A brand new start!

For many years now all my thoughts were on a farm, anywhere between two and 20 acres. So after dreaming, scheming, positive visualizing and hunting, and with the help of a fantastic real estate agent and more luck than I thought I possessed, I managed to find a farm of my very own. I signed on the dotted line the first of June of this year.

My new farm measures 80 ft wide by 100 feet deep.

Not quite the 20 acres I wanted - but at least it’s MINE!!!

We get what we need, not always what we want!

Having always been interested in where my food comes from I have been raising small livestock for years.  Other than some chickens when we were kids (known in my circle as “gateway livestock”), it really started for me with a Christmas turkey when I was still married and living in Ireland.  Once I persuaded my now ex-husband to move to Florida, I got chickens again, then rabbits, then goats, then pigs … and then I got divorced.

The divorce was the best thing to get out of all of it! Talk about regaining freedom. It’s been more than two years now and it has been fantastic.

My three kids and I got moved into our lovely little two-bedroom house on the 15th of June.  It was easier than most moves as we were already prepacked.  The plan WAS to move to England but, due to the rather inconvenient 50 mile parent visitation rule, we had to stay in Florida.  At least until we win the right to move. The fat lady hasn’t sung her last aria yet. More on that, and our plans to get over to England (and why) later ...

                                    The two cattle panels turned into an arbor for some of the grapes.

Talk about starting behind the starting line. It’s already July and I am only just now getting the garden in.  But as I happen to believe that veg are just a condiment for meat, I started first with getting the livestock in and found a local seller on Craigslist with pot belly pigs, ducks, turkeys and quail for sale.

A quick trip to Tractor Supply got me two 50 inch high by 16 feet long cattle panels, two 30 inch high, 16 feet long hog panels, 8 T posts and one roll of 48 inch high, 2 by 4 inch welded wire fencing for the grand total of $143.  (Ya gotta love 4th of July sales!)

The magic trick was to turn all that into everything needed to cage up what we came home with yesterday (and I’ll show and tell you about that a little further on) - two male Pot Belly Pigs, two Pekin Ducks and one big Tom Turkey. There were quail, too, but my 13-year-old daughter soon had them grill-ready. They were delicious.

                           Problem terrier mix Chopper, MUCH more about her later.

Since the yard is so small, only small livestock will work and only small pens will fit.  The nice thing about having my own space at long last is that I can use the lawn for moving livestock tractors about to keep every animal on fresh ground while not taking up space with permanent housing.

A livestock tractor, by the way, is a movable cage or pen used to keep livestock on grass while at the same time moving them often so the animals don't destroy the very grass guaranteed to give them extra goodness.

                Small tractor, fits three hens.  This is our ONE hen but more are on the way.

The pig pen is made out of ONE hog panel, bent into a rectangle 3 feet wide by 5 feet long.  At first thought it might seems too small for pigs and it would be for any of the large breeds, but two from the tiny pig breeds fit with loads of room to move, dig, play or sprawl flat out in the sunshine.

And remember, they will be moved each time they dig an area up really, really, well.  The pigs are doing double duty because, after they dig up their pen and eat all the roots and grass, they will be moved so that veg can be planted in the space they’ve “prepared.” (Poultry do the same, of course, but the pigs really make a fantastic job of it! I LOVE pigs!)

                 Panel bent into shape.

Once the hog panel has been bent to shape, the joining ends are connected together with rope or wire or dog leash clips or whatever comes readily to hand. Then it’s time for the really clever bit where, using one concrete block per corner, you HANG the blocks from the cage so they just clear the ground using either straps or rope for the job. It may look a tad odd when you’re done, but the weight of the blocks will just press the wire pen deeper into the ground even if they dig.

                  Pigs in pen, a day before their first move.  The ground is dug and ready for planting.

These little pigs max out at 100 pounds, not 1,000 pounds, so they are perfect for the yard farmer.  And most places allow keeping them as they fall into the “pet” category.  If they were more pet LIKE it would be sad to eat them, but for every actual nice pet pig out there you’ll find hundreds that are just mean-tempered nasty little beasts.

But mean and nasty-tempered as they are, they taste GREAT, offering lovely rich marbled meat with loads of health-giving fat. (This is the link to part 1 of a talk about many things, but mainly meat and fat http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/mit-doctor-claims-autism-afflict-50-american-children-2025-glyphosate-blame-2523533).

The catching of the pigs I bought was a nightmare. Honestly, if you are selling pigs, please make a chute or SOMETHING to catch them in. Don't just chase them ‘round and ‘round hoping to grab one.  Even little pigs are strong, smart, fast, and they bite.

 These pigs were so wild by the time they were caught I took the precaution of putting a fence wire top onto one of my pig pens when we got them home.  They were supposed to go one each into two pens, but as stressed out as they were, they were happier going into one pen together.  Even though their eventual fate it to feed our family, their happiness is really important.  Happy animals stay healthier, breed better, live longer and most important in this context, provide healthier meat for us to eat.

But, once they were here in Chillsville, they never even tried to get out. They are as calm as I could have hoped for.  The only problem now is getting them to recognize REAL food like carrots or greens. Argh, every time I get another Pot Bellied or Mini Pig, it’s the same danged thing every time. Having only ever been given pellet feeds, they only want to eat pellet feeds.

So today I will shred their carrots and mix them with some pellets.  That way they will get a taste of them.  It’s as important for the animals we eat to have a proper diet as it is for us to have a proper diet.  Perhaps even more so.

                     Turkey in a tractor for one.  He was with the ducks but was a bit mixed

                     up on who, or what, a turkey should breed with lol.

Update:  The shredding of the carrots and mixing them into the food the pigs recognized did the trick.  They are now happily eating whole carrots which, due to the broken refrigerator we have lots of.

Will introduce the kids and their participation in all of this next time, plus more about the poultry.

Till then - Cheers,

Georgia