On keeping livestock in suburbia

[Ex-Ascot]

Obviously we are not suburbia just in the middle of the bush. Much livestock. However we were thinking of chickens. Seems if you pen them in they get diseased if you let them loose they tear up your garden and fruit and veg. Any experience out there of these things. Sure UP has them.

[EA01]

Chickens in the middle of the bush would fine I would have thought Ex-Ascot! I think you allow them to roam free all day with your garden & fruit & veg protected FROM them, then shuffle them back into a safe enclosure in the evening?

[Alisoncc]

When I lived on Sydney's upper north shore would often see foxes late at night. Chukies wouldn't last long with them around. They've been known to take roofs off chicken pens to get at the yummies insides.

[Capetonian]

Foxes are nasty things, strong, resourceful, destructive, fearless, and greedy. Why people have this image of them as sweet cuddly animals is beyond me.

[ribrash]

When I lived on Sydney's upper north shore would often see foxes late at night. Chukies wouldn't last long with them around. They've been known to take roofs off chicken pens to get at the yummies insides.

The problem with foxes is that they don't just take 1 clucker,they tend to kill all the clucks in the hen house just for the sake of it.Horrible creatures.

[Ex-Ascot]

Chickens in the middle of the bush would fine I would have thought Ex-Ascot! I think you allow them to roam free all day with your garden & fruit & veg protected FROM them, then shuffle them back into a safe enclosure in the evening?

The boundary of the estate is not chicken proof. Ellies and hippos yes but not chickens or indeed big cats.

[G-CPTN]

Don't chickens come home to roost?

[Undried Plum]

I have three dozen chooks on a 25 acre 'garden'. No flowerbeds to speak of, and the chooks can't get at my fruit trees 'cos they're not humming birds.

Foxes are a problem. Only easy solution hereabouts is good guard dogs who love the chickens like friends. The dogs don't even need to attack the foxes. The smell of dogpiss is enough to scare off any experienced fox. Vital to have a good Cockerel too. My Blackrock, Obama, can kick a fox's face open and has done so.

Of course I also shut their henhouse door(s) at sunset.

One alternative for a place like Boteti would be a couple of guard-geese if you don't want dogs.

[larsssnowpharter]

Some 20 years ago I bought an old farmhouse in Puglia, Italy with a couple of hectares of old olive groves, no electricity and no running water and a couple of kilometres from the nearest inhabited house.

I was "off the grid" for nearly two years.

My staples for food included rabbit and guinea fowl. The rabbit were a cross Belgian and kept in an old stable block. Killed at about 2 or 3 months. Good meat. The guinea fowl provided more good protein. Veggies were grown between the olives which also provided firewood, cooking oil and oil for the lamps.

I believe there are laws in the UK on raising rabbit for meat.

[EA01]

Maximum $44000.00 fine in QLD for keeping Rabbits.

Mrs Fliegs will name the Quail, so they will not be for meat.

[Hydromet]

Mrs. Hydro is under the illusion that you can't eat something that has a name. D1 is under no such illusion. She named a steer that was agisted on our property, and which she petted and patted, "McDonald".

[EA01]

I was wondering if I could 'dispatch' of a living animal for food, especially one you have raised. I'm a city boy, so not sure I could.

That said, if you had the right frame of mind possibly...I can do it with fish.

Raising them for meat would require breeding them, then incubating the eggs, then of the ones that did hatch, raising them for 6-8 weeks until ready. I think it would just be easier to keep a few Hens just for the eggs...

[G-CPTN]

it would just be easier to keep a few Hens just for the eggs...

So, you are quite prepared to consume the unborn embryos?

What kind of monster are you?

[EA01]

No embryos...not fertilised eggs...

[EA01]

They would NOT be this...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(food)

[larsssnowpharter]

Nothing wrong with balut. Our local vendor comes around on his bicycle with two buckets of sand on the handlebars containing and protecting the eggs. He announced his arrival by honking noises from a horn imitating a duck.

Good with pepper, vinegar or calamansi juice.

[EA01]

Fair enough Lars...I'm fairly adventurous but draw the line at Balut. That said if I tried I might find I really like it...Who am I to judge?

[ricardian]

We have an abbatoir on the island and a couple of licensed slaughtermen but the abbatoir can only be used by folk who wish to kill a cow, goat or sheep for their own consumption.

[Ex-Ascot]

One alternative for a place like Boteti would be a couple of guard-geese if you don't want dogs.

Interesting solution. How do we stop them flying over the fence and disappearing into the lagoon or attacking us? How does one catch a goose and train it to attack blacks? Would they crap in our pool? What I would like is for our leopard to stick around at night but due to the drought we haven't seen her for two years now.

They put the electric fence up at the safari camp yesterday to keep our teenager hippo out. No reports yet. He is not with us.

[Undried Plum]

One alternative for a place like Boteti would be a couple of guard-geese if you don't want dogs.

Interesting solution.

How do we stop them flying over the fence and disappearing into the lagoon or attacking us?

Clip their wings. They won't attack you if you teach them that you are their best friends. Food does that sort of thing, y'know.

How does one catch a goose and train it to attack blacks?

One buys a goose from a seller of geese. You don't train them to attack blacks or Chinks or Wops or Gooks or even Weegies. You train them to love you. Then they will defend you, and their territory, from every bastard.

Would they crap in our pool?

Would a bear do that in the woods?