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you'd be hard pressed to find a cobbler where I live, they just dont exist here any more.
no bartering for me, I dont have 10 acres and I need all the storage space for things I need or am going to need.
you'd be hard pressed to find a cobbler where I live, they just dont exist here any more.
no bartering for me, I dont have 10 acres and I need all the storage space for things I need or am going to need.
Moccasins aren't difficult to make, and you can make knee high mum-luks for cold with just simple tools and leather.
If you are going to store chicken feed, you might as well have chickens of your own.
Instead of chicken feed, take them fruit and veggies and cakes made with the eggs they give you. Animal feed isn't all that great for barter unless you are putting up good quality hay. Hay can be used for barter.
The high protein and calcium feed that laying hens need does not store well. However, if you want to store small-ish amounts of animal feed, you can store it in metal garbage cans that have tight fitting lids. Best in a cool dry place. That's the way I store the grains I use for making dog food.
Or raise rabbits and take them the occasional dressed rabbit and trade for eggs. Meat should be well received.
If you are going to store chicken feed, you might as well have chickens of your own.
Instead of chicken feed, take them fruit and veggies and cakes made with the eggs they give you. Animal feed isn't all that great for barter unless you are putting up good quality hay. Hay can be used for barter.
The high protein and calcium feed that laying hens need does not store well. However, if you want to store small-ish amounts of animal feed, you can store it in metal garbage cans that have tight fitting lids. Best in a cool dry place. That's the way I store the grains I use for making dog food.
Or raise rabbits and take them the occasional dressed rabbit and trade for eggs. Meat should be well received.
Hay is especially valuable in drought years.
I sold my entire hay crop as soon as it hit the ground last year, but I had 10 tons of leftover hay from the year before. Still good hay, but not fresh.
A neighboring rancher was in trouble. 40 cows, no feed and no money. So I traded him my hay for hunting rights to his property. Worked out great for both of us because he needed the hay, it wasn't doing me any good, but his place has excellent antelope, mule deer and upland game bird hunting. He doesn't hunt so he's just feeding them for free. It didn't cost him anything to let me hunt his place. Without that hay he would have had to sell cows or equipment to buy seriously overpriced hay and truck it in from out of state. He might have lost cattle or his calf crop, which means he could potentially be behind on payments or even lose the place if he didn't have calves to sell.
We both got what we wanted. It was a good trade because my hay would have been worth maybe $2000, but exclusive hunting rights to 1000 acres would cost about $5000 for what's on his place.
We both got what we wanted, and became good friends in the process.
Win Win.
Essentially, I have no chickens but have friends with chickens. What are the thoughts about my way of bringing contributions to the table, so to speak, by buying chicken feed to store? Other feed to store? Is there a certain way to do it? How long can the stuff last? All those good little details......
I have a value added trade deal. My neighbor provides us with chicken, duck and goose eggs yearly in exchange for 10-15lbs of my homemade salami. I have access to a very large ranch for hunting with a similar deal. I usually throw in a ham and a bottle of wine for that one too.
Essentially, I have no chickens but have friends with chickens. What are the thoughts about my way of bringing contributions to the table, so to speak, by buying chicken feed to store?
As a chicken owner, I would say you would be wasting your time. However, you might want to ask your friends who have chickens.
While I do keep scratch out for my birds they prefer the weeds I take out of the garden. Even greens from the garden. I can grow swiss chard all year round and they love it, along with the collards. I grow that crap so if I ever have to eat it, but I do not care for it! LOL
I got chickens because they are cheaper to feed than buying dogfood. NO, I DO NOT FEED CHICKENS TO THE DOGS. But eggs, cooked potatoes, and rice will be the dogfood .... it might be chicken flavored tho....
I've got plenty of fish, which can feed both the chickens and the dogs as well. I'd prefer to have no dogs but people abandon them around my area so I take care of them. But because of them I can not free range my chickens. I'm thinking about getting muzzles for all of them and see what happens.
Last edited by Laid-Back; 06-01-2022 at 02:23 PM..
Threerun,
anytime you’re over in my neck of the woods I’ll trade you clams or some dungies for some of that salami.
Sht I’ll even break out the wine.
I really want a smoke hut to do salami and summer sausage.
A few years ago, I was playing on the USDA website and I found their data about how much grain is produced in each county in my state. Looking for corn, I looked through the phone numbers in the appropriate county and found a farm that listed corn. I called and I had a nice conversation with the farmer's wife. She told me the names of which neighboring farms were growing corn that year. I then called one of them and worked out an arrangement to swing by their farm on the week when they were running their combine. I filled forty 50-pounds gunny sacks straight from the combine. the farmer was thrilled to sell a tonne of his grain for cash.
Forty gunny sacks fit nicely in the back seat of a sedan.
I did the same routine for barley and again for oats. [each was sourced in different counties]
I have an assortment of 55-gallon steel drums at home that I keep filled with grains, and a pint of re-usable desiccant inside each drum.
When I am feeding livestock, I mix the grains together in equal proportions in a concrete mixer with a light drizzle of feed-grade molasses, to make 'Sweet feed'. This costs me roughly one-third of how much sweet feed costs at the feed store.
As a chicken owner, I would say you would be wasting your time. However, you might want to ask your friends who have chickens.
While I do keep scratch out for my birds they prefer the weeds I take out of the garden. Even greens from the garden. I can grow swiss chard all year round and they love it, along with the collards. I grow that crap so if I ever have to eat it, but I do not care for it! LOL
I got chickens because they are cheaper to feed than buying dogfood. NO, I DO NOT FEED CHICKENS TO THE DOGS. But eggs, cooked potatoes, and rice will be the dogfood .... it might be chicken flavored tho....
I've got plenty of fish, which can feed both the chickens and the dogs as well. I'd prefer to have no dogs but people abandon them around my area so I take care of them. But because of them I can not free range my chickens. I'm thinking about getting muzzles for all of them and see what happens.
That is a concern to me, abandoned dogs and cats, but so far, the Angels have not sent me either. I did have 3 dogs on the porch the other week but they were collared, so I suspect they were from another ranch. I haven't seen them since.
Given the preserve nature of the ranch, I don't think I would free range chickens in I had them. If not the dogs, foxes, coyotes, birds of prey, feral hogs....etc..
Your fish, do you have a stream or your own pond?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner
A few years ago, I was playing on the USDA website and I found their data about how much grain is produced in each county in my state. Looking for corn, I looked through the phone numbers in the appropriate county and found a farm that listed corn. I called and I had a nice conversation with the farmer's wife. She told me the names of which neighboring farms were growing corn that year. I then called one of them and worked out an arrangement to swing by their farm on the week when they were running their combine. I filled forty 50-pounds gunny sacks straight from the combine. the farmer was thrilled to sell a tonne of his grain for cash.
Forty gunny sacks fit nicely in the back seat of a sedan.
I did the same routine for barley and again for oats. [each was sourced in different counties]
I have an assortment of 55-gallon steel drums at home that I keep filled with grains, and a pint of re-usable desiccant inside each drum.
When I am feeding livestock, I mix the grains together in equal proportions in a concrete mixer with a light drizzle of feed-grade molasses, to make 'Sweet feed'. This costs me roughly one-third of how much sweet feed costs at the feed store.
Sounds wonderful but in the interest of bellydancer on the prairie......what do you use it for, what does it feed?
Sounds feasible to me. You'll need mouse proof containers (old refrigerators laying on their backs) and research the longest lasting.
Why not discuss it with your friends. Maybe you can own a few over at his house and pay for their maintenance or help with chores.
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