would go ahead and try it out. By 1 pm, I had got to the point were I add in the rennet and let it sit up 30 minutes to form curds. Wasn't ready so waited and waited.

It was almost feeding/milking time when I thought the curds were almost firm enough so started the norm with no problem. Fed everyone and then went to milk. Tried to get Betsey in the staunch; she wasn't ready so we played ring a round the feed trough a couple times. Then she headed for the staunch. She put her nose on the left side of the door of the staunch and swung her head right to close it and just walked right thru the milking parlor and out the front door(this time of year I leave it open for the slight breeze that may be blowing thru) . . . so we played ring a round the tractor and walked to the front gate and back to play the ring a round thing once again. I finally put up a barrier so she couldn't walk past the milking parlor and was able to heard her back in and turned around to go up the staunch. . . finally!!

After that, came back in to cut my curds and they bubbled at me. . . yeah that went to the pigs (They can eat anything).. No way was I even taking a chance on those curds and as for the other milk in the fridge. . was poured down the drain. Ended up filling my bottles of the new milk and just threw in the freezer. Need to get a new dairy fridge, unfortunately. Yep, today was just one disaster after another

Bummer! Check out the dented models at lowes or elsewhere for the discount, they have the same warranty as regular and can be 40% off sometimes. Always remember though, no matter how bad a day goes for you, loads of people have it worse, and try to find the good parts to focus on. I actually think playing with the cow seems like fun!

 

[QuietH3art]

How long have you raised pigs. Heck for that matter is there any farm animal you're not good with!!! A friend was telling me about his 1 pig a year he raises and almost has me convinced its a good idea. I'll be done with my fencing this fall and will have some additions shortly afterwards.

I thought it would be fun to have pigs once. Turned out the one I bought was pregnant. Did you know it's almost impossible to contain a pig? We had a sow with 8 piglets that would only come out of the woods at feeding time. This was when I lived out on the edge of the Hoffman Forest.

 

[Brent S]

I thought it would be fun to have pigs once. Turned out the one I bought was pregnant. Did you know it's almost impossible to contain a pig? We had a sow with 8 piglets that would only come out of the woods at feeding time. This was when I lived out on the edge of the Hoffman Forest.

Sounds like a great deal, they take care of themselves mostly until you're hungry!

 

[Brent S]

After morning chores today I ended up making Provolone (hunny's request) which is a stretch curd cheese, so took about 7 hours. Since I have a sick babe and running in and out during rest periods on checking on Annie, we ate leftovers. . . Chicken Enchiladas, Lasagna, or Corned Beef Hash, your pick.

your left overs sound better than most's first overs!

 

[Dani]

How long have you raised pigs. Heck for that matter is there any farm animal you're not good with!!! A friend was telling me about his 1 pig a year he raises and almost has me convinced its a good idea. I'll be done with my fencing this fall and will have some additions shortly afterwards.

I have ridden horses in the past, but never owned one or any sheep or llamas.
As for the pigs, we started with those almost 2 years ago. As QuietHeart pointed out that they are very difficult to keep in the pens. We ended up getting some plastic railroad ties from the city when they were replacing them out and buried them in the ground around the edge of the pens. They will rut up the entire pen and if you do not stop them with something, they will just end up rutting on out! Also stood them up to use as the post and attached hog panels all the way around. They are very heavy so we ended up using the tractor and chains to pick them up to sink in the holes. We started with one pen, but this has grown into 3 separate pens side by side with a gate in between them. As the piglets grow, they go into the middle pen and once fully grown into the last. We end up selling our piglets when about 100 lbs. We will also save one or two of the babes to butcher during the fall, but when mom has a litter of between 8-13 each time. . . Gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days so she can have multiple litters a year. If you want to prevent this, separate your boar and string hotwire.

Raising pigs are a really good idea for the homestead. When we took Pork Chop in last year he was right at 450lbs. It was right around Christmas so his last meal was Ritz Crackers with peanut butter dipped in White Chocolate.

 

[Brent S]

I have ridden horses in the past, but never owned one or any sheep or llamas.
As for the pigs, we started with those almost 2 years ago. As QuietHeart pointed out that they are very difficult to keep in the pens. We ended up getting some plastic railroad ties from the city when they were replacing them out and buried them in the ground around the edge of the pens. They will rut up the entire pen and if you do not stop them with something, they will just end up rutting on out! Also stood them up to use as the post and attached hog panels all the way around. They are very heavy so we ended up using the tractor and chains to pick them up to sink in the holes. We started with one pen, but this has grown into 3 separate pens side by side with a gate in between them. As the piglets grow, they go into the middle pen and once fully grown into the last. We end up selling our piglets when about 100 lbs. We will also save one or two of the babes to butcher during the fall, but when mom has a litter of between 8-13 each time. . . Gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days so she can have multiple litters a year. If you want to prevent this, separate your boar and string hotwire.

Raising pigs are a really good idea for the homestead. When we took Pork Chop in last year he was right at 450lbs. It was right around Christmas so his last meal was Ritz Crackers with peanut butter dipped in White Chocolate.

So a low hotwire won't keep them from escaping? By the way, how do you recapture a 450lb animal!!!! I do the same thing with my rabbits and chickens, they get a treat just before........ If I get a pregnant sow and she has a litter, can the piglets breed together when old enough?

 

[QuietH3art]

So a low hotwire won't keep them from escaping? By the way, how do you recapture a 450lb animal!!!! I do the same thing with my rabbits and chickens, they get a treat just before........ If I get a pregnant sow and she has a litter, can the piglets breed together when old enough?

Brent, you won't have any berries left, you won't have a garden left. Pigs root out everything. When my sow and her litter escaped into the woods, it was easy to track where they went. They destroyed everything in their path.
Genetics is the same in all creatures. In dog breeding, everyone always stressed to me that I could breed father to daughter but not mother to son. And I could breed half-siblings together as long as they have the same father but not the same mother. I had to know why and I'll tell you why. There are 2 major types of DNA. Genomic/Nuclear and Mitochondrial. When the sperm impregnates the egg, the egg destroys the mitochondrial DNA in the sperm. Offspring are more closely genetically related to their mothers than their fathers.
So the simple answer is no, the piglets should not be bred together.

 

[Brent S]

Brent, you won't have any berries left, you won't have a garden left. Pigs root out everything. When my sow and her litter escaped into the woods, it was easy to track where they went. They destroyed everything in their path.
Genetics is the same in all creatures. In dog breeding, everyone always stressed to me that I could breed father to daughter but not mother to son. And I could breed half-siblings together as long as they have the same father but not the same mother. I had to know why and I'll tell you why. There are 2 major types of DNA. Genomic/Nuclear and Mitochondrial. When the sperm impregnates the egg, the egg destroys the mitochondrial DNA in the sperm. Offspring are more closely genetically related to their mothers than their fathers.
So the simple answer is no, the piglets should not be bred together.

I figured as much. I'm pretty careful with my rabbits not mixing too. I know it happens in nature, but I am sure the odds of health problems increases. As far as food goes, I don't think it would affect the safety for us, just the animals.

 

[QuietH3art]

I figured as much. I'm pretty careful with my rabbits not mixing too. I know it happens in nature, but I am sure the odds of health problems increases. As far as food goes, I don't think it would affect the safety for us, just the animals.

The reality is this: If there are no genetic defects in the bloodline, you can breed brother/sister, mother/son, father/daughter and no genetic defects will occur. However, most defects are caused by recessive genes, which means they can be carriers without expressing the defect. If the 2 rabbits/pigs/humans involved come from the same parent that carries a recessive gene for defect, there's a strong chance they both carry it. If they both carry it, they will produce defective offspring - I can't remember the statistics, but I think it's 50%. Statistics are based on a full value of 100, though, so you might get a litter of 10 where none show defect or a litter of 10 where all show the defect. You are almost as likely to have genetic defects link up among unrelated mates.
Having a broad gene pool to choose from is supposedly the better choice, however, if you have a lot of females and only one male and that male carries a genetic defect, that is really bad. Moreso if you breed daughters back to him.

 

[Dani]

Even with the hotwire, if you do not have something buried, they will dig under the fence, so I guess your answer is no. . . the hotwire along the fence will not be enough to keep them in. When we started out, we made certain that the sow and boar were from different bloodlines. When we decide which male to keep, he gets cut. That way he will grow bigger and faster. (The boys always outgrow the females) They can and will breed to each other if givin a chance, that is why we sell them still young.

 

[Brent S]

Even with the hotwire, if you do not have something buried, they will dig under the fence, so I guess your answer is no. . . the hotwire along the fence will not be enough to keep them in. When we started out, we made certain that the sow and boar were from different bloodlines. When we decide which male to keep, he gets cut. That way he will grow bigger and faster. (The boys always outgrow the females) They can and will breed to each other if givin a chance, that is why we sell them still young.

Yeah, it was hard to keep me away from girls when I was young too!

 

[jimLE]

im getting okra alright..but the tomatoes are slow to ripen.

 

[Brent S]

im getting okra alright..but the tomatoes are slow to ripen.


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I've gotten about twenty quarts of tomatoes canned so far, and will keep going until the last vine dies. I'm just now getting lots of okra. My corn shaded the plants and they were slow to start, but now I tilled under the corn and they are thriving. I just tilled the outside garden, and will plant the fall stuff soon. I'm going to put in beets, sweet peas, carrots, kale, broccoli, radish, and spinach. I just ordered an electric cultivator for the greenhouse from amazon. I used the gas powered tiller in there before and tried to kill myself before, even with the fan on and the window and door open. I'm hoping it arrives before this weekend is over so I can replant in there too.

 

[Brent S]

im getting okra alright..but the tomatoes are slow to ripen.


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By the way, what do you do with your okra? I froze some in vacuum bags, and have fried a lot with potatoes. I still have several jars of pickeled hot okra left from last year so I'm not canning any of this years crop. I only have one row of them but am getting more than I can keep up with.

 

[jimLE]

i put all of it into 1 quart zip bags..then i remove what air i can just before zipping it shut....then i'll put 1 or 2 in the fridge if needed..then the rest goes into the freezer...

 

[Silent Bob]

Just bought a few goodies to add to the preps. Waterbottle from Kleen Kanteen, a waterbottle bag (I will do a product review on each) and a few odds and ends. Another 100 out of the wallet to the Amazon Gods.

 

[jimLE]

well i found a armadillo in my garden this morning...i sure hope that i got it seeing how it ran off after i shot at it..and it sure did mess up some tomato plants to..then today got a lil better..got some work in today