Messybun’s Small starts big dreams

[Mini Horses]

You can see by my location, I'm East coast. give us a hint by adding something in your profile location. I mean -- East Coast is not FL weather to way cold up north! Big difference in climes and what can be done. I'm sorta the middle -- VA.

As to your chicken feed -- you can produce a lot. Millett, corn, wheat, rye, all easy to grow and harvest. Small land use and no equipment to sow or harvest...just some extra labor. they LOVE worms, bugs, etc. You can actually grow them. Yeah, not pretty but you can do.

I don't have sheet, just goats. But, I'd suggest you find some raw wool and work with it to decide if you really want to shear and do that part of sheep. It's work BUT -- so is milking when I can buy it at the store! Just not the same. Here we understand the "why" we do.

 

[messybun]

You can see by my location, I'm East coast. give us a hint by adding something in your profile location. I mean -- East Coast is not FL weather to way cold up north! Big difference in climes and what can be done. I'm sorta the middle -- VA.

As to your chicken feed -- you can produce a lot. Millett, corn, wheat, rye, all easy to grow and harvest. Small land use and no equipment to sow or harvest...just some extra labor. they LOVE worms, bugs, etc. You can actually grow them. Yeah, not pretty but you can do.

I don't have sheet, just goats. But, I'd suggest you find some raw wool and work with it to decide if you really want to shear and do that part of sheep. It's work BUT -- so is milking when I can buy it at the store! Just not the same. Here we understand the "why" we do.

Whoops lol. I’m in hurricane central. Even though we have been blessed to not have been severely affected this year. We have similar climates I believe! Definitely not up north like NY, no thanks to all that snow!
I actually am working on breeding my own bugs already! My dragon eats mealworms, so I plan on breeding excess anyway. My neighbor has some gorgeous purebred silkies, and she told me I could grab whatever eggs that aren’t already being sat on, yay! Hopefully I will get some cuties next month.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

I actually am working on breeding my own bugs already! My dragon eats mealworms, so I plan on breeding excess anyway.

I fear my Texas Aggie I/Q is getting in the way: "... breeding my own bugs already"? Do you mean you breed different beetles and caterpillars and other insects? Or did you mean to write that you breed your own bug eaters, such as chickens? When you write "[m]y dragon eats mealworms", I thought of the movie "How to Train Your Dragon". I am guessing that a dragon is a breed of chicken, but I am not sure. Sorry to be so dense.

Senile Texas Aggie

In case you are not familiar with Texas Aggies and their reputed I/Q level, here is an explanation we gave to another (former) member of the forum when I mentioned Texas Aggies: Rolling Acres Texas Aggie joke

 

[messybun]

I am now thinking about that movie too! I breed both, chickens and bugs. I meant bearded dragon, it’s a type of lizard. So I have a cocooned horn worm(I hate them in the garden but they are great feeder bugs if contained) which means whenever it hatches I should get a ton of eggs from it. And the meal worms, I already have some beetles, but they need to be moved to different bedding so they don’t eat their own eggs. The lizard is new, so I’m not fully set up yet.
I actually lived in Texas off and on for a few years! Texas aggies are a special breed, I would never say your IQ is low, you just know so much about ag that it sometimes crowds out other stuff.

 

[messybun]

Today I am putting duck eggs in... yay. Ducks are probably one of my favorite barnyard creatures so I'm looking forward to hatching some.
I also discovered "cottage" laws or lack thereof. Meaning I can't sell baked goods without a kitchen inspection and sending samples in to a lab. *Big eye roll* The inspection typically costs 150$ by the way. Which even if I thought I could make enough profit to make that worth it, which I don't, there's no way I could pass because I have animals on premises. I wonder if I could make "not for human consumption" cinnamon rolls? Am I the only one annoyed by the hoops you have to jump through to sell basic products? And don't even get me started on the taxes!
Anyways, my apple trees had their first batch of apples this year! They are absolutely disgusting and tiny, but amazing. I plan to make some ACV with them. Does it still count if I use Braggs mother for my starter instead of homemade? It feels like I'm cheating, but it works SO much faster and with less varied results.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss Messybun,

If we resided closer to each other, I could buy a dozen eggs from you for $20 and then you could give me a couple of cinnamon rolls!

 

[Baymule]

What state are you in? Cottage laws vary from state to state, some are better than others. Animals on the premises.....do they think you have goats and chickens living in the house? Gheesh.

 

[messybun]

What state are you in? Cottage laws vary from state to state, some are better than others. Animals on the premises.....do they think you have goats and chickens living in the house? Gheesh.

I know my state laws suck because I looked them up lol. I guess they do! But I do have one house rabbit, two hypoallergenic dogs, a bird, and a lizard that all live inside. And I wouldn’t put it past me to have a baby/sickly farm animal in the house somewhere. We don’t have a barn so if someone gets sick they go into the “mud room” and when someone is on death’s door they go to my bathroom because it’s easy to bleach. I’ve had a rabbit with fly strike, a chicken with a stroke, another rabbit with pneumonia among other small creatures. Basically if you go to my bath tub it’s likely you won’t come back. Unless you’re a duck because those get raised inside so they’re tame. But the occasional rescues still don’t go near my kitchen and certainly have nothing to do with food! I would be disqualified because the hypoallergenic dogs alone. Some of it I get, some of it honestly begs the question of who do you think makes food if not people with animals? And how are we supposed to eat if it’s not sanitary in our kitchens?

 

[messybun]

Alright y’all, I want your opinion if this is fowl pox or not. I’ve never dealt with pox before so I’m not sure. I haven’t added birds to my flock for seven months, and they came from a clean/closed flock. But we do have a ton of mosquitoes and neighbors with birds. I did notice this lady was a little thin too.

 

[Baymule]

I'm looking for the small dark blackish spots on the comb, and I'm not seeing any. I bought red sex links from a place that had fowl pox from the mosquitoes. The lady said they got over it and never had it again and she was right. She said she couldn't keep it out of her flocks because the mosquitoes spread it. I kept those hens for 3 years with never a problem, even bought new chicks to replace them and the new chicks/pullets did not get fowl pox.

I got some pictures off the net