token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 17:51:41 GMT 10
Hi guys, thought id show you a couple of pics of my portable rabbitry at the urban home i have. In the first pic, in the far left and right cages i have mature bucks, left, New Zealand white buck, right, NZ white x Californian. In the middle two bays i have a heap of does growing out for breeding. and in the cage next door i have a young buck raising up for breeding also. Those are Giant Flemish x with the NZ white buck on the far left. In pic 2 i have two pregnant does. A mother and a daughter. 1 is a Giant Flemish x NZ white and the other is a Giant flemish/NZ white X NZ white. They are 3 meat rabbit breeds although you can eat any breed of rabbit. These are the 3 which put weight on quickly and come to a good size. Also, i use all of their droppings for fertilizer on the garden as rabbit droppings are one of the only droppings you can put straight into a garden without it burning the plants and needing composting for a while first.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 17:44:10 GMT 10
Egg shells from poultry are brilliant for the compost heap. Although i like to crush them up and dry them out before adding to the heap (doesnt always happen with the wife and kids though). You can crush your shells and dry them out and or grind them into powder to put directly onto the garden for that added calcium to grow better food. I majority use my egg shells to feed back to my birds to help with dietary needs and added grit for breaking down their food in the crop. We generally go through a lot of eggs having a larger family and chooks, and we have a 4 litre icecream container that we put the shells in until it gets full and then we crush them up and dry them out. Once dry, i mix them in a 44 gal drum with the chook feed mix i have. Here's a pic of a heap i did today drying out on a small portable chicken coop tin lid. If anyone else keeps their egg shells, tell us what you use them for.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 17:38:01 GMT 10
This is a natural remedy that works on many animals to cure ear mites. I have only used this on my rabbits as from time to time they will get ear mites. Ear mites are an extremely unpleasant event for animals, it looks like their ears have scabs in them as the mites are hard to see with the naked eye. The animal can literally go insane with pain and persistent scratching etc. I have used this remedy for years now as have others i know and it works every time. Get a small syringe without the needle for mixing and administering the solution. Get a small bottle, if you dont have one use a lid cap off a bottle. Put in majority olive oil (tea spoon) and a few drops of either eucalyptus oil or tee-tree oil. Dont be anal about the mix, just majority oil. if you want to put in more eucalyptus or tee -tree oils or mix of both go for it, thats what i do some times but either way will work. Give the bottle a shake and inject the solution with the syringe into the ear. Be careful, rabbits can scratch and bite ya and they dont fancy having something squirted into their ears. Treat the ear the same way for a few days. You dont need to fill the ear cavity up, just get it on the scabs and you can then pat your rabbit or animal and rub the ears so that the solution gets onto the mites. Youll see a difference in just 12 hours with rabbits. Here's a pic, hope that helps and please post up if youve used this on any other animals successfully to inform and help us all out thanks
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 8:39:05 GMT 10
This is an ad, but it is music/dance The Ice epidemic really is a problem isnt it, we should be getting out of the cities just for that
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 8:25:26 GMT 10
So you're loosing one with the sale of the block, ah well. I'd love a second block! At this stage in my life I don't have the capital to have land that isn't my residence though... What's the thinking behind putting them side by side? Looks like you've got plenty of space, even 3-4m apart gives you a nice sheltered space between them. I started with a 24acre parcel i got very very cheap. I used the equity from that block to squeeze a small house loan out of the bank and bought an old weatherboard house in the same small town. Ive been fixing it up and adding value to it. Due to that value increase and having paid it off some, we used that as security against another small loan for the new block and shock horror, the broker who got it even fell off his chair in surprise, we got it! Mate, its been a journey and im grateful to God because we have too many kids and only a small income. Now its time to work hard to sell the first block, finish some work at the new block, move there and sell the house in town, and start some heavier bug in prepping, and homesteading. As for the containers being together, they are just temporary atm. Used for two separate storages. They sit on cinder blocks (besser) (don't sit them on cinder blocks btw they crack). Long term i might put them up on steel with concrete bases in the dirt and weld them together and make a studio or another dwelling, add another container, dunno yet and need to get the coin and time in on some other areas before that.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 8:12:43 GMT 10
I'm a little skeptical on it not been tested about crossover, though if that's indeed the case, it could be far worse, it could cross over to humans. In terms of what to do about the bunnies, we could just eat them again, Australians already eat lots of chicken, not a massive difference. Exactly right about eating them. this is something that drives me nuts tbh. Put a price on their head and watch what happens, and if supply exceeds demand, then put em in as pet food. We have plenty of resources available in roos and rabbits, why arent we tapping them like we should. Both eat well.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 24, 2016 8:07:18 GMT 10
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 21:28:21 GMT 10
Hey Token... bit like prepping hey? What works for one isn't necessarily the best fit for another, I like the fact that for the most part (clippings) only costs me some sweat, petrol and calories and i can access this anytime of the year, I also know it is chemical free and can adjust the amount of green clippings to dry leaves depending on what is going on in the coop too much green and things go a bit mushy... too much dry leaves and the composting slows down and I get flies and smell... I only add the sugar cane if it is really wet weather wise the chooks seem healthy and love to scratch in the mix thats it mate, if its working for ya, stick with it.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 21:24:30 GMT 10
Good inspiration anyway, thanks token. Very jealous to hear of your 4 containers... I've still only got 2 x 20 footers trying to find the cash for a 3rd so I can make a U shape and put a cover over it for somewhere to work on larger projects. Sorry bud, maybe i didnt explain enough. I have 1 x 40ft high cube container as storage shed up on steel footers at a 24acre property i am currently selling. I also have a 20ft standard container at my urban home as a shed. and i have just cleared an area at my new block and put in 2 x standard 40fters for storage/shed.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 18:23:12 GMT 10
Yer i thought so bud as here, unless mid summer, we hold the moisture and ive slipped on small patches of clumped grass clippings like they are mud in the coop when i used them. If its dry cut grass it does work but i found cos it clumps together, when they poop, you get clods of it lol. The sugar cane mulch bales worked ok though, it seems the ones i had at least were really really dry and a lot finer than the round bales of straw i get. Have you tried the wood shavings at all? no haven't tried it yet.... haven't found anyone who sells it round here, I think the trick with the mower is I have a mulcher mower so there is a lot of crunched up leaves, twigs etc mixed in with the grass which helps it to dry out (i hate raking lol) rather than it being only grass clippings Jo, if its working for you i dont want to tell you otherwise bud, but if you did want to grab some to give them a go, take a look at gumtree for bulk buy in a bag youll need a 6x4 trailer to pick up. Or, do what i do and drop into any place that works with wood, cabinetry or otherwise, or look em up in your local directory and ask them over the phone.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:54:02 GMT 10
In SE queensland..... have dug a trench around my chicken coop so it is higher than the surrounding ground, I also have a tarp over the "scratching" area so most of it stays relatively dry or dries out quickly when the rain stops and the mulch is fairly thick Yer i thought so bud as here, unless mid summer, we hold the moisture and ive slipped on small patches of clumped grass clippings like they are mud in the coop when i used them. If its dry cut grass it does work but i found cos it clumps together, when they poop, you get clods of it lol. The sugar cane mulch bales worked ok though, it seems the ones i had at least were really really dry and a lot finer than the round bales of straw i get. Have you tried the wood shavings at all?
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:49:27 GMT 10
Hey Rob, how come you aint gunna plow? Do you like the bush block rather than a cleared area of too much work? Dont forget, you can plow an area once, sow it, let it grow and go to see again and use it for feed for the animals each year as well, so a one off if you dont overgraze it. Mostly because we live on a rock ridge, and also we don't have enough water to grow stuff in that manner. That said we do have a spot we could use, I guess I could get it plowed once by machine and take over from that, but realistically raised wicking beds or aqua/hydroponics is way more practical here I think. So far my food strategy revolves around storing bought stuff, growing is on my to do list but nowhere near the top. I would like chickens as well etc etc, but for now we still think we might go back to traveling, not full time like before but for months at a time so any form of animal husbandry is not really practical. Mind you we have friends nearby that do just that, they have auto systems to water the fruit trees, they shut down the garden beds and sell the chooks, then start them back up when they return home. I was more thinking of the plowing of some turf there for stock or chooks to graze. Remember when we were out at robs, he was getting me some different grass seed from his paddocks for me to plant out my way. Same thing, if you rip it and sow a tonne of mixed seed in around the time of year where you reckon you should get rain, it might take well and then grow out and go to seed each year and be a keeper for good. I tell ya what though, get some guinea fowl, they are keepers mate, you should not have to feed them at all, they keep themselves, and they are a good alarm system and snake, mice, rat clearer and will be an alternate source of eggs in season and or meat if society collapses. Im pleased with mine, watched them band together and go a feral cat that came on the block, funny as. If you hit the road, they should be there when you get home, and hopefully have a few little ones with them.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:37:18 GMT 10
I don't make up history, it's a true story, which makes it funnier. Nooooo! your having a lend of me, its not is it? haha
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:35:45 GMT 10
I use a mixture of cane mulch and mower clippings.... wet the mixture down once a week, wait a day to let it dry out and add more... no smell and no flies wow, are you in the hotter region of the country? Ive used sugar cane mulch as well as grass clippings but it ends up fouling badly without adding water.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:33:28 GMT 10
no probs, shoot me a pm, and we will chat about your needs and ill see if i can help. btw, any member on the forum, provided i have stock can have some for free, if they make a small donation to keep the forum going which brought us all together, thats all i ask. Where i have other folk who have animals and i dont have it, i will attempt to set you up with a very good deal and put you in touch. Just be aware, with my chooks at present, i have different levels of my breeding program going on, and i just got rid of 60 odd birds due to moving properties, so you 'might' have to wait, and you can then move forward with your own selective breeding program and keep logs of your results which i will be very interested in.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:19:22 GMT 10
I haven't really had issues with NPK at all. Though I've only done small scale experiments at this point. Only problem I've had with the Kratky method [no pump hydroponics] is getting the water level right and something [snails I think] eating all of my young lettuce, though that's another issue really. Rain keeps screwing with my experiments and over filling [and retarding growth with the flooded root ball] as I've had wide tubs that collect the water. I've got another plan to use downpipe which ought to reduce the water collection, just haven't got around to it as I have too many projects going on currently. Yeah I knew about your wabbit deaths, which is what turned me off them, the cost per vaccination isn't worth it and the death rate is rather high and as you have said, it doesn't protect them any longer anyhow. Some minor issues for summer and heat. They have a good food to meat ratio, assuming you don't lose them. I know they breed up quick again, they're crazily prolific which makes them great for food production but the risk versus reward doesn't look like it pans out? Chickens on the other hand give a great return [eggs and meat] for little maintenance and can be used as tractors to make soil barren with no effort. Yer for sure, the rain gets in and dillutes the solution, a friend prepper of mine has them in a rotunda area which covers them majority whilst still letting in light, have you thought about a sheet of laserlight over the top so that they get the light and heat but the rain keeps off them? The issue with calici is serious indeed. A complete stuff up by the gubermint and the org they employ to tackle this. For one, they havent even done proper testing on whether the strains of Calici can cross species! dur!!!! what a mess. If chickens start dying everywhere from calici spreading to poultry it will then end up being a massive issue as more folk have pet chooks and or is a more readily eaten meat, but for now, they discriminate against rabbit owners, even for pets and dont care. They also said that they will release the virus's and will not give a vaccination against it before they do the arrogance and control is unreal! However. There are rabbits that are resistant to the virus and its varying strains. I still have wild rabbits around and on my new block atm, so its a waiting game and the group that makes this stuff and releases it still admit there are rabbits resistant to such, so long term there is no way they can get rid of the mighty bunny. I will hang in there as i have the infrastructure for such as long as i have a breeding pair. Have to wait and see. oh and forgot to say, because of all the water we got this year, there are more mozzies than ever before and with calici being vector borne its this year that will fix to be the worst yet if i dont have rabbits with natural immunity to such.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 15:08:18 GMT 10
Yeah, my Dillon 550, I was wondering if anyone would spot that I am not by nature an organised person, I have crap everywhere normally, but now that I'm starting to get the shed ship shape it's amazing to just turn around from the bench and pick out the tool I need, whereas I used to spend 5 minutes rummaging through piles of junk only to give up and use a different tool. i like being a neat and tidy and organised normally, but i have had, and continue to have, so many places i can be, and jobs i have to do that the tools and so on end up everywhere and nowhere and it drives me batty. Plus, i then end up buying screws or bits of stuff and find out i have 3 other sets later on when i move something! Im working on a shed extension and another bigger shed in just for a heap of stuff i do, a battery bay long bench for everything charging. A tool board, a welding board, a harvesting area with a cool room, areas for my vices, for my reloading gear for my arrow and bow stuff, plus my survival stuff which i can grab easily, ahh first world problems, too much stuff whaaaaaaa
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 14:53:42 GMT 10
Half the fun is seeing their obvious mistakes. i find myself judging what id do in a scenario, the first thing i would probably do is, id threaten to shoot folk who emotionally break down (other than kids) and or need a counselling session and a 4minute hug right in the moment of stalking up to a house in the woods or serious situation of killing zobies, as they risk your life and the groups in doing so. Too much talking lol, and then not enough quick explaining of what happened, but it is drama and not real life so i put up with such. I would also be seeking to go on a mission of purging the world of zombies which with a little thought it very possible over time from area to area.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 14:45:03 GMT 10
Show off...so clean ...droool lol
Ill get setup like that one day. Is that a reloader i see in the background?
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token
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Post by token on Oct 23, 2016 7:38:20 GMT 10
Waiting with anticipation. If you didnt know, its the release of the new season of the Walking Dead I used to be a fan of the series but my interest waned when I could no longer turn a blind eye to the simple fact that none of these people would actually survive for very long and in fact due to the incompetence of the group as a whole they all need to be fed to the walkers
The above statement is based on the following
1. No demonstrated adaption of tactics or evolution of strategy based on threats
2. Ricks group are the harbinger's of doom Every group or community they encounter or team up with ends up being destroyed and only ricks group survives minus a couple of members . so based on this ricks group should be shot on site
3. They have had sufficient time to establish a very solid and well defended resource rich community with a regular intake of new arrivals to further strengthen their position however due to their constant bumbling , inaction and lack of long term planning their are reduced to nothing more then a scourge and a threat to others
A good example of what I mean
remember the prison? great place had huge amount of potential now its gone. How did they lose it?? by not taking the simple steps securing the perimeter
Its a great show but I find myself face palming far to much
haha, it got to someone else too! lol. I almost quit numerous times as well as stood there in the lounge screaming at the tv hahaha. The thing that annoys me more than anything is how everyone needs a counselling session every 5 minutes in the worst of times haha. Ok, so if we have a few folk enjoying the series, then we HAVE ONLY 1 day left of speculation!!! So then, WHO did Neagan kill?
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