Selfsufficientish.com

my dog (Max) is a 13 year old GS/collie. He has always been 100% attached to me, rather neurotic and has a very poor appetite. Our other dog (an adored,greedy gal) died last week and Max has hardly eaten since. I have always given them a mix of bought can food, appropriate kitchen scraps and treats ...

Our 2 gorgeous pygmy goats are doing a wonderful job keeping the hens safe from the foxes but they seem to be obsessed with chewing at the wooden goat house that they all live in. They have plenty of woody shrubs and forage to go at but they really like to eat their house! Any brilliant ideas on how...

If they put themselves to bed then I would close or remove the old coop and leave the other one open all day so they can inspect it. Keep an eye at dusk and be prepared to scoop up any who havent gone in. I certainly wouldnt shut them in for 24 hours. If your girl seems to be getting on then just po...

I have also heard that steam cleaner is the way to go. I have consulted my grandmas book but find no remedy for mites in the house. She does however recommend the use of rosemary, thyme or mint in the nesting box of the hens. I have used this method for a couple of years and (so far) have had no pro...

there are plenty of brambles, hawthorn, some nettles, elder bushes, a few docks etc and a little grass. I will try to do this quite slowly but I really think that they are just conditioned to waiting for their buckets!I am very surprised at how fond I have become of them-I can imagine how people bec...

I pickle quite a lot of eggs (try with loads of chilli or ginger as well as just plain pickled)and I also had considerable success freezing them last summer. I broke 4 or 6 eggs into a bag, squeezed out the air and sealed. They were certainly fine for scrambled eggs and baking. I used the pekins egg...

thanks for the advice. I am still concerned that they still don't seem interested in looking for their own food. The paddock is not grass. It is a mix of shrubby bits and pieces and trees. They did strip the bark off a hawthorn tree but don't seem inclined to eat the lower leaves etc. When I go with...

I am also surprised at how little my boys are foraging. The previous owners kept them in a fairly small enclosure on a diet of mix and hay. I have reduced the mix and give no hay as they have an acre of paddock to browse. They do not seem to want to forage at all though, they will eat bits if I 'sho...

Thanks for the advice. We have 2 pygmies and they are adorable! They have been fantastic at keeping the foxes away from the hens (touch wood). My goats do seem to prefer to sleep outside unless it is raining when they are in before the drops hit the ground! The shed is open so that they can choose. ...

Hi all I am about to get a beautiful new goat house in which I hope our hens will also roost. I am currently using straw to bed hens and goats but was wondering about changing to wood shavings. This will make it a lot lighter to clean and will compost better. I am a bit worried though that the goats...

thanks all for warm welcome. You may be right battybird...I think this may be my new favourite waste of time!

It is not composting but I have just made a whole years worth of firelighters out of eucalyptus (& other) shavings and all my old candle ends + some beeswax from a friend. They are wonderful and smell good while waiting to be used.
If this is not the right answer.....forgive me, I am new!!

we have renovated a derelict farmhouse and are now turning attention to the derelict farmhouse garden! I am planning a vegetable patch with a view to starting actually growing things in the spring, but using this winter to work on the 'structure' - erecting greenhouse, laying out beds etc. I had tho...

hello. I am really pleased to have found this forum as it seems to be just what I am looking for! I have spent most of my adult life working as a health care professional, becoming more and more disillusioned about healthcare and life in general and finally trying to work out a new style of life. I ...