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rotational high density grazing – small scale

2016/11/21 Danielle 0

I’ve ruminated at length about the pros and cons of goats (adorable miniature milk goats, and there are even Nigerian Dwarf goats in Australia now!) and sheep (ah the possibilities of non-tree-eating ruminants). I’ve talked about getting a house cow (still in the long term plan) and considered the cost versus difficulty versus milk quality and quantity of various breeds of all these animals. I’ve considered alpacas (beautiful silky suri fleece to spin) but decided that in the short term they’re too expensive for the returns they offer, and not friendly enough to get one just as a pet.   […]

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Pilgrim (or Settlers) Geese

2016/10/13 Danielle 0

Geese aren’t everyone’s idea of a great back-yard animal. I’ve heard all the stories – they’re noisy, vicious, aggressive, messy, horrible hellbeasts. But I have a confession to make: I’ve always kinda wanted to have geese. Since well before I saw the film Fly Away Home (about a little girl who rescues a nest full of orphaned Canada geese, and raises them, teaching them to fly and eventually leading them on an  epic microlight journey as she teaches them a safe migration route for their annual migration), I thought geese were adorable. I didn’t have any latent desire to have […]

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guinea pigs, the reprise

2016/07/08 Danielle 0

No, I haven’t gone and acquired some guinea pigs. Yet.   What I have been doing is some productivity calculations. My objective in keeping guinea pigs (aka cavies, aka cuy) is meat; if that squicks you, please stop now and don’t read any further.   Ok then. One young guinea pig (at 4 months old) weighs 0.5 – 1 kg, on average. That obviously includes the bones, organs, skin, etc. which aren’t really edible – although the organs are useful for feeding to cats (and the dog we will eventually get), and pet food is one of the primary drivers […]

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June 8: animal profile – guinea pigs

2016/06/08 Danielle 0

Today is not a task-completion day. Everyone needs a day or two off every now and then, and the bed renovation had some bits & pieces to tidy up anyway. I’m aiming to start getting the cat furniture (climbing shelves and some whole-tree climbing toys made from trees removed during the house build) finished and installed over the next few days.   For the moment, though, here’s another animal profile: Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus), also known as cavies or cuy, although ‘cuy’ is usually used to refer to meat breed cavies. Yes – guinea pigs are kept as meat animals by many […]