token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 18:41:59 GMT 10
I have hunted and raised rabbits for a while now. Lots to say, firstly, my advice is 'dont vaccinate against Calici' lots to say on this, but basically there are a number of strains, class actions were attempted at being filed from folk with personal rabbitries like my own and they all failed. New strain is already out, and another in 2017 in the cooler months would you believe it.
The meat is awesome, easy to keep animal also, i call them the antipoverty animal. Any more ?'s please ask, im happy to share what i know and help where i can.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 18:31:21 GMT 10
I might be able to assist in this area with some knowledge and or birds if your still after such.
I am a bit of a mad scientist in this field tbh and have been working on selective breeding a dual purpose bird that goes clucky, lays eggs prolifically, puts on weight up to 16 weeks quite well, is drought tolerant and free ranging.
I can drop my feed bill by at least 4/5ths through mainly compost. Ive learned a lot over the years about chooks, and not there yet, but every year im getting better and my birds are too.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 18:08:24 GMT 10
I cant wait to be planting tonnes of medicinal plants all over my new block. Good to have around thats for sure. Hope this helps.. Great resource, Token. I'm terrible at identifying flora and fauna - ever seen a PDF with pictures? You and me both mate, but im trying to learn more and more. Ive found that growing them and interacting with them helps solidify the look of them from seed, to seedling to plant and plant then seeding or flowering itself helps. Ive got other ebooks there, were you asked for an upload if some have pics bud?
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 17:36:56 GMT 10
Far out! Emu meat, please mince it! lol too tough
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 17:21:42 GMT 10
I know this is an old thread but imo its an important one. A good knife is like a good friend. Its something you can pass on to your children also, and it will have a history and special place due to such for them.
I am only going to throw in my own opinion, but one based on carrying a knife with me almost every day. Having a knife with me in tonnes of places from the car, my jacket and more.
I use them a lot on the farm, and i have slaughtered a lot of animals. My family lives off the meat which i either hunt, grow myself or find a farmer, pay and harvest.
On the subject of knives i have learnt a tad.
Firstly, this is one of the most frustrating aspects of harvesting an animal if you dont get it right. I would literally quit if i have to work with a blunt knife. The effort needed to successfully and in a timely manner clean up and animal is imperative to continue in the trade. It all starts with a sharp knife, that you can keep a good edge on throughout the harvesting process.
Inside of the coat of many animals is fine grit which will blunt your knife from the get go. Then, connecting with bone will also do the same. So i carry a steel with me when i go hunting a field. I also spend a tonne of time steeling my blade regularly throughout the harvesting process.
Yes, you can pay a lot for knives and get quality, but imo you can also buy cheap and get the same, as this can ride on your experience of blade degree, edge shaping, tools at hand to take the human error of blade degree out of it, and of course the finer point of pushing the finest edge up with the right steel.
I have had great success for many years with Gerber blades. And yes, even Bear Grills Gerber blades. My most successful knife in that range was the Gerber Myth. A small light weight knife that looks no more intimidating than a small screwdriver, but it suited me, and the 'suiting' is also another major aspect of animal processing. I cant tell you what will suit you, as your hand might be smaller or larger, your circumstances might also be different, your grip might be different and so on and on.
For me, i can clean up most animals into quarters either hanging in a tree or on the ground with a small knife. I can remove the head, hocks, tail, ribs and so on, with just a small knife, its knowing where to cut and getting your hands on the animals enough to never forget it.
I like the smaller knife for when i am field dressing (gutting) the animal firstly. Those sinews of flesh which hold things in place that need cutting. When im up to my elbows in separating guts, lungs and heart from internal cavity and or esophagus, lower colon etc, i find the myth great for not cutting my fingers off in the process, but thats just me, not you, so my advice cannot and will never be on this subject a one stop shop for all, just some food for thought. I can bone out pretty much anything with the Myth as well as the blade flexes well also.
I have also purchased very cheap ($8-$40) folding knifes from ebay and have had no issues and served me as a best friend like the Gerber range as well.
Many folk think that you need a big knife, or a fixed blade like the Myth, but such is not true as well. I once timed myself in a race on a big goat to see how quick i could take it from just killed to skinned and quartered. I was moving, and with a small sharp knife, and it took me 15minutes. These days, i hang around for a chat with folk whilst we enjoy the process and take some time, but in a out there hunting situation, with the sun coming down and 20kms to the car and a big animal on the deck, you need to know how to move quickly so you can get home safely. This imo, begins with your personal, well suited and faithful friend, the knife and its ability to hold an edge well.
I would say, dont write off cheaper and smaller knives, rather, study and practice on how to cut an edge and keep it sharp first.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 16:46:01 GMT 10
For all you folk out there with children, we all know how their health is important and it obviously starts with the health of the parents and mental health, plenty of love etc. However we also know that it starts with diet too. On that, we know that weve got to get them fruits and veggies into the kids along with dairy and meats and less overprocessed full of the wrong sugars and preservatives etc. But all the kids are different, some like broccili and some dont etc (sigh). So i have a few tips which worked for me, and id love to hear yours as im always learning. I can either sit there and say 'if you dont eat that im serving it up for your breakfast and im gunna.....well you get the message haha, and thats one way. But im getting the good stuff into them regardless, so i learnt years back when i grew food and they helped me plant and keep and harvest, things got better. So thats the first tip. Get them in the garden with you!!!!!! It works...at least on some veggies lol. The other thing is, season it with a tad of salt and pepper. A little bit of Himalayan Salt and cracked pepper or a good sauce can work too. That's tip No2. Tip number 3 is threaten to flog the pan....sorry about that! I'm in a bit of a humorous mood atm lol. Tip No 3 is to mash those veggies up into a mash like mash potato or to add them to mash potato and add a touch of seasoning. And my last and ultimate tip is to bite the bullet like we did and fork out the cash for the best of the best blender on the market, the vitamix and put it in a smoothie recipe and get it into them. We do this almost every day, and not one complaint, but i know that they are getting huge amounts of fibrous nutrition into them, and then at the dinner table, im not so upset because i worry for their good health. Right across the board, not one complaint with 8 kids from 12 and under. Here's a pic of what the lady smashed up this morning. Go the mason jars, gotta love them for keeping lots of stuff easy. Hope that helps and would love to read your tips and thoughts too. Cheers
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 16:30:32 GMT 10
What a great post! and a very necessary post at that! I have 8 children presently. All have been BF.
Here's another one that i have found many folk have no idea about yet is soooo simple. "Goats Milk".
In the old days, if a wet nurse couldn't be found, a goat was! The curds are gentle on the stomach and it can be used as a complete supplement for BF on a human child, i know people who personally did such. A huge amount of animals are rescued and raised on goats milk right across the board, so remember that if you find a lost joey or koala pup etc and want to raise it.
With all the concerns of the tin formula, and boy look at the stuff thats in that, let alone poisoning scares, or lack of supply etc, goats milk is the simple answer. In fact, ive got a tub of goats cheese fetta in the fridge from my friend who lives on the stuff with her family, milks her own goats etc.
On the last pup we had, he was born 5kg (in the back of a hiace van in the dark mind you, but thats another story lol) but he lost a bit of weight over time as they do. With our system and the visits from the nurse etc they have to report it and we would have to take the baby to hospital etc, but we knew theres no issue, just mums milk needed to come through bit richer, so we supplemented him with goats milk a viola, on came his weight.
I am amazed at the attacks of 'child abuse' i have heard of from folk who fed their baby 'goats milk', so dont always expect to read lots about it or watch good vids on youtube, but i can assure you, it is the best substitute for BF there is.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 16:12:50 GMT 10
I like the idea of having a horse or two, mostly for riding though. And I have a neighbour who's an old stockman so he could teach me a lot about them, but I already have enough money pits on the go I can see myself getting goats one day, and love the idea of alpacas/llamas for pack animals, but even if I start growing stuff it will be hydro/aquaponics, I'll never be plowing the land. 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.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 16:10:35 GMT 10
Transport is easy, a bike. No feed required always ready. Add baskets, trailer or go 3/4 wheels for heavier loads, goes most places. I'll throw another non-animal idea for your consideration. As above, a human powered cultivator/tiller, once you've loosened the soil with a tractor/plow to get rid of the rocks etc, and then it would be easy, do your usual rotating of the plots and if it's gone over seasonally, it'll be easy to do by hand. It could be done with a pick if you had to, though of course a lot slower. I'm sure you could weld one up, you have such skills using an old bike wheel/frame, preferably getting your dimensions from proper ones. I know how many kids you have ha ha ... so I get that you might be considering cultivation on a slightly bigger scale than others, though of course those same little humans are also good for work associated with cultivation. The problem I see with animal power is that whilst it's an awesome idea, it's a lot of ongoing cost for something you'll probably never use him/her and there would be a big jump in learning at that point. As a possible introduction, I highly recommend the various period 'farm' bbc series, the above one is Victorian and somewhere in there they have cultivation using animals. Same with the Edwardian farm from memory. Great series I encourage any prepper to check out. Yes, you do know how many ki...workers i have lol. yer the series looks good, have to take a look some time thanks mate
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 16:06:15 GMT 10
Anyone use or prepped up with experience on the use of animals for alternative sources of plowing, transport or otherwise? I love that sort of stuff, and seen it first hand in another country working well. Out my way i havent however yoked an ox or donkey for that sort of thing, but probably should get a horse for riding one day and otherwise i use goats, sheep and chooks to turn compost piles, remove unwanted growth, prune trees and scratch and fertilize the ground in areas. Love to hear what others might be doing ey. Not suite the same as plough horses but we bread our own pigs this year Have 16 piglets from two sows happily tearing up a paddock After they have finished and also chickens run thru I'm going to crop( not sure what with) Friends up the road do this and the soil is fantastic Bit taken with pigs- good paddock ploughers and fast growers and reproducers Pigs do an awesome job of smashing up ground thats for sure. Their faeces is great for the ground also. In times of depression, if you grew pigs you lived! Funnily enough, and highly illegal however, lots of farmers used pigs to get rid of old carcasses and any biodegradable materials. I killed 150kg pig that had eaten a pallet of lollies, meat was sweet lol. Quite often when i hunt them, if you find a carcass, wait a while as they will come in to eat it. Oh and btw, never go in the pig yard if your feeling faint, a farmer or two have gone missing. If you ever get a nip from a pig, move quick, the next one is harder.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 10:51:51 GMT 10
Anyone use or prepped up with experience on the use of animals for alternative sources of plowing, transport or otherwise?
I love that sort of stuff, and seen it first hand in another country working well.
Out my way i havent however yoked an ox or donkey for that sort of thing, but probably should get a horse for riding one day and otherwise i use goats, sheep and chooks to turn compost piles, remove unwanted growth, prune trees and scratch and fertilize the ground in areas.
Love to hear what others might be doing ey.
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 10:40:16 GMT 10
It's already cashless, think about the amount of times you use the card waving it. No doubts on that mate. Ive since resorted to printing the bills and being inconvenienced in paying it at the post office. Also, generally pull cash from the bank and use it that way as everything is recorded and everything can be hacked so privacy and identity protection these days is a must. Interesting that they want the 5c coin gone too, and yer there is an understandable reasoning for such but they are looking to do that with the $100 bill due to 'tax evaders' and 'criminals', and how often do we see the $100 note around these days anyways. All reasonable reasons imo, but i worry that its also a larger push for cashless so that everything you do is recorded and known by big brother?
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 10:36:37 GMT 10
I keep $5k in various denominations at home, just in case the atm's go down or for other emergencies or opportunities. I usually pay cash for contractors like plumbers, earthmovers etc. Cash talks much better than send me an invoice and I'll send you a cheque in a month. Yer me too and agreed. Just some weeks back the floods knocked out the power, closed roads and phones and inet were out. I had cash for fuel from the only station pumping due to running a diesel geny.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 10:06:08 GMT 10
Like to hear what folk think about cash as a prep as well as our Nation moving towards being cashless more.
Do you take any measures in your life to use cash over electronic means and if so why?
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 9:16:48 GMT 10
Its a good article Jay and one well worth considering for sure. One of the vital things folk need to learn is their hunting and trapping and or raising of animals for meat supply experiencially, and the article covered that.
Trapping is a very important skill to learn, as well as the use of a bow and or crossbow to not give location away, and or running dogs that have learned how to hunt and protect.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 8:53:40 GMT 10
My American Bulldog pupped to my Bull Arab/Bull Mastiff 7 weeks ago today. The other day i shot a couple of fallow deer for the freezer and let the pups out to get them a taste. They didnt waste time, and there was plenty of growling and threatening as they pushed each other around lol. Here's a pic.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 8:42:57 GMT 10
If youve only got small space, consider growing from pots in a vertical direction. You can get a sheet of steel fencing to fit in the hilux for fast packdown and lean it up against a wall or fence behind the pot and then just help whatever it is to wind around it. Folk do pumpkins and watermelons this way and sit the fruit on chairs whilst the vine is intertwined with the fencing.
One place we rented had a tiny little back area and i did this there. Threw in a cheap plastic greenhouse as well and had a great yield long after the summer had passed.
Otherwise, you cant do without rosemary, basil, and mint if your a meat and pastor eater.
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 8:35:35 GMT 10
I cant wait to be planting tonnes of medicinal plants all over my new block. Good to have around thats for sure. Hope this helps.. Edible_Medicinal_Plants.pdf (180.09 KB)
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 8:27:52 GMT 10
yer wow, never knew such existed, cool post! I just find a spud i like, and sit it aside. If it doesnt have the inhibiting agent on it itll sprout the eyes and then i plant it in the garden. I havent had an issue with disease from such as of yet, but would be awesome to try the seeds for sure.
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 8:23:02 GMT 10
I germinated a heap of corn seeds from last years sweet corn harvest and about 50 head are in the ground now waiting to break the surface.
Germinated 8 or so zucchini seeds and they are in pots, same with a heap of bell peppers.
The mint is overgrowing the garden, gotta cut it back, as is the margerum, (spelling) and lemon thyme and pinnapple sage. Ive got a 2 year old chilli plant still growing, just waiting to see some shoots from it come back hopefully as its been cold.
Spuds are all doing alright also.
Ive got to germinate a heap of varieties of tomato seeds ive got as well and my cucumber seeds sprung up but died so probably still a tad too cold our way yet.
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