[bivol]

why not?

domestic pigs are big heavy and, yes, strong, but when fully grown, i don’t think they have the enthusiasm to pull carts. also, young pigs put to work could injure their skeletons.
maybe a cross between a wild pig and a lean domestic one would produce a desired energy while mellowing the temper.

[bivol]

holsteins are big strong, docile and cheap, but they have light (read soft) hooves, and they can pose problems after they react their full size or age…
brown swiss are big strong docile, have dark (read hard) hooves, but are slow and “poky”, whatever that means…

maybe a cross would work best if you could find them.
holstein-jersey cross milds the jersey’s temperament and the calves are larger.
they also have dark hooves
this cross can be found when diary farmers want cows who give more fat milk.
crossing also adds hybrid vigour, making your future oxen tougher, but temperament is also harder to predict (although if they remotely match each others in temperament and are trained young, temper shouldn’t be an issue).

[bivol]

how bullish do they get in 8-10 months?

and how bullish do you prefer your oxen to be?

if they were to be castrated over a year old, than yes, they’d be more bullish, but i don’t know how much should the body structure change if castrated at the age of 8-10?

late castration can be desired when oxen are employed on particularly heavy tasks regularly, but they they are used for farm work, the bull body frame is not necessary.

also, here they used to put pig lard in vacant testicles when castrating pigs, horses and cattle. it’s supposed to prevent infection, don’t know if it deters flies…
better to castrate without flies, though, they’ll be usable so or so…

[bivol]

just came back today….

so, she’s spayed…
well, true on the breeding, except if you have a male,too. than the other dogs stand no chances.

glad she’s doing a good work!

good luck!

Marko

[bivol]

hi!

thousandhills, you have a good idea there! i hope you’ll make it!

there is actually very little to add to these fine replies, so i’ll say this:

i heartly recommend a book called “The new complete book of self-sufficiency: a classical guide for realists and dreamers”, from John Seymoure.
pretty good, all round book covering every aspect of life on a small self-sufficient farm, from keeping pigs to solar energy.

Good luck!

[bivol]

Nice story Nonie!

…especially the foxes and eagle part:D

in a place full of coyotes and other predators, a guardian dog can make all the difference!
could it be, that the lambs were getting more weight because they felt safer with the dog, and weren’t stressed out? also, the ewes gave more milk because they too ate more?:confused:

well, since your dog’s female, why don’t you breed her? i’m sure you will find other sheep farmers who will be interested in buying puppies after they hear your story!
and you get to keep a puppy to continue after your akbash is too old, when she’ll be minimum 12 years old.

do you have pictures of your dog?

[bivol]

Nice story Nonie!

…especially the foxes and eagle part:D

in a place full of coyotes and other predators, a guardian dog can make all the difference!
could it be, that the lambs were getting more weight because they felt safer with the dog, and weren’t stressed out? also, the ewes gave more milk because they too ate more?:confused:

well, since your dog’s female, why don’t you breed her? i’m sure you will find other sheep farmers who will be interested in buying puppies after they hear your story!
and you get to keep a puppy to continue after your akbash is too old, when she’ll be minimum 12 years old.

do you have pictures of you dog?

[bivol]

Hi Suomi!

you said you’d get two cows for milking, but you could also use them for limited fieldwork, athough judging by the size of your holding, you could sport horses as well as oxen, and ofcourse working cows.

anyway, no matter what animal you intend to use, i think here you’ll find all the advice and help you need!

Marko

[bivol]

Hi Jennifer!

i’m glad you got those ducklings, they’ll be very useful!

how old are they? i wouldn’t let them roam as long as they are very small.

and see if they’re related, to prevent inbreeding, if need, get an unrelated male.

i guess two females and a male will produce enough ducklings to eat until you can’t stand it no more, not to mention not to mention they’ll make the life much harder (nay impossible) for flies, bugs, mice, and even baby rats.

*i wonder if they sniff out mice nests?*

although i’ve red on the net that muscovies are bad layers, from the time we’ve had them i can say that’s wrong, they lay enough and good eggs.

they tend to choose the place to lay themselves, though, and change it if you take the eggs regularly.

i would encourage you to take the eggs, both as a meal, and because once they lay enough, the female goes broody.

when she goes broody, you simply put the eggs from the fridge back under her, but be sure to take away the hatched ducklings (they musn’t be alone, one duckling alone) after they hatch, or else she’ll leave the unhatched eggs and wander off with her ofsprings.

and DO let them on the manure heap and into the stalls, they’ll love it, and you’ll love it!

good luck with them!
and post the pictures, i wonder how big they are:D

[bivol]

these care good ideas!

maybe put a manure dump besides the chicken house, and have an option to fence it and let the chickens dig on it.

[bivol]

thanks!

cooling and heating issues could become more important with climate change and radicalization o weather extremes.

[bivol]

the biggest and most demanding feats in engineering and architecture were achieved by human muscle. today the power of a human being is underrated, but one look at historical achievements shows this outlook is horribly wrong.

let’s just remember the Great canal in china, 1114 miles long, or the chinese wall, or pyramids in mesoamerica, remarkable because no animals were employed whatsoever, in transport or otherwise.

these are the physically lasting monuments, but no less remarkable is the work of mankind producing its food by toiling today unimaginable by most of urban population, and a part of rural, too.

historically, in feudal system, there was an obligation of peasants to work for their lord. some worked physically, others had freight service with wagons.

this method was employed after ww2 in my country. every family who had a healthy young man to spare had to give one to do “volonteer work” for the state. it was a tax in labor, and was used to great extent to bring the country out of ruins, and get the large country projects (railroad reparation, infrastructure repair) going.

if we don’t do, we lose faith we can do.

[bivol]

how about keeping chickens on the compost heap? they would eat a lot of flies, give some of their fertilizer too, and you’d feed them for less.
or muscovy ducks, too. AND, both taste good!

highway has a point! join the piglets and chickens, and you get more even spread of chicken fertilizer, and they eat more flies!

only, use small pigs, and grown-up, fast chickens, no chicks!

and, DON’T use muscovy ducks together with pigs! the pigs could learn to eat the ducks, they’re too slow for pigs.

[bivol]

sounds nice!

i wonder if there are some plans to install such cooling system when building a house? i’d use them!:D

i wonder only what material should be used? i like natural materials, maybe clay earth.
the big problem should be underground water levels. if they flood the cooling system, it is not only unable to cool, but it should take permanent damage.

ooor?! what if i could take, say, metal pipes, used for water, lots of ’em, dig them, say 4 feet under ground, where it’s cool, and connect to the house. and run air through them! and voila, you have a cooling system!:D

…. i just hope i didn’t steal someone’s idea, i figured this system while writing this… if i did, i apologize!

[bivol]

hi OldKat!

i’m sorry to answer this late:(, but i went to the sea, just came back this evening!

i’m thinking of getting some of them (butchered, for eating) from my cousins in the countryside.
i hope they taste good!

[Author]

Posts