Farm Animal Ideas

I don't know if I've mentioned we want a farm before, but we do. We're still debating where though. In the meantime, I wanted to post the different types of animals we wanted based on the different regions.

Cold:

Favorolles Chickens

Yak

KuneKune Pig

Cotswold Sheep

Mytonic Goats

Temperate:

Brabanter Chickens

Curly Sizzle Chickens

KuneKune Pig

Tunis Sheep

Mytonic Goats

Hot & Dry:

Ameraucana Chickens

Guinea Hog

Guinea Fowl

Mytonic Goats

Navajo Churro Sheep

Hot & Wet:

Guinea Fowl

Guinea Hog

Mytonic Goats

Boer Goats

Gulf Coast Sheep

Guinea Cracker Cattle

I guess you can figure out the colors I like and the fact that they are all kinda 'unique;' like I'd have anything less. :)

A bullet of a different kind

I reorganized my freezer last night. That might not seem very significant, but it was what I was putting away that is a bit unusual. Seeds. I store seeds in the freezer in bags designed to protect guns and ammo. I try and bag each collection of seeds in a regular ziploc first, and then place the ziplocs in the Zcorr ammo bags. The double lined bags provide excellent protection against moisture and ice crystals forming.

The Zcorr bags come in several sizes, but I like the ones aimed for holding pistols as you can get a goodly number of small seed bags and even some of the larger 4 inch bags in them.

As I was closing the freezer door I realized that these seeds really were bullets of a different kind. They will one day protect us and feed us just like real bullets would. I'm pretty sure the manufacturer wasn't thinking of storing seeds in their bags, but to me, these seeds are just as valuable and necessary at protecting the future of my family as any bullet made of copper or lead.

Pure Awesomness

Finding eco-friendly products aren't hard, but finding good ones are. We're slowly transitioning to a more environmentally friendly/sustainable household, and these shoes are top of my wish list. We've switched a lot of our personal care/cleaning products already, but I love finding new items like these to try.

Another neat product (and a lot more $-friendly) is ology Bath tissue. Made from sugarcane husk and bamboo it's even septic safe. Pretty cool imo.

One of the most useful little books

As you know we want to homestead after we leave NY. I'm not trying to do much of anything here since we have none of the space we had in CA. Man, I do miss my porch. Anyways, one of the most useful books we own is probably The Backyard Homestead, by Storey Publishing. Why? Because the size lots they walk you through are a tenth of an acre, quarter acre, and half acre. Obviously you can expand based on what they show you, but the idea that ever someone with a tiny little suburban lot can farm...I wish more people would.

Here is there 1/4 acre plot design. Granted, house size and lot configuration will dictate a few changes, but let's use this as an example:

1) 12 beds of vegetables. That's a lot of veg if you use intensive square foot gardening practices. Add a few vertical garden plots in there and you'll have everything you need veg wise.

2) Fruits and nuts- a fruit or nut tree instead of oak or ficus in your front yard will give you all you need. Add a fruit arbor (like kiwi), some small potted berry bushes (like blueberry and strawberry), grape vines in a side trellis, and some potted mini fruit varieties like lemon, orange, pear, etc, and you'll have more fruit than you know what to do with. 

3) Herbs- everyone knows you can put potted herbs on windowsills, but if you add a few around the berry bushes or walkways you'll be able to pick as you walk!

4) Grains- if you have animals, you should grow your own feed for them. Even if you don't, a small 25x50 ft patch of wheat or oats will give you enough to add it into your breads, muffins, and cakes.

Instead of a permanent chicken coop, try a movable chicken tractor design like this one made for 3-4 chickens!

5) 12 chickens- a typical family of 4 doesn't even need this much. You can get by with 3-4 and save a bit of space for more gardening, or give it to them for exercise. Use a chicken tractor like above and move your chickens around the yard to help with insect and weed control.

6) 2 pigs, rabbits, or goats- depending on cuteness level, you'll want to pick an animal you know you can slaughter without getting upset. If pigs and rabbits don't work for you, switch to two small Nigerian Dwarf goats and get fresh milk instead; or one milk and one meat goat variety like Fainting goats! If you do this, enlarge the space a bit by only having the 3-4 chickens and switch the grain to hay to feed the goats!

7) 2 beehives- You should have at least one anyways, even if you don't harvest the honey. If you just want them to pollinate your yard, use a top bar hive, if you want honey, use the normal box style. Put one at the top of your yard and one at the bottom to get maximum coverage.

Around #3 on the picture you'll see a garden shed and compost piles. You can use a greenhouse/shed design to start plants in before transferring to the garden beds, and if open compost bins make you nervous, use a barrel style that is completely seal-able.

I like this design because you can play with what's most important to you and your family. It also allows you to get an idea on space. There are several dwarf varieties of plants and trees out there as well, so think about that if you are tight on space. 

Goat Sheds

I designed the goat sheds we want. It should be big enough to hold 5-6 goats. It's based on this one we saw at the Heifer Overlook farm in Massachusetts.

Accidental Farmers

I'm almost done reading Accidental Farmers by Tim Young. I must say it's not what I expected. I've read the others: Pollan, Salatin, Logsdon, Belanger, and Howard (and a few others), but this is the first one that actually told (in grisly detail) about the dark, ugly side of farming. I must say though, I think the big reason they had such problems was the fact that they are actually trying to run a farm. Not a homestead or smallholding where they take care of their own needs, but a farm, where they are trying to turn a profit. That's the problem, in my opinion. People aren't trying to just sustain themselves, they are trying to feed the world, which is what got us into this industrial food mess to begin with. I'll give them the points because part of their goals incorporates creating a local food shed, but that's not our goal. We don't want to feed the world. We want to feed us.

I'll take care of me and mine, you and yours is your own problem. Maybe that sounds harsh to you. Maybe you're thinking why not try and feed the world. I'll tell you my honest, brutal opinion...there are too many of us as there is. In 1999 an anime came out called Blue Gender. It wasn't the greatest, but to this day it remains a favorite. Why? Because it told the story of where I really think the human race is headed. Basically, humanity has screwed up the Earth so bad that Mother Nature says 'screw it' and treats us like an infectious virus that needs to be exterminated. Humanity becomes the hunted. The timeline for this fictitious revolution? 2030. Eighteen years in our future. That's not so implausible considering what we've done the last 200 years to the planet. I'm not a hippy, I'm a pragmatist and I am of the firm belief that if we do not attempt to fix things now, we won't have a later. Kind of like the church-goer who thinks, if they're wrong I've wasted an hour every Sunday, but if they're right....

Anyways, it reminded me that I need to really look at our economic choices surrounding food. The other stuff, entertainment and such, I'm less concerned with, because I know we are working with a limited timeline where we are purchasing as much as we are right now. I'm spending more now, because I don't want to spend it on those items later. Regarding food, clothes, and chemicals I do need to be mindful of, especially food. I think food is the single most impactful way you can express yourself. Think about it this way, you can spend $8 on a fast food value meal that ultimately destroys a piece of land, an animal, and potentially a species, or you can spend $20 and help preserve a piece of land, species, family, and community.

I'm okay with spending a bit more. I'm going to spend it anyways, so I might as well spend it wisely. That being said, I'm going to stop by a new butcher tonight and see if their advertised local, sustainable, organic, pasture-raised meat is all it says it is. We're doing our part by switching off beef and chicken and moving to goat, lamb, and pork, but we can do better, and I'm willing to do a little bit more to achieve better health for me and mine. What are you willing to do?

Summary:

When Tim and Liz Young decided to leave their comfortable suburban life and become first-time farmers in rural Georgia, they embarked on a journey that would change their lives. The Accidental Farmers reveals how the couple learned that hamburgers, bacon, and eggs don't come from the supermarket but from real animals that forge emotional bonds with their human caretakers. Seeking a middle path between a meatless lifestyle and the barbarism of factory food, Tim and Liz created Nature's Harmony Farm, a sustainable oasis where rare breed animals and humans live together searching for something nearly lost by both humans and the animals...how to live naturally off the land. Rather than a how-to guide, this book is a personal memoir of the Young's journey to farming and is sure to delight those interested in moving to the country or simply learning more about the struggles of sustainable farming.