rachels.haven's Journal

[Baymule]

Yes, you need to go commercial. What super annoying breeds of farm animals could you raise?

Long crowing roosters
Pigs (meat for the freezer)
Geese, which ones make the most noise?

You need sales. When we first moved here, we sold eggs to satisfy the IRS on our taxes. We spent a lot of money on barns, fence, etc, so had to have something to sell. Eggs were easy and fast. Did you say that sales had to be $500 per year to qualify? Eggs at $4 per dozen is not a lot of eggs.

 

[rachels.haven]

We believe the way you qualify is by going to the tax office and saying "we're a commercial farm, give us the tax break". It's not a tax break we want though. If you move within 5 years and your buyers aren't a commercial farm you have to pay it all back immediately. So we'd have to put it all away and not use it. You also get a new set of state imposed regulations plied to you. This state sucks.


The zoning board called us. We are allowed by right to keep goats on our land.

We did not ask, but there is the whole "offensive sights, smells, and sounds" clause that applies to anything if the state doesn't have you in their commercial noose so the neighbors could still try something.
We'll burn that bridge when it comes though.

 

[farmerjan]

Burning something and not a bridge would be in my list......


Yeah, there are some sort of similar regs here concerning the ag designation, lower property taxes and such....payback for the last 5 years taxes or something if the land gets sold for development... and now you have to go before the zoning and planning commission and all sorts of crap....they are not letting farms just get sold willy nilly for development so that this nuisance stuff is contained... stopping idiot out of state/out of town "city people" from harassing the operating farm next door.... and I get that.... we run into it all the time with these people with money (many DC transplants) that buy these 10 and 20 acre "ESTATES" out in the country, then B@$#H when the farmers cows are hollering after weaning calves, or the farmer spreads poultry litter for fertilizer and they think that their noses should dictate when and IF the farmer can use fertilizer..... we try to be considerate and not spread when there are holiday weekends... cookouts, graduation parties, all that stuff... and we try to spread before a rain so that it doesn't smell much or for long....but you do what you have to when it needs to be done.....

Probably would still be in your best interests to get in the commercial noose, and stash the tax break money... which would give you maybe "more of a leg to stand on" with the goats and the dog????

 

[rachels.haven]

It would help with the goats.

The dog is not legally allowed to bark at anything outside of the fence and that's hard to prove if the neighbors go off. For instance, what Bailey was doing to get in trouble was putting the goats in on corner of the property between the house and the neighbor with the loudest dog I've ever heard (bark, baby bark, it means my back is being watched and those coyotes had better watch out!) and sitting the hill behind the barn and between them and the state forest and barking coyotes off as they jump the fence and come half way up the pasture. I can't prove she never barked at one outside the fence so she is just not allowed to be out at night and make a peep.

However, a local person told me it's best to lock her up and now I agree. She's only one dog and there are PACKS AND PACKS of uncontrolled, brazen, huge coyotes (feral dogs, really) here. He finds the coyotes and bears too thick for his LGD's. Bailey is happier when the goats are locked up at night. The first night I put the goats away I went out on top of that hill with her, and she was going bananas trying to push me down the hill back with the goats, but I thought she was just being midnight nutty. Well, I got to the top of the hill, and there were literally glowing eyes everywhere, milling around, too close to people's houses to be allowed to be shot. So I hurried up and put her and every goat in the barn, and that was the night I ran back to the house as the coyotes came up out of the field towards my house, barking and howling. They literally come right up to my back door. It's like coyote apocalypse bad. Stupid bad.

I am mostly upset now, about being forced to lock them in an unhealthy building that could crush them at any moment (yesterday it rained, and water poured into the building through the crumbling, shifting walls and soaked all the litter, and despite open windows, ventilation is poor and the building still has it's own climate). It could be my imagination, but it looks like the back wall towards the pasture has shifted even more inwards on it's crack and is going to cave in soon. I wish I'd taken a picture of it when we arrived. Doesn't matter a lick to the bum decoration ACO.

But regardless, the baby is asleep, so it's time to call some barn people. Lumber is high, but I'm hoping that means they are not backed up and the windfall of our last house's value skyrocketing will help us out.

 

[Baymule]

What about a leg trap in your yard for coyotes? A pump up pellet gun is quiet. Can the neighbors see all over your property? Is there a hidden place you could set a trap? It might make the coyotes leery of coming on your place.

 

[rachels.haven]

Leg traps are illegal. They shouldn't be, but they are. Mass is kind of shooting itself in the foot with these feral dogs. I might consider a pellet gun. I've though about a paintball gun. Something both lethal and legal would be nice.

 

[Baymule]

There are gas operated pellet guns that are both quiet and lethal. Shhhhh………

 

[rachels.haven]

*gasp*
On an unrelated note, you're an amazing person.

 

[farmerjan]

Konnibear type leg traps may not be illegal... they are not jaw traps... but the thing to do is just shoot the animal in the trap QUIETLY... and dispose in the back woods...

 

[rachels.haven]

This doesn't limit your wonderfulness(you too are amazing) but Mass only allows box traps and they supposedly must be registered. I disagree with this state. I guess they want to discourage everything and only grudgingly let you control wildlife or hunt. Back to your apartment, peasant scum!

Oddly enough air rifles are allowed with no restriction unless you are a minor. I'm pretty sure you can accidentally kill someone with one so I may sniff around. It may at least give something a whipping it won't forget.