I’ve spent a good portion of the day considering how to make the property self sufficient so if we hit a financial low like this again, we will be good, not just getting by.
Things like a garden are given. Chickens are an option, if I can build a weasel proof coop. I was researching cows. Holy crud! 1500-2000 for a single 7 month old highland cow, which is more than I spent on my car! Next step is fencing costs, as most of the fence around this property is old and shot. So I’m thinking I need to fence all around the property, put in a gate at the end of the drive, then divide it into east, west, and home sections. With 10 acres, we can do one or two cows easy. so I’m thinking I build a shed, which will later become my milking shed, close to the house. get a cow as young as I can, raise her up as my lawn mower pet the first year and a half, she sleeps safe from the coyotes bobcat, maybe cougar. I tame her to the point she’s halter broke, used to being brushed and touched all over, then once she’s old enough, we breed her, maybe artificially. the calf if male is turned into a steer and raised as meat. If female, we raise her up as a pet too, but first female will get milked, and as they produce 1-2 gallons daily when milked, that’s enough to last us a week, the other 6 days would be butter, and learning to make cheese. They live 20 odd years, producing 15-18 calves during that time, have lean tender meat, and if just grass fed, have lower cholesterol in their meat than even chicken. Win-win for us. But first comes the expensive parts. Hmmm, step son wants to get into all this home steading stuff, he can start with that part! He’s still in Missouri for medical appointments, it’s dragging out, partially due to weather. Otherwise I’d be bouncing these ideas off him too.
Sigh, anyone have a spare winning lottery ticket?!!!!
Had to edit, I made a paragraph long sentence.
