Howdy from Texas

[DustyBoot]

Hi folks,

I've browsed a little here and there in the past hoping to have reason to join, and it's finally happened: we've escaped the restrictive HOA and are now living on about 14 acres outside of town.

We moved in in February and we've been getting settled and trying to work out The Plan. The Plan keeps changing on us, but the current iteration seems to involve bees, goats, chickens, and rabbits. We'll see how it all ends up! We have some previous experience with bees and chickens, but goats and rabbits are new so I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of questions in those forums.

Look forward to getting to know y'all!

Robyn

 

[norseofcourse]

Welcome from Ohio! There's quite a few folks from Texas here. Congrats on escaping and hope things go well. Is any of the property fenced yet?

 

[Baymule]

Welcome and I am plum-pure-dee-slap-dab-tickled-to-death that you have escaped the insanity of a HOA and can git down to REAL living!!
where about in Texas are you? I am north of Tyler, @frustratedearthmother is west of Houston, @animalmom is in the Waco area, @Latestarter is in Mount Pleasant, @Devonviolet claims Sulphur Springs, @Ferguson K is in Trinity, to name a few. Lots of fellow Texans here!

 

[DustyBoot]

We're between Georgetown and Taylor, north of Austin. Sounds like I'm in good Texan (and non-Texan) company!

As for fencing... well, sort of? It's mostly 5-strand, but it's in rough shape. If they were sound we'd probably just call it good and get a few cows, but since it needs major work we figure we might as well fence for goats and that way we have options. We have a mixture of open pasture and some very overgrown woods, and we figure the goats can clear out the underbrush and save us the trouble of doing it all with a skid steer. Probably meat goats, although I'm hoping I can slip in a dairy doe or two for family use.

 

[Baymule]

Our 8 acres is a green briar growing station, LOL. Our sheep are helping clean it up. We have 4 pigs in a pasture now and they have deep plowed it. It will be ready for seeding grass when we take them to slaughter.

You could fence a pasture, put the goats in it. Fence another pasture, move the goats. Get some pigs and put in the first pasture. Fence another pasture, move the goats....and so on. Don't get the FFA or 4H show type pigs, get heritage pigs that know how to survive. We have 3 Red Wattle pigs and they will straddle a sapling, walk it down to the ground and eat all the leaves off it. Beats any thing I ever saw. The 4th pig is a Hampshire and boy, is she dumb. She's a put-me-in-a-pen-and-feed-me pig. The Red Wattles also root up the green briar bulbous roots. Last year we had Large Black-Berkshire crosses and put them in the garden all winter. They did a real good job on digging briars up and this was after we had cleared, dug, dug some more and worked our tails off cleaning up that patch of ground for a garden.

Let the goats eat and kill all they can, then run the pigs in! Let your animals do the work for you.

 

[NH homesteader]

Bay that is exactly how we are clearing our brush. We fence the goats in to eat the brush down, move them to the next spot, and fence the pigs where the goats were. The pigs also enjoy eating the extra hay the goats have left behind (they waste a ton!)

Congrats on getting some land and getting away from the HOA (something I have never had to deal with and never will!)

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. Glad you finally have use of us So nice that you have escaped the HOA and suburban sprawl. Welcome to the "country" life. Fencing seems to be the bane of most of us. We all can identify with that particular issue. I have a great front pasture for some steers but have boundary fencing I'll need to replace first, and I'm still working on goat fencing just a small initial part of the rear pasture for the goats I just recently acquired and am dry lotting right now. There are actually quite a few other Texans on here in addition to the ones already mentioned. You're in good company regardless. Lots of great folks on here who will help when you ask.

Please consider putting at least a general area of your location in your profile... If/when you ask for help, many won't remember from this thread that you're located near Austin, TX and location is very important in most cases where help is needed (or offered). What works here in TX might not be appropriate in the northeast or a colder climate. Make yourself at home!

 

[DustyBoot]

We'll have to think about pigs, although I have to admit that they haven't turned up on the lists of animals any of us is particularly interested in having around.

Thanks for the reminder on putting my location in my profile -- I knew I was forgetting something! I'll go take care of that now.

 

[lcertuche]

I read once where some people got rid of kudzu by letting pigs get a hold of it. If they can get rid of kudzu I reckon they can take care of about anything you throw at them.

 

[Baymule]

You don't have to keep the pigs forever. Grow them off and put them in the freezer! Sell them to friends or relatives, fresh meat!