Sustainable Country Forums

Sustainable Country Forums http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/ Sustainable Living and self reliance are becoming more important every day. This site brings people together to discuss the hows and whys of making it a reality. en Sat, 25 May 2013 18:29:33 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png Sustainable Country Forums http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/ spacecase0 blog http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7307-spacecase0-blog&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 03:31:43 GMT I started a blog for all my friends that I moved away from in the city, http://coarsegoldsurvivalgarden.blogspot.com/ I started a blog for all my friends that I moved away from in the city,
http://coarsegoldsurvivalgarden.blogspot.com/ ]]> Member Blogs spacecase0 http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7307-spacecase0-blog Rabbits! http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7306-Rabbits!&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 11:21:00 GMT I got 4 New Zealand rabbits! 2 males, 2 females. Bout 9lbs each.
The one female was "ready" to take. So we put her in with a male and they did the deed! ]]> Deckard1973 http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7306-Rabbits! Fences, falcons, and frost http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7305-Fences-falcons-and-frost&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 11:18:26 GMT I got the Premier 1 poultry fencing (164ft) and a solar energizer (2x12v 12amp hr batt) to put the chickens out in the fields. Works well! I have... I got the Premier 1 poultry fencing (164ft) and a solar energizer (2x12v 12amp hr batt) to put the chickens out in the fields.
Works well! I have a tester and check the voltage a few times a day when I reposition the solar panel to maximize the position relative to the sun. In the morning the voltage is in the mid-3k volts. On a sunny day it will be up in the 6k range.
So far two of the dogs found the fence just once. Neither will go within 20ft of it now!

The fencing is great . . . till yesterday afternoon. We were on the deck, relaxing after dinner, when we saw a falcon I have seen off and on over the past few weeks. It was very windy. The falcon circled twice, and was suddenly over the chicken paddock. Wings folded back and it dove. Crap. Hauled ass up there, sure enough, one dead hen. The falcon took off. The remaining chickens were visibly upset in the coop.
I just checked on them a few minutes ago. They are still in the coop. I took them a little extra scratch feed we had left over when the previous owner gave them to us. They ran out, scarfed the feed down and ran back in.

We have had a cold snap here over the past 2 days. We even had some snow yesterday, not enough to stick though. Most of the day it was a "wintery mix," as NOAA calls it.
I have made 4 raised beds using wood forms, with hoops over them using 1/2inch PVC. I cover them with the 4mil garden plastic I got from Johnny's Seeds, and thermal row cover. So far looks like everything has made it. We had a medium frost last night, enough to cover the car windows. Will check the gardens and see how they made it later today. ]]> Chewin The Fat Deckard1973 http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7305-Fences-falcons-and-frost Goat eye issue (and how we solved it) http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7302-Goat-eye-issue-(and-how-we-solved-it)&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 17:52:13 GMT Our last kid this year was a good-looking doeling out of my favorite milker. Because the milker is a proven good mom, I looked the doeling over for... Our last kid this year was a good-looking doeling out of my favorite milker. Because the milker is a proven good mom, I looked the doeling over for obvious conformation problems, checked gender and sucking reflex, and left her and mama to do their thing. It was extremely cold and windy for several days after the doeling was born, so they stayed in the (dark) barn.

The day I let the mamas out, I noticed the doeling squinting a bit. I made a note of it, but didn't have a chance to go catch her to see if something was wrong. The next day, we decided to disbud her, and I finally got a good look at her in the sun.

Her one eye was milky, but not infected, crusted, or oozing. I thought, 'oh, damn, she's blind in one eye', but did not worry too much about it, as we planned on keeping her anyhow. We had a disbudding iron malfunction, so she did not get disbudded that day.

Coincidentally, I read an article about a minor deformity in goats, where the eyelid turns under, causing the eyelashes to scratch the cornea, that very night. Sure enough, when I checked her the next day, this was exactly the problem. It really wasn't obvious until I went looking for it, though, so I thought I should post up here about it, in case anyone else runs across it.

One solution is to take the goat in to the vet, who will somehow put in a couple of stitches to turn the eyelid out properly, but with all the other vet emergencies we've had here this year, our vet budget is kind of gone. I searched the internet for another option. I actually found something that looked viable: superglue.

We held the doe down, and gently pulled the lower eyelid (the one causing the problems) until the lashes turned out and became visible. Then we put a bead of superglue a little further down her cheek, and touched the now-revealed eyelashes to the superglue (shockingly, I got very little on my own fingers, though I had worried about gluing myself to the goat). This leaves an uncomfortable-looking bit of inner-eyelid skin showing, but I am certain it is much better than having her eyeball scratched any more. We're monitoring the situation, and so far, the glue is holding. Theoretically, by the time it wears off, the eyelid should be re-shaped, with no tendency to turn under. In practice, we'll see what happens, but at least those eyelashes aren't doing any further damage, and we now have a bit of breathing room to save up for a trip to the vet, if that turns out to be necessary.

I posted this to my blog, with pictures, but thought I should post it in its entirety here, too, in case someone else runs across this :)

Goat eye Problems: Turned Under Eyelid (with pictures)/ ]]> badkitty http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7302-Goat-eye-issue-(and-how-we-solved-it) cats driving me crazy http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7301-cats-driving-me-crazy&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 16:57:16 GMT I live in the county on the edge of the city limits. I have chickens and rabbits in pens cats have been trying to get to my animals and I have been... I live in the county on the edge of the city limits. I have chickens and rabbits in pens cats have been trying to get to my animals and I have been trapping them for about 1 year the ones that are left will not go in a trap. So I call the county animal control and asked them if I see these cats trying to get in my live stock pens can I shoot them [Now this is where it gets crazy] The lady at animal control said this is her own words. Would you shoot a child if he was trying to get in your chicken pen. I said no maam a child is a human and a cat is a animal trying to kill my live stock. She responded and said cats have the same right as humans we will charge you with a felony if you shoot a cat.
I would like to know how y'all would respond to animal control telling you that? ]]> Chewin The Fat Deo vindice http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7301-cats-driving-me-crazy handsewn mattress http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7300-handsewn-mattress&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 06:08:17 GMT I came across a short picture story on making mattresses that you might find inspirational or instructional. ---Quote--- Deep in the heart of... I came across a short picture story on making mattresses that you might find inspirational or instructional.

Quote:

Deep in the heart of Texas, at a 75-year-old company, mattresses are still made by hand, one at a time.

It takes about three hours for Roman to make one mattress. The process begins at the sewing machine, where the cotton ticking is shaped into a sack that's then stuffed with loose cotton. Once full, the mattress is smoothed with a large wooden stick and the placement of the rollage is measured and marked. To sew the rollage, which helps the mattress hold its shape, Roman uses a heavy needle and string.

Read more: Once Upon A Mattress - Country Living http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/...s-0505#slide-1

]]> Clothing / Sewing / Knitting / Etc. DominiqueDN http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7300-handsewn-mattress Checking out new site...to me! http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7299-Checking-out-new-site-to-me!&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 03:56:46 GMT Hello!
Never knew this site existed--
I was looking for reviews of oat flakers...& here we are!
My focus is gardening zone 5- both vegetable and ornamental types. ]]> Meanie http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7299-Checking-out-new-site-to-me! Ballistic Armor http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7298-Ballistic-Armor&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 01:53:26 GMT I bought a second ballistic armor vest at a good price....it's level III-A , manufactured in 1996 by U.S. Armor Corporation and used by the BATF who sold it off as used surplus. Sportsman's Guide offered them for about $100.00. It doesn't appear to have absorbed any bullets, the velcro is good as new but the elastic is slightly stretched by use.....it does not smell. Of course S.G. sold it specifically stating they wouldn't guarantee its effectiveness, but I just couldn't resist the price. Anybody have any information on the status of 17 year old kevlar armor? ]]> Security Issues plainsman http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7298-Ballistic-Armor gophers http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7295-gophers&goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:04:20 GMT gophers are one of my biggest problems where I garden, I normally set traps for them, and as long as I use gloves and never touch the traps it works... gophers are one of my biggest problems where I garden, I normally set traps for them, and as long as I use gloves and never touch the traps it works ok, also I have to steak them down or the cats take the trapped animal and the trap and go eat it where I will never see the trap again.

but something new happened today,
caught a gopher today by hand,
I saw the ground moving and stepped on it hard,
then dug it up with a wood stake,
then spiked it with the stake,
sort of like someone would do on buffy the vampire slayer,
it was kind of strange...

then called the cats to the garden to show them where the gophers come form,
one happily carried it off ]]> Hunting / Fishing / Foraging spacecase0 http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7295-gophers Free university level courses http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7294-Free-university-level-courses&goto=newpost Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:24:15 GMT http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses The above is a link to 700 free university level online courses presented by various professors.... http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

The above is a link to 700 free university level online courses presented by various professors. Courses cover a wide variety of topics including many sciences, math, language, economics, etc. ]]> Homeschooling Jag Farlane http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7294-Free-university-level-courses Farm Ops... Triage vs Schedule. http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7293-Farm-Ops-Triage-vs-Schedule&goto=newpost Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:33:51 GMT . - Lot of cool things about not having any kids. But there is the drawback of lacking the slave-labor to do the grunt work around the farm. ... .

- Lot of cool things about not having any kids. But there is the drawback of lacking the slave-labor to do the grunt work around the farm. This leave me with way more that needs doin' here than I have the time and energy to get done.

- So how does one budget time? I realized that I've been doing it mostly on a triage basis. Stuff that needs doing most urgently at the top of the list. Stuff that can wait a while at the bottom.

- Problem with that is that a handful of things tend to monopolize ALL my time & effort, while others get badly neglected for far too long.

- Fixing fences, maintaining pastures, haying, etc... All need doing to keep the place up. But riding or driving the horses can be put-off a while. And housework never gets into the Top 40 list of things that have to be done on any given day.

- Then I realize that I'm busting my arse to keep up a farm for horses I never use, and haven't had anyone over in ages because of the embarrassing state of the household! Sheesh!

- So, since the strict health regiment has worked so well the last year, I decided to try applying a schedule to farm ops... Of course, the farm has other ideas...

- Day scheduled for crop work, so the bull decides to start pushing fences, necessitating off-schedule repair/upgrade... Day scheduled for smith work, so one of the batteries in the solar array goes kerflunk and immediate attention is needed to keep it from pulling the system down and tripping the inverter alarms... That sort of thing.

- Still... So far, I have been able to get my scheduled stuff AND the rude interruptions done. Even have riding on the schedule. Nice to have the dust off the old saddle and the new stallion getting some saddle marks on him. (Critter needs a lot of work, but it's cool to have an athletic quarter horse under me again.)

. ]]> OldHorseman http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7293-Farm-Ops-Triage-vs-Schedule Cheese cultures... http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7292-Cheese-cultures&goto=newpost Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:05:37 GMT .

- Okay. It's almost that time here again, so I need to get set-up to start making cheese.

- Just going for a simpler, farmhouse cheddar thing again. Last year I used buttermilk and clabber with not particularly delicious results. Anyone know where/how I can get a decent mesophillic starter culture?

. ]]> OldHorseman http://forums.sustainablecountry.com/forums/showthread.php?7292-Cheese-cultures