Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

Asshat Foler

Potato del Grande
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I have goats, and 4 on 4 acres is about the perfect ratio for rotational grazing. I have six, but I have a lot more acres. I have all my livestock mixed together, so they can co-graze or whatever the term is. My chickens even get in with the animals some times, and that's healthy for the soil, too. I have 3 for milking that I make cheese with (my family could live on goat cheese). I have 4 for eating (all different ages to stagger the slaughter). Goats are actually fun to have around, Brutul is right, way way more personality than sheep. I will never have sheep again. They are stupid enough to get themselves tangled in something so badly they kill themselves. Rescue them out of a deep hole, they'll jump right back in.

One thing about goats - they're destructive. If they get into a mood, they're going to break something. I've stripped everything down so much, there's nothing to tear off anymore. All watering mechanisms are industrial, no sticky outy parts. I have separate indoor areas for the different livestock, and usually feed them separately. They can also climb. Just make sure you keep up with your fences.

But goats can be funny as hell.


The goats you have to milk daily right? You don’t find that a burden?
 

Asshat Foler

Potato del Grande
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There are federal rules about capture of water from impervious surfaces like a roof, states also have rules on top of this. FL has some of the strictest in the country. Federal rule is 1 acre of total disturbance requires a NPDES permitting. You'll know what obstacles there are when you go for the permit so I just take care of that prior to making too many commitments.

In practical terms what this refers to is the construction of storm water pits that will capture water run off rather than just letting a downspouts do something as horrifically horrible as putting water on the ground.
So, I fed ChatGPT my county’s code book. It looks like the county has a rule that aux structures cannot be bigger than primary residence unless the structure is being used for agricultural purposes. This puts me in a bind as current primary structure is only 1k SF (building the house is last on my list). I’m going to contact the county’s planning division to see what qualifies as agricultural purposes.. It’s for storing my tractor etc but I’m not sure if it needs to be ag purposes that are commercial. 😟
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
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The goats you have to milk daily right? You don’t find that a burden?

Twice a day. I don't mind it, though it makes travel hard, or taking a day off hard. I'm not a big one for taking days off, though. Plus, I have a hired guy who helps with things, and he's very nearby, and if I ask him to do the milking, he's always happy and willing to do it. It definitely is a commitment, though.
 
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Asshat Foler

Potato del Grande
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Twice a day. I don't mind it, though it makes travel hard, or taking a day off hard. I'm not a big one for taking days off, though. Plus, I have a hired guy who helps with things, and he's very nearby, and if I ask him to do the milking, he's always happy and willing to do it. It definitely is a commitment, though.
Wish I could find someone reliable like that who I could pay to help me. Admire the commitment dirk.
 

Asshat Foler

Potato del Grande
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Shed is done. Turned out absolutely amazing.. 16x32 with loft.

Looking for ideas on workbenches, tool storage, storing chainsaws, pole saws, weed eaters, brush cutters, chemicals etc.

Anyone here have a shed with some amazing organization to it?
 

Asshat Foler

Potato del Grande
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Also looking for lighting ideas. Striplights? I don’t think they make them in LEDs tho
 

Borzak

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Wish I could find someone reliable like that who I could pay to help me. Admire the commitment dirk.

I have a guy that comes every so often to do odd things around the property and help with a few cows. Black guy that works full time at the local lumber mill. Probably helps I'm real rural and he grew up with it and he is looking to get away from work at the mill at times. Every day or twice a day not sure how that would work.

My cousin had goats in the hill country in TX and he raised them and sold them for meat to some people. Not sure how much was involved.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Goats can be quite profitable these days. Especially if you are in an area with a Jewish, Muslim, or Mexican population. The size of goat and time of year depends on which community you're selling to. The Jews and Muslims often want to butcher it themselves so it can be done in a kosher/halal fashion so if you can offer a place for that you might be able to charge for it as well.
 

Borzak

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My cousin says their big customer group is muslim which I thought Mexicans considering they are an hour west of Austin but he says muslim.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Well, every time I bring up sheep people say "goats are more fun", but maybe I havent asked enough follow up questions
Don't be ridiculous. Goats have more personality, but sheep are way better at sex.
 
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lurkingdirk

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Anyone here keep ducks? I have a chance to get a dozen, and I love duck eggs. I have a pond and there's shelter there. How hard are they to keep around? I'm guessing clipping the wings for at least a while, but do they develop a loyalty to home?
 
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Bandwagon

Kolohe
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Anyone here keep ducks? I have a chance to get a dozen, and I love duck eggs. I have a pond and there's shelter there. How hard are they to keep around? I'm guessing clipping the wings for at least a while, but do they develop a loyalty to home?
I grew up with ducks. We had 2 acres and a pond. They'd just chase bugs all day and sometimes eat the chicken feed. We never clipped their wings and they never flew away. I think they were wild and just stuck around. They slept in the shed with the goats and chickens.

Until coyotes butchered all of them one night
 

lurkingdirk

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I grew up with ducks. We had 2 acres and a pond. They'd just chase bugs all day and sometimes eat the chicken feed. We never clipped their wings and they never flew away. I think they were wild and just stuck around. They slept in the shed with the goats and chickens.

Until coyotes butchered all of them one night

Yeah, that's why I want them to get indoors at night. Trouble is, my barn is too far from the pond. I might have to build a solid enclosure for them.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Domesticated ducks don't leave. They just cruise around the yard and eat bugs. They like to have some water to stomp around in but be advised they will make whatever water you provide for them absolutely filthy so you want it to be something small enough to dump out and refill regularly. I've always thought it would be cool to turn a few loose in a garden because they will eat grasshoppers etc but won't wreak havoc on the plants the way chickens will.

They don't sleep on a roost so once we had a couple living in the chicken house and some critter got in and didn't touch the chickens up on the roosts but they chewed both ducks heads off and took them with them. Came down the next morning to find all the chickens waiting to go out and two headless ducks in the middle of the floor.
 
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Sludig

Potato del Grande
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Anyone here keep ducks? I have a chance to get a dozen, and I love duck eggs. I have a pond and there's shelter there. How hard are they to keep around? I'm guessing clipping the wings for at least a while, but do they develop a loyalty to home?
Ideally imo you have some kind of pen you can trap them in for a week to try and ensure they think home. After that a pen of some size is ideal just due to predators etc.

I got rid of all mine. Sick of twice a day dumping and filling water pans. They were terrified of my pond and would have been pretty much exposed to predators. So they were kept in my chicken setup which is a large walk in coop, a bare dirt pen/run 20x20, then during green months, a much larger 1/8th acre grass run that has a perma mud puddle during rainy season.

They will bury eggs all kinds of odd places, so just trying to find them all can be tough.