My project to achieve a self-sufficient "farm-garden"

Pazu

Hi
"The rabbits and goats and chicken would be constantly breeding."

I'm sorry but you can't just let animals breed randomly and then cull the excess. The females would rapidly become worn out. One of the first rules of farming is that animals are managed.

Lotus-eater

celerity wrote: »

Chickens eat greens too of course, so most brassicas would get eaten - you'd need to dice them up finely first. Some chickens are fussy and won't eat their greens, but they will eventually if nothing else is offered .

I thought I'd just reply to this in case it gives the wrong ideas to chicken owners.
A large proportion of a chickens food can be grass and other plant material. The one thing you don't want to do is go chopping them up. They are quite able to do this themselves, if you cut them up the bits will be the wrong size and could choke them, or get stuck and the greens start dying straight away, which isn't good at all.

All chickens like green stuff, just some need educating, because like humans, they aren't born with a ingrown talent for surviving in nature, they have to learn.


All this talk of hanging up rat carcasses, is really not too clever either, you can get all kinds of problems and the smell will be horrific. And anyone who has smelt a rotting rats corpse will agree.


edit and remember a rat is a smallholders worst enemy.

Mojisola

simmed wrote: »

You don't get it. Imagine a schoolchild asks his teacher a maths question. His teacher wouldn't say "!!!!!!? GO AND DO SOME RESEARCH YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW NOTHING".

But a teacher also wouldn't try to teach a bit of division, some calculus and some statistics. He/she would point out that you need to start with the basic stuff and build up knowledge before moving on to the more advanced information.

Collecting anecdotes from a range of people won't prepare you for anything except failure.

Daisymaisy

I've been reading this thread and I've finally thought I'd say what I keep thinking : I'm surprised that you all continue to post replies on this thread. Don't give it any more time, your considerable wealth of experience, knowledge and time is much appreciated by the majority of people on this board.

Ken68

I don't think that ganging up is the answer. Hubris has legitimate questions asked in a keen fashion.
Doubt if a teacher would jump down the throat of a learner. Patience, keep calm dear.

celerity

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I thought I'd just reply to this in case it gives the wrong ideas to chicken owners.
A large proportion of a chickens food can be grass and other plant material. The one thing you don't want to do is go chopping them up. They are quite able to do this themselves, if you cut them up the bits will be the wrong size and could choke them, or get stuck and the greens start dying straight away, which isn't good at all.

All chickens like green stuff, just some need educating, because like humans, they aren't born with a ingrown talent for surviving in nature, they have to learn.

To clarify, you should never give cut grass to chickens, as long lengths can get stuck in their crop. That isn't what I meant though.
I am talking about some raw vegetables that are too tough for chickens to easily rip up themselves. For example, brocolli stems and some varieties of cabbage. There is nothing wrong with chopping these up into bite sized morsels (i.e. *small*), I've been doing it for years. You can also add such bits to a warm "mash" of layers pellets, cooked rice, corn etc in the winter (if you are soft, like me )

Things like big, soft leaves can be given whole as Lotus-eater says, and they will have fun ripping them to shreds themselves.

/\dam

Lotus-eater

Ken68 wrote: »

Doubt if a teacher would jump down the throat of a learner.

If they were really wanting to learn, then also the other way round. Otherwise the teacher is liable to be disinterested, unless they are being paid and even then, most would concentrate on the better behaved pupils.

Lotus-eater

celerity wrote: »

To clarify, you should never give cut grass to chickens, as long lengths can get stuck in their crop. That isn't what I meant though.
I am talking about some raw vegetables that are too tough for chickens to easily rip up themselves. For example, brocolli stems and some varieties of cabbage. There is nothing wrong with chopping these up into bite sized morsels (i.e. *small*), I've been doing it for years. You can also add such bits to a warm "mash" of layers pellets, cooked rice, corn etc in the winter (if you are soft, like me )

Things like big, soft leaves can be given whole as Lotus-eater says, and they will have fun ripping them to shreds themselves.

/\dam

I must admit I've never had a problem with chickens not being able to destroy absolutely anything they wanted to eat.
Anything they couldn't eat for themselves I probably wouldn't feed them.
I would have thought anything on a broccoli stem that they couldn't peck off, too hard and woody for them, but it's not something I've ever thought of, chopping them up.
After my chickens left off eating a brassica plant there isn't much left tbh. Just the woody section. Maybe chopping it in half lengthways would enable them to get to a softer core?

valk_scot

Lotus-eater wrote: »

All this talk of hanging up rat carcasses, is really not too clever either, you can get all kinds of problems and the smell will be horrific. And anyone who has smelt a rotting rats corpse will agree.


edit and remember a rat is a smallholders worst enemy.

Absolutely agree and imho the best place for a dead rat is the bonfire. Perhaps there should be a tongue-firmly-in-cheek smilie for this sort of suggestion?

Lotus-eater

valk_scot wrote: »

Absolutely agree and imho the best place for a dead rat is the bonfire. Perhaps there should be a tongue-firmly-in-cheek smilie for this sort of suggestion?

What you need is dwarfs and alot of ketchup. Ratonastick?