Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

Cutlery · Jun 8, 2023

Boneless ribs are really fucking good. I cook em in the oven in the winter if I don't wanna go outside, they're great in the smoker, and you can throw them on the grill if you wanna babysit them too.

It's an even better deal if you just buy the pork shoulder and butcher it yourself. A few times a year the store has pork shoulder factory packs for a buck or so a pound, and that's when I stock the fuck outta the freezer.

Shit is delicious, and no wasted poundage on bones. Just tasty marbled meat.

Burns · Jun 8, 2023

BrutulTM said:
Just say no to Dr. Pepper pulled pork. I like Dr. Pepper but that shit is vile.

Yea, I also like Dr. Pepper well enough, but it doesn't sound great to use instead of root beer, to me, but people like different things. I also don't like a sweet BBQ sauce, so the root beer gives it just enough sugar.

Gavinmad · Jun 9, 2023

They had loins for 1.50 a lb last week

Khane · Jun 9, 2023

Yea I'm not sure about Dr pepper with pork. Though it's really good with beef short ribs

Sludig · Jun 13, 2023

In a year pulled 2 rat snake from our coop after getting hatching eggs and a couple chick's.

Sunday I pulled 3 big ones in one day. Then between 2 and 9pm something got a decent sized turkey baby and a pullet. Overnight another pullet and in not sure if I misconted by either that night or sometime early day a adult silke.

They dead all stay out of the coop at night, except the silke, so I've changed theories from birds to coyotes, to currently thinking coons since the goats are left alone.

on a night watch right now, giant fucking owl angry at me in a tree, wonder how early in the day they would strike, only had my ar do didn't blast it, but got my shotty with me now as well

I found the silky in the brush around the pond close by, by accident. head intact, guts left behind, neck and body eaten down.

apps from this body no clues in chicken run , a dozen or so feathers from an overnight loss by otherwise disappear without a trace

Burns · Jun 13, 2023

Sludig said:
In a year pulled 2 rat snake from our coop after getting hatching eggs and a couple chick's.

Sunday I pulled 3 big ones in one day. Then between 2 and 9pm something got a decent sized turkey baby and a pullet. Overnight another pullet and in not sure if I misconted by either that night or sometime early day a adult silke.

They dead all stay out of the coop at night, except the silke, so I've changed theories from birds to coyotes, to currently thinking coons since the goats are left alone.

on a night watch right now, giant fucking owl angry at me in a tree, wonder how early in the day they would strike, only had my ar do didn't blast it, but got my shotty with me now as well

I found the silky in the brush around the pond close by, by accident. head intact, guts left behind, neck and body eaten down.

apps from this body no clues in chicken run , a dozen or so feathers from an overnight loss by otherwise disappear without a trace

Don't kill the Owls, as they are a protected class (birds of prey are almost all protected), and they are one of the main predators of snakes, mice, and rats.

Will an owl kill something it cant carry off and how big would an owl need to be to carry off an adult chicken? To protect from them, the internet says to put your chickens in a coop slightly before dusk and let them out after its fully light out. A comment at the bottom of the blog below says that you can run clear fishing line over the chicken run to confuse birds of prey (as it still reflects light), and keep them from swooping down into that area.

To help with the hunt and identifying the culprit get some trail cams, if you haven't already? They are fairly cheep, so you can set up 3 or 4 them up around where you see tracks, or think there are possible entry points. Edit2: You could even go full, high quality camera system, with good night vision under IR light, then light up the whole area with good IR. It would be $500 or so for 2 cameras and a DVR, but it might allow you to see more. Chickens can not see IR, so it wont mess with their sleep.

Bobcat numbers have been growing, so maybe keep them in consideration:

How to Protect Your Chickens from Bobcats

Bobcats are an extremely dangerous animal that you need to protect yourself and your chickens from.

www.chickensforbackyards.com

Edit: also, on owls:

How to Keep Owls Away From Chickens - Backyard Poultry

While not the most likely of chicken predators, owls can sometimes pose a threat. Learn how to keep owls away from chickens and how to appreciate the benefits owls have on the farm.

backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com

Sludig · Jun 13, 2023

At 330 am I go inside for like 4 minutes for a one bite snack and grab batteries for my thermal, walk out to 2 coons crawling off the tin shack next to the coop. jog to my observation post and grab rifle but already no shot and the area is a zigzag of fencing pens so I have to go through 2 to reach the outer field.

spotted them by the pond on thermal but new night setup rifle with no sling and my police kaki cargos have fucking narrow right pockets so I'm having a bitch of a time stowing the thermal so I can get the rifle up and flood them with light to see and shoot.

so they escape. I need to either get my 6" 22lr ready for night hunting, find a suitable gun to mount the thermal onto (worried a 12g will kill It), or keep tinkering with the rifle. if id had my nightvision I could have had a shot with the ir laser but thought I could get by with the light near the coop or flashlight in a pinch. knowing I'd be out for hours the helmet will hurt my neck and give my scalp like leg falling asleep sensation after 2 hours.

Sanrith Descartes · Jun 13, 2023

Sludig said:
At 330 am I go inside for like 4 minutes for a one bite snack and grab batteries for my thermal, walk out to 2 coons crawling off the tin shack next to the coop. jog to my observation post and grab rifle but already no shot and the area is a zigzag of fencing pens so I have to go through 2 to reach the outer field.

spotted them by the pond on thermal but new night setup rifle with no sling and my police kaki cargos have fucking narrow right pockets so I'm having a bitch of a time stowing the thermal so I can get the rifle up and flood them with light to see and shoot.

so they escape. I need to either get my 6" 22lr ready for night hunting, find a suitable gun to mount the thermal onto (worried a 12g will kill It), or keep tinkering with the rifle. if id had my nightvision I could have had a shot with the ir laser but thought I could get by with the light near the coop or flashlight in a pinch. knowing I'd be out for hours the helmet will hurt my neck and give my scalp like leg falling asleep sensation after 2 hours.

Aldarion · Jun 13, 2023

Its the biggest problem with shooting varmints. The rifle is rarely at hand when you need it.

I shot another gopher the other day. Little motherfucker was the size of an average cat, I swear these things are fucking mutants. I'll get them all, little by little, one by one.

Sludig · Jun 13, 2023

Sanrith Descartes said:

yeap, folding chair, steel chair as a table huddled hood up for 8 something hours. was a little worried about angle since goat pen right behind.

if I can take tommorow off I'll find a new spot now that I know their exfil/ entry

BrutulTM · Jun 13, 2023

I appreciate the idea of getting to use your tactical stuff, but a live trap with the leftover chicken parts might be more effective.

Sludig · Jun 13, 2023

BrutulTM said:
I appreciate the idea of getting to use your tactical stuff, but a live trap with the leftover chicken parts might be more effective.

Trying to source some today, though there's an element of fun hunting/ revenge.

Aldarion · Jun 13, 2023

Sludig said:
Trying to source some today, though there's an element of fun hunting/ revenge.

This. There is very little in life that's more satisfying than a headshot.

Burns · Jun 13, 2023

Trying to control the coon population through hunting seems like it would be a never ending task. They breed fast enough that any empty territory would just get new coons continually moving in, unless there are concentrated efforts to cull them in a wide area?

I have seen the live traps be successful for getting coons and skunks, but how do you keep a stupid chicken from walking in them?

Sludig · Jun 13, 2023

Burns said:
Trying to control the coon population through hunting seems like it would be a never ending task. They breed fast enough that any empty territory would just get new coons continually moving in, unless there are concentrated efforts to cull them in a wide area?

I have seen the live traps be successful for getting coons and skunks, but how do you keep a stupid chicken from walking in them?

outside the pen. and I've seen then in them plenty of times, maybe with enthusiasm tone they get out.

no one said extinction, but this is not first sighting of coons in a year. Plenty of possum and armadillo

BrutulTM · Jun 13, 2023

Burns said:
I have seen the live traps be successful for getting coons and skunks, but how do you keep a stupid chicken from walking in them?

Just set them at night when the chickens are in bed. It doesn't help with cats though, if you have barn cats or strays you will probably catch a lot of them.

Sludig · Jun 14, 2023

first shot went thru leg or body and broke feeder it was in for emus 5ft up, ate many repeat 9mm though may have been missing that close round would be off center. trying to brain it rather than thrashing

Sludig · Jun 14, 2023

Fukkk this little guy was heavy

Sludig · Jun 14, 2023

and number 2. never saw another, walked near the Cage a bit didn't hear signs of another, gonna release it far away and I guess do one final sweep, not sure if I want to be up till 5am again

Aldarion · Jun 14, 2023

Sludig said:
View attachment 477899

and number 2. never saw another, walked near the Cage a bit didn't hear signs of another, gonna release it far away and I guess do one final sweep, not sure if I want to be up till 5am again

You're releasing this one?

I hope you're at least driving to the home of someone you hate, or a local homeless encampment or something?

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