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WildBrain

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:20 pm


I am starting a garden this summer. it will be inspired by permaculture thoughts of eco-systems and stuf..
i plan to get som farm animals for diffrent reasons.
Should i get sheep or goats? i want something thet grazes and poops a lot. and that i can eat or sell the meat of if need be. sheep gives wool, awesome, do goats have any advantages? (i hate goat milk).

And to the birds.. Chickens or ducks or something else? i have 2 ponds, so i could have ducks.. i want eggs and i want birds to eat bugs and snails and produce poo.. low maintenance is key. smile anyone tried duck-eggs?


cows and horses are so big i have to build farms so that is a later adventure.. but is there other animals i should think about?


/WB
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:05 pm


Are you sure you hate goat milk? I have read that people don't really know goat milk until they try it from a farm, and everyone thinks they hate it but then don't. Of course, I have never had just milk from a goat, only goat cheese, so I don't know if it's true.

You could make goat cheese and sell it to people who do like it. Or just the milk, people do buy it. They only make milk if you consistently impregnate them though, and they need a cool-down period between giving birth and being human-ready milkers. You don't want to try to drink the milk too early, that is when it tastes all bleh!

So, goats make dairy whether it is for you or to sell, but needs to be kidding every year to make milk. Sheep give wool regardless of baby-status, right? razz
But goats come in much smaller sizes, as far as I know, so they could be easier to care for in general.
Also, these goats look like sheep: http://www.angoragoat.com/
They give hair, so if you find that goat feeding and pooping fits in better with your gardening needs than sheep feeding and pooping, but you want the hair, these guys have it!


I don't know which of chickens or ducks would work best, but I think most of the duck poop ends up in the pond, doesn't it? It's probably a bit more convenient to use the poop from chickens, unless you want to scoop up poopy water.

rilsin-b

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Esiris

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:50 pm


WildBrain
I am starting a garden this summer. it will be inspired by permaculture thoughts of eco-systems and stuf..
i plan to get som farm animals for diffrent reasons.
Should i get sheep or goats? i want something thet grazes and poops a lot. and that i can eat or sell the meat of if need be. sheep gives wool, awesome, do goats have any advantages? (i hate goat milk).
The advantage to goats is that they "cut" the grass with their teeth instead of ripping it out by the root. Killing the roots of your plants have some obvious disadvantages especially if you want to do permaculture.

If you want both wool and a healthy eco-system, get one of the kinds of goats that produce wool.

For goat milk- a lot of it is what you feed them.

Quote:
And to the birds.. Chickens or ducks or something else? i have 2 ponds, so i could have ducks.. i want eggs and i want birds to eat bugs and snails and produce poo.. low maintenance is key. smile anyone tried duck-eggs?

Ducks v. Chickens has a lot more to do with climate than anything else- chickens are basically land-parana, so keep that in mind. I took a whole class on raising chickens, and there are some books to recommend- but if you want eggs, there are some breeds that are better than others.

Other animals could include miniature cattle. You might also look into rabbits and you'll want to invest in some kind of guard animal. cat_3nodding
PostPosted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:15 pm


Chickens are great! They're really low maintenance, they lay eggs (and you just haven't tasted eggs until you've had them fresh from the chicken.) good meat, and their poop is high in nitrate- good fertilizer. They don't do much for clearing weeds and grass like goats and sheep, but I'd get chickens for the versatility. I never raised ducks, but I imagine the benefits are similar.

That's my two cents. I have no idea if that was helpful info, just my opinion.

Dogstongue

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