suggestion

[patandchickens]

Many of us have raised animals in the conventional way before and have been seeking for alternatives - many of us HAVE been on both sides of it - only to be told repeatedly that if we raise out animals any differently that they would surely die... Don't you think it would get rather tiring hearing that over and over?

Welllll.... I sure don't. It's just business as usual. <shrug>. I've never been anyone else though, so I don't know how y'all necessarily feel about it. Although I doubt I'm totally unique

Honestly, I'm used to people not agreeing with me (fully or in part), I'm used to people telling me I'm doing things wrong. So I don't really see what the big deal is. Maybe it's because I'm from the academic world where you are *expected* to steer your own ship and think your own thoughts and stand up for them; or of course maybe it's the other way round, maybe I did well in academia because I'm just like that anyhow, who knows Except probably not, since, it is certainly not just an academia "thing" -- I know lotsa of people like me who are from hairdresser-secretary-nurse-mom-daycare type backgrounds. (e.t.a. - also auto mechanic and police backgrounds, as I apparently was only picking female examples when I first wrote this, my bad )

I dunno. The truly "self sufficient" people I know in real life, a la what the term generally means on this forum, do not fuss about what the peanut gallery says. In fact if anything they tend to take PRIDE in being disagreed with, smug in the knowledge that 'ha ha time will prove me right in the end' And the smarter ones also appreciate the pressure to see whether they really *are* right, since not ALL contrarian tactics actually work and it can be easy to get sucked into things just *because* they're traditional or non-mainstream... so a reality check is useful too.

Dunno. Just telling you how it looks to me. Your mileage will, obviously, differ.


Pat

 

[AL]

I consider myself a relatively intelligent, independent person - but I will never post on BYH again. One thread I was told I had no business having horses since my 18mth old foster gelding was kicking, and another I asked about ranging cattle in wooded areas and I was blasted for not wanting to give them food and water.

It turned out well, though -because I came here to pester y'all instead

 

[CrimsonRose]

again having a place here to discuss matters isn't about disagreeing with people... It's about learning... Here people have a like mind set and raise animals how I want to raise mine... So when asking for info "to learn how" I get the answers I'm looking for here because other people here are doing the same thing I am!

But If I go to a site that raises all show animals and ask a question on how to do something... They give me a totally different answer... which is FINE... and would be some great info If I wanted to get into showing my animals...

but lets say I have NO CLUE even where to start so I ask a question...

an example would be... I ask "what type of goat should I look for, I have a small budget and want milk for my family"... a forum with mostly purebred people will advise me to purchase a registered goat... Those puppies sell for 300-500 bucks around here... and they tell me I have to get 2... ok we are upto 1000 bucks... Dang I can have a cow for that! I wanted to go with goats cause I thought they were cheap... Not to mention they advise me on HAVING to have a VET do tons of test... ect ect...

Which like I said NOTHING WRONG with that info... But I try to follow this advice... and I have no goat because I can't afford it and I'm still buying crappy grocery store milk...

But I come here where there are others trying to raise animals for their family and farm... They have experience in doing the same thing I'm wanting to start doing... So I get answers that are more suited to what I need...

If I have NO CLUE to start out with how am I supposed to "take PRIDE in being disagreed with, smug in the knowledge that 'ha ha time will prove me right in the end' ?

I don't want to argue I want good quality info to help me learn... If I'm constantly pointed in the wrong direction for my needs how does that help me? I'm like a dog chasing it's tail... I never get anywhere...

 

[BarredBuff]

I think that we oughta have a livestock and gardening section on here. The Everything Else Section has the most threads and pages usually with livestock and some garden questions. I am a member of all the sister sites. The mindset of people on BYC is not that on SS. Thus making it harder to discuss homestead poultry on there. You can't discuss alternative methods to feeding, I did the other day and it was not the same responses as I get here. TEG is the same way. MODS AND NIFTY CONSIDER A SECTION FOR LIVESTOCK AND GARDENING.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

We hope that you find the support that you need no matter which sister site you go to. I have found that if your title of the thread clearly defines what information your looking for and for what purpose all the sites try and suit the needs. While we do have occasional instances of members not replying in a manner that is friendly or helpful if you use the report button we get the thread back on line, and everyone learns from it. For sure those regularly in the meat bird section at BYC would be there to support you, and the discussions there are already on the topics you have mentioned. There is a group there doing work to find the best heritage crosses and sustainable breeds so they no longer need to get hatchery chicks for meat, and are evaluating them on egg production as well. A few have cross bread long enough now to have some consistency in their 'mutts' and are evaluating feed/meat ratios. The red broilers and Freedom Ranger evaluations are there too, as are many discussions on free ranging broilers for feed reduction.

Seems to me a few on BYH are keeping only one goat so while some may ask if you can get two expecting everyone to have at least 2 is not my impression at all.

Remember that we don't allow flaming, trolling or the 'your wrong, I'm right' comeback or attitude at any of the sights and feel free to use the report button if you are made uncomfortable by any such replies.

Hope that helps.

 

[kstaven]

I consider myself a relatively intelligent, independent person - but I will never post on BYH again. One thread I was told I had no business having horses since my 18mth old foster gelding was kicking, and another I asked about ranging cattle in wooded areas and I was blasted for not wanting to give them food and water.

It turned out well, though -because I came here to pester y'all instead

The unfortunate part about ranging and the comments you received was that people read the post and never took into consideration the region you live in or asked what is growing on the property. Like any of us who have done this in different regions know: What works on one property will not work on another 100 miles away. People seem to forget that.

 

[kstaven]

again having a place here to discuss matters isn't about disagreeing with people... It's about learning... Here people have a like mind set and raise animals how I want to raise mine... So when asking for info "to learn how" I get the answers I'm looking for here because other people here are doing the same thing I am!

But If I go to a site that raises all show animals and ask a question on how to do something... They give me a totally different answer... which is FINE... and would be some great info If I wanted to get into showing my animals...

but lets say I have NO CLUE even where to start so I ask a question...

an example would be... I ask "what type of goat should I look for, I have a small budget and want milk for my family"... a forum with mostly purebred people will advise me to purchase a registered goat... Those puppies sell for 300-500 bucks around here... and they tell me I have to get 2... ok we are upto 1000 bucks... Dang I can have a cow for that! I wanted to go with goats cause I thought they were cheap... Not to mention they advise me on HAVING to have a VET do tons of test... ect ect...

Which like I said NOTHING WRONG with that info... But I try to follow this advice... and I have no goat because I can't afford it and I'm still buying crappy grocery store milk...

But I come here where there are others trying to raise animals for their family and farm... They have experience in doing the same thing I'm wanting to start doing... So I get answers that are more suited to what I need...

If I have NO CLUE to start out with how am I supposed to "take PRIDE in being disagreed with, smug in the knowledge that 'ha ha time will prove me right in the end' ?

I don't want to argue I want good quality info to help me learn... If I'm constantly pointed in the wrong direction for my needs how does that help me? I'm like a dog chasing it's tail... I never get anywhere...

But disagreeing done with tact gives a person insight into different methods that can be used to formulate a game plan that is right for you. In not agreeing and being exposed to different ways it does allow us to learn.

 

[reinbeau]

All four forums are 'sister sites'. Duplication of effort equals more work for moderation, etc. If you have problems on the other sites, report them. Your reports are not ignored. Some portions of the community are harder to rein in than others. If we keep together as a community we can make them all nice places to visit.

 

[FarmerDenise]

So, what's the big resistance to having a special place on this SS forum for homestead animals. Why force us to go to a site where we don't get the info we are looking for!?
Why do we have to get creative here to get the kind of info we want in a manner that we prefer. ?
I don't have time to dilly dally at BYH to wade through the show animal people or the go to the vet for everything people. Can't we please have one here?!!!!?
I only go to the BYH or BYC site when I am extremely bored, late at nite, when I cannot sleep type of deal...
I gave up trying to get any real info, most of the time. I may thow something out there, but I usually go to other sites to get the info I really am looking for. At least I don't get lambasted on google for raising mutt goats and not worming them with chemicals on a regular schedule.!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Does this mean we definitely won't get our livestock section? We've been asking about it since this forum began and it seems that many feel the need for it.

Is it that difficult to restructure the forum setup to include one more topic? I'm not that knowledgable about computer/web site design to know just how difficult it is to include a new section.

If there is no room, we would probably be quite willing to give up another, little-used section....sort of like recycling. We are good at that!