Finally, my own LAND!!

[melwynnd]

Hi all,

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought 15 acres in MN.  It has one large open field, lots of trees on the rest and a stream through it.  I'm so excited.

We won't be moving there anytime soon, but at least I won't have to worry about my brother making trouble for us because we are on my parent's place.  

It will be strange to live somewhere you don't have to irrigate.........

[spinnm]

MN?  Aren't you in WY?  What made you pick MN?  Just curious.

[glenn-k]

Sounds great Sherry.  Keep us posted.

[jonseyhay]

That's great Sherry,
Another Country plans graduate off and running. Keep this up and we could start our own town, hey! we could start our own country.  
jonesy.

[melwynnd]

Shelley,

I wanted somewhere you don't have to irrigate.  Besides, for some reason, real eatate(with water rights) has qotten pretty high here.  Without water rights, the land is usless for my homestead.  It's hard to grow a pasture on less than 7 inches of precip a year.

[glenn-k]

Let's start  the new country at my place, Jonesy.  My first move will be to create a supreme court to put me in office then next you could rig the voting machines to keep me in for a second term.  It's fun having our own country , huh Jonesy.

Sorry folks-- I had to censor that-- it got near to being political content. :-/  Glenn

[spinnm]

That's right.  You have lots of animals, don't you?
Irrigated land is getting pricey here.  Still reasonable down South where we're going.

I thought that you might have some family there.  My husband is from there.  I lived there the first year after we married.

Better load up on the "Prey" books if you're a mystery fan.....and watch Fargo the next time it's on.

[jonseyhay]

Sounds good Glenn,
No high rises to block the sun, great beer and the best BBQ I have seen in a while. Out of control building inspectors get eaten by bears, what more could you want. "Glenn's mountain kingdom" does have a sort of ring to it don't it. Of coarse you will probably need to slap an extension on the hot tub.
jonesy.

[melwynnd]

As of right now I have, two horses, three calves(one is sold though), one milk cow, one lamb, two sheep, one yearling steer(he's going in the freezer in November), and 25 chickens.  This is subject to change without notice(meaning I could get more at any time ).  So pasture is pretty important to me.

We're still planning on properly rebuilding the trailer house, but now we know where it's going.  Kind of nice as we can plan for the specific climate.  I'm also thinking about making some movable and joinable animal sheds with the tin we will be taking off of the trailer when we redo it.  We need something for shade and to break the wind here, and will need something to keep the critters out of the rain there.  They would need to be 7'x7' so they can be put on a trailer and moved to MN.  I'd like to have them set up so they can be an open shed or joined(face to face) into an enclosed shed.  They need to be light enough to move with a 4-wheeler.  Any ideas?

Sherry

[glenn-k]

We used to use light gauge square tubing - 1 1/4" to make door frames for metal buildings.  If you have some one who can weld a bit, you can make frames that bolt or pin together and are strong -light and easy to move-- use self drilling fasteners to fasten sheeting to frame -  screws will be inside tube to keep from sticking you.  Fasten to anchors in ground as necessary to keep from sailing to next county in a strong wind.

Good luck, Sherry.

[melwynnd]

Glenn,

Thanks for the suggestion.  I was thinking 2x4's for framing, but the metal tubing would be much lighter and probably would not object to being moved around as much as wood does.  My husband owns a bodyshop on our place and can weld most anything.  Since I don't weld, though, I seldom think of metal as a viable material.

Sherry

[glenn-k]

Sherry, took your suggestion - named our little turkeys Lunch, Dinner, Thanksgiving, and Easter.  Now that they're growing, I find out that I have a pair of whites and a pair of bronze-- what do you suggest -- eat as planned or go into turkey farming

[melwynnd]

Glen,

Are they commercial bred turkeys?  If they are the broad breasted type, they won't breed naturally and by next summer, you will kill them for mercy if they don't eat themselves to death over the winter.  You need a wild type turkey to keep them past butchering age.

[melwynnd]

Glenn,

Out of curiosity, have you butchered turkeys before??

Sherry

[glenn kangiser]

Only chickens, deer, rabbits,  fish-- no turkeys.  Any tips--for the homesteading accessories part of countryplans.

They are commercial from the feed store so I guess its back to dinner etc.  - Thanks for the info so far.

[melwynnd]

This is going to sound horrible, but don't try to chop their heads off with a hatchet.  Their wattles are too slippery and you will botch it.  Hang them by their feet and use a sharp pair of branch loppers to take off their heads.  Some people try to stick them in the brain, it's supposed to make them easier to pluck, but I've never had good luck with that and hate the idea of critters suffering when I kill them.  You don't scald turkeys like you do chickens.  

I'm planning on getting some Nagansett(SP?) turkeys next spring.  They're a heritage breed that breeds naturally.

Sherry

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks Sherry-  all a part of country living.

Glenn