Produce your own.........

[gnipper 5,966]

5 hours ago, ryaldinhio said:

I was looking at heras fencing but where their first run is going to be is actually where I'm making a poly tunnel so I'm guna make the poly tunnel frame and just put chicken wire on for now, then when they move to the adjacent area once pigs have cleared it then I will change it to a poly tunnel.

I'm using scaff poles post-creted in the geound and 67mm MDPE (which goes over the scaff pole) to form the hoops. Got a coil of MDPE and some 5ft scaff poles ready. Was guna be on it this morning but surprise surprise the weather is not as forecast and ita bouncing down.

Them scaffold poles will tap in nicely with the post knocker if you wanted to save on digging and concreting just remember to wear ear plugs

[wildman 374]

On 29/07/2023 at 16:18, gnipper said:

Them scaffold poles will tap in nicely with the post knocker if you wanted to save on digging and concreting just remember to wear ear plugs

Use a scaffold post sleve on the end ,as sledge hammer  tends to splay the end of  the pole over making it difficult to get poly pipe over,use same sleeve  for each pole

[WILF 44,334]

On 29/07/2023 at 14:47, Lenmcharristar said:

Anybody raise meat birds? And do you free range them? Any pics?

The numbers don’t stack up for meat birds, well chickens at least.

My personal opinion was that the extra €5 to €8 per bird it costs to raise your own rather than just buy them out the supermarket was better spent on something with a better meat return.

A free range chicken raised yourself will stand you in €12 to €18 by the time it’s dead in the oven…..
when you can buy a large chicken ready done for €6 and you have never had to clean up its shite or deal with a Bird flu outbreak or indeed suffer any losses, it’s a no brainer imho 

 

For an example, I can buy a dairy bull calf for say €50 (sometimes less), put it on grass for 10 months and have a few hundred pounds of veal in my freezer at the end.

Slaughter and butcher costs are about €150……with chickens it’s 10 Sunday dinners and with the bull calf it’s a year of meat.

Edited August 3, 2023 by WILF

[twelsh 313]

On 28/07/2023 at 23:30, ryaldinhio said:

This is the pig plot.....

Is forester for sale in back ground mate

[ryaldinhio 4,139]

On 03/08/2023 at 12:05, twelsh said:

Is forester for sale in back ground mate

Been asked that a few times! No mate, not looking to sell.

[ryaldinhio 4,139]

4.5 weeks now, be turned out into shed next week.

[ryaldinhio 4,139]

Been working on the chicken shed today, vents cut in top, roost bars made and hinged so I can lift em out the way for cleaning. Floor covered with 12mm ply to re-enforce and varnished to seal. I haven't got run sorted yet so guna put a poly carb window on shed so they have daylight for now until I can get em in run. They are ready for a move out the brooder and I need it back anyway as I am picking 6 Norfolk Bronze chicks up tomorrow . Still waiting to hear from DEFRA on my CPH application for the pigs.

[Qbgrey 3,987]

I found chickens for eggs to be an expensive turn out, food, housing etc and I got one of them eglu boxes with run cause of mites but still had  serious mite problems. Spent fortunes on sprays, powders, food supplements. Still lost chickens to them. 

[ryaldinhio 4,139]

24 minutes ago, Qbgrey said:

I found chickens for eggs to be an expensive turn out, food, housing etc and I got one of them eglu boxes with run cause of mites but still had  serious mite problems. Spent fortunes on sprays, powders, food supplements. Still lost chickens to them. 

I have had hens before and had issues with mites. I feel better prepared this time with the previous experience, we will see how we go. 

I'm not doing it just for eggs, it will be for meat aswell. Im not overly worried about the money side although I will try and shift some to contribute to costs, there's no money in selling eating eggs but selling hatching eggs is different, also selling chicks, young hens, POL hens etc, it can be done. But for me its about knowing where my food came from and what's in it, thats why I'm doing it. If I can make the money side stack up aswell that's a bonus.

[Lenmcharristar 9,183]

Do any of you ever turn them loose? Like  pheasant's, 

[DIDO.1 20,892]

[gnipper 5,966]

1 hour ago, DIDO.1 said:

Ingredients for a nice feed there

[Greyman 25,291]

5 hours ago, Qbgrey said:

I found chickens for eggs to be an expensive turn out, food, housing etc and I got one of them eglu boxes with run cause of mites but still had  serious mite problems. Spent fortunes on sprays, powders, food supplements. Still lost chickens to them. 

Always kept chickens for eggs never found them that expensive at all mostly fed on table scraps with the odd bag of layers pellets to supplement and treat the sleeping accommodation with liquid paraffin to kill the mites 

[ryaldinhio 4,139]

Chickens moved to big shed, turkey chicks in brooder.....

[vfr400boy 3,124]

9 hours ago, DIDO.1 said:

Were white pigeon come from ?