Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Newbie and from afar  (Read 4596 times)

Megsmum

  • Joined Oct 2014
Newbie and from afar
« on: October 16, 2014, 05:02:34 pm »
Hello everyone.  Although originally from the UK, my husband and I moved to our present location in February this year.  We live in the region of Extremadura Spain.
We live  on a 2 hectare site, so probably not as much land as you guys have. The only livestock we have at the moment are 2 dogs both now 7mths old, both rescue. Meg a border collie and Zara a Spanish Mastiff, who at 7 mths weighs approx 35kilo and will be approx 60-75 when fully grown!  :roflanim::

We have spent this year concentrating on our basics.  We have solar for Electricity with a back up generator. A Borehole for water, and for heat a wood burner, mobile gas stoves and butano gas for water.

Our lives here are very different from the UK where we had stressful jobs and not much money. Here we have more land no jobs (took early retirement) and not much money!

With a limited space I am looking at what is best for us to have here.  We will have a large Veg plot and I plan also to plant a fruit orchard and a soft fruit garden.

There is a corner of the Finca, which we will have chooks on, they will also free range across the whole finca, but I would also like another livestock. However the area is not huge so I am unsure whether to stick to a variety of poultry ( had  these in the UK) or add a  few 4 legged animals of some sort.   I will enjoy browsing through the various topics and hope that something will light my fire



Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2014, 05:53:09 pm »
Hello and welcome to the forum. Not all of us have a lot of land, I have 2.5 acres but others have just their gardens. There is something on here for everyone.
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2014, 07:32:20 pm »
Hello from cold and rainy Devon :wave: Good luck with your venture.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2014, 09:26:48 pm »

Hello and welcome from Scotland  :wave:

Maybe you could approach the problem of what livestock to keep from the opposite end - so what do you need to produce to supply as many of your living needs as possible.  You will have veggies, fruit and eggs.  Do you want meat?  That could be geese, ducks or table chickens, lamb, goat or rabbit.  I believe they still hunt in Extremadura, in which case you might get some wild meat......  On 2h you won't be able to keep many animals, but there should be enough to keep the two of you fed.  Wool or a plant fibre for clothing is also a possibility, as is milk and cheese if you decide on goats - dual use animals are an advantage.
Anyway, good luck with making your decisions and enjoy your new life  8)
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Treud na Mara

  • Joined Mar 2014
  • East Clyh, Caithness
  • Living the dream in Caithness
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2014, 09:53:45 pm »
Welcome from Caithness. I agree with Fleecewife about looking for what you need......word of warning about goats though.....if you are thinking of them for milk and cheese make sure you like the taste first !   ;) 
With 1 Angora and now 6 pygmy goats, Jacob & Icelandic sheep, chooks, a cat and my very own Duracell bunny aka BH !

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2014, 11:59:27 pm »
 :wave: and welcome from Shropshire. I am a back garden smallholder. I grow fruit and veg and keep goats - four at the moment but two are only five months old and are destined for the freezer. I love goats' milk and cheese.

Megsmum

  • Joined Oct 2014
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2014, 04:03:08 pm »
Many thanks for the welcome.

we have been reviewing what we need, so with you on that one. Def large Veg fruit etc  Yes Extremadura is still a hunting area, in fact we live in the middle of such an area. Hunting  started last Sunday. Weekends and Fiesta only until February.

Originally I wanted goats, but now we are here, we are surrounded by Goats, Cows sheep Pigs etc and meat here, is to be honest, local and good quality, So to "grow" our own seems a bit silly, if that makes sense.

We discussed this last night, as we are about to do new fencing and fence repairs and have decided that Veg Fruit is obvious, and we have started a list of what we use and those vegetables that we can freeze etc.  We, I think, are going to section of a large area of the finca and  designate it to poultry. Layers and Table Chooks :chook:, possible Ducks or Geese etc.  So that is where my focus of attention will start.  I did consider getting 2/3 lambs to grow for the freezer  :llama:but need a lot more research on that one. I also like the idea of bee keeping

Off to read all the topics now :wave:

Womble

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Stirlingshire, Central Scotland
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2014, 04:30:16 pm »
Hi and Welcome!

Geese are worth some serious thought.  Over the past couple of years, we've tried meat chooks, ducks, turkeys and geese. The geese have been by far the most successful, since we can breed them ourselves and they require hardly any bought in feed (i.e. they mostly just eat grass).

Apart from that, what are your neighbours doing?  I'm starting to realise that their setups are there because they work in the locality, and in smallholding, gardening and eco-living, context is everything!

Hope that helps!  :thumbsup:
"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." -Terry Pratchett

benandjerry

  • Joined Jan 2014
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2014, 08:07:11 pm »
Hello & Welcome :wave:

devonlady

  • Joined Aug 2014
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2014, 09:00:17 pm »
Geese are certainly worth serious thought :love: They are easily trained, eat your surplus grass, easy going, though they come across as bullies and will go to bed when told to, useful if you need to go out early. I love mine!

HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: Newbie and from afar
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2014, 09:25:07 pm »
We did the same as you - we have eight acres which I think is about the same as two hectares? Veg and fruit kicked off early with veg beds created within a couple of weeks of moving in (and then more created later) and fruit trees planted in the first winter. I also went with rare breed chickens and ducks early on and since have added bees, geese and turkeys (they're just growers for this year). My geese are not for eating because they're worth more alive than dead but we happily eat excess cockerels and drakes and as the others have said, geese are cheap to keep and useful lawn mowers. I also mulled over sheep for the majority of our land but have realised I can get great quality locally reared lamb locally for far less cost than the fencing we would need to put in. Instead we've just planted two acres of vineyard which we hope will generate far more than sheep could ever hope to. We've also got an outbuilding in the process of being converted to a holiday cottage which will also be a good earner (once the carpenter and plumber reappear from their respective holidays). Maybe some pigs longer term but meantime I have brilliant sources of local pork and sausages anyway so not a big priority. Oh, and we invested in a decent crusher and press for producing local apple juice - people bring me their apples and I juice them, pasteurise it and sell it back - seasonal but potentially huge!

So after two years it's becoming a little clearer about what will work and what won't - so, yes, suss out your local market, what you can buy or barter in easily anyway and whether there any gaps you can supply. Good luck!

H

 

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