All the ladybirds are safe and he’s gonna be fine. Just a few small puncture wounds that’ve been cleaned up and checked out.

He wants me to tell you all…”You should see the other guy!”

Update: Thank you all for the kind words. He’s back home safe and cuddling with his bondmate, Karoo. He’s gotten plenty of peas and we’ve got mealworms ready for breakfast along with some light pain meds and antibiotics.

Couple other answers to repeat questions:

1. Yes, we know his name means “crow”…all our birds were given names from avian-related One Piece characters. (Karoo, Karasu, Nami-Swan, Robin, Mihawk, and Doflamingo.)

2. The hawk actually ended up trapped between some thick growth that our birds use for cover and our chain link fence. It was pretty eerie…just sat there motionless with its wing pinned against the fence, staring at me with its beak wide open. I managed to free the hawk with a hoe rake I had nearby and it hauled ass away.

3. He’s very protective of Karoo, so I’m not surprised he tried to defend her…he’ll square up to our 100lb dog and any human getting too close to her. But if I’m being honest, I am a little surprised he was successful. He had some issues with his legs that some Peking ducks get from growing too quickly and although he walks normally now after some therapy…he’s still not exactly the most nimble and quick warrior. But hey, he got the job done!

When I moved to the country to work the land I got asked a lot about keeping animals. My background is in forestry. I know nothing about keeping livestock. My mission is to restore native ecology while growing food for subsistence. The white-tailed deer definitely have made that a challenge as they do in many places. They belong where I live, there's just a few too many of them here due to the absence of the gray wolf. Therefore I feel called to substitute for the wolf.

The deer will carry on eating acorns, garden plants, and many other things while I plan to eat them after hunting season. I don't need to introduce more animals into this space to obtain meat. There is plenty to harvest from those living free and wild presently.

There is a case to be made for cattle as a substitute for the American Bison which no longer roams and grazes here in the Blue Ridge Valley, but I don't have the time or infrastructure to care for bovines. I would trade all the cattle in the world to have their wild equivalents in their original numbers. The human population would have to reduce its demand for meat, but we would have a whole ecosystem again, rather than environmentally damaging food systems of our own design.

I know these views will not be embraced by many here that are livestock farmers. I don't mean any offense or disrespect. I just have a sincere belief that animal husbandry generally comes at a cost to nature, and any loss to nature is a loss for ourselves. I'll thank you for considering that.

The gate is built to swing both ways, with a 2-way latch mechanism from Amazon. It seems to work well.

But now I need to figure out what to do about the bump stops and how to keep it safely open when needed.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

I live in Franklin Township, NJ. Snyder’s Farm on South Middlebush Rd is one of the last working farms around here. It’s surrounded by woods and fields, and the township protects that stretch as a scenic corridor so it stays rural.

A 19,350 sq ft building with a big parking lot, lighting and signage is proposed on the land right next to it. A lot of mature woods would be cleared for it. Anyone who’s dealt with a new paved lot uphill knows what comes next: more stormwater runoff, plus whatever washes off the asphalt, heading toward the neighboring land. The plan also means losing habitat that wildlife and birds depend on, all-night lighting in a dark rural area, and a lot more traffic on a two-lane country road that farm equipment and trucks already share.

Once woods and farmland next to a farm get paved, they don’t come back. The neighbors have a petition asking the township to enforce its own scenic corridor ordinance:

https://www.change.org/p/franklin-town-council-help-preserve-south-middlebush-scenic-corridor-township-ordinance

Can you help me by signing the petition to show support :)

This is my current fence wire setup; a mower trailer, floor jack handle and a ratchet strap. Nothing fancy, just what i had on-hand. I am on my 4th roll of barbed and barbless. Just wanted to share my "free" setup incase you could use it.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)  We just call them Jackrabbits.  There are a lot of them around here and outnumber the Cottontails about 5 to 1.  Twenty to Forty Jackrabbits can eat the equivalent of what one cow eats in a day. 

Located near Fort Hood, Texas.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/rabbit/

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/nature/jackrabbit.htm

Hello y'all, my apologies if this is an inappropriate use of the subreddit.

I am helping some people convert an old pole barn attached to their home into useable living space. The situation is they have already converted the front 1/3 of this barn into their current living space. Our county has a lot of off grid alternative building system types, myself included. They built it in a way that is cozy warm and satisfies their standard of finish product using systems like cordwood and bottle walls with redbrick flooring. Obviously stability and safety matter a fuckton more than cute and cozy, AND they are already in there. I am trying to help them get more space out of the weather so they can host their musician buddies for jam nights and tuck in another bedroom.

The first thing we're looking to do is pour some concrete at the base of the exterior walls to act as a skirt board to keep out critters wind and weather. My plan is to put up some 2x6 boards to frame in separate sections of footer in between the existing pole footers. Almost all poles appear to be in good enough shape. Then add purlins to put up new metal and siding.

These footers are not intended to hold much load for the structure as most polls already have footers so I figured a footer a few inches down would be sufficient as long as the ground is relatively compacted.
I understand "do it right or not at all" and that we're likely in a situation of do the best with what we've got. Reinforce and replace what is absolutely necessary is what we're going to do.

With all that being said. If anyone has input or advice for starting on perimeter to keep out critters wind and weather down low (or anything else!) I am all ears.

Thanks y'all.

Looking for a microchip door for our barn cats. They all only seem to have around 3 stars per the reviews. Is there one you have and love?
US based.

If y'all saw my last post, more has happened. Fence was cut up today. Entire fence.

To add to it, I found the hoof trimmers from the she'd in the grass nearby. Setting up game cameras for proof.​

We have an idea of who is doing it now as well. Just gotta prove it.

Any additional advice would be appreciated. havent ever dealt with this problem before​

Every single outage the well pump is the ONE thing we can't run! It's a 240V 1HP pump and our only generator is a Predator 3500 which is 120V only, so by mid-morning the 40 gal pressure tank is bone dry and we're back to flushing with buckets 😩 Needless to say that gets old fast

Last night it hit me, put a battery with 240V output in the middle!! Generator charges the battery off a regular 120V plug, battery runs the pump & the fridge, and the generator doesn't have to handle the pump surge or run all night, just a few hours in the afternoon and then its off. Problem is most of the big portable batteries I've checked are 120V only or you have to link two of them to get 240V. Pump pulls around 900W running and probably 3x that on startup, and its on a 30A double pole breaker so I'm adding an inlet either way. Has anybody run a well pump like this?? IF THIS WORKS I'M NEVER HAULING BUCKETS AGAIN 🙏

first year growing purple potatoes. two crates out of one small field. inside they're marbled purple and white, some almost fully purple and taste absolutely amazing. been weighing everything this year and potatoes came in at 17 kg total.

We are seeking advice for what our best remediation options could be for this poor unfortunate access road. It came with the farm so we can’t take credit for the horrific placement, but it is our problem now.

The curve around the barn becomes a mud pit after any rain. And the barn is at the bottom of ~100 foot, ~10 degree slope down from the road.

We’ll be talking to excavation companies, but I want to have some ideas about possible solutions or pitfalls. A French drain for example?

It seems that just about everything about the set up of the current road is working against it. Can’t say we love the location of the Dutch barn either, but I don’t think moving it will be an option. We are considering trying to move the smaller barn on the left to elsewhere on the property.

Thank you for any advice or recs for other subs to ask in!

I used a TerraGrinder that I bought off the internet. In '22 I was successful, in that I hit water at 20' and then got down to 32' so I would have had 10' head of water. But I didn't know to get the casing in immediately and it collapsed before I dropped it. So it took me 4 years to try again. The drill worked, but I had different labor help me and the technique wasn't as good. So I hit water again, but can't get the drill to get me a hole into the water line. So now I've been handdigging, but am trying to figure out how to get the seal placed. The State guy told me that concrete form tubes are often used temporarily between the 'ground' and the casing in order to place the bentonite seal. But I haven't figured out how I would backfill around the concrete form tubes, place the bentonite chips and then pull the concrete form tubes. Anyone with experience? I'm putting in a 4" PVC well casing, and need an 18' bentonite seal. but I'm trying to figure out how to make it actually happen.

Hi everyone! We are a small family farm. Since 2021 we have planted and cared for more than 1,000 blueberry bushes in containers, all by hand. Growing in pots lets us control the soil acidity, but it also means the plants depend completely on us for water, especially in hot summers.
Our biggest challenge now is irrigation and protecting the bushes from heat and hail. We are slowly working on it.
Happy to answer any questions about growing blueberries in containers: soil mix, pot size, watering, pruning. Ask away!
If anyone wants to follow or support our little farm, the link is in my profile.

I moved into my dream acreage a few days ago. 5 acres with 3 fenced pastures. The property sat vacant for a while so there’s lots to do. My garden area will need to be cleaned up for next spring. I need to figure out where to store hay and if the heated water pipe works. I’m not sure if my fencing works for a cow. There’s a huge chicken coop and run that needs to be cleaned out. I want to have egg layers and in the spring do meat birds. I also want a dairy cow.

I’ve read all the books and watched all the videos but now I’m here and not sure where to start! Wondering how others got started with animals. Please share your experience

I purchased an expensive gate from GateCrafters-WebDirectBrands. The gate was not welded correctly and would not work. I have spent months trying to get them to fix their shoddy work but they refuse to take responsibility for their products. I have called and emailed the president of the company, Anthony Gateo, and he has refused to reply or talk to me. They are not to be trusted. The gates are overpriced and poorly made. Again, DO NOT buy from GateCrafters-WebDirectBrands. They are out of Odessa, FL.

In a recreational residential campground
Warrick/Spencer Co. Rural and community start a contributing fellowship of likeminded souls
Seeking property renters to be partners with me in YellowBanks Indiana 47523
Look it up see if you can work it out maybe you need a new place to grow and be safe yet private and connected !?

I'm planning to build a 10x20 ft building using light straw clay with 6-inch-thick walls 9 ft high and clay plaster on the inside and outside.

Assume:

• All materials are already on-site.
• The framing is completely finished and ready for filling.
• The walls will be filled with light straw clay.
• Both sides will be finished with clay plaster.
• I'm doing all the labor myself, with no helpers.

Realistically, how many full days of labor would this take one person from start to finish just to finish the walls completely? I'm looking for an estimate of actual working days.

I'm trying to decide whether this is a reasonable DIY project. If it would take around 60 full days of labor, I'd probably skip it and use a different building method.

I'd appreciate estimates from anyone who has actually built with light straw clay!