Farming, Gardening & Homesteading

Discussion in 'Survival and Wilderness Skills' started by Delkancott, Dec 1, 2016.

  1. DiscoveryLover

    DiscoveryLover Member

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    I always had success in catching raccoons in live traps by using cheese slices as bait.
    Plus the cheese slices stick to the bait pan really well.
     
  2. RocketmanDane

    RocketmanDane Member

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    I seem to be able to catch everything but what is actually eating the local gardens…

    This little guy was only a little bigger then a can of soda.. Would be kinda cool if not for the hissing, claws and teeth!

    Luckily for him I know where the local possum family lives by the creek in our woods.

    Yes they are little disease monsters but they help keep a lot of the local bug problems down..

    So he lived another day..

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    There’s some good eatin’ if you feed him corn a few weeks to clean him out. Sweet potatoes and baked possum!
     
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  4. RocketmanDane

    RocketmanDane Member

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    @Wisdom
    This one was small. Would need months to fatten it up! But I would be opposed to trying it :)
     
  5. RocketmanDane

    RocketmanDane Member

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    To be on the safe side I’ve got the blessing from the fish and game folks for 4 Large/ Adult Raccoons for property destruction.

    The 4 raccoons I have been going after have been destroying Gardens, Food plots, livestock feeders and tearing through trash cans…

    SO Large raccoon #1 down (Finally!!) now I have three more to try to get….

    Bonus with this is I can make Raccoon tail/ hair Bow string silencers :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2021
  6. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    I’ve tried to eat possum a couple of times. It’s absolutely disgusting to me. Once, at a wild game banquet I had some that was palatable but I would have to be starving to attempt to eat one. Groundhog on the other hand is quite tasty.
     
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  7. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    D1C5E52F-A9A9-41C6-953B-2BA17A9EF0A8.jpeg We strive to produce most of our food. It’s more difficult than the experts on the internet say. It’s been a lifelong passion for me. Pastured poultry is one of the simplest ways to produce a lot of meat quickly. Here’s our winter stock. These will be butchered the first of October. The meat is far superior to the big box stores if done correctly. If most people knew how chickens are processed commercially I suspect they’d eat much less of it. Even if you have a small area, you can raise meat chickens and laying hens. These are mostly Cornish cross with some red rangers and some Murray mcmurrays reds. All grow at a different rate so we can space out the butchering.
     
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  8. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

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    @Wisdom how do you like the Murray McMurray and Freedom Rangers versus the Cornish? If I remember correctly those Murray McMurray chickens (layers at least) were quite expensive to purchase.
     
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  9. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    Nothing beats the feed conversion of the Cornish Cross. However, they just lay around panting with their heads in the feed trough. They do forage some and we have the standard Joel Saladin setup. I like the freedom rangers since they are more active and forage more. Taste wise we havnt been able to tell any difference unless the birds are whole. I like the freedom rangers better if kept intact. The pricing is tiered. Murray Mcmurray is a bit higher than some other hatcheries we’ve used, but the quality and selection of laying hens is my main reason I keep purchasing from them. We buy som CCs locally for less than $2 a piece, but they dont seem to be as healthy. Right now we’re only processing 100 or so birds a year. Our plan is to try and do 500 next year to sell at our Farmers Market. I’ll likely do all CCs to sell based on the feed conversion. We also butcher barred rock and speckled Sussex roosters when we buy straight runs. If I could only own one breed it would be the barred rocks. Some hatcheries are breeding them small, but they are my favorite for a true dual purpose breed.
     
  10. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

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    Beautiful birds to boot! That’s what I had looked into ordering from McMurray actually. No idea what region you’re in or how popular local food is, but chicken is one I struggle to find wholesale, specifically 1-1.5# boneless breasts.
     
  11. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    We’re in TN, which really supports local growers. There is a bill called the Made in Tn which I hope passes. It will help local markets tremendously if it passes. We are south of Nashville and there are several large markets in our area. Poultry isnt as popular here among producers as beef. We have had several requests from people to start selling our poultry so we’re going to give it a try. It seems the biggest issues at our local markets are lack of producers. More buyers than sellers. As COVID continues to disrupt food supplies, regional food production will continue to grow. We have seen a huge increase in locally grown food here. Rising shipping cost is affecting this as well. We are going to triple our produce next spring, primarily using no dig. We still have some areas we will till.
     
  12. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

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    Do you raise more than poultry? Is there a processor close by? One of our issues here in the northeast is a small processor infrastructure. The closest usda poultry processed is about 90 minutes away and you have to make two trips in the same day. They process for a fairly large radius.
     
  13. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    You can slaughter up to 1k birds here a year without any inspection. The bill in the house now will reduce regulatory restrictions even more. After several meat processors shutdown, our legislators realized the importance of local producers. We process all our birds and in a much more sanitary environment than commercial poultry. We raise produce and Nigerian goats. I’d really like to start a creamier, but even here we have a lot of regulation with goat milk. I.can’t even sell goat milk soap.
     
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  14. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    5F714EF3-9FA6-40EA-97D6-664ED9064F5B.jpeg Here’s a blue eyed buck with wattles.
     
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  15. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    upload_2021-9-12_16-47-25.png
    The 1k falls under the small farm exemption
     
  16. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

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    That’s pretty nice. Definitely can’t do that in NH. Hopefully some positive legislation passes.
    I’ve never had any experience with goats but I have lots of stonewalls needing to be chewed down of vegetation.
     
  17. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    20211009_110136.jpg
    Does anyone know what this is?
    Its growing on an oak root that got scalped by the lawn mower...

    20211009_110144.jpg
    And...can I eat it?! :D
     
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  18. Zeek

    Zeek Member

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  19. IW17

    IW17 Member

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    Looks like a cauliflower mushroom, but the smooth outer texture is throwing me off. If so, yes they are highly prized. But I'd steer clear of this one personally just because I wouldn't feel comfortable without a 100% positive ID.
     
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  20. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    I think you are correct sir. Thank you. Further searching from your lead makes me think this is an eastern variant (Sparassis Spathulata). I actually found some images on chefs blogs who specifically work with wild food and game that look exactly like it.
    I can’t however, convince LadyAsh that we should thus have a stew containing said fungus. Bummer. ;)
     
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