# Junkprospectors - mini-farm journal



## junkprospector (Sep 16, 2013)

I suppose i'll start with a little about me: 37 Years Old, married, 3 kids. This year we have 14 hens, 1 turkey (BBB Tom), 2 goats, and 1 dog. We live within the city of Boise and have our little "farm" on a typical city lot, maybe 1/2 acre on a good day. The whole livestock think started with chickens about 5 years ago. I had been wanting them for some time, my wife was borderline on them... one weekend she was out of town, so the kids and I took the plunge, built a chicken tractor, and went and got 4 chicks while she was out of town on a weekend. each year the chicken flock has grown, with our kids now selling eggs. With the number of chickens needed to sell eggs, i thought we should just throw in a turkey with our chick order in March - so thats how we ended up with him. Our goats came along in August 2013 at the state fair - after wanting some Nigerian Dwarf goats for 2 years, we took the plunge. So far they have been great! they are extremely friendly. Both our goats were born in June 2013, so at this point our doe isn't in Milk. We plan on breeding her in January and starting the milking process after her freshening.


----------



## ragdollcatlady (Sep 16, 2013)

Welcome  and good luck with your farming adventures....I have found goats to be very addictive. Something along the lines of potato chips...you can't have have just one...or 2.....They are the naughty children of the animal world and terribly fun.


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 17, 2013)

Last night my son and I were out working on reclaiming some wood to make our Milking stand so we let the goats out with us. They really made us laugh! Its so funny watching the nigerian dwarfs try to run - with their short little legs, their fastest run is just a scamper, but it is pretty cute watching them zig and zag all around you as you work. They were bolting from place to place, climbing up piles of logs, bounding off the tops and just having a fantastic time. It was around dusk - must be a favorite time of theirs... it was great!


----------



## elevan (Sep 17, 2013)

I miss watching my goats play.  You're right they seem to get frisky around dusk and it's party time


----------



## lovinglife (Sep 17, 2013)

Welcom neighbor!  I am outside of Twin Falls!  So, now you know you will have the pleasure of constructing some toys for your goats, nothing better than watching them bounce around their playground!


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 17, 2013)

Yeah, we've built some toys for them... currently i'm busy building a milking stand & a milking machine for them, so thats been pretty fun.


----------



## OneFineAcre (Sep 17, 2013)

junkprospector said:
			
		

> Yeah, we've built some toys for them... currently i'm busy building a milking stand & a milking machine for them, so thats been pretty fun.


You're building a milking machine?  Tell us about that.


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 17, 2013)

i'm just using an older surge milker as the milking unit. I just finished rebuilding the pulsator.  I'll run the unit with a 1/4 hp doeer motor running a gast 5.5 CFM rotary vane vacuum pump. I've still got to run the electrical to the pump, then the vacuum lines from the pump to the regulator tanks (made from pvc) > Lines from the tanks to the milker, put some inline filters in place, gauges, some regulators to control the vacuum draw to the teat cup lines, and order the goat milking lines from an online store i found that carries them... i think it should be done at that point. i don't think it should be too bad to make, but we'll of course have to get another doe at least if we have a milker... i'll get some pics as i'm putting everything together...


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Sep 17, 2013)

Welcome to Journalling!!!! I am looking forward to reading your up an coming journal entries!!!


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 18, 2013)

last night was a little restless. around 6 in the evening (after reading quite a bit about bloat in goats & ND's...) i went out to check on the goats, and see our little doe with her left side substancially larger than the right. I couldn't believe it... after reading about bloat and how serious it is, the casuality rate, etc... i was a little freaked out. I think my wife and kids were wondering about my sanity... maybe a little.... but having just read all these stories about bloat and what to do and not to do, treatments, etc - i was worried. to compound my worries, i then went out to check on the chickens and turkey - i had just filled their 30 lb feeder at noon yesterday - and about 2/3 of the feed were gone!!! knowing the goats LOVE the chicken feed and seeing the bloat - i used by awesome deduction skills and assumes that the goats made the chicken feed into their own "Golden Coral" buffet and feasted, hence causing the bloat. We were pretty much worried and up every few hours to check on the goats... the funny thing is that they didn't even seem to notice. They were a little gassier than normal though. whenever we were out there checking on them, someones rumen would rumble and they'd pass some gas. since they weren't acting uncomfortable, just acting totally normal actually, and they were taking care of business as normal, and we can't figure out when/how they would have gotten into the chicken feed - we decided that all would be well and they were just goats being goats.

Also - here's some pics of our goats and the 1 turkey we have...


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Sep 18, 2013)

Nice goats!!!!
Bloat is a scarey thing!!   Glad everything turned out for the best!!!


----------



## BrownSheep (Sep 18, 2013)

Lost a lamb last week to bloat. It's an odd thing too. Sometimes they get burpy like that and sometimes they keel over from seemingly the same amount of grain or hay.


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 23, 2013)

so far so good with the bloat. i think i must have just been checking on them right after they ate dinner or something. each night around 6 their rumen seems to be fuller than other times during the day, but i think as long as it's their 'normal' i suppose its ok. I spent the weekend working on my milking stand. i'm building it from reclaimed pallets and using the fiasco farms plan as my guide, with slight modifications here and there as needed. the goats seem to like it and were happy to help build it... poking their noses in here and there. once i got some boards acoss the frame, they jumped right on top of them to see this new 'toy'. i've still got to finish the headstall, but its coming along. Once this is done then i'll be able to trim their hooves without a wrestling match, which will be pretty nice.

My wife's thinking it may be about time to butcher our turkey. he started trying to mate the chicken hens last week, so we moved him out of the hen house/chicken run and over into the goat playground. he's probably around 35-40 lbs live weight, so between 25-30 lbs dressed out. That would probably be a good weight to dress out at.... so maybe next weekend. I would like to just keep him alive until the Sunday before thanksgiving and just have a fresh turkey. he'll be bigger - but if you're going to raise your own, might as well grow a big one. I suppose if we butcher him sooner, it'll save in feed - he does eat alot... so that would be pretty nice.

Here's a picture of Rue, our doeling - wondering when some more hay is going to get thrown up on the shelf...


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Sep 23, 2013)

I am getting turkeys next year! Love fresh turkey, nothing tastes better! I will be thinking for how good your Thanksgiving dinner will be tasting, while I am eating my "from the store" turkey!


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 23, 2013)

this is our first turkey - hes been pretty fun. I think next year i'll do 2 turkeys or maybe a flemish giant rabbit... still undecided on that one. This one is a BBB so for a thanksgiving feast he should be pretty good. I'd like to get sweetgrass next year i think - they look pretty amazing. I don't know if we'll ever get one as docile as this years turkey though. despite his big size, he's really calm and likes to be petted, doesn't nip or bite... really, as far as turkeys go, he's been pretty awesome. my biggest worry with leaving him outside is that a racoon or something will find him... although i haven't ever seen a racoon at our house and i think he's too big for a neighboorhoot cat to get him and i've never seen a dog in our back yard other than ours.... so my predation worry is completely unfounded.


----------



## BrownSheep (Sep 23, 2013)

I love turkeys much more than the chickens that I raise and have yet to have had a mean one. Where as I've had multiple aggressive roosters. 

Cats wont mess with full grown turkeys but you can loose them to raccoons. I lost a turkey chick last week to a raccoon. If you live anywhere close to off of Broadway I know for certain there are coons around there.


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 26, 2013)

I found a vet that has some experience with goats! there were some out in Caldwell, but 30 miles seems a bit far - i was really hoping to find one closer.... and i did. Took in some fecal samples yesterday morning to have tests run. Hopefully its nothing major, although one of the goats(Buddy) has some seriously clumpy poo going on, so i wonder about him.

My wife re-itterated again yesterday that its time for processing the turkey, so i think i'll be doing that on Sunday. The kids said they want to be gone when i'm doing that - but i'm trying to convince them to stay and help. I'd like them to get the experience and knowledge of where food comes from and know that this is just part of the process. they know all of that - but actually participating in it would be unforgetable.

+------

Just got a call back from the vet with fecal results
Both tested: 
positve for Eimeria at moderate levels 
positive for Strongiles at low levels
recommended ivomec plus, a sub q injectable dewormer


----------



## lovinglife (Sep 26, 2013)

We have raised turkeys a number of times, one year we didn't butcher one of our BBB's not sure why, but he lived with the chickens all winter, then the next summer he free ranged our yard and was very tame.  We called him Chuck and he lived with us until he died of old age around 5 years old.  That was old for a BBB, and he was a very good pet.  He must have weighed 60 pounds, he was gigantic!


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 27, 2013)

yeah, our turkey is nice as can be! we took him (and the goats) last night to my first grader's school carnival and had a petting zoo. The turkey was in full show off mode which was great! he was strutting all over the place - got lots of ooooo's and ahhhhhh's. He does make a good pet and i enjoy going out back and listening to him gobble and watching him strut... but his days are numbered. I started the journey of getting the turkey with the intent to process him. I know pretty much every body starts with the same intent, but i don't think its very likely that he'll end up just a pet. he poops WAY too much for any pet! Next year we'll do another turkey though, maybe two.


----------



## BrownSheep (Sep 27, 2013)

My two BBBs ended up being pets because I couldn't find anyone to butcher them. They made it two years. The males heart gave out and he died in his sleep and the females legs gave out. The male was nearing 80lbs when he died.

I ended up getting heritage so I could have my turkey and keep them as pets also.


----------



## junkprospector (Sep 27, 2013)

next year i think i might go with some Sweetgrass turkeys. Maybe - i like that i can get the turkey in march and by this time have a good sized Tom ready for processing.... i guess it depends on how the processing goes. if it's just too hard, then maybe no more turkeys... but i don't think it will be all that difficult. i would like to get some type of a heritiage bird as i've read that they taste better. Ideally i would like to get a breeding pair of sweetgrass turkeys and just keep a perpetual flock going. hopefully in the spring i can get that going.


----------



## junkprospector (Oct 2, 2013)

yesterday was the first attempt using our milking stand made from reclaimed pallets. IT WORKED GREAT! their heads both locked securely into the stachions, nobody wiggled out, and with the food trough in place - everyone was relatively happy as i trimmed their hooves! Overall it was an awesome success! I had to spend a mere $0.57 on two lag bolts to construct it and this baby is SOLID and has the cool 'weathered' look. i'll post a pic of it after i get some. 

Next project - 
1. Clean up mess made constructing the milking stand
2. Ready milking parlor/ finish cleaning the room out and getting shelves installed
3. Work on assembling milking machine
4. Purchase a doe in milk and sell our wether?

BTY - turkey still lives. He got a temporary stay of execution. The slaughtering day was my Anniversary, so we decided that there were more romantic things to do than butcher our turkey. Looks like maybe i'll just keep him around until the beginning of Thanksgiving week...


----------



## junkprospector (Oct 3, 2013)

here's a picture of the milking stand made from the pallets.







and 






its very sturdy, weighs maybe 70 pounds


----------



## Four Winds Ranch (Oct 3, 2013)

Awesome!!!  Looks good!!!      One always gets such a feeling of pride when ya can do it yourself instead of having to buy everything!!


----------



## EllieMay (Nov 7, 2013)

Nice job on the milking stand!   

I'm thinking about getting a turkey or two next year.

Hubby shot a wild turkey during turkey season and it's been in our freezer ever since.
He pulled it out last week and cooked it.
To my surprise, it was very good.
I thought it would be tough and gamey tasting.
It wasn't at all.

Looking forward to reading more about your farm life.


----------

