Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Hi, Jim. I wanted to reply to the thread about Advice on Dog Breeds. Here is my main point:  Dogs are are like guns, in that there is no one true “all purpose” dog breed.   The very qualities that make a dog a good herding dog will make for a poor protection dog.  Sometimes even, the qualities that make for a good watch dog will make for a poor guard dog.  (A watch dog’s purpose is to alert you to a potential intruder.  A guard dog’s purpose is to hold, bite and stop and intruder.)   As the former owner of …

James: I’m writing in response to a subject that is very of interest to me. And I do understand some of your recommendations (I.e. Poodles are great family dogs and the standard size could be used for bird hunting, if field breed (but very hard to find), and  I was especially impressed by your recommendation of the Airedale Terrier, Which one of the best all around breeds a century ago but sadly is used mostly for show these days. They are very intelligent and can be head strong when this circumstance may require bid ability. My suggestion to L.P. in …

Jim: Try these sites for raw diets for pets, or you can Google “raw foods diet”: Barf World Why Feed Raw Raw Learning I have several friends who have pets (dogs) who swear by this diet. This is a good regime for trappers and farm folk who can not purchase ready made foods. Less expensive and healthier equals a “win-win” for your pet. Keep up the good work. Sincerely,- C.D.

James: We want to buy a puppy, partly for our daughter, and partly for the whole family. Is it possible for a single breed of dog to be in charge of watching the house and herding our sheep (we’ve had 4H sheep in the past, and I plan to build up a flock of about 20 on our 17 acres), and perhaps even doing some pointing/retrieving? (I hunt pheasants, quail, and sometimes grouse.) Or am I expecting too much from just one dog? Am I dreaming? – L.P. in Utah JWR Replies: There are a few breeds that are quite …

James: If you enter “pet food recipe” into your search engine, you get more free recipes and e-books than you can use. It is a good idea to try them out on your furry friends before TSHTF.- Doc at www.bigsecrets.cc   Mr. and Mrs. Rawles, Greetings and hope things are well with you and yours. I felt you that you might might find these threads interesting. Survival Forum Thread 1 Survival Forum Thread 2 Lord bless you all. – C.K.   Hi Again Jim, Just my take on the dog food issue. I have a female Rat Terrier about 10 …

Jim, I was feeding my dogs last night when it hit me; what am I going to do for them if I were in a situation where I could no longer acquire more dog food? I know they love scraps from our food, but I try to keep that at a minimum for various, obvious reasons to us dog owners. As for a substitute to commercially obtained kibble, what sort of foods are best used to feed man’s best friend? I thought about this a bit, and figured jerked meats mixed with dried grains to cover the basics. As for …

Please call your congressman today, encouraging them to support some immportant legislation! A vote is scheduled for tomorrow. Congressman Ron Paul has introduced an amendment (H.R. 5384) to the Agriculture Department appropriation bill that will defund the USDA’s proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS). This will effectively block the USDA from implementing NAIS. This vote is crucial because the USDA is giving Federal money to the states to fund the state level Premises ID and NAIS. For details, see the NoNAIS.org site. The NAIS scheme must be stopped! Make these calls!

Hey James,   I have been pondering (pun intended) bioponics (AKA aquaponics) for a couple of years now.  A seminal site, http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/index.html, describes bioponics as “A simple and innovative system of food production combining aquaculture and hydroponic growing techniques without expensive equipment” or the use of mineral nutrient salts.   Here’s how it works.  Water from the fish tank is pumped to grow beds.  In addition to crops, the grow beds contain naturally produced bacteria.  The bacteria breaks down the fish waste thus cleaning the water.  The plants feed on the nitrogen produced by the bacteria.  Finally, the water is …

Hello James, In the event of a TEOTWAWKI scenario, as discussed previously on your blog, food and water will become critical in supply. My query is to seek out knowledge from within your following on newly constructed ponds as a water and food source. Here are my questions: 1). What type of fish replenish the most rapidly while offering a genuine nutrition? 2). What types of fish are compatible or necessary to keep a full circle eco-system continuing? 3). How many fish can you support per cubic yard of water? 4). Should food be introduced into the water until the …