Would you try to raise enough chicken for 1 Year? - Free Range Homestead Ep 33

[@bobbybaldeagle702]

###AS FOR THE PEACH TREE### You can try this sometimes it works depending on the break and time of year... #1. Get a spray bottle with clear water and let it set outside to bring it to the air temp best you can. Then spray the limb where it's cracked. Then with help raise the branch to meet and close the crack. Then with a cotton rope like clothesline rope and bind the limb back together. You will need to have the rope go around the crack from one end to the other tightly so no air or rain can get in. It won't necessarily mend the limb back together forever but it should mend it good enough to get the peaches to harvest. Then at pruning time you'll need to remove the branch. But save your rope for latter use on something else... Now that's a true blue, N/E Missouri Hick fix from my childhood 60 some years ago it worked on the old plum tree...

[@JandH2017]

Loved it, guys! Jet looked so funny jumping over the fence. 🤣

[@FreeRangeLiving]

I reckon that dog gives us something to laugh at every day

[@Mminnehoma]

Twenty-first century duck herding: another unexpected first 👍😄

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Think outside the fence!

[@bud1971]

Your tomatoes are looking amazing

[@jvkew]

Delightful show!

[@trafalgar22a8]

020423 Top quality as usual

[@mary-i7d9d]

Perhaps a Y frame under loaded branches?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Good advice

[@johanvanheerden8458]

Fried goose with orange glazing!

[@davidsears5576]

Outstanding

[@MausMasher54]

It's a miracle one of the geese did not take the drone on in a fight....the renegade goose would have been on my dinner table that evening....

[@timdunn2387]

Geese wrangling with drones, around a manufactured course. A new event at the Perth Royal Show?

[@kb1esx]

OMG! I loved using the drone as a sheep dog!

[@dougsrepair1060]

At the beginning of the episode the geese are your best animals, by the end their in the fridge😂.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We give everyone a chance, just not a free ticket!

[@percival3830]

Heaven on earth, and it couldn't happen to nicer folk.

[@BillB23]

Thanks for another fine addition to your video library.

[@woodsmn8047]

as for the peaches .. I have seen some folks use props from the ground to hold the weight til the fruit can be picked then as the tree grows it will get stronger and not need help in the future

[@FreeRangeLiving]

A lesson learner, late but now we know.

[@markporterporter3259]

Nice one guys.

[@gregbolitho9775]

Nice Goin Squadron Leader Gaggle and A flight came home. Kinda pity the took off again. They might come home if the get real hungry. Real impressed with the chicks, they'll be chooks soon. You'll be finding stuff to with excess eggs, pickled. Jett jumped over the fence lik Shiffa [fem grey tabby cat] jumps onto the bed and couch the same way. Doin well, thanks m8s, keep up the good work.

[@carolyngorman6858]

Watching this a month after your peach tree split so I’m not very timely with this comment but Dad successfully repaired and saved a split prolific satsuma plum tree laden with fruit. I can’t remember what he “glued” the split with but perhaps it was anti fungal? Come to think of it I think honey might also work. He then strapped it all together with some old rubber conveyor belt strapping he had lying around (I know how much you enjoy a junk heap fix it job Troy!) and tek screwed it to the tree! It went on to produce fruit for years to come. I’m sure you’ve had heaps of other helpful advice as the comments are plentiful. Hope you got some ripe peaches for your efforts ❤🍑

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We have had heaps of other advice, but none used tech screws so I just ignored it.

[@andywindy]

Good save of the Drone Pascale, it would have been a real loss, as it has recorded some amazing things and times, and is a really useful for Tree husbandry and a lot quicker than getting the rigging gear out for a quick inspection!. Shame about the Geese, but then, you have to find what works and what doesn't. How are you realistically going to stop your Goats from eating those Peaches? Once they smell them starting to get ripe, I reckon you'll have a real challenge there.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We have the goats in hand! It only took a 5 wire electric fence around their house and various constructions to keep them occupied. I think a truce has been achieved.

[@stefanieobermeder2065]

Any wait to see how u cook those gooses

[@funwithfood181]

Got a couple of workers I see!

[@boomer3305]

2 or three forked sticks and prop up the branch

[@iansmith6086]

I think it's time to start your Black Soldier Fly project. You will save loads on bird feed.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

I was wondering if they would need special provision for our cold winters. I have looked to see if they occur naturally here, but I think buying starter larvae might be necessary. We are trying to expand our access to various waste streams and BSF would be a great addition to that effort.

[@hyime69]

Love your Phrase " We don't want to eat them just yet"!!!! As a child we had a small holding which involved Gardens and 20 Chicken's and 2 Geese well the 2 Geese went on to breed and we ended up with 8 in total, after 18 months when the Goslings grew up. The alfa Gander "Arthur" would lead them walking to a pond about 1/2 mile from our House where they would swim all day and walk about that area. This was a problem as it was next to a Main road dual carriageway which they regularly would wander out on to, which would then involved our local Police asking us to come and get them. As a young lad of 7-8 years old I knew to point them into wind run at them and flap my arms to which they all ran away flapping and would become airborne they would climb to about 50ft circle me and the Police with Arthur in the lead I would shout to him as he flew over "Home Arthur Home" he would turn towards the house and fly home with his gaggle in flight either side of him. I then walked back across the fields to find the gaggle waiting by the gate from the field to our property and let them back in where they would make a load of noise and commotion to let all know they had returned and finally wander into their pen and settle in to feed and drink for the evening. This happened a few times and on one occasions one of the Police officers said to his senior "It is ok Sarge I know how to get them off the road" After nearly and hour of running around behind these Geese and a lot of frustrated drivers getting vocal at him the Sargent said "Get The Boy to do it" So I was driven by Police car to the scene and we did our thing and they flew home. Soon after this we were given a formal warning to either control them or we were to be fined. We all knew they would go back if they could to the pond, we pleaded with our Father not to kill them as kids and Arthur & Mather and their goslings were re homed at the Bentley Wildfowl Trust in East Sussex England in 1975 where they lived out their lives happily on the waters there. They were never formally trained by us to do this and They always Walked to the Pond 1/2 mile away and flew home.

[@dylanwebb9584]

Actually, you were recognised as an important flock member by the geese themselves. Brilliant!

[@FreeRangeLiving]

If only our geese had walked to our dam and come home. They started out doing just that- we would all walk to the water and they would fly back to the house in the afternoon. It was very satisfying, until they got a look at the neighbours beautiful ponds and decided they wanted to live there instead. Had they not been used to rear crayfish, it might have been ok, but maintaining good neighbourly relations is very important to us so we had to act. I do miss having them about and I understand your young pleas for clemency!

[@stevegraham3817]

@@FreeRangeLiving Have you tasted Marron yet? It will be worth keeping the neighbour on side. lol

[@hyime69]

@@FreeRangeLiving It brought back Childhood memories, however today I would of have no qualms of eating them I know where you are coming from, keeping your neighbours as friends in a small farming community

[@highvibe4839]

What a fabulous story, you told us so well, memories like this never leave us! 😅

[@tototere]

I've been following you for years. I've loved where you've been. I love where you're going. Just keep being you.

[@mickvr9361]

Condolences on the end of the geese. I must admit that when I first heard you were raring not just one, but a flock I thought rut-roh. Geese and peacocks are analogues to teenagers. Smart enough to formulate workarounds for immediate gratification, but too stupid to consider long term consequences. I was hoping they would be manageable for you, thankfully you have decided to cut your loses before it built into a problem with your neighbours, if only the average suburban human was so smart. I loved your sailing channel and I am getting equal satisfaction from your farm adventure. Keep up the good work. Hugz to you both.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Happy neighbours are very important to us. It was one of the things we looked forward to when we changed from boat life.

[@jehdwebster9152]

We found sheep more rewarding than goats. We have East Feasion dairy sheep and Katahdin meat sheep. The milk is closer to cow milk and the cheese is great. We are looking for an A2A2 Dexter or mini Jersey cow. A neighbor gave us two bottle Angus calves that were abandoned by their moms. Farming is work but rewarding keep up the good video entertainment.

[@SkylinersYeti]

It is common for home orchard trees to not be properly pruned. Limbs become too long to support fruit. In the future, prune the trees to create shorter branches, thin fruit early.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Absolutely. I've asked my neighbour to guide us through some winter pruning to restore some shape to the trees here. They haven't had any management for many years

[@KLRBugeater]

Drone: A good spray of WD-40 (or Australian equivalent) is also a good choice at first recovery, then after a good spray, all of the things you have done.

[@jaktar58]

Just an idea, can you put a crutch under the broken bough and then secure the broken branch back together with some rope (like a whipping) and add additional crutches to support the branch as it will surely get heavier. Just a thought

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We'll definitely be bracing fruit heavy branches from now on. I remember as a kid seeing stone fruit with timber X frames cobbled together supporting them.

[@Quarry4x4]

I've had mandarins snap branches and left them. We had a duck that would leave home for a year or so returning at its whim.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Rocky's answer to Tony Soprano!

[@lightprint348]

A stiff yard broom is good for net handling and getting them over high bits and moving and adjustment

[@mickbaer]

Another fabulous video 👌. I used to love your sailing vids and now I love your farm vids, I reckon u two could talk/video on anything and it would and will be great. It's just so refreshing to see nice people doing whatever it is they love . Legends!..... much love to you both xx

[@nooneanybodyknows7912]

Your dedication to the care of your animals and livestock is heartwarming . Thanks for your homespun entertainment. I love it.

[@jeffslaven]

Absolutely fabulous video! And when your doggo jumped the fence, I nearly spit my wine! 😆

[@shockwavegaming1376]

I've been following your channel ever since you started with sailing. I love how you are always trying different things out/sharing information. During a less busy time in my life I even made a by episode list of useful information which included nearly every episode. I have had a homestead/garden/fruit trees before. I am also currently a self-employed arborist and have a few tips about the peach tree. First off as long as the broken limb is getting enough nutrients to keep the leaves green then it should be ok to leave the fruit on the tree to ripen. Breakage mitigation factors for the future include... #1:Regular trimming of the tree so that the load bearing limbs can thicken to support the weight, #2: Peaches especially are known to put on heavy crop loads so during the fruiting season support breakage prone limbs. I like to use a straight 2x4 support that I concave and smooth at the top before screwing on a piece of tubing over the limb to keep it from lifting off the support in the wind. Then I attach a shorter piece of 2x4 to the bottom so that the support has 2 legs to stand on just like a person. Tip #3: As a last resort you can pick some of the fruit before it is fully ripe to reduce the weight on the limbs. I did this for a customer's tree one year and in our case the picked fruit ripened faster than the fruit on the tree so we effectively had a longer fruiting season and were able to eat more fresh peaches without having to preserve as many. I am currently in the middle of a divorce, but once I am free to live life again I plan to set up a new homestead and maybe even do a bit of sailing if all goes to plan. I love how you used the drone to herd the geese. It's a brilliant idea for herding waterfowl as long as you can keep the drone out of the water. Also loved the comment about how you were glad the dogs and cats worked out. I've always enjoyed your videos and all the information they contain. I hope the information I shared will be useful to you in the orchard. Keep up the good work and God bless.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

The strap over the top to mitigate against wind is a very nice piece of advice. I would have had to learn that the hatd way otherwise, thanks. Good luck getting things back to normal after you get out of that crappy situation.

[@fredgaither3707]

I've got some experiences about 40 years working in the apple orchards in Northeast Washington State when the fruit would get heavy on the tree we would prompt the limbs up with poles that have v notches raising the lambs about 6in or so the weight of the lambs will hold the pole and place a little lean-to it you may be able to use grafting techniques to heal your broken limb by putting pine tar on it propping it up and wrapping it no guarantees might work anyway good luck

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Thanks Fred. I'll be sure to have some props ready next spring but I'm going to get my neighbour to guide me through a little remedial pruning on the fruit trees here. They've been unmanaged for a while and I'd like to restore their scaffold if possible.

[@mariemorrissey9378]

Keep us updated on peaches! Hearding with drone! Epic! 👍👍

[@FreeRangeLiving]

The ones we've salvaged from falling to ground have been very good, so we are looking forward to getting the tree ripened ones.

[@DialedN_07]

One of the local rules with drones in the US is to not disturb wildlife. I guess the rule is different if it's your own livestock! haha. Nicely done.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We get disturbed by drones. Perhaps we can be classed as semi-wild.

[@teebones4572]

As always, very entertaining...Thank You So Much....

[@americanbornwalkaway9110]

TOO Funny the Geese Just HAD to have water YOU Two ROCK I Saw KIDS!!!! You found Some young Helpers that is always fun!! Your Place is Truly a Free Range Paradise Beautiful!!!!!

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Yes, we occasionally get my nieces down from the big smoke to experience where food comes from. We sent them home with 7 eggs and an incubator. They've since hatched them all and are busy learning important lessons about responsibility and kindness to animals. Very satisfying.

[@chrispy104k]

Great episode. Lovely part of the world down there at Manji.

[@yorukkizigeziyor]

Very beautiful ☺👍

[@DLBard-bv2nd]

Super video! Did you say Jet might be part roo?

[@gkeyman565]

Great video as always, Fun to watch all your critters and their interactions. Have a great day

[@Lana_Warwick]

Peachy piloting early-on herding the geese, until you "fouled" it up. Good thinking with the dehydrator.

[@earthwizz]

I think what you're doing with the peach tree will probably work and you can ripen them on the tree. Loved the drone herding,. Does it work herding cats?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Haha, no. The cats respond better to a bowl of food (like every other critter here)

[@bake162]

Awesome as always folks

[@campbellmj9405]

Love the cat, enjoy watching you both grow as homesteaders and like that your are willing to try new things and share your experiences.

[@andrewhorwood1058]

Leave the peach branch attached and the fruit should ripen, so long as you can keep the goats out of them.

[@whisper7373]

The goose whisperer is at it again. That's a very creative approach to wrangling those gooses Troy. :)

[@japersjolly8763]

Geese, lol.

[@dianeallen3724]

Prop up the peach branches with scrap lumber. Do this also with other branches that are loaded with fruit.

[@knolltop314]

Hilarious!

[@GarretKrampe]

LOve the Australopithicus Black chooks

[@richardp4544]

I feel guilty for laughing through the experience with the geese because it certainly wasn't humorous from your point of view. I had a hunch when the wing trimming failed to do the job that they were destined for the freezer. Like you said thank goodness the cat and dog worked out according to plan. LOL. The farm sure is growing though with more chickens and soon more pigs. As you pointed out the goats are turning out to be worth the trouble and as soon as you lick the problem of keeping them out of areas that you don't want them you will get some relief there as well. I hope the lavender works out for you there. As far as the broken branch on the tree goes I had that happen to me twice, once with an apple tree was was loaded so much that the branch couldn't carry the weight and another time with a pear tree damaged by a falling limb from a taller and near by tree during a period of high wind. What I did, probably the wrong thing to do but it worked well both times for me, was to put a crutch under the branch to get it back in position and support it. I then wrapped the joint with lots of plastic electrical tape because it stretches as the tree continues to grow leaving the crutch in place, and the branch in both cases healed over time and I didn't lose the fruit. I just had to try it and I got lucky. Great video. I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for posting.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We might have the goats restored to order! Stay tuned. The peach is ripening nicely secured where it fell so we'll do some remedial pruning in winter. I'll be sure to use braces in future.

[@thecrew777]

I was over the geese once they started strolling to a slow jazz beat while running the drone. They nearly stopped at one point (not to mention the attempt at aggression). Over all, I say dropping the water fowl was a great idea!

[@kenlarkin6380]

Troy, the goose wrangling with the Drone was not only innovative, but also hilarious. Time to develop another business model?🤣🤣🤣

[@sailingsomeday5975]

I have never seen a dog do the standing broad jump!!! - Pet olympics???

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Boingggg. Glad we caught it on camera.

[@englishmaninfrance661]

Herding geese with a drone , you couldnt have done that when I was a kid

[@larrimos]

We love the updates to your story. The animals all play their part and have a use…..geese exit stage left act 3, scene 7😬 ….plus, it’s always nice to see babies on the homestead.😳

[@chrisfullwood6643]

That’s an impressive battery on the drone to keep flying all that time.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

I was very happy that a dive didn't let any magic smoke out of the lithium pack either!

[@alexstevenson2222]

Looks like a pond is on the build list for your water foul friends.

[@garyspainhower7478]

Paint the exposed broken wood. I had that happen last year. It worked just fine. Great videos.

[@grenier70]

Have you thought of runner ducks? They eat mosquitos slugs snails… they don’t fly. Love your videos. 🥰👋🇨🇦

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We have tried them too, and feature in an earlier episode. Our neighbours crayfish ponds are just too enticing!

[@redrover9988]

In my youth Dad and Mom would take myself and sister to Grandpa and Grandma's place every Sunday for the day and dinner. There was a huge China berry tree at the back of their property that the neighbors Guinea Fowl liked to roost in. Many of them found their way into the dinner pot via Grandpa's double barrel 12. Good eating, good memory.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

The guinea fowl are coming on strong. Pretty strong little fliers.

[@Potsie]

Seems fair enough to me that if livestock is causing issues they go to the fridge. Would be great to see Pascale's recipe for Goose. Talking of additional livestock though, have you already got some Marron in your dam, or could that be a potential food source in the future? Cheers guys, love your work.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Marron are in the dam but their numbers need to build up. I'll pop in some hay this winter when the rains come

[@nicjacobson8477]

Love you guys. Thanks for what you do. I miss the sailing but this is just as good.

[@alanrobinson5109]

Hi Troy & Pascale, great video content as always, bit of a shame about your geese and water fowl but well done with bringing your drone back to life after it’s swim. All the best to you both from the UK.

[@J0EYbagaDONUTS]

Luckily the cat and dog worked out . lmao 🐕

[@jay_behr]

The episodes just keep getting better and better ... always a wrench when you have to decide to keep X and "fridge" Y species, but has to be done. Well done to Cat for keeping the rodents down, and Dog for doing the same to the larger critters. We're still waiting on our move, after which it'll be wood workshop time, together with seeing what we can and can't grow in a semi-urban environment ... wood burning stoves will be first though :) In the meantime, look forward to seeing your next vid :) All the best! (and cheers for the Hugo footage coz fiancée loves him to bits :) )

[@FreeRangeLiving]

A nice enclosed wood shop is a recurring dream in winter time. Still, having an undercover area to tinker is very welcome after boat life for 10 years where all tools are under something else! Hugo is very endearing and almost certainly has guaranteed his long stay here.

[@Peter-pt6hy]

Prop up branch to snaped joint until it is together and tape up and keep propped up it may heal.

[@hearlybird3316]

another awesome video thanks so much for sharing! I"m always stoked when a new vid pops up 😉

[@johnkreber6534]

you need to stake your fruit trees and thin the fruit

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We're another year wiser on that now. That branch still gave 15kg despite our mismanagement.

[@rolffigueiredo3786]

Excellent video guys.. Everything takes time and patience, trial and error, but it will pay off. Re. your peach tree, you have got some of the biggest fruit tree growers in the world. I've seen grafting methods where by you take part of a branch and put it with a stock root to carry on growing the graft. Only an idea, never done it myself, but if you think you're going to have to cut that branch of anyway,, might be worth a try.. Good luck. R🤓

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Our neighbours have some experience with grafting and have agreed to show us once winter arrives.

[@lesabre1972]

you guys are great!!

[@lesabre1972]

lift the branch back in place without breaking it of use a stick to hold it in place use some pete with a root hormone in it and wrap it with plastic wrap after watering it and then brace it it should actually heal that spot or at least grow another helthy tree from that spot.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

I will be definitely using braces on fruit trees in the future. That peach is going to get some remedial pruning over the next few seasons to try get a scaffold growing lower, to ease bird netting.

[@marktaylor484]

Loosey Goosey... What did you expect from an aquatic bird...?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Yep

[@ImnotChuck.]

Did you say that the white chicks are cornish rock crosses? That's the main meat bird breed here in the states.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

They are Ross breed, and very similar. All they do is eat, loop and grow big!

[@stevegraham3817]

Geese are great characters, a friend had a pair and the female and I used to take turns chasing each other around the yard, she started chasing my car on the way out the gate, so I would chase her in the car when I came back and then we would continue the game on foot. Until one day my brakes failed on my car and I run her over 😓and then had to stretch her neck. 😓 Chicken poo has something like 80% undigested seeds. I remember one of the major chicken farms copping a bit of flack when the public found out they were feeding the poo back to the chooks 3 or 4 times to try and save on feed costs. I think they were pasteurising it to try and prevent disease, but being a high production farm they were probably pushing antibiotics into them back in those days. The main thing to be wary of is the campylobacter, not for the chooks they are ok to carry in their guts, but for humans it's a rather unpleasant type of food poisoning. There is a breed of sheep with black heads that we used as lawn mowers in the Solar PV Generation Plants. They were a meat sheep that was self shedding, matured quickly and predominantly had twins. I think they bred twice a year as well. They had a British heritage with Australian characteristics, Suffolk just floated to the front of the memory bank, so that may be a name to start looking at if you want to head down that path. Those tomatoes looked great, I wish I could get a decent crop at least once in my life. lol

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Re-feeding chooks!🤮 we're happier than ever to be making our own food... Those sheep sound like Dorper. There is an all white and a black head type, both with the self shedding characteristics. We'd like some soon

[@stevegraham3817]

@@FreeRangeLiving I just read up on the Dorper, it sounds like the primary breed of the ones at work, Suffolk might have been the secondary breed. And after reading up on Suffolks, I would say yes, - hardy feet for dry central QLD conditions, high fertility, strong libido, easy birthing, resistant to parasites, lean fats, good taste, can go to market from 12 weeks. Match that with the Dorper twins, early maturing, self shedding, etc, it sounds like they were ideal for our area. I'm sure you will pick the right breed for your area. Keep up the great work.

[@victorbitter583]

Whoaaah look at them tomatoes! So jealous. It's going to be fun when the piglets arrive lol. I have no solution for the peach tree as it is but I have seen heavily laden fruit trees with branches propped up with timber in the past. cheers.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Yes, the tomatoes are ridiculously abundant and the piglets are fantastic. Stay tuned. We got 12 off the first sow and waiting on the other 2. A population boom!

[@victorbitter583]

@@FreeRangeLiving Wow. What mayhem. Unfortunately for me my tomatoes were/are a real fail this year. My garden bed location is far from ideal . I've learned a lot though and will be going back to your garden bed prep vids for hopefully fixing most of that for next year. thanks n cheers.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

@@victorbitter583 check out this link: soilandhealth.org/copyrighted-book/esther-deans-gardening-book/ She was original Aussie lasagna garden pioneer and we've used her technique to very good success. The link takes you to a free pdf download with optional donation as the book is out of copyright.

[@victorbitter583]

@@FreeRangeLiving Thankyou so much for that. I'm sure it will help a LOT just by comparing my garden to yours. What I can't change however is the garden bed being just on the southern side of a hill, on the eastern side of the yard with an 8 foot fence right beside it.(to the east) A 40 foot camphor tree just to the north of the garden is going to get a pretty aggressive prune soon lol. cheers.

[@3006benjamin]

As I mentioned before I, like so many other viewers look forward to your videos and get a jolt of Sunday calm when I see them published. Can you or any other viewers recommend any other similar homesteading channels which are as insightful and entertaining? enjoying you since the original Kimberly days p.s I am looking forward to visiting the Kimberly's in 2024

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We have long enjoyed most videos by Charles Dowding regarding no-dig gardening. We don't follow his technique entirely but like his style of presentation.

[@AW-pz3qc]

Poor geese!

[@FreeRangeLiving]

It was a sad outcome

[@lakehunter48p55]

I have seen geese with wings clipped to first joint. They will live over it and will not fly ever again. Can still get away from predictors- not hunters. ha

[@shabbydoris]

Good job, Ramshackle Ranchers! What's it been - a little more than a year - and you have created a serious rural production facility - milk, cheese, eggs, chicken, pork, fruit & veg. . . Sad about the geese, though . . . watch-dogs with bad habits. Will you go off-grid one of these days with a bunch of solar panels and LiFePo batteries?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

If this was our house, I would rig it for off-grid but as we are care-taking, with land improvement in place of rent/rates, there are some limits on what we can undertake. After so long at sea, I think in a place of our own, I would consider a DC system with inverter areas for some appliances. Luxury catamarans now have all the mod-cons so why not a small house?

[@bryanbadger6841]

G'day folks. Just calling in from across the ditch. Um with chickens, general rule of thumb, is they get those early feathers at or about a week old. Easy way to tell their age. I have kept geese before, but we had a drain right through the farm, so no drama with them flying. This sounds a bit far fetched, but if you can lay your hands on domestic Canada geese as goslings, and provide a half decent kids paddling pool, they don't tend to wander. For the record, I've never kept them myself, but a mate of mine swears they stay. So I've only got his word for it. Sounds a bit like bs to me. Eh.? Check out John Seymour book of Self Sufficiency,. But you've obviously made the right decision. Looking forward to the next chapter in your life on the land. Take care guys. Thanks for sharing.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We gave those geese a paddling pool which they loved, and made a huge fuss when I filled it for them each day, but it just couldn't compete with lush, shady crayfish ponds and long green grass.

[@townsville69]

Goose liver pate maybe ?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Absolutely

[@adrianianna2868]

I had great problems with my tomatoes this year with rats & green grubs. Must have thrown 90% away. Got control of the rats but the bloody grubs!! Found that they didn't like the roma or cherry types & ended up with heaps anyway. Great channel . Keep it up ! Retirement is not far away soooo? Thought about yabbies or marron in your dam?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We are getting some tomatoes with bird bites in them but salvageable. We do have Marron in the dam, but they need their numbers increased with some extra tucker. They'll get a bunch of hay thrown in there in winter when we get more water in there.

[@cl4586]

👍

[@debbieobryan5607]

Loved this video, only just found you but I have subscribed to your channel. Do you have a decent sized chook house for a start. You have never mentioned where you are located. Usually with geese it is great if you have your own dam or pond for them. When you cut the wing it is best to cut the one side rather short follow the line of the shortest feather on the wing.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Welcome! Yes we do have a semi-retired fowl yard that is secure against foxes and we are in the south west of Western Australia. Our dam wasn't up to goose standards with lush crayfish ponds much closer, albeit on our neighbours property.

[@bobuncle8704]

Too bad the geese had to go, but you certainly can’t devote so much time to hearing them. Drone heading was interesting though.

[@larryreily4736]

I questioned your putting peach branches out for the goats, but don't really know enough to state it as a warning: a cyanogenic glycoside in wilted peach leaves can be toxic to some livestock.

[@FreeRangeLiving]

They browse a little of everything and can handle leaves that would knock over other livestock. We know now which things they like best and, importantly, which foods lead to the best flavoured milk production.

[@earlashton1342]

Bah, bah, Barbeque. You need sheep. There is a breed that is self shedding. meaning you don't have to shear them. Just a thought. Also. Have you ever thought of home stay as an added income. And by the way I'd love to see you back on the water for a weekend,

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Sheep are on the cards. We like the look of Wiltipol breed for their easy keeping qualities.

[@youremostwelcome]

Righto Troy, talk to me mate. I’m in the market for some pallet forks just like yours for a very similar-sized tractor (though, in Vic). Did yours come with your tractor, or did you source separately?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

They came with the tractor along with the bucket. Just a thought, some people around here get hay tine forks and lift pallets with them. Double duty. That said, I hired a 1 " hole in one of my forks to take a tow ball, which is very handy with tight trailer maneuvers

[@youremostwelcome]

@@FreeRangeLiving Yep, I reckon you might be on to something there. I’m lucky enough to have a tow ball that slips over the top of my bucket, which serves that purpose. Thanks for the response!

[@billj.widmann112]

What make/model drone are you using?

[@FreeRangeLiving]

DJI Air S-2

[@billj.widmann112]

@@FreeRangeLiving Thank you

[@westsideratmarshall]

Buy a bigger kiddie pool to make a wading “lake” Vss

[@noah786]

Perhaps thin it out a bit. The peaches

[@FreeRangeLiving]

We are now! Best we've had.

[@GarretKrampe]

Geese are like watch dogs HOWEVER they are very hard to deal with . Ducks are bbenificial but not like garde dogs.

[@brycehill3679]

Hi guys, love your vids, ? Those 50 chics could you tell me their breed please. Keep up with your great work. 😊

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Yes, they are Ross birds: www.thepoultrysite.com/focus/aviagen/aviagen-ross

[@philipwilkin1975]

I don't know about geese, but sheep are terrified of drones, even if you approach them from 50 feet in the air, they will panic and run everywhere.

[@timdunn2387]

No one ever confused sheep with rocket scientists.😁

[@FreeRangeLiving]

Pigs don't trust them either, nor goats.