Hobby Farms Forums / Hobby Farms Forum / Handy Tips

"Greening" your farm ... or life?

Pygmy Princess — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:26:50 GMT

There is so much out there about "green" these days--changing lightbulbs to flurorescents, reducing carbon footprint, etc. What kinds of things are you doing in that direction? Personally, I am growing a bigger garden this year. Food prices are so high, I have increased the variety and amount of vegetables I'm growing, and I will put up lots for the winter. Also, my husband is getting a motorcycle to commute to work on. Instead of driving our Jeep (18 mpg on a good day), we're spending about $3,000 to buy a 250cc Honda motorcycle that gets about 70 mpg, and the insurance is only about $100/year. I think it will end up paying for itself in a very short time, and will be putting less emissions into the air.

Raising Turkeys and Ducks

camomanbg — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:21:05 GMT

I am raising 11 Broad Breasted Bronze's, and 20 flying mallards. The Turkeys and 10 ducks are 3wks old and the other 10 ducks are 2wks old. I currently have the turkey's in a large cardboard box in the house. The problem is they are to the point that they can fly up to the top of the box and jump out. I could just put the top flaps straight up, but I feel like they need to exercise their ability to fly. Or I could put poultry netting up, but don't want them to get tangled in it. Secondly, the ducks are becoming really messy. I have the young ones in a big tupperware storage bin, the older ones I clamshelled two kiddie pools together and cut the center out of the bottom (of the upside down pool on top). I am using pine bedding and a standard chick waterer and feeder. We are going to build something outside to keep the ducks and turkeys separate. Any suggestions on what to build and what to do about the turkeys in the meantime? Anything will help, I've never done this before.

Cleaning eggs

Chicken Farmer — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:11:17 GMT

Use a household cleaning pad. I use the Magic Eraser and it cleans so well it can take the brown and blue colors off my Ameraucana and Rhode Island Reds eggs. No not all of it though.

Baby turkey chicks are fighting

BnF — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:55:22 GMT

Help our baby chicks are picking one one of there own! Are turkeys cannibalistic? Do they just pick on the weakest? What should we do? I'm worried they will kill the little guy!

TFTF #9 - Bug off!

Sue Weaver — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:37:26 GMT

Fly time is almost upon us (at least in some parts of the country), so I thought I'd share my favorite homemade fly-chaser. I learned about it at a goat listserve two years ago and have used it steadily since.

Mix 5 ounces of Ivory dish washing liquid (I understand Dawn works well too) with one quart of white vinegar--that's it!

I doubt this would repel deer and horseflies but it works exceedingly well for stable flies, house flies and the like. I use a pump bottle with an adjustable spray head to spritz it on my dairy goat before each milking and the flies leave her totally alone and bite *me* instead (although if I'm wearing shorts, I sometimes spritz my own legs and it works on me, too).

The soap element is cumulative, though, so the animal needs an occasional bath. I find once a week to 10 days is sufficient (and you needn't add shampoo).

Try it. I bet you'll be amazed!

Need tips for doing Fence work

BnF — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:27:34 GMT

Any tips for stretching field fence for cattle

tips for 6 acres

CUSTERNSUE — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:12:16 GMT

Custer and I have bought 6 acres in extreme northeastern South Dakota, and are looking for ways to make it profitable, as well as self sufficient. The garden was great his year, and so far we have antelope, rabbit and deer in the freezer. Would like to get chickens, but are looking for plans for a small (really small) coop that we could build for about a dozen that would use a lot of their own body heat to warm them.

Also looking for any ideas as to what we could raise in the garden to supplement our income when we retire. (about 15 years from now) We are looking at the long term here, but time keeps passing by. We planted 3 apple trees this year, 10 raspberries, and 3 rhubarb. We have cuttings for grapes coming in the spring from a vineyard, and would like to plant some cherries and pears. Any other ideas out there?

Thank you so Much Everyone! This is one great community.

Raised Beds

goatsrule — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 07:07:22 GMT

I use old tires stacked 2 high and also straw bales. You can plant almost anything in straw bales except root crops.

Vicky
http://www.smallfarmshare.com
Located in Oregon

TFTF #11 - The walking ruler

Sue Weaver — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:23:26 GMT

Forget the metal tape measure the next time you build fences. When installing barbed wire, high tensile or electric fencing, wear old jeans and use a felt marker to make fencing height marks on your pant legs.

Sue

TFTF #10 - Breaking Away

Sue Weaver — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:18:15 GMT

It’s never good to leave a standard halter, especially one constructed of nearly unbreakable nylon, on a horse, cow, goat or any other creature while it’s out on pasture. It’s infinitely easy for an animal to hook its halter on a watering tank faucet, a tree limb, or other such snag, then set back and break its neck. Safety halters for equines are readily available but not so for other hobby farm species. What to do? Make your own! Here’s how

Measure the width of your halter's crownpiece. Large horse halters generally have one-inch straps, small horse and pony halter straps are usually three-quarters of an inch wide, while halters for other species may be narrower still. Now go to your closet (or your favorite secondhand store or thrift shop) and find a lightweight belt of the same width; it has to be the type with a tongue buckle and a keeper loop.

If you don’t have a belt but you do have an old halter you’re willing to sacrifice, cut off the crownpiece buckle and make an insert using the salvaged buckle and a piece of scrap leather (cutting the scrap from, perhaps, a discarded handbag or the top of an old boot) as shown at the left side of the attached photo.

Measure about three inches down from the tongue for a goat or alpaca halter, five inches to make an insert for a pony or calf halter, or six inches for a full-size horse or cow halter, and snip the belt off that length. Round the cut end with scissors. Then, using a leather punch or a hammer and large nail, poke a single hole one inch below the keeper loop. Now buckle the crownpiece of the halter into the buckle of your insert.

Be sure to remove the insert before tying a horse or other large animal; if he pulls back, this insert is supposed to break.

TFTF #8 - Down the hatch the easy, effective way

Sue Weaver — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:38:53 GMT

Hi all,

I just posted this link to my HFSheep group and it's such an important one that I thought I'd post it here as well.

This is the time of year when kids and lambs are born and everyone who raises goats or sheep will sooner or later have to deal with a weak newborn that can't or won't nurse its mom or a bottle. When that happens it's far better to tube feed the baby than to syringe milk into its mouth; syringing often causes baby to aspirate fluid into its lungs and that in turn leads to pneumonia and very possibly, death.

Tubing sounds scary but done right it's fast, easy, and very effective. The best instructions I've found, anywhere, are free for the downloading at this link: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1998/eb1998.pdf

If you have or plan to get sheep or goats, by all means print this out, buy the inexpensive equipment described in this article (it costs a few dollars, tops), and stow the printout and equipment in a zip-lock bag in your first-aid or lambing/kidding kit. You will be so glad to have it when you need it and trust me, sooner or later you will.

Sue

Goat jumping on car

BnF — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:39:33 GMT

Help.....my goat keeps jumping on the cars! Any suggestions?

new turkeys

BnF — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:49:00 GMT

We have 1 week old turkeys! We have been feeding them turkey starter/ grower food. The sales rep said to feed them egg yolks to givem energy. Not sure how often or long we should feed them the yolks. ??? Any other suggestions on feeding? We have them in a 3 x 2 1/2 plastic tote in the laundary room under a heat lamp. When is a good time to transfer them to the outside pen?

Do you have any tips?

gcwpapillon — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:19:08 GMT

Hi every one, I'm putting together a book on farm animal tips. My family just moved to a farm, and we own horses and chickens so far. Well, I've found out alot of tips, from other owner, that I NEVER read in any book, so I'm going to put together a book on just these tips, I'll take cows, horses, sheep, goats, and chicken tips...from keeping the coop from smelling, to milking a stubborn cow/goat ect. Any tips will be so helpful, Thanks for your time...and hopefully your tips.

TFTF #7 - The buck stops here

Sue Weaver — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:30:04 GMT

I love to interact with my goats year round but it's a smelly venture when bucks are in rut. There are skin cleaners specially formulated to remove buck scent and similar stinky substances from human skin but why buy a specialized product when mechanic's hand cleaner neatly does the trick?

We use Go-Jo Natural Orange Hand Cleaner (it comes in smooth and pumice versions and they both work equally well) to remove farm-generated smells few other substances can handle, like buck scent and post-horse sheath cleaning aroma. ZEP Big Orange Hand Cleaner is another great product. Get them at Wal-Mart or your favorite automotive supply store. I bet if you try them, you'll be glad you did.

TFTf #6 - Put it on ice

Sue Weaver — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:56:28 GMT

We live where it gets very hot in the summertime (sizzling, steamy northern Arkansas). To help prevent urinary calculi problems in our male sheep and goats, it's important to cool their drinking water so they consume enough liquid when they really need it. So, we stumbled upon several good ways to freeze "ice cubes" large enough to matter.

My favorite "ice cube trays" are reused 12 ounce Philadelphia Cream Cheese tubs. Water freezes solid in one of these tubs in less than eight hours and the "cubes" pop out with ease. I drop one or two of these cubes in my male animals' water buckets a few times each sizzling summer day and they always have cool, tasty water to drink (besides, it gives me an excuse to eat more bagels).

I also use them to quick-cool the bottles of yummy raw goat milk I put in our refrigerator every day. After filtering the milk and pouring it into bottles, I fill our kitchen sink with cold water and unmold two Philly "cubes" in it. When the cubes have melted, the milk is chilled and ready to refrigerate or freeze.

Other plastic tubs work but (so far) none have held up like the Philly tubs do. I have some in my freezer that I've used every day for over six months. Now that's durable!

A good way to cool larger water sources such as horse tanks: freeze water in plastic soda bottles or milk jugs (allow enough head room for the freezing water to expand), then drop the bottles or jugs in the tank. When the ice has thawed, put the jugs or bottles back in the freezer overnight and they're ready to go again. These work exceptionally well in picnic coolers too.

Sue

TFTF #5 - Hay feeders for horses

Sue Weaver — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:32:52 GMT

We've had horses for decades and gone through lots of kinds of feeders over those years. The hay feeders we like best: empty watering troughs!

Since we live in northern Arkansas and need lots of water tanks through the summer months, we had extra troughs sitting around unused during the colder winter months. Now we pull them into the horse area and use them to feed our hay. They're very sturdy, the horses eat in a normal, heads-down manner and dropped springs of hay fall back into the troughs to be picked up and munched again.

When summer comes and hay feeding time ends, they become horse watering troughs again!

Of course, damaged tanks with holes or splits in them work well for permanent feeders, too. If you have one, use it--and keep your eyes peeled for overturned or otherwise unused tanks when you visit others' farms; people often sell them cheaply or give them to you for free.

Sue

Addendum to TFTF #4

Sue Weaver — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:52:37 GMT

Something I neglected to mention is this: if you allow lambs or kids the run of the house, either monitor them at all times or place something in front of electrical cords and computer or telephone wiring. Our kids and lambs are drawn to cords like iron filings to a magnet. It's easy for an unsupervised baby to electrocute himself and even if he doesn't he can cause lots of damage to electrical and electronic equipment.

In fact, a few years ago we complained to the local telephone company because our dial-up Internet connection kept timing out. When the repairman examined our setup he found that our phone wiring was gnawed almost in two. Yikes, embarrassing! Since then we've placed old window screens in front of our computer and phone wiring while we have bottle babies in the house (you can see a bit of screen behind Uzzi in the pictures I posted earlier).

When they get older, say five to six weeks old, kids get into everything and then they need fulltime supervision. I once found a five-week-old kid on top of the refrigerator (he hopped from the floor to a chair to the counter top to a toaster oven to the top of the 'fridge). They are ingenious and intelligent (and wonderful); never take a goat for granted.

Lambs are easier, but older ones still need supervision. Picture toilet paper unwound throughout the house. Yep, we've had several lambs (and kids) do that. Raising bottle babies in the house is fun but it's not for the weakhearted!

If anyone (ever) has bottle baby questions, please post them. I love bottle babies and I dearly love to talk about them too. :o)

Sue

TFTF #4 - Stemming the flood

Sue Weaver — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:25:32 GMT

This is the time of year when many of us have bottle babies of one kind or another sharing our abodes. Some folks keep them in playpens, some in dog show exercise pens, some even house them in huge Rubbermaid tubs--John and I keep ours in large wire-style dog crates. As I write, two baby goats are snoozing in crates right behind me.

People say, "Aren't they smelly?" Not a bit. That's because I bed them on large pieces of old bed blankets folded to fit their crates and I change the blanketing whenever it gets damp or soiled. Overnight I place old towels under the layers of blanketing and that keeps things reasonably tidy until morning. This works until a kid or lamb is six to seven weeks old and by then they're ready to move out to the barn with their peers.

Part of the fun of raising bottle babies indoors is letting them loose to race about the house. Their joyous antics are always good for a laugh! However, it's not so great when they pee on the carpets (baby "beans" aren't a problem if there are house dogs in the picture and if not, they're dry enough to be sucked up by the Dustbuster) or worse, on your bed.

What to do? Diaper 'em while they're on the loose! Ewe lambs and doelings can be fitted with el cheapo disposable diapers from the dollar store (but be sure to trim out a hole for their tails). These stay on doelings with their upright tails to hold things on; ewe lambs require a bit more monitoring.

A boy--ram lamb or buckling--can be diapered by wrapping a newborn-size disposable diaper around his waist, secured by a string across the back (tie an alligator on both ends of the string--perfect!). Or, and this is what we do, use a launderable fabric diaper designed for male dogs that mark in the house. These are designed to hold a maxi pad with wings, so they're very, very effective. Buy them at pet stores or from Pat Canipe of Custom Pet and Tack (http://www.custompetandtack.homestead.com/index.html), who designed and custom made the male diapers we use. One tip: when bucklings get big enough to start standing with their front legs up on walls and furniture, their diapers tend to slide back toward their hips. To remedy that we made Uzzi and Martok (our current bottle boys) simple harnesses consisting of a leather strap split just far enough for their heads to go through, so that when wearing them the harnesses resemble tiny equine breast collars; they fasten to the diaper via alligator clips on both ends (I'll attach two pictures to illustrate what I mean).

Sue

TFTF #3 Say no to barn fires!

Sue Weaver — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:11:24 GMT

Today's tip is about something I feel very strongly about: NEVER use a heat lamp in your barn. Two dear friends burned their barns down around their much-loved animals inside after hanging heat lamps near combustible bedding. These are by no means isolated incidents. Even when you think the lamp is securely fastened far enough above flammable bedding, accidents still happen. Don't let this heartache become your own.

Instead, keep animals warm by draftproofing their sleeping areas. If you close applicable doors and windows and it still seems drafty, secure a plastic tarp around the stall or jug where sick animals or newborns are kept. It isn't elegant but it works!

Then, deeply bed the sleeping area with straw or hay, not shavings or sawdust, so animal(s) can hunker down into the bedding for additional warmth.

And if it's really cold, blanket them. It's easy to sew your own lamb, kid, cria, calf or foal blankets or craft them from clothing from the used-a-bit shop. For instance, for many years we kept winter-born Minnesota foals toasty warm with children's wool sweaters and goosedown vests from secondhand shops. Goosedown vests are easy: simply feed the foal's legs through the vest so that it snaps along his spine--that's it! Using a wool sweater, trim off the sleeves and fit it on the foal the same way.

Dog sweaters fit small species like lambs, kids and alpaca crias to a "T". In fact, acrylic dog sweaters (they're very stretchy, so easier to put on a baby animal than you probably think) are ideal when it's too warm for a bonafide blanket but it's a tad too chilly to go completely without.

And many seamstresses market blankets tailored for specific species. Keep in mind that kid and lamb coats are interchangeable and blankets that fit foals will usually fit a calf (if it's a male calf, make certain the foal blanket isn't constructed using surcingles or bellybands that will cover or rub his penis).

Do make certain coats and blankets you put on your animals are safe. They should fit, not hang so loosely that the wearer gets his legs tangled in fabric.

Here are some resources to help you get started.

Make your own

Maxine Kinne’s great sew-it-yourself goat coat instructions

(these would work for lambs, crias, foals and calves, too)

http://kinne.net/goatcoat.htm

Make a lamb or kid coat from an old sweater or sweatshirt

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35572.asp

Make a lamb or kid coat from old sweatpants

(construction information is near the end of this good article)

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/85/85-1/Nancy_Nickel.html

Custom made for your baby animals

Pat Canipe makes the BEST custom-made kid, lamb, cria and foal blankets I’ve ever seen, bar none!

(my goat baby Uzzi loves the fleece-lined, ripstop nylon kid blanket she made for him)

http://www.custompetandtack.homestead.com/index.html

eBay is a great source of readymade baby animal blankets too:

Goat blankets

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=goat+blanket&category0=

Foal blankets

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=foal+blanket&category0=

Finding Information

Marcia in MT — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:37:09 GMT

There are several good places to check for all kinds of information on all sorts of topics -- not only is it relevant (perhaps with a few grains of salt, however), but it's free! Your taxes have already paid for the services of your county extension office and the public library.

The extension office, its agents, and its staff have an incredible wealth of information put together by people in *your* state, so it's relevant to you and your place. If they don't have the information at hand, they'll usually search for it. And check the websites of the land grant universities in the states surrounding yours -- their information on gardening and livestock should fit your area, too.

The public library may not have what you're looking for, but interlibrary loan is free or very low cost. I usually check out books before buying them, especially ones I can't find at bookstores. The reference staff are great help, too. I've found all sorts of old farming and handyman books that provided wonderful tips and projects, along with all sorts of books on gardening and cooking.

Please use these resources -- it's amazing how much information is available just for the asking!

TFTF #2 - Light up the night on babe watch

Sue Weaver — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:13:32 GMT

This is the time of year many of us sleep in the barn while awaiting the birth of a foal, kids or lambs. Some of my most cherished memories revolve around cuddling inside my sleeping bag in the wee hours of the morning, listening to the gentle sounds of animals munching hay.

While you need enough light to monitor an expectant mother's progress, harsh, direct lighting is distracting to both mom and observer. So do as I do--string Christmas lights in the rafters above the maternity ward for a festive, effective way to light a birthing stall.

Strings of non-blinking lights with larger bulbs throw the most light (enough to assist with a birth if necessary) but blinking lights work well for pre-birth observation detail.

TFTF #1 - Tie one on!

Sue Weaver — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:34:02 GMT

Red Green claims duct tape is "the handyman's best friend"; if that's so, flexible nylon cable ties are the hobby farmer's best friend bar none.

I use cable ties (long, inexpensive, skinny nylon strips with a zip-type fastener at one end) to hold things together until I can perform a proper fix. Like when the bucks bashed the gates and knocked the mesh part loose from the pipe frames--cable ties to the rescue!

Or, to throw up a quick, effective, temporary windbreak for the ewes with lambs, cable-tying plastic tarps to a section of woven wire fence does the trick.

The possibilities are endless! Many people use snippets of baling wire or baling twine for temporary fixes (I've done it many times myself) but they tend to look pretty shoddy. White cable ties do the job even better and they don't create an eyesore at all.

Sue

Tips from the Farm (TFTF)

Sue Weaver — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:23:05 GMT

Hey, I've decided to post some of the things that we've learned (often the hard way) during several decades of hobby farm living. After I do, maybe some of you can expand on those tips--that is, post about similar "fixes" you use?

Anyway, I'll put TFTF in the Subject heading. So let's get started!

Sue

Here are links back to the first two:

Light up the night on babe watch

Tie One On

goat hoofs

goater95 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:32:56 GMT

After clipping a goat's hooves, take a grinder and carefully shine the hooves. I learned this from a actual goat judge. But he also said that the goats will love their new hooves; but first do it to one of your (less valuable) goats to get used to it. You can do it to show or working goats. If it is a show goat, do this two months before showing season ...

our new farm is like a blank canvas to an artist

tomboy — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:51:31 GMT

WE recently moved to alittle over 63 acres in western pa. The land is half wooded and 12 open, almost completely level It ahs been a life time dream. We have a few horses, and hope to start a breeding kennel. My family had a lot of gardening experience and I have already started some fruit bushes and a small garden which were very successful last summer . Any suggestions of income possibilities that would supplement our off farm incomes

portable goat pen

wagnerfarms — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:45:02 GMT

While I've been sitting inside looking at the land that I'd like my goats to be able to graze but, don't have enough fence for I was thinking of building a portable pen for them to graze in. I figured I'd build it out of lumber and cattle panels and mount some type of wheels on it and just move it from spot to spot as they graze. Anyone have any suggestions?

Farming Grants?

farmdreamer30 — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 15:18:12 GMT

I have been looking for information on starting my own Hobby Farm.( a lifelong dream of mine)Does anyone know about grants or loans to get one started?
Any advice would help. Thank you and God Bless.
Heather

moldy grass and compost.....

cmdrvoid — Thu, 18 May 2006 15:44:01 GMT

i started gathering my grass when i mow and adding it to my compost. i try to let it dry out, but, there is always some that's still damp. sometimes it starts to get moldy. will this bother my compost?

how do i make one rabbit dropping pan??

pygmy jenny — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:53:34 GMT

hi i would like to know if anyone ever made a metal dropping pan i need one for my rabbit cage if anyone can help me out if anyone made one or is there a web site that will show me how to make one i got a flat sheet of metal need to be turn in a dropping pan thank you!!

Liquid soap

ilovebutternut — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 14:01:48 GMT

I put in stall mats this past summer and found out that if you put liquid soap on the mats before cutting them with a razor blade that the blade slid thru more easily. Hope this helps someone!

Inexpensive goat feeder

Ridgetopgoats — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:10:29 GMT

I have had goats for around 3 years. In that time I have tried to deal with the "wars of feeding time" and what to feed with. It started with deep galvanized pans..which they would stand in and no matter how many I had they would always run around thinking the food in the other was better.

So, I thought about it one day while watching them and came up with this idea.

What you need:

1- 5 foot pvc pipe 4-5 inch diameter
2- 8 inch long 2x4's or 2x6's(I had leftovers from another project)
2- 10-12 inch 2x4's
1- piece of plywood..4-5 foot long and around 8-10 inches wide.

Now, I had all of this,except the pvc so basically I was using what I had and made my plan while looking at the scraps I had.
So if you have to buy a 4x8 sheet of plywood
and 2x4's or 2x6's then the cost rises of course.

What I did.

Cut the 2x4's to 8" in length. You can adjust this to fit your barn. Don't make them to long though because the feeder will stick out to far from the wall and the goats will get in behind it and get stuck...like one of mine did!

After you have the boards cut lay them aside. Take the pvc pipe and you'll have to use a sawsall or jigsaw to cut the pipe in half. The pipe I bought had a line all the way down one side to follow, the other side was cut letting the blade from the sawsall follow the already cut part as a guide.

Once it is cut in half lay the 2x4 on the ground flat. Stand the pvc on it's end on top of the 2x4. Take a pencil/pen and mark all the way around the pvc. If your using the 2x4's make sure you center the pipe...it may look like it won't work but there is enough space. Also make sure the pipe is close to one end..but not to close.

Now that it is marked you'll need a drill and drill bit. I just dug around my toolbox until I found a drill bit that was slightly bigger that the thickness of the pvc. I think it was a 5/16" maybe a bit larger.

Now, drill holes in the pattern,drill as many as you can. To clean out the space I just used my drill and bit in an incorrect manner to finish cleaning out the space. You can use a chisel or jigsaw to clear out the slot. Then you can repeat the procedure on the other 2x4...but make sure you set it up so the slots will be the same direction.

Once you have the boards cut out you can slide them over the pvc tube and then were off to the barn with the cordless drill and some 3" woodscrews.

Inside the barn..you'll have to look before building to see if this will work. My barn has 2x4 studs and I put the feeder up and adjusted the slides(2x4's with slots) to fit in between the 2x4 studs. Then set the height and run the screw through the 2x4's into the studs. I put in 3 screws per side. Finally, to keep the pvc from sliding out when the goats decide to use it as a scratching post I took 2- 2 inch screws and ran them up from the bottom on the 2x4's,through the pvc. This will pull that notched space together and keep the pvc from moving.

I put two in my barn and they are holding up great. They have been beaten on,banged and the goat that got stuck behind it also was standing on it...she is my field testing goat. So that is where the other 2x4's and plywood come into play. I used 2x4's and mounted them onto the same studs at a downward angle and then put a piece of plywood over the top and length as a type of roof. If you want to do this I have no plan or specific way...I pretty much shot from the hip so you'll be on your own.

The overall cost..well whatever the pvc cost me. Any questions feel free to email me.

Needing info on starting a small goat farm.

Robert137 — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 22:45:28 GMT

Hello,
First, thanks for reading my post. O.K. I live in Tennessee. I am wanting to start a dairy and meat goat farm to supplement my income and maybe I could use it full time if it is successful and can expand. I love farm life and have experience with goats, chickens,pigs (yech) on a private level. I am wondering if there are any basics you could let me know that may help me on my way. Can I make a living just farming goats? Anyone having a positive or negative reflection on goat farming please post a message. Thank you and God Bless. {confess with your mouth, and belive in your heart and you will be saved}

Robert E. Lee III

What to do with barn?

nateman — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:29:49 GMT

I ve just bought 40 acres with a dairy farm on it and I am going to rasie beef. I dont know what to do with the barn because there is already a lean to for the cattle and calfs. The barn is a flat barn with 80 stalls and a pit and I would prefer not to use the pit. Just wanna an idea what to do use it for. Thanks

nests for laying hens

sheepy — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 18:30:05 GMT

I raise about 200 heavy breed laying hens and sell my eggs. With that many birds I started with the metal nests. The girls like to sleep in the nest and everything I tried didn't stop the nest and eggs from becoming dirty.
My husband took a 5 gallon bucket w/lid and cut a hole in the side large enough for a hen to get into. I put some shaving in the bucket and place it on the floor of the coop. Because it is on the floor the hens don't roost inside. These buckets are placed around the edge of the coop (hole facing wall) and have worked out beautifully.
Helen S.

Cherry pitter

jwalker — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:38:54 GMT

I am seeking ideas about different types of cherry pitters. We are pitting volumes that make make usint a paperclip cumbersome.

place to order plastic flats and cell packs for plants/seedlings

ewe_Nicki — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:36:10 GMT

Hi, I can't find a place online to buy a bunch of flat trays to hold cell packs of veggie plants. I want to buy both the trays and cell packs. Can someone give me a website to find these at? Thanks

we are buying a 70 acre land and i have ?'s

jenniferlee — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:01:59 GMT

Hi,
Within the next 6 month's we will have moved into are land... It's quite large but the people who lived there previously said that the land is not farmable.... and of my (little) understanding of this means that no i cannot grow crops in large amounts on it... The land in situated in western Manitoba and hay grows on it. My husband works full time and i am willing to take advantage of the luck we have owning a property of this size. Now we were offered to get it hayed and we would make about 10000$ that we would slip 50% with the person willing to hay it and sell the bails. But i was thinking that maybe i could hay only half of it and with the other half start a hobby farm. I'm not looking for a large profit at this point but simply to start small and maybe grow as the profit grows. Now, of course all my friends give me ideas of what they think i should do... i would like to know more and some actual real idea's and costs and how it all works... anyways i thank you in advance

clearing land

Dawn — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 03:21:40 GMT

Hi everyone,
We are very excited to begin our search for our piece of property. The last several years of our life has led to this point, where we can finally purchase some land and start a small farm. Now that we are starting to look, I find that I am getting extremely overwhelmed. The first piece of land, looks heavily wooded, more so than was described. Now I have heard that if there are lots of hard woods, then can be harvested and some money can be made. What I am wondering is IF there are hard woods, how do I find someone who wants to pay for the wood. Do they typically take stumps as well, I know this last one is most likely wishful thinking. Also from what I know there is only a well for the house as a water source. Have some of you had some experience with situations such as these? Thank you for any input you have, have a great weekend!

Warmly,
Dawn

Abusing Privating Messaging

Suprafa — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:25:17 GMT

We've receive a few reports of several people using the private messaging system to recruit members to another forum. This is strictly prohibited and those caught doing this will be BANNED.

Because of private privacy laws, messages sent through the private messaging system cannot be tracked. To help crack down on those abusing the message board, we're asking that if you receive a private message that solicits another message board or website, please report this to us.

You can contact tech support through sitesupport@bowtieinc.com. You can also use the report button located on each post to alert the moderators. We want everyone to have an enjoyable experience here and those abusing the forum only hinder on your positive experience.

Thanks for your support!