Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Letter: Buying Land Inside a National Forest

Hugh and Jim, I have been reading SurvivalBlog for several years now. I’m retiring next year and am currently looking for our retirement “farm”. I never refer to it as my survival retreat. I have seen several properties for sale, apparently, inside national forests. Some have even been working farms. We have several national forests here in Michigan and many people live and apparently own land inside of these forests. My questions are: What are the ramifications of owning land within a National Forest? Do I own the trees on the land, do I own the ponds, streams, etc.? What …


Reality Checks for a Grid Down Scenario, By Blueleader

I sometimes hear misguided individuals who repeat the statement going around that if the grid goes down we will be thrown back to the days before electricity: The 1880s. The prevalent thought is that folks back then did fine so it wouldn’t be so bad for us to simply revert to that level of technology. Well, what if we examine your day in a post grid failure scenario? Here is a reality check for you to consider: Let us say you get up ‘the day after’ and you’re cold. Bummer. Well, in the 1880s if you got up and you …


Letter Re: Egg Rationing

HJL, I am one of THOSE who do not yet have their own chickens but hopefully within a couple of months though. You may have seen this already. I haven’t experienced the rationing, but I bought eggs in April at $1.97 a dozen and went back yesterday to discover they were $2.97 a dozen at my local Walmart. Wow! – C.P. HJL Replies: We have had chickens for a number of years now and have enjoyed the fresh eggs tremendously. The price of eggs have always been a bit of a sore point with me though. I cannot produce eggs …


Letter Re: Livestock Guardian Dogs

Hugh, In regard to your letters about livestock guardian dogs, I would add that we have an Akbash, which is a Turkish livestock guardian dog. This breed is similar in build and appearance to a Pyrenees (white) though less heavily built and shorter (less mess) hair. This is a different breed of cat… if you will!… I am not an expert, but I will say that by and large you do not train these dogs… they do their thing… My wife and I raise various breeds of domestic animals, and we no longer have a predator problem; our farm/ranch is …


Three Letters Re: Livestock Guardian Dogs

Dear Editor, We are ranchers in northern Maine and have owned and bred livestock guardian dogs for many years. Our particular breed is the Russian Ovcharka, but we also have a Great Pyranees, along with a Border Collie, who is not a guardian dogs but is used to scout ahead on trails to flush dangerous animals and round up or move livestock. There are many things to consider when purchasing a livestock guardian dog: What is their mission. Our dogs have a dual purpose. First, it is to patrol the inner farm perimeter and keep out two- and four-legged predators, …


Three Letters Re: Livestock Guardian Dogs

HJL, We’ve had Anatolian Shepherds for twelve years. They are very independent dogs and very protective of their charges. They must be acclimated early but will guard your herds and flocks thereafter. Ensure you have good fences to keep wandering animals away from your herd and flock, as the dogs will kill them. I’ve had to bury all manner of animals that have tried to eat my chickens. Get two dogs, so they have each other to burn off excess energy with each other rather than try to do so with the herd. I don’t allow visitors near my guardians, …


Letter: Livestock Guardian Dogs

Hello Hugh or Jim, I am hoping to get feedback from your readers on Livestock Guardian Dogs. I am interested in the breeds called Turkish Boz Shepherds, Kangals, and Anatolian Shepherds. I don’t know anyone personally that has one and would like to hear opinions from someone besides the breeders. They are fairly uncommon in this country, and I don’t speak Turkish. Since SurvivalBlog readers are more likely to have livestock to protect, I thought someone might have some information to share with me. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. – A.S.


Two Letters Re: Wintering Chickens

Hugh, I feel compelled to chime in on the Wintering Chickens letter. Light bulbs are prone to fire so I would recommend using a heating source that is not a fire risk. Small, oil-filled heaters seem to work well for us. Also, the deep litter method does help with warmth in the winter and reduces the need for supplemental heat. Cold hardy chickens are fine down into the single digits, provided there is ventilation in the coop. Excess moisture combined with severe cold will cause frostbite to the comb. Chickens require down time in the winter, so I do not …


Two Letters Re: Wintering Chickens

Hugh, While mostly correct, the light provided to chickens and other egg-laying birds (ducks, geese) should be either full spectrum light for twelve hours per day or an incandescent bulb all the time. Should you place birds in 24 hours of full spectrum lighting, they will damage their reproductive system and stop laying after only a year or two at most. I’ve got one hen who has been laying an egg every other day for seven years now, even in the dead of winter. Also, during winter, change their feed from highly-processed laying feed (crumbles or pellets) to a natural …


How To Keep Chickens Laying Through Winter, by S.I.

I love my chickens. They are the most easy to care for and more rewarding of all farm animals, in my opinion. However, I am also a pragmatist. My chickens are here to DO something, and that something is lay eggs. These are not pets; they are food producers that I also find beautiful and entertaining. I provide them with a clean living environment, free-ranging fun, food, and protection. In turn, they provide me with eggs. When they stop laying eggs, my family eats the chicken. Some chicken owners may wince at this outlook, but my family lives on a …


Letter Re: Feeding Farm Animals

Thank you for the article on kids feeding farm animals. It certainly can be dangerous around the farm or ranch. It can even be deadly. But your comments on acclimating kids to handle these chores is spot on. I am 68. When I was 10 or 11, I was tormented by three geese at a neighboring farm. My older brother kept a horse there, and so I was there frequently to help care for it. I had to figure out on my own how to handle those geese. I had to do so out of sight of the owner, who …


Meat Prices Soar While Deer Populations Explode, by KAW

This headline could sum up a multitude of news reports over the last few years. Droughts and severe winters have left the United States beef herd size at a 63-year low. In response, beef prices have increased steadily with hamburger topping $4 a pound this year. Pork prices have jumped due to porcine epidemic diarrhea that has killed millions of baby pigs. Inflation, a growing human population, and a higher demand for meat in emerging economies also contribute to ever-increasing meat prices. Ironically, America’s deer herd has exploded in the last 30 years. The deer population in North America when the Europeans …


Multi-Species Rotational Grazing to Maximize Food and Income in a TEOTWAWKI World, by J.B.

When new preppers begin planning their retreat or bug-out location they often first visualize an abundant garden, overflowing with fruit and vegetables, and focus their food production efforts on learning to garden. This is a wise approach indeed, but perhaps a disproportionate level of attention is paid solely to the labor-intensive task of annual gardening, which produces primarily carbohydrates, versus the less labor-intensive task of livestock grazing, which produces a perennial supply of primarily protein, fat, and pelts (if desired). Also, unlike most plants, protein derived from animals is complete and includes all nine essential amino acids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein). Now, please …


Apiculture, by Z.T.

I want you to think about the most expensive liquid per unit volume that you can. What different liquids came to mind? Gasoline or other petroleum based products? Sure. I am sure many of you thought of bottled water; as crazy it sounds, it is up there. Still, no, that’s not the liquid I am thinking of, though all of those are certainly expensive. This liquid is sweet. It’s extremely useful.  It’s fairly hard to come by. It is commonly referred to as “liquid gold”. Have you figured it out? It’s honey. Many of you are raising your eyebrows at …


Livestock Breeding Strategies For When SHTF – Part 1, by S.W.

Since my high school days, I have dedicated my spare time to breeding quality creatures– parakeets, gerbils, rabbits, cats, and canaries. As I see my country disintegrating, I am adding skills in heating with wood and growing fruits, vegetables, meat, and eggs. I currently enjoy breeding and showing canaries, and I think about how hard it will be to keep these beautiful but impractical creatures going when so much time and effort has to go into human survival issues. How few pairs can I retain to keep a strain or variety going without loss due to inbreeding? Actually, this question …