Show me/ tell me abt your micro/mini homestead

[1cock2hens]

Honestly potbellies are probably the size I really want, I just really dislike their look. They just look wormy to me with those bellies

Have you looked at guinea hogs? They are the type of pigs the settlers brought with them when they settled the Appalachias and Ozarks etc. They are between 200 and 300 pounds typically, not all belly like a potbelly. And great at foraging.

 

[1cock2hens]

How is the Guinea hog? They caught my eye a few times looking at pictures.

Are you sending her off to be bred or borrowing a boar? Or is AI an option like with cattle?

Glad to hear that pigs don't seem to be super loud constantly.

I think I like her more than any of the pigs i had before. She actually listens pretty ok and let's me pet her.

I'm buying a boar from a guy about a mile down the road as soon as I fix a few things the butcher hog broke lol

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I think I like her more than any of the pigs i had before. She actually listens pretty ok and let's me pet her.

I'm buying a boar from a guy about a mile down the road as soon as I fix a few things the butcher hog broke lol

Let me know how keeping a boar is. I'll keep guineas in mind on my list too

 

[1cock2hens]

Let me know how keeping a boar is. I'll keep guineas in mind on my list too

I had a potbelly boar who was really really friendly and would come by name. I liked him too much to eat him and had to sell him. I'm hoping I like this next boar. it comes from a really friendly farmer who gives his animals tons of attention and they all seem to be pretty tame.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I had a potbelly boar who was really really friendly and would come by name. I liked him too much to eat him and had to sell him. I'm hoping I like this next boar. it comes from a really friendly farmer who gives his animals tons of attention and they all seem to be pretty tame.

That's good to hear. Makes me a bit less nervous considering trying to keep my own males for breeding

 

[JacinLarkwell]

How did I end up with more pens this draft?

Less 'buildings' though since I cut bird breeds down by like 80%

 

[ENSJ]

I found 3 (admittedly rare) breeds that I liked so far, the trick now if i decide to add then to the list will be finding breeders

Don't have a homestead yet either but also dreaming and planning. I have three breeds of pigs I'd consider breeding and raising with an optional fourth.

#1 Kunekune. Smaller size than most, very friendly (even the boars) and a typical lard pig. Produces nice marbled meat that is darker than regular pork and is supposedly great tasting.

#2 Tamworth. A true bacon pig and a very distinct look with a longer snout and pretty ginger colour. I'd keep them because they are quite rare and I want to conserve them.

#3 Berkshire. Great meat.

The optional #4 is Hampshire. They produce leaner pork than the other three, but are prone to PSS so that would make me hesitant. I'd probably more lean toward having a feeder pig of this breed for personal use as opposed to breeding them.

Pigs I love the look off, but wouldn't keep are the Choctaw hog and the Ossabaw Island hog. Purely because they are hard, if not impossible, to come by in Europe. The other breeds are orginally from Europe (save for the Kunekune) and are easier found here and are used to the climate we have here.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

So some things and plans for our little place in the next few months.

I am closing my front chicken coop "The Hen Hut."

I had originally planned to keep a mixed flock in there but truthfully taking care of 2 separate flocks is kinda frustrating. In looking at why I've been doing 2 flocks I decided I didn't need the front one. Yes, I enjoy being the "egg fairy" as a friend called me...but I do NOT need the expense of raising chickens to give their eggs away.

I've recently gotten rid of 12 OEs from that coop. I have 10 laying BSL in there, that I plan to harvest, and 6 boys growing from my OE hatch that I also plan to harvest.

That'll empty that coop, and it will then become the duck run.

The ducks (5) are currently in a 20x20 run, and a smallish hut 4x4 for winter.... they don't get locked in in the summer time.


They will move to an 8x8 coop, with a 530sq foot run.

That'll leave me with a 64sq ft 3 sided "hut" and a 400sq foot run for my meat turkeys (10) coming in April.

I will have my Galaxy flock (BRs) in the back that is my dual purpose flock, and that will be my main focus as far as chickens go.

I have a rooster, whom I am harvesting and replacing, and 21 hens in a 10x10 coop with a 620sq foot run, and they also free range every day.

Currently I am raising grow outs (26) in part of the run for the freezer...(that part has a fence and a gate sectioning off that part of the run...when there aren't grow outs that gate will remain open so the bigger girls can have access to the entire run...and when there are grow outs I can close it)

These grow outs were hatched prior to me making the decision to close my front coop...

If you've done the math you'll realize I have 43 birds that'll be going into my freezer....over the course of the winter...(I have until April to get them all done)

We took down our pallet shed, and are planning a 20x20 carport that we can then close in for our shed. The pallets will be used to expand our goats area. This will give them access to a second shelter and a lot more forage. It will also allow me to have a bred doe and have a safe space for her away from my boys to kid. Ya know, for when I have time to milk a goat on the regular. I've considered keeping a tit baby that way I'd only have to milk her once a day...but thats something to consider in the spring time...id like to have them completely set up prior to first snow fall...

IF I can get the goats area reconfigured and set up.... then I can really focus on the garden and planting fruit trees next yr.

Once the goats are all set...

We will be set as far as our permanent animal structures and areas, which is a huge relief.... only been working on it for 2.5 yrs


I am really hopeful to get a good yield from the garden this year...and would really love to shift my focus from meat and animals to fruits and veggies...and get that established

I am quite disheartened to realize that with our little piece of property I can not keep us in pigs, or keep us in turkeys...that I have to get those from outside sources to raise...its a bummer, but it's also ok...helping other homesteaders out by purchasing their animals....is ok


I think one of the most important things one can do on their mini/micro homestead is realize the limits of the property...

 

[1cock2hens]

I feel that when it comes to goats.

My goats are everywhere and I'm contemplating fencing in my yard just so I can have one area with a few nice plants/flowers etc... And keep them from sleeping under my house

I have about 15 acres and for some reason they don't venture to my east side so I'm thinking about starting a garden area over there. I worry about deer there though lol

I'm hoping to invest in more welded wire to fence my hugelkulture beds off and other grow area.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

I feel that when it comes to goats.

My goats are everywhere and I'm contemplating fencing in my yard just so I can have one area with a few nice plants/flowers etc... And keep them from sleeping under my house

I have about 15 acres and for some reason they don't venture to my east side so I'm thinking about starting a garden area over there. I worry about deer there though lol

I'm hoping to invest in more welded wire to fence my hugelkulture beds off and other grow area.

I feel like as soon as you plant that garden ...the goat will go east


I really envisioned free roaming goats before I got them...lock them in their pen at night type of thing.... or a place to be when I am away from the house...

But they are goats...and still kinda skittish....and I am terrified that they will wander off...and not make it back home. so I've not even attempted this