Glad we have horses!
Nana cant ride anymore guess I am just gonna have to trade a cow for a horse drawn wagon!
With the price of beef maybe i can get more than just a wagon!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdm...

I've been trying to find a donkey or burro or mule for about a year now... Used to be, you'd find folks giving them away, but not now...

Donkeys are selling for $1k - $4k now, Pffft! Folks must be thinking of them as "alternative transportation."

I really need a little "manure factory" for my Victory Garden, LOL.

Meanwhile, until that happens, I'll be visiting my neighbor down the road to shovel out their barn for composting & pick meadow muffins out of their pastures for immediate use.

Goat berries tend to scatter out; chicken takes a while to build up; pig manure has to be composted for over a year...

A llama as a livestock guardian may be the best choice; llamas always put their poop in the same place each day, usually next to a gate. It doesn't burn plants, so that may be an option...

The cost of fuel for that manure factory has gone through the roof - they DEFINITELY do not want us owning animals... it makes us independant.

3 years ago, a 3 string (approx 100lb) bale of orchard grass, was $21... now, $32...

My 1100 horse goes through 55 of those in 6 months.

He produces about 30lb of manure a day. (that all goes into the veg plot to be ploughed under).

He also needs his feet trimming ever 5 weeks - $60

The vet calls 2 times a year for his shots and check his teeth - $500 a year.

You will feed 2 - 3 times and shovel poop every. single. day. No matter what the weather is, or, what your plans are.

Livestock of any variety are a big responsibility, are time consuming, and expensive. But, you will love having them and, once you do, you will not be able to imagine not having them.

Your last sentence said it all. I'm practically a vet, have worked as farrier, I do all my own shoots & float their teeth myself. When one of our dairy goats her udder on a barbed wire fence, we cleaned it, approximated edges & stapled her back together. She still milked perfectly at her next freshening...

Already, my routine is up at 5, start prepping pig food at 6 (they get a hot mash 2x/day), prep dog food at 7, then feed all at 7:30... Fill bathing places & water tubs, yadda, yadda...

The way you describe it sounds like expense & work, but if you're used to doing it all yourself, without vets, once you no longer have stock, you don't know what to do with yourself.

I’ve got 6 hens and I love caring for them. Their eggs are a blessing.

Aren't they great!

We've just managed to build our chicken house, what with lumber selling 600% higher than normal with this 7% inflation...

Our Buff Orpingtons will be ready for us to bring home next month... A lovely lady here in our community breeds chickens & hatches to order! Ours will be 5 months old & just about ready to start laying! I can't wait.

I love those bright orange yolks that stand up in the pan. So fresh.

No storebought egg can compare, since they've been in cold storage for 4-5 months already. If one were really grading for quality, they'd be fit only for dogs...

I'm hoping we get couple of hens that lay double-yolked eggs! Those are so awesome for baking!

I used to sit out there on a bucket during the morning cackle & lay sessions, checking to spot the hen that laid double-yolk eggs... LOL.

🐤Raising chickens is the best. Fortunately we built our hen house two years ago before lumber prices went through the roof. Have them free range which is such a easy joy. Do lock them up in the afternoons. The girls visit while we work the gardens. Only issue is our rooster who will surprise launch at you if your not careful. But we did get our first batch of chicks this spring!! So the family grows. Fresh eggs are a total delight, lucky to share with all our neighbors. Keep on clucking ya'all.🐔🐔

With you 100%!

We're only getting 6 hens & a rooster in the beginning. After that, we'll hatch our own for the "chicken tractor," LOL. Buff Orps are the best bird for us. We love the dark meat & they lay over 300 eggs a year...

I hope we get a macho rooster like yours, or even 2 of them! They'll totally intimidate the dogs & any unwanted visitors!

Of course, I'll be taking a broom out with me to the henhouse, LOL.

That's the reason for the external nesting boxes - avoidance of the rooster!

I can let them out as I leave with the booty!