Hosting a 3 Year Olds Birthday Party is Tiring!

With all the things that go on here, planning for any event is just adding more stress onto the pile.  Last year, after our best couple friends' son's 2nd birthday party, I mentioned that for the 3rd birthday we should do a farm party out at our place.  The mom, Beth, was in!

So a couple months ago we started planning, and the last week has been full of frantic yard work and making the farm as kid friendly as possible.  Since we have no children of our own, and the house and most of the farm is in a constant state of remodel and expansion, there's a lot of areas that pile up and don't get messed with until absolutely necessary.

Luckily, Beth is a teacher and her husband is a stay at home dad, so they were able to come by on Friday and help with pulling weeds and mowing yards (with nearly two acres of just yard space, this takes some time!).  They arrived early and Chris (the dad) went right to work on the mowing, my own husband started on the weed eating and Beth started making balloons for the party's big water balloon fight.  I started on pulling weeds.

We worked hard until a little afternoon when rain forced us to take a lunch break.  We all cleaned up and went to get lunch and then came home and finished up outside chores.  They went home and I started on a little of the house work.

Saturday came, and the morning was busy - cleaning off the deck, setting up chairs, spraying off the driveway, etc.  At 2pm our friends arrived to decorate and finish getting ready, and just about 4pm the first guests arrived!

First up, we had a country style barbecue, with my husband grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers.  We also had homemade baked beans, potato salad, Mississippi Sin Dip, chips, lemonade, sweet tea and the best party punch.

About 5pm we loaded the kids onto the trailer and started the hay ride/farm tour.  We drove up to the poultry yard and visited the turkeys, chickens, and ducks.  The kids also got to see our rabbits and our trio of lady goats.  Of course, we had Goliath (the LGD) locked up in a kennel far enough away to discourage anyone from getting too close.  After 20 minutes or so running around and seeing the little animals, we loaded back onto the trailer and drove around up to visit the llamas. 

Usually the ladies (and a gelded gentleman) spend the day back under some trees in the shade, but around 5ish they emerge to eat grass and trek to the water tank.  We caught up to them just in time, and with the encouragement of a little feed, Fancy, one of our girls, hung out next to the trailer eating and letting the kids pet her.  Some of the other llamas came up to the trailer and sniffed at the kids but didn't seem interested in being touched.  Of course, most of the kids were so nervous they didn't seem to want to touch any of them either!

After 10 minutes with the llamas we moved on to the back pasture to see the donkeys.  Now, our boys are rowdy as most donkeys can be, so we didn't want to take any chances and kept a fence between us and the donks.  Jaxon and Zeke are unpredictable at best, and I was sure if they would nip, or even come up to the fence.  I was quite surprised that not only did they come to the fence, they allowed the kids (and a few adults) to pet them through the fence.  No fighting, no nipping.  It was amazing!  The kids really seemed to enjoy it.

We followed up the donkeys by enjoying our hayride back to the house where we had started.  Everyone unloaded and we headed to the deck for cake and ice cream.  Once cake had been eaten it was on to the pinatas.  We had two, and it was fun to watch the kids try to break them open.  We followed that up with a fun filled water balloon fight, opening gifts and a little bit of visiting before the party ended.

Once the guests were gone, we picked up the trash and then our friends, their two kids, my husband and I retreated to the pool for a little R&R.  It was much needed! 

Throughout the party the other parents kept asking if we "do" parties here at the farm.  While it was a success and everyone had a great time, it's just not something we could do with any sort of regularity.  Too much work involved, and though the farm critters bounced back, I think that sort of attention is too much stress to do more than occasionally.

Goliath is Definitely Earning His Dog Food

Our LGD, Goliath, has come a long way at settling in to life on our farm.  For the most part he just hangs out, only barking on rare occasions.

Because Pyrenees are known to roam, he is in a fenced in pasture around our chicken and duck pens.  Since he came to live with us we haven't lost so much as a single chicken, although we still worry with the turkeys out in another pasture.  Luckily heritage turkeys are such big birds that most critters won't bother them.

Last night (or should I say this morning), I woke to Goliath barking.  LOUDLY.  Not really panicked but definitely making a statement.  I went to the patio doors and looked out but saw nothing, so I laid back down, thinking he'd stop in a few minutes (I don't think terribly clearly at 1:45am).  Twenty minutes later he was still at it.  I figured it was worth a closer look.

After putting on some pants and shoes and grabbing a flashlight I headed out.  I didn't hear or see anything but the dog.  As I opened the gate between the pastures to see what had the dog worked up, he ran past me at full steam and nearly knocked me over! 

Now, when Goliath decides he wants to go somewhere, it's not easy to deter him, but he's generally not pushy.  When I turned around to see where he had gone, he was coming around the backside of one of the turkey pens..... in hot pursuit of two large raccoons!  He ran them through the barbwire fence, then stopped and started a walk around the pasture perimeter, marking as he went.  I checked the turkeys and they were fine, though the coons were large enough they definitely could have killed one of them if they had had a chance to get it.

After ten minutes of checking, sniffing, walking and marking, Goliath sat down at the gate to be let in to his pasture.  I opened it up, he went in, and went over to where the goats were laid down and settled in. 

I headed back to bed, impressed that a pup of eleven months is already doing such a fantastic job.

Needless to say, the next time I hear him carrying on at night, I'll take him a bit more seriously!

My Recommendation for the Greatest Canning Book Ever!

Late last week I went to my favortie produce stand and got a box of peaches and a box of tomatoes for $15 and $12.  These are 25# boxes, so a real deal over store prices.  Of course, they are super fresh and HUGE pieces of fruit.

Today I finally got around to canning up my peaches, and if you've never done it before be prepared for a day of work!

Before you can do anything with them, peaches have to be peeled.  You do this by immersing the peach in boiling water for about three minutes and then into ice cold water.  The peels should slip right off by then.  It's still messy and labor intensive, but so very worth it.

So you are probably wondering about the name of this post if all I'm going to talk about is peeling peaches.  Okay, okay.  No need to be pushy.

I have a few canning books, but the one I grab first for everything and anything is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  This is THE book for the home preserver and covers both water bath and pressure canning.  There are over 400 recipes in the book as well. 

To use my peaches, I made Spirited Peaches, Peaches in Light Syrup and Peach Syrup, which can all be found in the book.  Last year I made an Asian Plum sauce (which is amazing in chicken stir fry), Zesty Peach BBQ Sauce, Wing Sauce, Bread and Butter Pickles, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling, and Peach Pie Filling, just to name a few.  If you can or water to can, make sure you get a copy of this amazing book!

The Four Guns I Think Every Country Person Should Have

I'm not a gun expert.  In fact, I can probably count on one had the number of time that I have shot something other than a BB gun.  I'm barely what you would even call a rookie.

This year has presented me with several reasons to delve into gun ownership however.  First, I lost about 60 pullets to a weasel in one night.  Then a fox killed the better part of one of my chicken flocks in the span of about 15 minutes.  Additionally, I've had trouble with strange people in strange vehicles showing up at the house.

And let's face it - times are changing.  We live in a rural setting, but crime is inching it's way closer to us every day.  I think you have to make a personal decision ahead of time whether you will be a survivor or a victim when trouble arrives.  I choose to be a survivor.

If you've read some of my other posts, you also know that I am a prepper.  No, I don't believe that every prepper should have an AR and 1,000 rounds, so you can leave that misconception at the door.  What I do think is that you should have something with which to protect yourself, and give you a chance to feed your family if you need to.  Of course, a little target practice is a good stress reliever too!

So here are my suggestions.  Take 'em or leave em'!

An air rifle - sure, it doesn't sound all that serious, but you can do some damage with an air rifle.  Not only can you kill doves, squirrels, etc, but you can make a serious impression on just about anything.  I don't like to kill the neighborhood dogs for a first offense (as long as they haven't killed anything), but I do like to leave a lasting impression that chasing my critters is not a good idea.  I have a really nice, scoped Beeman that has interchangeable barrels that I got for about $100 at Wal-Mart.  It's good quality and does what I need it to do.  It's also a great practice gun and the pellets are really cheap.

12 or 20 ga Shotgun - Personally I have a 20 ga because it recoils less than a 12 ga.  Being a woman I have a youth model as the adult versions are just too long for me to sight and fire comfortably.  I recommend a shotgun because of it's diversity.  You can get shells of a variety of shots and can kill practically anything with it, up to and including deer. 

22 LR Rifle - Ammo is inexpensive and it's great for shooting over longer distances.  22 ammo is small though, and a 22 is not legal for hunting bigger game.  It is useful and legal for hunting small game though, and in a total collapse could be used to kill deer if the shot

was placed correctly. 

38 Special or a 357 Magnum - If you are at all worried about personal protection, you need a handgun.  Save yourself a lot of grief and get a revolver.  I talked to several gun owners and instructors before choosing the 38, and I like that it has multiple shots and a comfortable shooting grip.  I am looking for a good holster right now, and once I get it I plan to carry my 38 around on the farm.  You can get a decent 38 for around $300, and Charter Arms and Taurus both make one that is a good starter.  Mine has a 2" barrel, which I think is great if you are going to carry it around.  This of course reduces your range and forces you to practice a bit more to perfect your shot, but 38 ammo is relatively inexpensive.  On the other side, a 357 will also fire 38 ammo, and it is recommended by a lot of instructors as the gun for ladies.  They are a bit more expensive however. 

Do your research and find the gun or guns for you.  And always, always, always use ear and eye protection when practicing!

Be responsible and Safe!

Is That a Miniature Cow? No, That's a Goat!

I blogged a few days ago that I had brought home two lady goats.  I've named them both, the little one being Josephine or "Jo Jo", and the cream colored two year old is Carmella.  My farm plan (and yes, there is a plan to everything we do here) was for three does, and at a later date a buck and wether.

Right now I have two of my Chocolate Turkey hens up for sale or trade on Craigslist, but the hens are spoken for until this weekend.  I was contacted by a gentleman that said he had a lovely 1 1/2 year old pygmy doe that he would trade me for the turkeys or sell to me at the same price. 

We agreed on the price and I headed out to go get the goat.  First thing that I noticed when I arrived was that this was no pygmy, as I had wondered from the photo he sent me.  She is very small though, and looks to be a pygmy/Boer mix.  We may never know for sure.  The man was at work, but his wife was there.  I don't know if it was funny or sad, but she was very afraid of the goats in general and didn't know what to do with them.  She did dump some feed in a feeder and lock several, include the one I came to get, into a small pen.  From there she clearly didn't know what to do.  After a minute she proclaimed she was going to call her brother because she didn't want to touch the goats!

Well, I didn't exactly have all day so I went into the pen and finally got a hold of her (by the horns, unfortunately), and walked her out of the pen to the truck.  The woman was amazed.  I then had the woman hold onto the horns while I picked the goat up and loaded her into the truck.  The woman just kept saying how amazed she was that I went right in there and grabbed than goat. 

I was far more amazed that she hates goats and lives on a goat farm!

On the way home I stopped to grab something to eat at McDonald's (which in general I avoid as much as possible).  When I got to the window to get my food, the gal glanced into the truck canopy and saw the goat.  She then in all honesty asked me "Is that a miniature cow?".  I looked around for a minute before I realized she was talking about the creature I had in the truck.  "No," I replied, "that's a goat."  I drove away shaking my head.  The world sure is full of interesting people.

I decided on the drive to name the little goat Daisy Mae, in honor of a cow we once had named Daisy.  If people are gonna think my goat is a cow, maybe she should be named for one!

Until next time!





Our Newest Farm Family Members

Our first goats have arrived on the farm!

We chose miniature goats for their more manageable size and milk productions.  With only two of us presently in the household, a true dairy breed would produce far more than we can use.

The younger of the two is a seven month old pygmy with just a hint of Nubian blood.  She is small and quite the sweetie.

The other is a two year old and might be gifting us with kids this fall.  She was exposed to a buck a while back, but pregnancy is not confirmed.  She is very shy but is coming around.

I hope to pick names for these girls shortly.

The Realities of Preparing For Your Livestock

An often overlooked or at least under-spoken-of area of preparedness, caring for livestock in the event of any sort of collapse is an important topic. For many of us, our livestock are part of our long term survival plan and crucial to our way of life.

Some people choose to prep for their animals much like they prep for themselves, by storing extra food and water for their creatures. This works for a little while, but at some point the supplies run out and then what? I believe there are seven things to consider when prepping for animals:

1.  How many animals do I really need? While I enjoy keeping around 50 chickens, realistically, a dozen good hens and two roosters could produce replacement layers every spring to keep my flock going, plus provide me with both meat and eggs.
2. What can I do with the excess animals? In some cases, bartering them away may be a good option, in others, butchering may be the course. Know what your plan is before you get to that point. It will relieve a lot of stress and allow for bettering utilization of resources.
3. How much storage room do I have? Unless you have a big barn that stays a consistent temperature and a way to keep out rodents and bugs, storing more than six months of grains is difficult at best. Don’t waste time or money storing feeds for animals you don’t intend to keep unless you have extra space. Does it make sense to store feed for 50 chickens if I only plan to keep 14?
4. How do I store my feed? The best long term solution for store bought feeds is to have large, metal garbage cans placed in a cool shed or barn. I’ve used heavy plastic bins and still had mice chew right through them! I’d advise again storing bags of grain for this same reason, but also because bagged grains can quickly go bad in the humidity of the south.
5. Do I have a way to grow or obtain feed for my animals when the store bought stuff runs out? You may need to think about adding gardening space, growing your own hay or something along those lines. Be realistic. You just may not be able to keep your dairy cow or goat flock like you had planned.
6. Can I meet the water requirements of my animals? Really think about how often you turn on the hose and fill those tanks and water containers. If you don’t have a pond, stream or well, maybe it’s time to think about installing a cistern or putting together a rain barrel system. Like us, animals cannot survive for long without water.
7. What else do I need to do to keep my animals healthy? Chickens may need oyster shell for strong egg shells, goats and sheep really need a good mineral supplement. And do you have a plan for dealing with parasites?

The following are recommendations for storage and options for feeding livestock post-shtf. These aren’t just my ideas, as I’ve taken some of these suggestions for emails and conversations I’ve had with other livestock owning preppers.

• Cats - A full metal garbage can of cat food will keep a cat for at least a year (depending on the cat). Long term, unless Miss Kitty has been declawed, most cats can hunt well enough to care for themselves, and it’s not unusual for a domesticated cat to go feral once you are no longer offering them food. If you insist on trying to keep your cat as a pet, do try to acclimate them to an eventual change in diet by adding shredded meat (raw or cooked) to their daily feeding. As you run through your cat food storage, try adding more and more meat. In theory she’ll be eating meat by the time you run out of store bought foods.
• Dogs - A metal garbage can full of dog food is a worthwhile investment, and keep in mind that dogs are one animal where size matters! A full can of dog feed only feeds my Great Pyrenees for two months or so, where that same amount will feed my mom’s little housedog for nearly a year! Dog aren’t the great scavengers and hunters that cats are, and if you choose to have dogs you need to understand that you will be responsible for feeding them for their entire lives. Luckily, dogs can be turned to a meat diet fairly easily, and will also eat eggs and vegetables (carrots, peas and potatoes cooked soft are usually best). There are few dogs that will turn up a nose at table scraps either! Don’t forget that dogs do require occasional worming, and that in the south there is always a potential for heartworm. While I would suggest keeping enough medication on hand for a year or two (since most wormers are small enough to store easily), there are some natural alternatives as well: A daily dose of grapefruit seed extract, fresh garlic, freshly ground pumpkin seeds (raw, not baked), wheat germ oil and vitamin A (cod liver oil is a good source) are just a few.
• Rabbits - Domesticated rabbits have been bred to do best on commercial rabbit feed. That’s just the way it is. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get decent to good results with natural feeds, just be prepared to go slowly as rabbits have sensitive digestive tracks. Properly acclimated, rabbits can do quite well in mobile yard pens or even in outdoor colonies. If you decide to keep your rabbits caged, try to store six or more months of commercial feed and at least a dozen bales of timothy and or alfalfa hay. Long term raising can be done by feeding grasses, and lots of other things found in the garden. (Some things, such as cabbages and lettuces, must be fed in moderation to avoid upsetting a rabbit’s digestion. A little research now will save you lots of heartache down the road.) Garlic and pumpkin seeds are good natural wormers for rabbits, and most rabbits only require deworming if you notice weight loss or dullness of coat.
• Goats - For most of the year, feeding goats can be fairly simple as they are efficient browsers, and are known for their ability to go feral second only to cats. Goats do require a good quality hay and/or alfalfa in winter though, and dairy bred milkers require a good feed. Kinder goats, Spanish and pygmies are more robust and may be a better choice for home milking without the higher feed requirements. A good supply of hay kept in the barn would be a worthwhile prep, although make sure to rotate it through as nutritional values drop over time. An average sized goat will require about 2 gallons of water per day, with lactating dairy breeds requiring at least three. Goats need to be checked regularly for parasites, and benefit from natural wormers of garlic and pumpkin seeds as well as from apple cider vinegar added to their water tanks. Commercial wormers can also be stored, and if kept in a cool dry place can still be effect well after their expiration dates.
• Cows - A good pasture will keep a cow going all for most of the year. Winters will require either pastures of winter ryegrass or hay. Storing feed isn’t a necessity here, but it would be worth the effort to store at least a full winter worth of hay. Cows will eat corn and a variety of other grains if you can grow them. If you insist on raising cows, you might consider one of the smaller breeds like Dexters, or a good heritage breed like Pineywoods that have a better feed conversion rater. Keep in mind that a true dairy cow will be nearly impossible to sustain due to their feeding requirements. Additionally, cows require on average 15-20 gallons of water per day during hot weather.
• Pigs - The day to day raising of pigs/hogs can be challenging without feed. Not because of a lack of feeding choices, but more because of the amount of feed needed, especially if you are keeping breeding animals. Pigs will eat nearly anything, and will eat rats, snakes, mice, and the occasional wayward chicken if given a chance. For over wintering, root crops and scraps will do them nicely - potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, etc. In all honesty, with the feral pig population of the south, you might be miles ahead to take up hunting and avoid raising them altogether. If you decide to raise pigs, do remember that they drink approximately 5 gallons of water per day, and in hot weather may require a mud hole to keep cool in.
• Equines - Good pasture, and hay! Although equines can be supplemented with things like carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes, roughage is essential to them. If you must keep equines, be prepared to grow and store large amounts of hay for the winter months. Water requirements are fairly high also, with a 1000lb horse consuming 10-15 gallons per day. However, depending on the scenario and the size of your property, a horse could prove invaluable not only for transportation, but also for hauling, plowing, etc.
• Chickens - During the growing season, chickens can be free-ranged or housed in mobile range pens. Being omnivores, chickens will happily eat just about anything they are given and have been known to eat mice and even snakes! Winter feeding requires a bit more effort as there are few bugs and the nutritional value of most grasses goes to nil. Winter squashes can be grown and stored for chickens, as can corn, sunflower seeds, millet and oats. Pumpkins grown for chicken feed have the added bonus of providing pumpkin seeds as a natural dewormer. If you have a dairy animal, most chickens will also consume milk, which is helpful in keeping up the calcium levels of laying hens. Currently we keep two garbage cans full of cracked corn and layer pellets mixed together, and that feeds our flock of 50 for about six weeks on minimal forage. If moved onto range during the spring through fall months and supplemented with squashes during the winter, we could easily get through a full year, and even further if we cut our flock back to our bare minimum number of a dozen hens plus two roosters.
• Waterfowl - Ducks are fair foragers and love insects, including slugs and snails. Geese on the other hand are excellent foragers and can happily exist on pasture and weeds. Unlike chickens however, waterfowl have a hard time consuming most vegetables, making over wintering more difficult. Corn, sunflower seeds, millet, and oats are all possible feeds, as well as kales and lettuces which can be grown in the cooler months. I store two garbage cans of feed corn for my dozen ducks, knowing that with supplementation of lettuces and such I could easily get through a whole winter. Spring through fall they should require no feed if given enough room to range. In a post event situation, waterfowl would be best kept only if they have access to a pond or lake due to their high water requirements.

Other Food Source of Note:

• Kudzu - Some animals love it, some hate it. Whether you raise rabbits, goats, horses, chickens or cows it’s worth a try if you have some growing nearby. The protein count of kudzu is high enough to make it a worthwhile fodder, but be careful when feeding it! Pieces that are knocked to the ground and left may be able to root themselves, and soon you could be dealing with a kudzu nightmare.
• Fodder Beets - Although not grown in the United States as much as abroad, fodder beets are an excellent resource for feeding pigs, cows and horses.
• Sweet potatoes - While sweet potatoes require a lot of space to grow, they do exceptionally well in our area and are a good feed for equines, cows and pigs. They can be cooked to a softened state and fed to goats and poultry as well.

Other items to consider:

• Apple cider vinegar - Absolutely worth storing or learning how to make no matter what critters you keep on the farm. It can be added to animal or bird water at the rate of 2 ½ teaspoons to 5 gallons of water and protects against intestinal worms, and is helpful against a variety of other conditions including scours, pinkeye and foot rot.
• Mineral Blocks - All livestock benefit for having access to trace mineral blocks, especially when not being fed commercial feeds. Blocks are generally inexpensive and easily stored. Mineral blocks made for rabbits are small and disk shaped and you can fit a lot of them in a reasonably sized box. Loose minerals are also available in a bag form, though in my experience you get more bang for your buck when you buy blocks.

Overall, livestock husbandry in a post-event scenario will be challenging but do-able. Mankind has been raising these animals for thousands of years without commercial feeds. As preppers we just need to get back to basics and find solutions that work for us.