Very interesting! I always learn something new from the videos!! Can't wait to see the hat Ashley! Thanks for the snow shots. Even though it is not terribly hot here today I can always come back and watch them to cool down. LOL!!!!
Great video!! Love to see you and your beautiful family realize your dreams. Will become a patreon as I am able. Keep up the great work! You are networking with some great people!
Ok I loved this video...Coco was so cute (I just love black sheep) & that Yak was adorable! Question for you Dan: loved the rabbit setup, but how was the smell factor in there? (also how was Jack's odor as he's a musk oxen type animal...just wondered how potent he smelled) lol. Loved her water setup. -Ashley...you are so cute, thank you for being so honest! lol I'm looking forward to seeing your complete hat-or-whatever you do with it! lol That yarn looks very soft.
sorry if this posts twice - my first one didn't seem to work... The yak didn't smell at all! No detectable odor. The rabbit area had a slight urine smell but it wasn't bad at all. Great questions!
...another thing, Dan--> We get extremely powerful wind events here that can go above 80mph. We're in one now that is lasting for days. I saw what happened to your sheep shelter. How high do you think your winds can get?? Tornados are a whole other ball game, of course. We've had tornados here which is typically unheard of. Changing climate patterns are part of our world now. (My husband happens to be an atmospheric physicist who watches what's happening in the lower atmosphere in order to measure ozone with LIDAR instruments) What do you think would happen with chickens in the TP greenhouse during high wind events???? By the way, our wood chips stay put despite the high winds! We find this incredible! I don't think this would be the case with hay or straw like Art used to insulate his Chickshaw
Straw stays in place during winds too. We get a ton of wind here & I use straw on my garden beds...it goes no where once down on the ground unless the chickens scratch it and move it around.
Thanks, Oneda! Come to think about it a bit more... Back in the early 80's when I had my first garden, I learned about Ruth Stout and how she used straw as mulch. I cannot remember the straw being a problem in the wind. Nice to recall that.
Back in November, I visited a filmed a homesteader who has a green house just like ours but is 8' long instead of 12' like ours. We had a freakish wind event Nov 2015 and he said his greenhouse flipped over from it. It was tornado force winds that came through, though we don't get tornados here. If the greenhouse flips from wind, you can bet a chickshaw would flip too.
It had always been said that we don't get tornados here... until last year one came ripping through a several mile rural stretch in hilly terrain only a couple miles from our place. (north of Boulder) It seems that extreme weather events have become a part of the norm.
I use to raise sheep in Apex, NC. They are lovely creatures. I use take my spinning wheel and a thermos of tea and hang out. Spinning their wool and sharing biscuits with my wooly friends; awesome memories.
Jack the Yak! I love it! We have discussed doing yaks in place of cows because of them needing less space and eating less, just as Denise said. I think I would struggle with how playful and fun they are though. I struggle with that with all the animals though, lol. Thanks for sharing this video! ~Jeni
Hi Jeni! I am seriously thinking about getting yaks, too, after meeting Jack. I know what you mean about the struggle though. You could get a pet like Denise did. Tell Mike I said "hi"
The heated, flowing, watering system really has me thinking. Why not this for all livestock?!?!?!? And it would stay "clean". Use the chicken watering nipples. Or the watering nipples for pigs,sheep,goat.....and as long as the water can stay warm enough..the nipples shouldn't freeze. WATCH OUT JENI!!!! Wheels are tuning over here!! Yakky Yak...don't talk back LOL. Ditto what Jeni said. But did your friend say they mature in 3 years?? Ouch. - Mike
I have the same thermometer. It's a bit unreliable. When the battery gets low, it will just stick on one reading sometimes. You also have to use lithium batteries if the unit is going to get very cold, or it will just freeze up. That's a joke, but it's true. I found it necessary to remove the batteries from both units from time to time, wait a few seconds, then power the units up again to reset them when one or the other was lying to me about the temperature.
Hey Dan, I just ordered 24 dual-purpose chickens, 3 ducks, and a guardian goose that will arrive the week of April 17th. Very exciting... except my husband and I do not yet agree on winter housing. He wants to keep them in the Chickshaw he plans to build. But I don't like that idea because here in Colorado (north of Boulder) we usually have some episodes of below zero temps. I've been happy to see you housing your birds in your Texas-Prepper greenhouse because that's been my idea. I also really like the idea of having a greenhouse to extend the gardening season both spring and fall. My husband thinks housing the chickens in the greenhouse will be a problem because of moisture from condensation. What has been your experience so far?
so far it has been great. There was some moisture at the end of the fall (we had a TON of rain) but once winter rolled it all the moisture froze. There hasn't been any issue with condensation or the like. I would much rather them be in the greenhouse vs a chickshaw in Boulder climate. Congrats on the birds! Let me know how it goes when you get them. Did you get my email about the Alderman dog attack?
Chris Young when I had Dino's I used nipples. It was great because all I ever did was check them daily. mine lasted about 19 months before I rebuilt them..
Im curious about your permanent fencing you mentioned you will be doing this year. Will you be putting up,permanent fencing around the homestead with smaller paddocks to graze sheep? Also you didnt mention cattle in your goals for this year. Are they in the plans this year?
Hi Marcia - The fencing will be a perimeter fence and we will continue to use electric polywire for cross-fencing and smaller paddock divisions. I didn't put cattle in the goals for this year. I do want some but I don't want to get ahead of myself
I run a rabbit rescue were I live and have had lots of different cages for them and because of funds I searched for a while to find what I wanted, I was very lucky a person had a garden gazebo that the cover had ripped and gave me the corners, I took them and got some free wood and built a 8f x9f x 9f high and then had deer wire given to me and framed it in, first year I had a wire floor on top of dirt but was hard to rake up and clean so last year I put a floor in laminate that was given to me worked out great, for winter I got some huge signs from a gas station that didn't need them anymore and framed it in.
Ashley: I'm sorry to have to get real with you but all knitters must "frog" (rip it , rip it, rip it) at some point. I think you are there. You can reuse the yarn and use smaller needles or cast on fewer stitches. If you learn the magic loop you won't have to switch to double pointed needles.
Thanks, Sandy. My aunt told me something very similar when I started sewing :) The second hat is coming along much better! I will look up the magic loop--thanks for the advice!
Ha, she's like thanks for pointing that out to everyone. I like her response though and admire her determination. Slouchy hats are in. I bought a shirt that I thought had a hood recently only to find out it was a cowl. Had no idea those were in style on shirts. I thought you were bringing the sensor with you! I wondered but I should have asked. Will that unit let you add another sensor? Some let you add up to 10.
Our house is a 2 bedroom/ 1 bath with no infrastructure at all on the property so the purchase price of this place wasn't ridiculous. We stayed out of debt and saved for a long time, too. The few things we have on the property we built ourselves (greenhouse was $300, sheep shelter also about $300). We really don't have much here so I'm not really sure what you are specifically referring to
The Grass-fed Homestead No, but I wish I did. I love them so much, from their faces to their wool. One of my friends who owns a couple said they're loud and annoying, but I like their voices.
Our rabbits are pets. We got them for a 4-H project. We signed up and paid but never heard back from the 4-H people. I suppose I should call them. As for meat rabbits, we are doing a much better job communicating with him about slaughter. We've discussed it and I keep stressing the point that the rabbits we have now are pets but if we get more in the future they will be for food.
raised rabbits for over 30 years slaughter 75 to 100 a year for my wife and I to eat, I never put my rabbits on the ground to many parasites read a book years ago by Ann Kanable about raising rabbits she said to raise your rabbits the way way it's best for your area and breed of rabbits you're raising and their intended use,. she also said if you ever meet a person that thinks their an expert on your rabbits run for your rabbits life. thank you for the videos I enjoy your channel.
I'm sorry but I have to say poor rabbits. No offense to her or anyone else that have meatrabbits like that, I am used to rabbits as pets and family members. What I don't like about the set up is that they can't do there natural behaviors such as digging, grase (not even on hay from what I saw but I could be wrong) they can't jump around and just have to sit in hard wire all the time and do nothing :( (rabbits need alot of enrichment everyday and feel best when that have a friend) I'm sorry but it is just my opinion and no offense to you or anyone else. You are a very nice kind person.
No need to apologize - I appreciate your point of view on this. I am not really happy with the cage setup for my rabbits. I really want them in a more natural system. It was a bad time of year for us to get them (mid November I think it was). I am looking into a better system to implement in the spring. Denise, the lady in the video, told me she lets the rabbits run free in her barn stalls for exercise. I don't know how often but they do get out of the cages sometimes. Thank you for the comment
The Grass-fed Homestead it is very noticeable that you care a a lot about your rabbits. I know some people have them on the ground all year and let them have their babies under ground and grace in a huge amount of space. But I don't know how well that works when it comes to predators. Have a good day!
Congrats on your feature on Justin Rhodes! Great intro video to your homestead. Looking forward to your new flock this spring!
:) Thanks Virginia
Very interesting! I always learn something new from the videos!! Can't wait to see the hat Ashley! Thanks for the snow shots. Even though it is not terribly hot here today I can always come back and watch them to cool down. LOL!!!!
I'm glad it isn't an inferno there anymore! I'm also glad you learned something new :) You'll see the hat tomorrow
Great video!! Love to see you and your beautiful family realize your dreams. Will become a patreon as I am able. Keep up the great work! You are networking with some great people!
Thanks Gary! I always appreciate your support
There you have it--even yaks like Tess. :) Denise seems quite nice as well. Wonderful when good people cascade to more good people.
I agree :)
Ok I loved this video...Coco was so cute (I just love black sheep) & that Yak was adorable! Question for you Dan: loved the rabbit setup, but how was the smell factor in there? (also how was Jack's odor as he's a musk oxen type animal...just wondered how potent he smelled) lol. Loved her water setup. -Ashley...you are so cute, thank you for being so honest! lol I'm looking forward to seeing your complete hat-or-whatever you do with it! lol That yarn looks very soft.
sorry if this posts twice - my first one didn't seem to work...
The yak didn't smell at all! No detectable odor. The rabbit area had a slight urine smell but it wasn't bad at all.
Great questions!
...another thing, Dan--> We get extremely powerful wind events here that can go above 80mph. We're in one now that is lasting for days. I saw what happened to your sheep shelter. How high do you think your winds can get?? Tornados are a whole other ball game, of course. We've had tornados here which is typically unheard of. Changing climate patterns are part of our world now.
(My husband happens to be an atmospheric physicist who watches what's happening in the lower atmosphere in order to measure ozone with LIDAR instruments)
What do you think would happen with chickens in the TP greenhouse during high wind events????
By the way, our wood chips stay put despite the high winds! We find this incredible! I don't think this would be the case with hay or straw like Art used to insulate his Chickshaw
Straw stays in place during winds too. We get a ton of wind here & I use straw on my garden beds...it goes no where once down on the ground unless the chickens scratch it and move it around.
Thanks, Oneda! Come to think about it a bit more... Back in the early 80's when I had my first garden, I learned about Ruth Stout and how she used straw as mulch. I cannot remember the straw being a problem in the wind. Nice to recall that.
Back in November, I visited a filmed a homesteader who has a green house just like ours but is 8' long instead of 12' like ours. We had a freakish wind event Nov 2015 and he said his greenhouse flipped over from it. It was tornado force winds that came through, though we don't get tornados here. If the greenhouse flips from wind, you can bet a chickshaw would flip too.
It had always been said that we don't get tornados here... until last year one came ripping through a several mile rural stretch in hilly terrain only a couple miles from our place. (north of Boulder) It seems that extreme weather events have become a part of the norm.
I use to raise sheep in Apex, NC. They are lovely creatures. I use take my spinning wheel and a thermos of tea and hang out. Spinning their wool and sharing biscuits with my wooly friends; awesome memories.
:) That sounds nice.
Jack the Yak! I love it! We have discussed doing yaks in place of cows because of them needing less space and eating less, just as Denise said. I think I would struggle with how playful and fun they are though. I struggle with that with all the animals though, lol. Thanks for sharing this video! ~Jeni
Hi Jeni! I am seriously thinking about getting yaks, too, after meeting Jack. I know what you mean about the struggle though. You could get a pet like Denise did. Tell Mike I said "hi"
The heated, flowing, watering system really has me thinking. Why not this for all livestock?!?!?!? And it would stay "clean". Use the chicken watering nipples. Or the watering nipples for pigs,sheep,goat.....and as long as the water can stay warm enough..the nipples shouldn't freeze. WATCH OUT JENI!!!! Wheels are tuning over here!!
Yakky Yak...don't talk back LOL. Ditto what Jeni said. But did your friend say they mature in 3 years?? Ouch. - Mike
I have the same thermometer. It's a bit unreliable. When the battery gets low, it will just stick on one reading sometimes. You also have to use lithium batteries if the unit is going to get very cold, or it will just freeze up. That's a joke, but it's true. I found it necessary to remove the batteries from both units from time to time, wait a few seconds, then power the units up again to reset them when one or the other was lying to me about the temperature.
Thanks Dave. I have lithium batteries in. It seems to be working much better now that I have the indoor unit indoors :)
your homestead is looking awesome and i have done the same as you 5 years ago except i had goats chickens and heritage pigs.
Thanks Keith. What type of pigs were they?
Yak hair is fun to spin into yarn, and to knit with! There's a market out there for it!
it was incredibly soft! I was surprised
Doin good on the hat Ashley. That water set is good I may have to use that for mine.
Thanks Brian - yeah, I like it too. I'm interested
Hey Dan, I just ordered 24 dual-purpose chickens, 3 ducks, and a guardian goose that will arrive the week of April 17th. Very exciting... except my husband and I do not yet agree on winter housing. He wants to keep them in the Chickshaw he plans to build. But I don't like that idea because here in Colorado (north of Boulder) we usually have some episodes of below zero temps.
I've been happy to see you housing your birds in your Texas-Prepper greenhouse because that's been my idea. I also really like the idea of having a greenhouse to extend the gardening season both spring and fall.
My husband thinks housing the chickens in the greenhouse will be a problem because of moisture from condensation. What has been your experience so far?
so far it has been great. There was some moisture at the end of the fall (we had a TON of rain) but once winter rolled it all the moisture froze. There hasn't been any issue with condensation or the like. I would much rather them be in the greenhouse vs a chickshaw in Boulder climate.
Congrats on the birds! Let me know how it goes when you get them. Did you get my email about the Alderman dog attack?
No I did not... please resend. I'll watch for it eft.joycejsy@yahoo.com
oops that should be eft.joycejay@yahoo.com
resent
I think everyone is gonna want a yak named Jack. I know we do!
ha! I know! I am going to see if I can talk to the breeder she him from
YOu could add nipple water outlets for the chickens and run a similar system in your raken house and water everyone.
Chris Young when I had Dino's I used nipples. It was great because all I ever did was check them daily. mine lasted about 19 months before I rebuilt them..
I am interested in doing this. I don't like PVC or brass (phthalates and lead) so I need to look for alternatives but yeah, I like the concept
Im sure there are more food grade plastic alternatives
Im curious about your permanent fencing you mentioned you will be doing this year. Will you be putting up,permanent fencing around the homestead with smaller paddocks to graze sheep? Also you didnt mention cattle in your goals for this year. Are they in the plans this year?
Hi Marcia - The fencing will be a perimeter fence and we will continue to use electric polywire for cross-fencing and smaller paddock divisions. I didn't put cattle in the goals for this year. I do want some but I don't want to get ahead of myself
She knits better than I do! I had holes all over the place ! Crochet is easier for me :)
:) I will tell her
You are very sweet to say that, Amy. Crochet is beautiful!
that Yak is so cool....not too big. Wonder if a musk ox could be it's pal....they don't get big either.....and their fiber is worth a lot too!
do they use a .22 LR or a larger caliber and I assume its in the head/brain? Must be a sweet spot on the top somewhere.
they used a .223
I run a rabbit rescue were I live and have had lots of different cages for them and because of funds I searched for a while to find what I wanted, I was very lucky a person had a garden gazebo that the cover had ripped and gave me the corners, I took them and got some free wood and built a 8f x9f x 9f high and then had deer wire given to me and framed it in, first year I had a wire floor on top of dirt but was hard to rake up and clean so last year I put a floor in laminate that was given to me worked out great, for winter I got some huge signs from a gas station that didn't need them anymore and framed it in.
Wow! That's neat. Do you have pictures to share by any chance?
sure I will see if I can figure out how to send you a pic lol.
I like the idea of rabbits. never raised them for meat but after seeing this set up it looks very doable on a small scale.
completely doable!
Ashley: I'm sorry to have to get real with you but all knitters must "frog" (rip it , rip it, rip it) at some point. I think you are there. You can reuse the yarn and use smaller needles or cast on fewer stitches. If you learn the magic loop you won't have to switch to double pointed needles.
Thanks, Sandy. My aunt told me something very similar when I started sewing :) The second hat is coming along much better! I will look up the magic loop--thanks for the advice!
Ha, she's like thanks for pointing that out to everyone. I like her response though and admire her determination. Slouchy hats are in. I bought a shirt that I thought had a hood recently only to find out it was a cowl. Had no idea those were in style on shirts. I thought you were bringing the sensor with you! I wondered but I should have asked. Will that unit let you add another sensor? Some let you add up to 10.
I don't know if it will. By looking at it, I get the feeling it doesn't.
That's an awesome poop system! Rabbit poop is the absolute best fertilizer.
can you do a farm tour??
it pretty much was the whole tour in this video. Was there something else you'd like to have seen?
na
i typed in the comment before i watched the vid srry
the capital to get started. i been homesteading for 5 years and i cant afford half the stuff you have on your homestead. just wondering.
Our house is a 2 bedroom/ 1 bath with no infrastructure at all on the property so the purchase price of this place wasn't ridiculous. We stayed out of debt and saved for a long time, too. The few things we have on the property we built ourselves (greenhouse was $300, sheep shelter also about $300). We really don't have much here so I'm not really sure what you are specifically referring to
Helps to have a town job
Would you ever consider getting a yak
Totally! I really want one now! :)
Get two. I really think that herd animals should have a friend of their own species.
Like your videos...keep it up brother..
Thanks a lot Back 40!
Oh boy.... that big hat just leaves all manor of room for big head jokes.
I was thinking the same thing
I came for the sheep and stayed for the videos~
:) Thank you Autumn. Do you have sheep?
The Grass-fed Homestead No, but I wish I did. I love them so much, from their faces to their wool.
One of my friends who owns a couple said they're loud and annoying, but I like their voices.
I don't find them annoying but everyone is different...
Will your son b able to deal with rabbits being slaughtered? Won't he think they r pets?? Will he have one of his own?
Our rabbits are pets. We got them for a 4-H project. We signed up and paid but never heard back from the 4-H people. I suppose I should call them. As for meat rabbits, we are doing a much better job communicating with him about slaughter. We've discussed it and I keep stressing the point that the rabbits we have now are pets but if we get more in the future they will be for food.
can i ask ho and where you got the finances to do that stuff
What stuff are you referring to?
raised rabbits for over 30 years slaughter 75 to 100 a year for my wife and I to eat, I never put my rabbits on the ground to many parasites read a book years ago by Ann Kanable about raising rabbits she said to raise your rabbits the way way it's best for your area and breed of rabbits you're raising and their intended use,. she also said if you ever meet a person that thinks their an expert on your rabbits run for your rabbits life. thank you for the videos I enjoy your channel.
Sounds like a good book! Thanks Donald. I'm glad you are enjoying the videos
I'm sorry but I have to say poor rabbits. No offense to her or anyone else that have meatrabbits like that, I am used to rabbits as pets and family members. What I don't like about the set up is that they can't do there natural behaviors such as digging, grase (not even on hay from what I saw but I could be wrong) they can't jump around and just have to sit in hard wire all the time and do nothing :( (rabbits need alot of enrichment everyday and feel best when that have a friend) I'm sorry but it is just my opinion and no offense to you or anyone else. You are a very nice kind person.
No need to apologize - I appreciate your point of view on this. I am not really happy with the cage setup for my rabbits. I really want them in a more natural system. It was a bad time of year for us to get them (mid November I think it was). I am looking into a better system to implement in the spring. Denise, the lady in the video, told me she lets the rabbits run free in her barn stalls for exercise. I don't know how often but they do get out of the cages sometimes. Thank you for the comment
The Grass-fed Homestead it is very noticeable that you care a a lot about your rabbits. I know some people have them on the ground all year and let them have their babies under ground and grace in a huge amount of space. But I don't know how well that works when it comes to predators. Have a good day!
Thanks FOGS. When the ground thaws I'll be looking at this option.
omg, it is literally freezing in there and the rabbits are fine!?! Ok, that was in January, understandable, hopefully its not like that in March.
Great video
Great way to start new!!! :)
Awesome video. :)
Thank you Kitty!
Jack the yak is like a big dog