Hunt Gather Grow Eat

In today's podcast I wanted to tackle another philosophical question:  Is it ok to hunt and kill? Well the answer for me is a resounding YES!  But I have a code that I hunt and kill by and I think that helps keep one grounded with a solid conscience about it.  *Why I feel its healthy to challenge your beliefs about this subject. *The difference between apathy and myopic thought and the similarities.  I can't identify with people who make a decision and then justify it with no challenge. *Why we kill.  Are we intended to be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores?  NONE OF THE ABOVE! *The myths about killing and hunting. We have to "honor" the animal.  You don't honor something by killing it. Hunters wound and kill many many animals.  Total BS. Shooting an animal causes it pain.  A losing effort to personify something that isn't human. *My problem with people that kill by proxy and then look down upon hunters.  *Why I'm a traditionalist snob in some aspects and why I no longer hunt for sport.  No judgements on those who do.

In today's episode I revisit the whole GMO debate.  I ask a lot of questions and hopefully I answer some.  I have to insist that anyone commenting here listen to the entire episode first.  I will not address comments from people who clearly did not listen to the episode.  Tune it to hear: *How GMOs are actually made.  The process itself is a little scary but for the most part benign (except for the results of course). *How do they get the genetic material out?  How do they get the new genetic material in? *The different types of GMO.  Transgenic is the least of your worries! *Notice how many steps in making a GMO.  The more steps, the more room for error. *Some of the potential problems with GMOs in my opinion. *Why BT toxin accumulation is not a real concern in my eyes except for the fact that it points to poor testing methods, dishonesty in Agribiz, and the potential for effects on the human body in the future. *How GMOs can really, severely, alter the world in a negative way.  *The tactics of the GMO advocates. *How GMO's will be sold to the public in the future.  1.  Boutique GMOs - Do something novel, build a cult around it, market it to death (literally).  2.  Forced Crisis, Forced Solution - Cause a problem and let people beg you to help.  3.  Government mandate - Think the government can't dictate what a majority of farmers plant?  Let them stop subsidies and see how the masses respond. *Some things we can do to make our voices heard.  (I'm one week soda free!).

I'm on my way to Seven Springs, PA to present at The Mother Earth News Fair but I was able get a show recorded and in the queue.  In today's episode I talk (as promised) about some of my plans for my homestead.  I was originally going to call this my permaculture plan but I think I've started working on more of a system basis.  I'm thinking less about how to keep a system going and more about keeping all of the systems working and playing off each other. *I built the chicken house and run, what next?  *I want a pig pen but I'm also going to pasture them or as Joel Salatin calls it "Acorn-finished" or pigaerators. *My tough choice between having enough land for a cow or two. *Some of the wild resources I have right next to my land and how I plan to utilize them. *All of my animals are going to work just by being animals.  Fertlizing things downhill, weeding, working the soil, etc.

I said I'd talk about my livestock and foraging plans for my land on today's episode but I got bit by the deer hunting bug really badly so I wanted to take the opportunity and talk about scouting for deer on today's episode. *The definition of and goals of scouting. *What to look for and more importantly, how to look for it.  You need to feel like you are hunted. *What matters to deer should matter to you.  Food, water, cover, etc. *What deer and water have in common. *Why safety is paramount and how scouting makes you safer. *If you choose not to hunt this year but want to, why not scout.  It will make you better when you do decide to hunt.

Well folks I'm back finally after a bit of a bout with burnout.  Today I decided to talk about one of the things that helped burn me out and that's building and designing livestock housing. I had a heck of a time building my chicken house and I talk about it a lot today but in the context of some design considerations that helped me at least get a good idea of what I wanted even if I had trouble delivering in the end. *Containment and Exclusion - You not only have to worry about your animals not getting out but also keeping animals you don't want out.  This is pretty evident with chickens and smaller livestock because there are many things that eat them.  *Comfort and Protection - You have to make sure your housing is appropriate for your climate and that its adaptable.  Also make use of existing land features to gain the best advantage. *Access - Both for you and them.  I look at this two ways and I try to incorporate both access for me when I need it but also access to things like nests or hay feeding areas without disturbing the animals if I find it necessary. *Materials/Cost and Durability - You want your housing to last right?  Well there is a thin line between durable enough and damn expensive.     

Based on something I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago I realized that there might be some misconceptions on the part of myself and maybe some other people out there about the sustainability of raising animals for meat.  So, while travelling from house to house during my move I pondered these points.  This episode has poor production values but I wanted to get something out after so long an absence. *My stance on human-caused global warming. *You may not think meat animals have an effect on global warming (or that it even is caused by Carbon) but does it have any other side effects? *The things that have allowed meat animals to exist in the numbers they do.  You can't love hate GMO's and Big Ag and assume you are entitled to your daily share of beef! *Why my ancestors (and probably yours too) never raised animals for meat but rather for other protein sources (eggs, milk).  Meat was a byproduct and was enjoyed sparingly.  *Learn why meat dictated the date of Christmas! *What are some alternatives?

Today, as promised, I take your questions about poultry.  I purported to know a lot about poultry but I was quickly humbled by you the listeners who asked great questions and answered some better than I could. Tune in as I talk about: *Integrating new chickens into the flock.  Why a rooster helps sometimes.  How chickens respond to new additions. *Quiet(er) breeds and some tips to shut up a loud rooster. *What do I have to account for when raising fowl in c older weather?  Do I need heat lamps? *Doors, coop insulation and where to put roosts. *Why do people recommend eggshells be fed back to chickens and what do I feed them? *Will stress keep hens from laying? *Is it ok for poultry to eat mammals such as mice and moles?

Today I talk about the benefits of poultry. *Meat - Not the primary use but definitely something that can be considered and accounted for. *Eggs - Probably the #1 reason to keep poultry. *Variety - Whether you have a lot of room or none, you can find the right species and breed for you.  From quail to ostriches you are only limited by imagination. *Manure - Some of the highest nitrogen fertilizer you can't buy. *Pest/Weed Control - From quail eating small beetles out of your garden to guineas eating ticks to turkeys eating insects too large to handle otherwise. *Pets -  Some of my best friends have been birds. *Financially - Find out how two country bumpkin teenage boys were able to turn a profit year after year. For a basic primer on raising poultry refer to Episode 15 Raising Poultry. COOP 101 Predator Protection

In response to the blog post on goat breeds I received a comment questioning the worth of goats.  That is a fair question, after all they aren't the most popular homestead animal.  They look like a cross between Satan and a deer and they have a reputation for eating tin cans and escaping any pen (most of which is unfounded (I think!)). Benefits of goats *Meat.  Goat meat is called Chevon, Caprito is meat from younger goats.  I talk a little about the stigma with eating meat and why the year 1066 has disconnected us from the animals we eat. *Milk/Cheese.  Goat's milk is closer to human milk than cow's milk.  Its a ton healthier as well.  And if you've ever eaten Feta (and I theorize any cheese!) you'd better thank a goat. *Clearing Land.  Goats eat stuff that other animals won't and can't touch including poison ivy, wild rose and blackberries (if you consider them a weed!). *Low Impact.  Require little feed.  Don't compact land like cows do. *Economic.  Regardless of how you feel about goats, other people will readily buy them from you! Awesome article on raising goats here!

I've gotten some requests and questions about doing a show on best breeds for livestock types.  I think I could probably do a show on each type that I have experience with but first I wanted to preface that with a show that's a cautionary tale on how picking the wrong breed can have bad effects.  So rather than say this breed is best for this or that I tried to tell you what you can expect from general characteristics and why breed is so important. *The differences in chicken shape and temperament.  My theory at least. *Why dual purpose breeds seem to be good ideas for sheep/goats but not cattle. *Pigs are pretty basic breed wise. *My preliminary plans with goats/sheep on my small holding.

In today's show I wanted to do a brief primer on beekeeping and the history of bees and beekeeping. I don't go really in depth about any particular aspect.  I just wanted to get a show out detailing my experiences so far and what I've learned-which is very limited. Bees have been around for a very long time and very unique in the insect world.  As far back as 13,000 BC, mankind was raiding beehives for honey.  As far back as ancient Egypt (and perhaps earlier, in China) mankind has been keeping bees. Honeybees are native to Europe, Asia and Africa and are commonly known as Western Honey Bees.  There are three types.  The queen-one per hive, lays the eggs.  She is fed royal jelly during the larval stage for an extended amount of time.  Then there are the workers, all females and the only ones with stingers.  These are fed royal jelly for a limited amount of time as larvae.  Then there are the poor drones, the males.  No stingers, no jobs, just bums.  Sticking around the hive just long enough to eat the honey, mate with the queen and die! There are also three main types of hives.  Top Bar-the traditional hive (unless you count rope skeps!).  The top bar is pretty sustainable but requires the comb to be cut out.  They are also hard to get established or so it seems.  The next is langstroth which is the commercial type.  It is expandable and management intensive but heavy.  It is the easiest to harvest.  Then there is the Warre which has the advantage of being easy to build and expand but its the hardest to harvest.

Today's show is based on an article I wrote and submitted to Backwoods Home Magazine.  I'm still waiting to hear back from them but why keep you all waiting.  Now is the time to get in the woods and start tracking.  Deer season will be here upon us sooner than you think. Tune in as I talk about: *Physical evidence - the stuff that is left behind. 1.  Tracks 2.  Droppings 3.  Sheds 4.  Paths 5.  Food/Water signs 6.  Territorial markings *Mental Expectations *Putting the story together.  How do I (as the tracker) put all the evidence together and predict what might happen? *How to ignore nothing signs.  Some things that look like wildlife sign are really nothing.  How do you determine this and learn to ignore it?

Well here's a subject I bet few people have covered in a podcast.  Today I talk about the nearly lost Southern art of frog-gigging. I'd have a hard time trying to describe just how fun it is to go frog gigging.  If being muddy, in waist high water with snakes in the dark with a sharp pointy stick sounds fun then this is the podcast you want to listen to. I was fortunate to have so many places to gig that many of my summer nights revolved around gigging season. In this episode I discuss: *Equipment *Why I don't use a boat and think people who do should have a good reason to do so. *The technique including gigging with friends. *Cleaning and dressing frog legs. *What frog legs taste like and how to cook them. Anyone who wants more detail or a written copy of this should check out Backwoods Home Magazine later this Summer when my article on the subject is set to appear.