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[FarmersDigest]

Hey @FarmersDigest it's great to have you here!

I merged your other thread into this one so you can have all your stuff in one place! If you have topic specific questions, feel free to post them in specific areas of the forum.

You're also welcomed to visit our "sister sites"

www.SufficientSelf.com
www.TheEasyGarden.com[/QUOTE]

Thank you Nifty! I am already loving being on here.

Oh thank you, we appreciate that so much! These will be great for us to look into as well.

 

[FarmersDigest]

Welcome to farming!

My advice, like several others, is to take it slowly. It is tempting to get everything at once, but try to hold yourself back. Start by getting some idea of what your farm to look like. What are you going to raise? Sheep, goats, cattle, emu? Is your goal to provide yourself and friends with meat, wool/fiber, milk, grain, hay, veggies, etc....or to market your products on a larger scale. So many things you can do with 400 acres.

Don't feel like you need to know everything before you start. You will never know everything. My family has had sheep for 14 years and I am always learning something new.

Milk cows are a big responsibility. The milk is amazing though! I have a small Jersey who, thankfully, is a complete sweetheart. You can milk her just about anywhere. We bought her last summer (2013) and it has been a major learning curve. We've raised steers before for beef, but a milk cow is a completely different creature. If you get a milk cow, I highly recommend getting a bucket milker. I started out hand-milking, but that gets old pretty quickly (unless you happen to love hand-milking). I purchased a hand pump vacuum system (Henry Milker, Magidans, etc...) and that worked decently. There are mixed reviews on those type of milkers, some people love them and others swear that they will ruin the teats. I didn't see any sign of damage, but I wasn't looking forward to milking all winter with my little hand pump and the tubes that popped off whenever they got cold. I was able to find a used bucket milker (DeLaval) and a pump and milking is fun again.

I chose to leave the calf on my cow this spring. After he was a couple weeks old, I started separating them at night and milking in the morning. The calf would then be with his mother for the rest of the day and be locked up again at night. This meant that I only had to milk once a day. And if I needed to be away or was otherwise unable to milk, I just left the calf with his mother. Now that he is weaned I have to milk everyday, but I'm still only milking once a day. She isn't giving as much milk as she would be if I milk 2x/day, but she's giving more than enough for us.

I love my Jersey, but I'm still more comfortable with sheep than cattle.

Good luck with your new venture. Don't forget to have fun (and keep us updated) and never hesitate to ask questions, that is what we all are here for - to get advice and to help others where we can.

Thank you purplequeenvt!

We will have the cows, horses, and chickens at first. But we want to get sheep, pigs, and ducks. Just to start off we would like to feed our family, and then enough to sell. Of course if there is a market for it! We are both very excited and yet stressed to the max with the thought of how much debt.

Thank you for saying we don't need to know it all, as man is there a lot of info! One can feel overwhelmed by it all, and think it's just too much. We calm down and breathe or sometimes we go into town and remind ourselves why we aren't happy living in a rural area anymore. The place we are looking at is 1 hr to the closest town.

I remember growing up on my Aunt's farm, she raised Nubians and milked them. I loved it and yet there were times I hated it! Like when I wasn't feeling good or Honey just didn't want me touching her utters or I was almost done and she kicked the milk can over. Ugh, but I do remember loving the feeling of knowing where that milk came from and that between the goat and I we did it!

Thank you for the information, great advice, and kind words! It's so great knowing we can talk to actual people and get help from people that have actual experience.

 

[Southern by choice]

That again makes so much sense. So how do they do with family dogs? The ones that do live with the family in the house? I am a big sucker when it comes to dogs. I have always had one by my side.

All our LGD's are introduced and use to the housedogs. They do NOT play together however.
The farmdog/housedog (Boxer/lab mutt) and the GSD (German Shepherd Dog) do not EVER go on the fields. That is LGD territory. PERIOD! Outside of their field they are fine with the family dogs and can comeinto the house and all get along. We have one dog that does not tolerate the GSd under any circumstances as she holds a grudge and the GSD plays through the fence, the female pyr is not ok with it and has a hatred for her. The same Female Pyr can whelp a litter in the family room and everyone loves on the pups and the boxer lab mutt she allows to see her pups...no issues.

Our Anatolian Female was in the house today for family visit time... she had schnitzel and 2lbs of beef hot dogs as a treat. She was in lounging around for about an hour and then went to the door to go back to the field.

Many don't ever bring a LGD in their house, we do. All our dogs know their job are stable and trained to the field and home. There is no confusion for them as their purpose or job.

Cattle are more often protected by Donkeys and not usually dogs. Something to consider.

 

[goatgurl]

my Katie has never been in the house, she's just not comfortable there so i don't force the issue. as far as her and the house dog, my avatar is emma dean all 14 pounds of her. i rescued her when she was 5 wks old and she was fostered by a giant Anatolian shepherd lgd female that i had so she thinks she is as big and bad as any dog out there. she is 11 years old and she goes everywhere i go on my farm and every lgd i have had since i rescued her know that she is the boss. emma is my enforcer, if i have a goat to get out she will actually herd them back to where they belong and the lgd's don't interfere with her. Katie will run to block emma but is never aggressive to her. but heaven help the strange dog who dares to step into katies territory. she can go from sweetness and light to a force to contend with in 0.2 sec's. it's a site to behold. and after that long story i guess what i am trying to say is that we all do things our own way and you will figure out what works for your family. as everyone is saying just take it slow and easy.

 

[FarmersDigest]

All our LGD's are introduced and use to the housedogs. They do NOT play together however.
The farmdog/housedog (Boxer/lab mutt) and the GSD (German Shepherd Dog) do not EVER go on the fields. That is LGD territory. PERIOD! Outside of their field they are fine with the family dogs and can comeinto the house and all get along. We have one dog that does not tolerate the GSd under any circumstances as she holds a grudge and the GSD plays through the fence, the female pyr is not ok with it and has a hatred for her. The same Female Pyr can whelp a litter in the family room and everyone loves on the pups and the boxer lab mutt she allows to see her pups...no issues.

Our Anatolian Female was in the house today for family visit time... she had schnitzel and 2lbs of beef hot dogs as a treat. She was in lounging around for about an hour and then went to the door to go back to the field.

Many don't ever bring a LGD in their house, we do. All our dogs know their job are stable and trained to the field and home. There is no confusion for them as their purpose or job.

Cattle are more often protected by Donkeys and not usually dogs. Something to consider.

How is your German Shepherd? I would really like to stay with Rottweiler, as that is my favorite breed. But so many people are saying to go with a German Shepherd. That is great! I think if we ever do get a lgd or lgd's if they want to come into the house when they are allowed, we will let them. What a great dog.

Lol well I can't say I blame your female pyr. They sound like they have a great personality for sure! Thank you for telling me donkeys are used for cattle. I was wanting to use them if we get into the sheep/goat business. Also thank you for taking the time to tell me about your dogs and the way you do things!

 

[FarmersDigest]

my Katie has never been in the house, she's just not comfortable there so i don't force the issue. as far as her and the house dog, my avatar is emma dean all 14 pounds of her. i rescued her when she was 5 wks old and she was fostered by a giant Anatolian shepherd lgd female that i had so she thinks she is as big and bad as any dog out there. she is 11 years old and she goes everywhere i go on my farm and every lgd i have had since i rescued her know that she is the boss. emma is my enforcer, if i have a goat to get out she will actually herd them back to where they belong and the lgd's don't interfere with her. Katie will run to block emma but is never aggressive to her. but heaven help the strange dog who dares to step into katies territory. she can go from sweetness and light to a force to contend with in 0.2 sec's. it's a site to behold. and after that long story i guess what i am trying to say is that we all do things our own way and you will figure out what works for your family. as everyone is saying just take it slow and easy.

Wow, that's so awesome! I know that everyone does thing's their own way, I just love to learn what people are doing. Plus it will give me ideas for if this all gets to happen. I can picture thing's, rather then get there and think holy crap, what did we do! lol Thank you for taking time out to tell me about your dogs.

 

[Devonviolet]

Hi FarmersDigest

I just found this thread, and wanted to put my 1-1/2 cents in. It's not a full two cents, like the others, because I am still one of the newbies around here.

Man-O-Man . . . Would I love to have 1\4 the acreage you have! We started looking at 20 acres, but because our budget is so small, we kept setting our sights lower. We finally ended up with five acres - four of which are wooded. We just closed on our property a week ago last Friday, and are trying to get the house painted before we can move in. We have had many challenges along the way, and now it's looking like we won't be moving in until the second week in January.

After that we will be starting small with three meat goats, to start clearing our woods, and about 10 laying hens. Once we are comfortable with that we will add some dairy goats. After that starts to become comfortable, we will add some bucks, so we can start breeding.

When our offer, on the property was accepted, we found and bought a Maremma (LGD) puppy, who was 3 weeks old.the plan was to start with one and after it was a bit more mature, buy another one. Well when our little girl was five weeks old, we decided to get her brother as well. We will leave the puppies with their mother until they are four months old, so she can teach them the ropes, and then in Feb. I will drive to Kansas to pick them up.

We hav Coyotes and Bobcats here in Texas. One Lgd is capable of guarding five acres, but from what I have read, coyotes are famous for part of the pack distracting the LGD and the rest of the pack going to the herd, and taking what they want. For that reason it is best to have at least two LGDs with the herd.

Anyway, it's nice to have y'all join us. You have come to the right place to get great advice on raising farm animals. And you won't find a nicer group of people anywhere else! They are all so friendly and caring!!! And, FUNNY??? We laugh a lot on here!!! So, come sit a spell, and enjoy a cuppa Joe! There is a lot to learn here!

 

[FarmersDigest]

Hi FarmersDigest

I just found this thread, and wanted to put my 1-1/2 cents in. It's not a full two cents, like the it's, because I am,still one of the newbies around here.

Man-O-Man . . . Would I love to have 1\4 the acreage you have! We started looking at 20 acres, but because our budges is so small, we kept setting our sights lower. We finally ended up with five acres - four of which are wooded. We just closed on our property a week ago last Friday, and are trying to get the house painted before we can move in. We have had many challenges along the way, and now it's looking like we won't be moving in until the second week in January.

After that we will be starting small with three meat goats, to start clearing our woods, and about 10 laying hens. Once we are comfortable with that we will add some dairy goats. After that starts to become comfortable, we will add some bucks, so we can start breeding.

When our offer, on the property was accepted, we found and bought a Maremma (LGD) puppy, who was 3 weeks old.the plan was to start with one and after it was a bit more mature, buy another one. Well when our little girl was five weeks old, we decided to get her brother as well. We will leave the puppies with their mother until they are four months old, so she can teach them the ropes, and then in Feb. I will drive to Kansas to pick them up.

We hav Coyotes and Bobcats here in Texas. One Lgd is capable of guarding five acres, but from what I have read, coyotes are famous for part of the pack distracting the LGD and the rest of the pack going to the herd, and taking what they want. For that reason it is best to have at least two LGDs with the herd.

Anyway, it's nice to have y'all join us. You have come to the right place to get great advice on raising farm animals. And you won't find a nicer group of people anywhere else! They are all so friendly and caring!!! And, FUNNY??? We laugh a lot on here!!! So, come sit a spell, and enjoy a cuppa Joe! There is a lot to learn here!

Thank you Devonviolet!
Well I appreciate your 1-1/2 cents, even though I'm sure you know way more than me! So I think your selling yourself short.

Well we haven't bought it yet. We want to make sure this is going to be what we can afford and make a living before we go through with it! As of right now, we don't want to be here any more. We want to be living there on the farm. 5 acres is awesome! Wow, well hope you guys get to move in soon! That sure is the smart way to go, getting everything done on the house before you move in! I regret not getting thing's done at the house we are in now.

That's awesome! That sounds like a great plan! Goats sure make clearing thing's out so much easier. Well as long as you can keep them in. lol

Awe puppies! What made you decide to get the brother? That's a good idea, having momma teach them the ropes. I hope you post pictures. I love puppy pictures! Wow, yeah I have heard of coyotes luring house dogs out and then attacking them. Smart little craps.

Well thank you! I am really loving talking to the people on here. They are very nice and have so much useful info. I am so grateful that people are willing to help! So thank you to all of you as well. I love laughing too, so I can't wait for that as well. I just have to make sure I don't spend too much time on here or I can get into big trouble. I don't want to get too far behind on chores. I hope you have a great day and thank you again for taking time out to respond.

 

[Devonviolet]

Thank you
Awe puppies! What made you decide to get the brother? That's a good idea, having momma teach them the ropes. I hope you post pictures. I love puppy pictures! Wow, yeah I have heard of coyotes luring house dogs out and then attacking them. Smart little craps.

We decided to get the brother for a couple reasons. Our little Violetta was the last available girl. The next litter won't be available until late next Summer.

For us, getting strong Italian Champion blood lines is important. This litter's Sire was imported from Italy as a puppy, and comes from champion blood lines there. The Dam is second generation with her Sire being imported from Italy.

With LGDs, the closer you can get to the original breed lines, the stronger the instinct to guard and use its ability to think independently, to troubleshoot out in the field.

Violetta's brother was the last available pup in the litter, and we wanted to have two dogs from the start. Our original plan was to get Violetta now, and then get another puppy, from the same Sire, but different Dam, in a year or so. But, then we started thinking about what we had heard about the heavy predator load here and decided not to wait to get a second puppy. We knew we would have more work with two, but we are retired so can be home to work with them all day, and I have some experience training dogs. We also know that both dogs have strong lineage, so decided to go for it.

There are pluses and minuses to having siblings. After praying about it, we decided to leave it in God's hands to help us through it.

Even though the puppies will remain with the Dam until they are 16 weeks, I have been able to get photos from the breeder. They are a 7-1/2 hour drive from here, so we can't visit them. The ideal would be to meet the puppies and evaluate them before getting them. But, I wasn't able to find a local Maremma breeder. So, had to look out of state. From what the breeder tells us, all of the puppies, from this litter are looking like they are going to be excellent guardian dogs. So, again, we are putting it in God's hands to give us good dogs.

Here is the link to my LGD Adventure Journal. I have some really cute photos of the puppies:

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/devonviolet-our-lgd-adventure.30307/page-4

This page has my most current batch of photos. If you go back to the first page of the thread, you will see photos of the litter when they were tiny.

 

[FarmersDigest]

We decided to get the brother for a couple reasons. Our little Violetta was the last available girl. The next litter won't be available until late next Summer.

For us, getting strong Italian Champion blood lines is important. This litter's Sire was imported from Italy as a puppy, and comes from champion blood lines there. The Dam is second generation with her Sire being imported from Italy.

With LGDs, the closer you can get to the original breed lines, the stronger the instinct to guard and use its ability to think independently, to troubleshoot out in the field.

Violetta's brother was the last available pup in the litter, and we wanted to have two dogs from the start. Our original plan was to get Violetta now, and then get another puppy, from the same Sire, but different Dam, in a year or so. But, then we started thinking about what we had heard about the heavy predator load here and decided not to wait to get a second puppy. We knew we would have more work with two, but we are retired so can be home to work with them all day, and I have some experience training dogs. We also know that both dogs have strong lineage, so decided to go for it.

There are pluses and minuses to having siblings. After praying about it, we decided to leave it in God's hands to help us through it.

Even though the puppies will remain with the Dam until they are 16 weeks, I have been able to get photos from the breeder. They are a 7-1/2 hour drive from here, so we can't visit them. The ideal would be to meet the puppies and evaluate them before getting them. But, I wasn't able to find a local Maremma breeder. So, had to look out of state. From what the breeder tells us, all of the puppies, from this litter are looking like they are going to be excellent guardian dogs. So, again, we are putting it in God's hands to give us good dogs.

Here is the link to my LGD Adventure Journal. I have some really cute photos of the puppies:

http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/devonviolet-our-lgd-adventure.30307/page-4

This page has my most current batch of photos. If you go back to the first page of the thread, you will see photos of the litter when they were tiny.

Oh my gosh, what cute fluff balls! I so understand about praying and leaving it in God's hands. That's exactly what my hubby and I are doing for this big farm that we are talking about. I bet you can't wait to actually get your hands on those cute white babies. Thank you for putting your link on here so I could see them. I sure hope that they are everything you need and more!