Melwynnd
Exploring the pasture
Hello everyone!!
I just found this forum and thought it would be fun to join in. I currently live in West Plains, Missouri. We just purchased a 488 sq. foot cottage with three lots. Fortunately West Plains has very liberal livestock laws so I have plans for some meat rabbits, a few chickens and a couple of nigerian dwarf goats.
While backyard farming is new to me, farming is not. I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and started training my own horses when I was 13. As an adult, I spent 10 years milking the most wonderful Jersey cow and learning to make cheese. She paid for all my expenses by providing milk to raise orphan calves which I would get free or cheap from the local ranchers because they were in poor health. I got quite good at vetting.
I also had a small flock of Shetland sheep which I loved. However, my husband did not.
When we moved to Missouri, we had 11 acres of forest. I brought my Haflinger mare and bought a small herd of Nubian goats which I milked. I had ideas of getting another cow before we got here, but goats were so much better on our property. I came to really love their fun personalities and the fact that they were so much smaller to handle than the cow and I really loved the cheese, although I did have to adjust my recipes a bit for the difference in milk.
About six months ago we bought our cottage in town because the price of gas was killing us. It's two blocks from where I work and two blocks from the college where DH is going to start this winter. I sold all my critters and I miss them. I miss the chores (sign of insanity I suppose), the animals, and the feeling of satisfaction that producing our food brings. Yet I've found significant advantages to living in town. We don't really need a car and we actually spend less living here than we did in the woods. I also got almost two hours a day back since I just walk to work and I can come home for lunch which saves a bunch of money too. I adore my tiny cottage and am having a blast fixing it all up.
Anyway, I think rabbits will be the first animal addition to our little place. Meat is by far our biggest food expense. I already have composting worms and should finish my first garden bed this fall, so I think they will be a valuable addition. The fact that they make NO noice and will get my neighbors used to what I am doing helps too. So I've been working on a hutch design and hopefully I can get it built for spring.
Nice to meet you all,
Sherry
I just found this forum and thought it would be fun to join in. I currently live in West Plains, Missouri. We just purchased a 488 sq. foot cottage with three lots. Fortunately West Plains has very liberal livestock laws so I have plans for some meat rabbits, a few chickens and a couple of nigerian dwarf goats.
While backyard farming is new to me, farming is not. I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and started training my own horses when I was 13. As an adult, I spent 10 years milking the most wonderful Jersey cow and learning to make cheese. She paid for all my expenses by providing milk to raise orphan calves which I would get free or cheap from the local ranchers because they were in poor health. I got quite good at vetting.
I also had a small flock of Shetland sheep which I loved. However, my husband did not.
When we moved to Missouri, we had 11 acres of forest. I brought my Haflinger mare and bought a small herd of Nubian goats which I milked. I had ideas of getting another cow before we got here, but goats were so much better on our property. I came to really love their fun personalities and the fact that they were so much smaller to handle than the cow and I really loved the cheese, although I did have to adjust my recipes a bit for the difference in milk.
About six months ago we bought our cottage in town because the price of gas was killing us. It's two blocks from where I work and two blocks from the college where DH is going to start this winter. I sold all my critters and I miss them. I miss the chores (sign of insanity I suppose), the animals, and the feeling of satisfaction that producing our food brings. Yet I've found significant advantages to living in town. We don't really need a car and we actually spend less living here than we did in the woods. I also got almost two hours a day back since I just walk to work and I can come home for lunch which saves a bunch of money too. I adore my tiny cottage and am having a blast fixing it all up.
Anyway, I think rabbits will be the first animal addition to our little place. Meat is by far our biggest food expense. I already have composting worms and should finish my first garden bed this fall, so I think they will be a valuable addition. The fact that they make NO noice and will get my neighbors used to what I am doing helps too. So I've been working on a hutch design and hopefully I can get it built for spring.
Nice to meet you all,
Sherry
Welcome to BYH Sherry!
