Introducing Myself

[oaksandiron]

Hi, all, from southern New Hampshire. My husband and I have been on our 6.25 acres for a little over a year, and we have gone as full-tilt as we can towards getting our little homestead set up. We both also work off-farm.

We got chickens right away, and this spring 5 rescue goats started a bit of an animal avalanche. I have always been a horse person, but have been horseless for 8 years.

I thought we wanted to start adding meat goats, but ended up with 9 shetland and shetland/finn cross sheep, including a ram and his companion wether, and 4 Cheviot ewes. We also ended up with an ND buck and his companion wether, and three more ND does, one of which is in milk. Of the rescue goats the ND doe has been bred, and we are really hoping the buck and the rescue LaMancha will get their logistics figured out, lol!

We planted 7 beautiful apple trees, 2 pears, and two peaches. Last week the deer breached our defenses and literally destroyed 5 of them. Now the big, ugly deer fence will have to be installed, boo!

This spring we also started our first bee hive from a package that absconded aftwr, like, two weeks. (No, MY feelings aren't hurt. Not at all!) Our bee mentor hooked us up with another package, and that o

ne ended up producing two walkaway splits! We gifted back one split and kept the other. We are a little anxious for our first winter.

The learning curve has been steep. I am 52 and DH is 60 and we do not have the advantage of youth. But we are finally fulfilling what we feel has been our destiny, and getting to share it with my grown sons and grandkids.

I am here to learn!

 

[Mini Horses]

Wow..that's been a year to remember!
We all start somewhere. Many here have had massive learning curves -- some of us at a younger beginning age but, still in it years later. Hang in there. This is a good group, helpful, understanding, knowledgeable. Help is here for the asking.

My first thought -- goats will take out your orchard as fast as deer. Plan ahead. Yes, I do raise goats and gave up on fruit trees -- for the last time.

Glad you found us. Welcome from VA.

 

[farmerjan]

Another welcome from VA... @Mini Horses is on the eastern side near the ocean, I am in the Shenandoah valley in the central western part..b etween the Blue Ridge Mtns and the Alleghenies.. I am originally from CT, with family that was in VT and my parents had retired to the Woodsville/Littleton NH area but are now passed.

Only goats I had were in a trade once and they would not stay off the chicken house roof's, on the cars, and ate everything in sight... were quickly traded off to someone else... But I used to farm sit for friends with over 100 nannies and yes, they get out of everything, get stuck in every fence opening they can, and eat everything the deer would and cause as much damage.... and the kids are cuter than cute and bouncy to watch....
My son and I have beef cattle, I work with dairy farmers, and we have sheep, chickens, and have had most everything else over the years. A garden... you name it....
The deer here in VA have become so numerous that we get damage permits for all the crop damage and this year the black bears are also becoming a PITA.....
I have had several replacements (1 ankle and 2 knees) and am back to trying to "turn back the clock", and do more again... I just had a "milestone" birthday .....septuagenarian..... fancy for 70....
You can do this at ANY AGE.... just convince yourself you can....

One hint on the deer fence... it will have to be at least 8 ft tall...if a single "depth" fence.... but there are several people who say that if you have a double fence... spaced 3-4 ft apart... they will not jump it because they cannot judge the distance between the fences... and so people are going with standard 48" high fence but 2 fences... so like a laneway between them...if you use woven wire ( called field fence some places) it might be a way to have some extra grazing for the goats and other animals in lanes around the orchard where they still cannot get to them and chew them down....We use 6" stays, (spacing) for the cattle but I have 4" stays for the chickens and it is good for the goats... but if they have horns, they will stick their heads through and get stuck....
The deer get into my garden too... this year I used portable electric netting that is good to be able to move it... the deer did stay out of it.... the groundhogs mostly did... and I mostly caught and disposed of them... Oh yeah, they are "woodchucks" in yankee language... I have been down south for nearly 40 years... I sometimes forget the different terms ....

Please go to your name, top right, click down to account details, and to location... and put in your general area... southern NH is fine... info and advice sometimes is much more climate oriented and people like me ... have memories like sieve's.... and will never remember from one post to another... this way it shows up in your avatar and we can all remember...
Welcome again....

 

[SageHill]

Hi, all, from southern New Hampshire. My husband and I have been on our 6.25 acres for a little over a year, and we have gone as full-tilt as we can towards getting our little homestead set up. We both also work off-farm.

We got chickens right away, and this spring 5 rescue goats started a bit of an animal avalanche. I have always been a horse person, but have been horseless for 8 years.

I thought we wanted to start adding meat goats, but ended up with 9 shetland and shetland/finn cross sheep, including a ram and his companion wether, and 4 Cheviot ewes. We also ended up with an ND buck and his companion wether, and three more ND does, one of which is in milk. Of the rescue goats the ND doe has been bred, and we are really hoping the buck and the rescue LaMancha will get their logistics figured out, lol!

We planted 7 beautiful apple trees, 2 pears, and two peaches. Last week the deer breached our defenses and literally destroyed 5 of them. Now the big, ugly deer fence will have to be installed, boo!

This spring we also started our first bee hive from a package that absconded aftwr, like, two weeks. (No, MY feelings aren't hurt. Not at all!) Our bee mentor hooked us up with another package, and that o

ne ended up producing two walkaway splits! We gifted back one split and kept the other. We are a little anxious for our first winter.

The learning curve has been steep. I am 52 and DH is 60 and we do not have the advantage of youth. But we are finally fulfilling what we feel has been our destiny, and getting to share it with my grown sons and grandkids.

I am here to learn!

Welcome from So Cal. Sounds like you’ve hit the ground running! Most of us here are “in our prime” you fit right in.

 

[Baymule]

Welcome from east Texas! My husband and I retired to 8 acres in northeast Texas and built fence, barns, the works. He passed away 2 years ago. So what did I do? I sold the farm.

I moved to a temporary location.

Then I bought 25 acres that needs everything. Fence rows are grown up with 40 years worth of trees, brush and green briar vines. My sheep could walk right through these falling down fences, I have on field fenced. Moving at the speed of a turtle, I’m working on more fence. I closed on this place in July 2022, officially moved in, that means bringing the sheep and dogs, August 28, 2022. Three weeks later I had knee replacement surgery. Oh, in between that time, @Ridgetop , her husband and I, hitched up my trailer and went to Tennessee to @Mike CHS to visit him and his wife Teresa, and I bought their ram, Cooper. We had a great time! I spent the winter in therapy and recouperating. Ridgetop and her husband picked me up from the hospital and she stayed 3 days/nights with me. Joint replacement, in case you need to know is a DAY surgery! What? They sawed my leg off, hammered in new parts, sewed it back together and I’m supposed to walk out of there? Ridgetop to the rescue! Whew!

Y’all are not too old to live your dream! We all get a giggle out of @Ridgetop when she insists her and her husband are “in their prime” of life. Indeed, they are in the process of moving from California to northeast Texas with sheep, dogs a horse and a mule!

You have landed in the middle of a bunch of lunatics who refuse to sit on the porch In rocking chairs watching life go by. We are too busy living our dreams!

Welcome!

 

[Finnie]

Hi,

I apparently have not reached my prime yet. 2-3 more years until my DH retires, and then we hope to find land and let the adventure begin! I look forward to reading your adventures. You are a step or two ahead of us.

 

[oaksandiron]

The deer get into my garden too... this year I used portable electric netting that is good to be able to move it... the deer did stay out of it....
<snip>
....Please go to your name, top right, click down to account details, and to location... and put in your general area... southern NH is fine...

Thank you for the tips! We did have the electric netting set up, because our bees also live there and bears are an issue here. It is going to be the 8' fence for us now, cheaper than a double field fence.

Thank you all for the warm welcomes! It is still crazy here, we expect it to be until the snow flies.

 

[farmerjan]

There are some that are running a second fence of just 2 strands of hot electric 3-4 ft from the other fence... with flags (surveyor's tape or something that flutters) on the electric and it works for them... Google some "deer fencing , double options for berry farms"... think it was a blueberry or a strawberry farm that did that... I have a friend that ran a fence of electric and then just PLAIN COLORED string from their hay bales...as the second fence, 4 ft from the first one... and she said it worked like a charm...It is the visual as they will not jump something they don't think they can clear and they cannot judge the distance between 2 fences that are 4 ft apart...

 

[Mike CHS]

Welcome to the forum and a whole bunch of wonderful people. We live in an area of Tennessee that is vastly overpopulated with deer but for what it is worth, I have never seen a deer inside our fence. We left an open lane outside of our fences all of the way around so deer don't have to come inside to get around the pastures and take a chance of running into our dogs.

 

[murphysranch]

Welcome from Southern WA. We have deer here periodically, but nuthin' like we had in Oregon on the golf course. They ate EVERYTHING!!!!!