ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.

[framing fowl]

We live on 1/4 acre in the city and had a 600 gal rainbarrel system set up for the garden. We captured rainwater from two points on our gutters. I loved it. Then we thought we were moving so we sold it to someone else for the same purpose. I wish we still had it because our move got delayed.

However, once we get moved again, we would definitely set up another one.

I can't remember if it was on this forum or somewhere else that I read about someone getting a dairy tanker and burying it underground and having a pump hooked up to it for their water. I thought that was a good idea.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang ,we are glad you could make time to visit us again.

Well today(Sunday) we finished the sand part of the paving job,we now have to wait for it all to compact before we start with the paver's......After lunch took the dogs(Ruby is coming into "season",a curse really,as it will interferer with shearing),I had to get the "mob" of maiden ewe's,plus their "grandmother"and move them to a paddock that runs off of the shearing shed.MY God, they look great for their age(photo's to follow when I get them in the yards and "shorn"),they certainly gave the dogs the "run-around",they were up in some timber and "care" had to be taken that we did not "break any legs"as they galloped through the fallen timber......At this age they show no respect for the dogs and will split into groups and run every which-way,finally Ruby got them up toward the gate and the "grandmother" led them through it,much to my relief.

Tomorrow I have to start to prepare for "shearing",grease the "guts" and run the motors,start the little motor that runs the "grinder" and maybe do a couple for practice(LOL).So Tuesday if its fine we will start in earnest,I think there is about 30 altogether.then I can get some empty ewe's in (I was going to sell them in the Fall,but they are still here so I will join them to lamb after the main group)....That only leaves the "smaller wethers" and the main ewe group(only 300).

Q & A:..FF.Bet you miss that nice fresh ,clean water?I don't think the "dairy tanker" would be that cheap of an option,after you "buy and bury it"?

THE CHAT:Grazing Management.....When I re-read the post I realized that i had not explained the theory behind three concept.When we first got this place the water absorbs-ion was "pitiful",so to "slow the water speed it was necessary to use pasture as "barriers" ....Our success is such that we now struggle to fill our dams(ponds)...The grass growth as a result has been terrific and we have stopped not on the chance of "soil erosion" ,but the movement of "litter and nutrient load" down our slopes.

Tonight s post is a short one,because I want to see some stuff on TV,so til next time ,best wishes to you all....................T.O.R.................

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,how'ya'goin?..So glad you could stop by again............

Monday:Quote"The best laid plans of mice and men".........We awoke to a "shocker"of a day,the temp struggled up to 9C along with showery rain.Jenny put on a casserole for dinner and started to make Abifea's chutney,"everyone" should have a go at this...It's seriously yummy and while she has the Green Tomatoes she is going to make another batch.

In the local paper last week there was an add for expressions of interest for a Sustainable Farming Program(funded to the tune of $6000) for Primary Producers to improve farming outcomes,while addressing soil and pasture management issues.(count me in)The lass from NRM/Catchment Management Agency is coming out on Wed morning to have a look at what we are proposing and go through the criteria and the required paperwork(will let you all know the results later).We have a really good record of results and on-time completion of past programs.

THE CHAT:.....THE HOUSE..(now I know some of you have been waiting patiently for this to begin)............We devoted quite some time to what "WE"needed in our new residence..
!.One bedroom
2.large kitchen with a walk-in pantry.
3.Dinning room open to the kitchen
4.Office.
5.Verandah on two sides.(one summer,one winter.)
6.Some sort of accommodation , separate to the house.
Here are a few views of the house

The first one is across the front of the house,showing the covered front verandah.
The second one is a 3/4 shot of the front
The third one shows the two walkways that join the house and the "kids' room and the "work-shop".

That window is 5mts wide and 2100mm high and is the full width of the dinning room,its made up of 2 sheets of 10mm laminated glass(I had a picture from the inside ,but cant find it ,have to take another)......The "footprint" of the house is 15mtsX7mts,its Pole Framed and is carried on "steel rails"..The only "earth-works" required was a drilling rig to make the holes for the poles to go into.

Now I expect there will be some questions,so ask away.So,til next time ,regards............................T.O.R.............................

 

[~gd]

G'day Ram, The first two questions that come to mind is what is the orientation of the house or which directon does the walk way run? I am guessing E-W on the walk way and that huge window on the north side? I am assuming that you are in southern Australia and the window is for solar heat in the winter. Like most americans I get mixed up between North and South, not between warmer/colder but the direction of sunshine. Why is the house elevated? you haven't meationed flooding so that isn't the reason. Does the top deck veranda have a reason other than the view?

Yes of course I saw your comment about the spelling thing, no problem. Your point about outside the box does apply to me since my ducks were a fairly profitable hobby/business for me before the state government went and put a highway through my micro farm (6.5 acres) taking all the outbuildings and the house.
My real job was in biotech, making vaccines for human babies and toddlers (their immune system is different than adults). I got into a startup co (all 26 of us) and grew with it to a 1200 employee factory with sales around the world. The stress got to me and I bought the farm to relax it was close to work but was isolated off the highway. All the plots were bigger than 5 acres because that was the mandated size to have horses. I was 50+, and in the kind of shape you end up spending 70 hours/week behind a desk so I ruled out horses and cattle. Someone gave me a pair of geese and I fell in love with waterfowl. They reproduce. The business got started when someone at work asked about duck eggs because they had an allergy to chicken eggs, she insisted on paying for them, the internet price was 2/$1 when chicken eggs were going $1.6/dozen! Market research showed I had a wonderful location with Ft. Bragg, a huge military base to the south and Research Triangle Park to the north, both with large Asian populations. Duck and duck eggs are comfort food for them since they are very common in the traditional Asian diet. The next Saturday I took duck eggs and ducks to the farmers market and sold out in less than an hour but hung around to collect names and numbers of customers for next time. I never failed to sell out and never had to cut my prices. I think I mentioned my pond duck side line to get rid of excess males.
~gd

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day all.

Today(Tues)was another day to forget ,we had 1/2 in rain overnight so the sheep are well and truly "wet" and I can forget about them until the weekend....If its dry tomorrow I must move the "sale lambs"to new feed as I want to sell some next Wed.

Q&A:To ~GD,I hope you will fill me in a little more about your farm and explain how you were able to for-go the business for the farm....For myself it was great today to be able to say"whats the point" and just stay inside and "catch up"on some paperwork.

THE CHAT:...The House..Q & A:
~GD:Yes ,the walkway does run pretty much E-W,but no the windows are just for the view.The front of the house faces SE,its the back where the conservatory is that picks up the winter sun and when I finish the paving it will work even better.......On the question of the elevated house(my word you are observant).It was important to us to have as little /no soil disturbance,plus why would you pay to "bury" all that concrete,in our district we spend a lot more time "heating" than cooling.....As I said last night the house is"pole framed"and the "steel rails"are notched into the poles(the rails run front to back),where the joists cross the rails(each "bay" has 4)there is a plate welded to them and the joists are screwed to the rails.The sub-floor is treated "chipboard"about 1in thick,on top with the sheets running at 90deg is fibro- cement sheeting,which is nailed on a 12in grid over the whole sheet..The tilers then laid 20in tiles through the lounge,dinning and kitchen..This produced a very "taught" sub-floor and all the above framing is "steel",apart from a log which "ties" the poles together(I think you can see them in the internal photo's)..............The roof is 6in "top hat sections" running front to back with timber battens running across the roof(the timber is to reduce the strain of expansion of steel on steel).The roof is Gal Iron sheeting in single lengths running front to back.Rain-water is gathered off of each roof section and piped under-ground to the tanks.
All the steel framing had to be fabricated on site to meet the requirements of the poles(unfortunately trees don't grow with straight sides.LOL.)All of the internal timbers were cut from "logs"(it took a local forester 12 months to gather enough for the house and shearing shed),even the "stringer' for the staircase was a split log and the hand-rail was also a machined piece of log.

Heating is achieved by the use of 2 wood-heaters,one in the kitchen and the "Big Momma" in the lounge.(air for this fire is drawn through vents within the "firebox",this stops the heated air in the "room "going up the chimney.)Momma is all steel and was made on-site by a local artist/sculptor.We usually only need one or other going to keep the inside of the house a pleasant 18/20C.

Apart from the view ,the top deck shades the bottom one and is a very pleasant place to relax on a "summer's afternoon"......There are only 4 opening windows and these are placed to manage ventilation in the summer ,cool air is drawn from under the house through "vents in the floor" and it carries heat out at the high points in the house......

Well we hope you have enjoyed the journey so far and as always questions are welcome,regards.......................T.O.R....................

 

[freemotion]

Your house is very bright, airy, and inviting! I love it!

 

[dragonlaurel]

" ....DL's project is interesting in that they wish to take on three livestock projects ,build a house ,work a full-time job and build a "farm business" all at the same time."

- I'm feeling impatient, but still plan to stagger the projects so I'm not spread too thin. Building is enough work. But when I need a break- I can do some easier stuff. A couple 4 x 8 raised garden beds would be it for the building season. I already use them. It's quick, easy, and I get a pretty good amount of food out of it.
I'd wait on having many animals till shelter was taken care of.

Corriedales are a possibility. Nice wool, and they sound like a pretty healthy breed. I researched East Fresians before and they are great milkers, but they have a reputation for not handling hot climates very well. I don't have enough money to handle losing livestock from the weather. But I have enough time to figure out some of the potential problems, and avoid a few of them.
- Shearing in mid spring makes sense. Would they need coats, or just protection from the wind (unheated barn) - if there is a light frost after shearing?

- I wasn't bothered about the lambs question. I just mentioned that I was vegetarian because it does affect the number of freezer animals for the household. Since sheep are unusual locally, people aren't really used to it here. Some meat counters only carry it for special orders and holidays.
We could raise lambs to market weight for customers with a deposit. There's a few processors around that do custom work. Some kids may want to raise lambs themselves also.
I think veggies, natural eggs, and goats milk would be the farm income at first, with livestock sales catching on after a while.

There are lots of goat people on the site, and in this area. I'm sure there will be days I don't feel like it for the morning milking, but you just do it anyway. The goats wont let you forget for long. It gets awfully uncomfortable for her to be lugging around all that milk.

Cob walls are load bearing. They're like stone once they dry. Many of the cob houses in England are still in use after 500 years. However, since many building code people don't know much about Cobb- many builders add Post and Beam poles to get it approved. Then the planners consider the Cobb "infill". It doesn't help the officials learn, but the house gets built at least.
They usually make a stone wall about knee high and build the cob up from there. The floor can be anything you feel like using and can be tied into the walls by support beams or a floating floor. I prefer wood flooring with tile for the bathroom and cooking area.
The last pic here shows a foundation wall being built.
http://www.abrazohouse.org/?page_id=56&g2_itemId=902

They have a million pics after that, but I skipped some, cause I want a metal roof. I loved their kitchen, especially the pantry shelves.
Just saw the pics of your house. Very nice.

 

[hillfarm]

simply beautiful.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,so today(Wed)is another "nothing " day,its been showering all day so far and I did want to move those lambs,but it looks like it could be Friday.

The young lass came out to have a look at what we want funding for under her program,we went for a walk,she took "lots' of photo's and picked samples of some plants to take back with her.She left some "paperwork" with us and encouraged us to apply,as our project was well worth considering.

DLs project:Those comments were not meant to be critical,but to illustrate how you can "take"on to much without realizing it(we did it when we first started,but we were in our early 30s).Most people when they start out are just like yourselves(we were),but an excessive workload can make it just a very large chore,rather than something you can enjoy achieving.
Question:If there are large numbers of "goats in your area is there "room" for you to have a profitable operation?
Does your Cobb building have a "footprint "yet?
When you talk to your "spinner friends",see what they think of the Corriedales.?(this breed could give you a price premium)
The temperature down here at our place varies from-8C(very cold,for us anyway) to 100F in the summer.The key is shade and shelter from the wind(hot or cold).....Stock in "forward condition"will tolerate cold or heat,given that they have feed and "good quality water"....Wool production is about "clean fleece",their biggest enemy is "straw bedding and hay racks",you will find that the best fleece is produced "outside" in the elements.It will be "clean ,strong and bright".....An open-sided barn with a raised gravel/sand floor for wind protection "should be all you need".
Some of the best Finewool Merino's are grown in our higher country,they "lamb and graze" outside year-round and are only "mustered " for shearing ,drenching and stuff.The only "shedded sheep" are those capable of producing under ,say,13.5mic wool,its just not "cost-effective other-wise".

THE CHAT:...House continued...I forgot to mention that its well insulated,the roof is "blanket fluff stuff" with a "foil sheeting on top.The walls are foil sheeted on the outside and that "fluff stuff" in the wall cavity.The wood heating is so efficient because we only "heat" air,not chimneys made of stone or the like....If we were building in a colder zone than we are ,we would use "stry foam" between the floor joists and cover the under floor with the fibro-cement sheeting.

I can see a little "break" in the weather so I might go and feed the dogs,tomorrow is retail therapy,so til next time ,our very best to you all ......T.O.R.................................

 

[dragonlaurel]

Good luck with your new project.
I understood it was just advice to not take on too much at one time. My 30's are a memory, but 46 isn't bad. I'm still in good enough shape to enjoy doing physical work.

I meant there are lots more goats around here than sheep. The County Fair last year had 1 sheep, 5-10 pigs, about 30 goats, and a couple hundred chickens being shown. Most of the farms I could find listed for goats were past Little Rock (90 minutes or more driving time). I only found 2 people and (one had a meat breed) within a half hour driving distance.

I'll see 1 or 2 of the spinners in a week and ask them about the Corriedales. I'll should ask what characteristics they look for in wool for their projects.

Our nasty weather comes from the NW in winter. Summer storms are from the SW or West. Most barn time will be for yucky weather or lambing. Fence panels for the East side of the barn might be a good balance between ventilation and predator protection. Is the gravel/sand floor for waste drainage?

I'd drawn up the house before, but need to redraw it, since I changed my mind about a few parts. It wasn't set up for rainwater harvesting before. I want each building to have some kind of rain storage getting fed from the roof line.