MO animals

[NH homesteader]

I'll be interested in how your chicken feed experiment goes!

Alpacas are adorable and I really wanted some but they don't fit with my plans (for now!)

What breeds of turkeys do you have? We have chocolate and black spanish at the moment. They're my husband's thing, the goats are mine!

 

[luvmypets]

We have 7 intact males, and we don't plan on breeding lol. Idk I get impatient waiting for lambs with ewe code and such. Considering alpacas go for 11 1/2 months I cannot imagine what that is like Also with 7 males there would be way to much competition.

What are your plans with the fleece? I have a bit of an obsession with spinning

 

[bgundersen]

My daughter self taught herself to crochet and knit. She wants to learn spinning, but thus far we have tried, but haven't gotten the hang of it. I so wish we had someone that could show us how. We have watched numerous youtube videos, but there is nothing like having someone experienced sit there with you and say, "Let go of the twist sooner!" or "Treadle slower!" I actually got a ping pong ball size ball of yarn that was woofully over spun, but I figure I can make it into a dryer ball once I make it a little bigger...lol. Right now, I think felting is going to be an easier prospect and her plan is to make an explorer fedora (think Indiana Jones hat). We did make felted soap, so we have the concept of wet felting down...lol. I make soap with some of my extra goat milk, so it was a nice way to take ugly soaps and make them prettier...lol. Any resources or tips on spinning would be GREATLY appreciated! @luvmypets

 

[bgundersen]

I'll be interested in how your chicken feed experiment goes!

Alpacas are adorable and I really wanted some but they don't fit with my plans (for now!)

What breeds of turkeys do you have? We have chocolate and black spanish at the moment. They're my husband's thing, the goats are mine!

We have Royal Palm, Bourbon Red and Blue Slate. The Blue Slate produce Lavenders and Black from time to time as well. We also have a Rusty Slate (bourbon red x blue slate) that is really lovely to see and a Red Bronze (bourbon red x royal palm) that is a really unique looking gal.

@NH homesteader - What do you do with your goats? Shows? Milk? I don't show, but I do make a million things out of the milk - both edible (cheese, yogurt, fudge) and not (soap and lotion). I sell a lot of my extra kids and milkers to 4Hers to show and they have always done very well in the ring.

 

[bgundersen]

Welcome from northern Minnesota! I had tried doing the fodder system for my rabbits but never did do it successfully unfortunately.

My folks live near Bemidji, MN...some challenging areas to garden and raise animals up that way!

 

[NH homesteader]

I don't show either. They are for milk! I make soaps and cheese and fudge. We also will raise male kids for meat. I have mini alpine and nigerian dwarf goats. Love them! What breed(s) do you have?

My husband wants bourbon reds and I want some Narragansetts! We breed heritage chickens as well. Dominiques primarily. We aren't into showing anything, but we want to be self sufficient and keep the heritage breeds going!

 

[bgundersen]

I don't show either. They are for milk! I make soaps and cheese and fudge. We also will raise male kids for meat. I have mini alpine and nigerian dwarf goats. Love them! What breed(s) do you have?

My husband wants bourbon reds and I want some Narragansetts! We breed heritage chickens as well. Dominiques primarily. We aren't into showing anything, but we want to be self sufficient and keep the heritage breeds going!

Ditto here on being more self-reliant or at least self-efficient...lol. I have Saanens and Alpines, but I actually and into breeding the hybrids. My stock is all registered, but I make "Salpines" as my main keepers. They milk better and resist parasites better, I find. The males usually end up in freezer camp (I usually have one or two registerable males I can sell as breeders). The females usually hang around until I freshen them out and then I decide who to keep as replacement milkers and who to sell for 4Hers to show. Some of my best milkers may not do as well in the show ring, but man they can make the milk flow!

My Bourbon Reds just started laying this week...Got my first batch of eggs in the incubator...less than 28 days and we will have some for sale...lol.

 

[luvmypets]

For spinning its really all learning I was terrible when I first started but now I have my own wheel and its an addiction. A problem I noticed with all of us in the spinning class was many overspun the yarn. Its all in practice. Im still an amautuer and I've been spinning since august. Im still working on keeping the size consistent but I am really proud of the first bobbin I spun. I turned on The Incredible Dr. Pol and I was finished after two episodes.

Depending on where you are I would look into a spinning class. I have so far taken a spinning, knitting, and natural dyeing class at our local yarn shop. Its a very relaxing and once you get your wheel fairly inexpensive

I know @norseofcourse spins as well as @secuono and I believe @purplequeenvt

 

[bgundersen]

For spinning its really all learning I was terrible when I first started but now I have my own wheel and its an addiction. A problem I noticed with all of us in the spinning class was many overspun the yarn. Its all in practice. Im still an amautuer and I've been spinning since august. Im still working on keeping the size consistent but I am really proud of the first bobbin I spun. I turned on The Incredible Dr. Pol and I was finished after two episodes.
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Depending on where you are I would look into a spinning class. I have so far taken a spinning, knitting, and natural dyeing class at our local yarn shop. Its a very relaxing and once you get your wheel fairly inexpensive

We haven't found a local spinning class yet. There is a Fiber U event in July, but they aren't offering a beginning spinning class this year. Most of the alpaca people are over 45 minutes away and none of them offer spinning classes either...We will just keep plugging along and we will get there eventually! We already have a wheel, so its just figuring out how to do it.

 

[NH homesteader]

I put eggs in the incubator on the 1st so we'll be hatching close to each other! I wish we loved closer to you, I would love some reds!

My mini alpines are much easier keepers than my nigerians, for sure. They're only yearlings though so I won't know until next year how they milk.