where to get fruit trees from?

[keezawitch]

i was talking to a conversation group saturday about fireweed and they are recommending people put goats and sheep in to eradicate it, just goes to show how intellegent some people are, luckily we dont have any fireweed and neither does ex daughter in law just lots of grass and safe to eat trees, the eucy's are to tall for them to reach. We have currajong( think thats what they call it) a great feed for goats and sand pear mainly, also scotch thistle which the goats like and grass lots and lots of grass. We have sheep too, husband fenced off paddock just for them as i was going to eat the girls, he wont let me, he plans to breed and eat the babies, and i wanted to kill the killer ram, wiltshire horn, he attacked me and broke my ribs, so hubby fenced him off before i got to him once i could move again I love my milking goats, they have a nice nature and quite intelligent, sheep i can take or leave.

[dggoatlover]

Mmmmmm all this berry talk is making me sad Berries just won't grow up here - its too hot. I do have a raspberry bush that was given to me but it has never fruited - the heat just knocks it around something shocking too. Its always dying and growing back. I'm not sure what else to do with it.

I have a beautiful lilly plant - not sure what type it is - used to belong to my Nan. My mum cared for it when Nan passed away and then when my mum moved house it got given to me. It now sits under the water tank overflow in a nice shady spot. So beautiful!

Had two of my girls come in with lantana poisoning last night - up here it is highly toxic. They must have found a new plant that has popped up after all the rain Stuffed them fill of anit-inflam and Vit C and locked everyone out of that paddock until I can walk it over again. They were much improved this morning and they all went out with the other girls to a clean paddock after breakfast and milking.

[minnie]

It takes a quite a lot of fireweed to kill, a few bits they'll cope as do the cattle. In the cattle they get liver failure with too much.

If an animal aggressively attacks you it needs to be culled I think.

Oh Desley the dreaded lantana!! I hate it, and it loves it in the sub to tropics... I'm glad you got them before they got too sick.

I grow mine in the shade and they've done okay, better in spring and now that we're getting to Autumn I'd say I'll get more strawberries.


Vicki

[keezawitch]

very lucky we dont seem to have lantana either, but saw a bit on side rd out of house must kill it, talking about killing, i would have killed the mad ram but we dont have a gun, and i cant draw the sons compound bow, it has a 75kg draw, thats more than i weigh . If the husband hadnt moved it into its own paddock i think i would have worked out some way to do it in, funny thing is I have changed my hair color and he doesnt seem to recogniese my now, still I am not going into that paddock to check. He better be a good sire thats all i keep thinking.

[minnie]

Don't know if sheep are the same as cattle in this but, you cull cattle with bad temperment as it often can get passed on. Which is why some herds are quiet (they've culled on temperment) and some are nutso (they haven't).

Pity they didn't do it with people, maybe we wouldn't have wars.

Vicki

[keezawitch]

I have met a few people who should be culled over the yrs the basic problem with the ram is that he was hand reared by a woman(not me) and instead of teaching him manners they sold him to unsuspecting us sooooo he thinks I should feed him when he wants it and then carried on like a spoilt child when i chastised him he turned nasty with me and as i am only small and he is bloody huge I can't put it over him (if i had him as a youngster he would be too bloody scared to touch me) he knows not to try it on with husband and sons, brother in law brought his kelpie up and gave him a razzle so now he is better behaved. I am getting brother in laws dog soon as he is retiring her from work so she is going to live here and I can work her if need be with the sheep. The girls I hand raised are really well behaved so I think a lot of his behavour is learned not inbred, We plan to eat his prodgany so they wont be around long enough to course problems. If he breaks out he will be dog food, he has a repreave at the moment.

I am a great believer in culling, especially if it is a temperment problem, so far in the animals we have bred over the yrs (shown and bred Kelpies for about 27yrs) have had no temperment problems, largely due to careful breeding, proper training and NEVER selling them to unsuitable people. Hope to continue with all our animals in this way. I have a young male sanaan goat and he has been really good the people i brought him off dont tolerate bad behavoiur so i have had it fairly easy with him he knows i am boss and i have no intention for him to learn otherwise. The dumb animals (sheep) in the household are the husbands, I just want to eat them

[minnie]

Yes some of the hand reared can take liberties, I know a heifer I reared treats me like another cow and sometimes gets a little pushy now she's bigger, but not agressive it's more a case of 'this is my Mum' and stands so close and pushes me or rubs her horns on my leg... they'll be tipped that's for sure.

Temperament wise though she's beautiful and very cruisy, it's just me and I admit to absolutely spoiling her... see threads on Fatima my premature calf.

Vicki

[keezawitch]

what type of cows do you have, how hard are they to care for? I got my daleys catalogue, now to get time to read it I will have 5 grandkids here after 4 today from the ages of 7 to 3yr old. they can help with the feeding this afternoon, i have 4 of them every week

Kerry

[minnie]

I've got dexters, they're the same to care for as big cattle but just smaller. It's hard to say 'how hard they are to care for" it depends on how much land you have, the amount of feed etc etc. We were on 8 acres and outgrew it very quickly and did lots of handfeeding, came out here on 125 acres and the grass was so poor we had to handfeed a lot, so all in all expensive.

Dexters are touted for small acres but these days I say if people are on small acres and want any other animal other than a house cow and calf, then stick with goats and sheep. Cattle are herd animals and need the company of at least one animal and that can be a calf until the next one is born, but you need to wean etc before another calf and then think of how to get the cow in calf again. You also need something strong to hold them for 'needling' or treating.

I love them, but then I've always loved cattle.

Vicki

[keezawitch]

My mum loves cows, me I can take them or leave them, when we were trying to buy 25 acres down past goulburn (long time ago now and before all grandkids arrived so was good we didnt get it as family need me closer for now) I fell in love with Highland cattle and would have had a couple then, but on 3 acres it is unfair to have cattle, not enough room, I am happy with my goats, by the way the little part feral we gave to sons ex is living the high life, she walks on a lead so they take her for long walks each day so she isnt bored and the rest of the time she hangs out at the back door when she isnt eating, sons ex is in love with her and is looking after her well. Back to cows, would be extremely expensive to hand feed with the cost of good feed being exobitant when draught on and still really dear now, do you have them to milk(pretty dumb about cow breeds) or for other things.

[minnie]

Yes the intention has always been to milk, but between not enough land, building bales and then moving we haven't got there.

We got a good single milking machine, and hopefully this coming spring we'll be able to milk!

During our milking time we'll do cheese as well and I'm hoping to get down a enough hard cheese to last until the next year, fingers crossed. As we know all good plans can take a turn.

Eventually we'll sell cows as house cows that are used to milking but that's a little off yet.


Vicki

[keezawitch]

what a wonderful plan, good luck with it, I am just learning to make cheese and finding it interesting. must go grandkid loose