Brief Backstory

[Gabeandquail]

Hello everyone my name is Gabe. My journey has been interesting, I was a municipal worker doing all kinds of jobs for the city (landscape, snow removal, construction, water sewer dept the list goes on…)
I was head of the tree crew and it only takes one mistake to end your career, and that’s what happened.
Now I have been struggling through the government system that’s supposed to take care of me and I am at the point where I am done playing system games and I want to retake control of my life. I have been researching reading and studying this lifestyle since the 2020 election (when I became aware that no politician can save our situation, or maybe the can but choose not to.) Self sufficiency has long been a dream but it all has to start somewhere. We are moving to the country this summer/fall and I am going to start small with raising chickens. I have other plans and a five year plan but I have to start one project or livestock at a time, I want to ensure success and I have heard that chooks are the gateway drug into homesteading so here’s to the future, never give up, and take as much control of your life back as you can.
If you have free information or books I will read it, and if I have already read it I will read it again.

Thanks for making this site and forum mark and all the people on it. Marks videos are amazing and part of the reason I believe in myself and know I can do it too. I learn so much from him and am constantly laughing at his humor and appreciative of his kind and thoughtful demeanor. A really pleasant channel without every single video being a commercial or containing a commercial.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @Gabeandquail

Sorry to hear about your struggles, but here's to a bright future!

Yes, having chickens can open up a gateway to a whole lot more. You will realise you have chicken fertiliser right at hand for a garden, and your garden waste can become chicken feed. It's a beautiful cycle. You will have fresh eggs right at your doorstep and perhaps want to cook more and varying dishes with them. Those dishes might need certain fruit, veg or herbs, which can be grown with the eggshells and chicken poop.

Don't be afraid to ask questions along the way - we all started somewhere

 

[Gabeandquail]

Welcome to the forum @Gabeandquail

Sorry to hear about your struggles, but here's to a bright future!

Yes, having chickens can open up a gateway to a whole lot more. You will realise you have chicken fertiliser right at hand for a garden, and your garden waste can become chicken feed. It's a beautiful cycle. You will have fresh eggs right at your doorstep and perhaps want to cook more and varying dishes with them. Those dishes might need certain fruit, veg or herbs, which can be grown with the eggshells and chicken poop.

Don't be afraid to ask questions along the way - we all started somewhere

Life always finds a way. I am very excited to start with chickens and hopefully move into quail and then rabbit. Chickens I would like to start with only laying hens and move into breeding and meat production later. Quail will be added after.
I love marks quail pen and the naturalness of it. I really like the colony style of rabbit raising. Slowly and with much planning preparation and thoughtful consideration of the animals welfare. I am more concerned with having happy healthy animals that have a high quality of life instead of production, but production is also important.

Yea it really seems like the homestead/farm is an organism that eventually will feed itself. I really love permaculture and organic growing and plan to do everything as natural as possible.
Thanks

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

We've had our fair share of pets. Bear in mind they weren't kept for meat, just for their byproducts as they were pets for us as children. To teach us how to take care and raise animals, whilst fully and well understanding we did not want to part with our beloved animals. My dad eventually had to sell the chooks, after realising we wouldn't be able to (mentally) handle eating them, haha. I think we were too young, and quite sensitive.
Dad did show us how to gut birds and how to skin bunnies, but all were dead before arriving at our place.

I think that those who manage to dispose of their animals humanely and try not to waste anything are the absolute best. And with a garden you can dig in any remains that couldn't be used too, or even better properly compost them.
Frankly, I'd love to keep some chooks, or maybe some quaill. I just know I will get attached to them though, so we wouldn't be able to keep them for meat. But my biggest issue is that we have a high population of snakes around. Wouldn't want my dear pets getting gobbled up. But maybe in the future... I would love having some.

Here in QLD Australia bunnies aren't allowed. They are considered a pest and you are not allowed to have one even as a pet.
Growing up my brother had a pet bunny called Knabbel (Nibble in english). Sweet old thing, eventually passed of old age when he was 8 years old, give or take.

I noticed you put your climate as cold. What climate zone are you in if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Gabeandquail]

That’s a great upbringing, I can understand that being a father. I have children of my own, very young and I am not sure what age I will introduce that. I have explained it before.

Food forests have you heard of these? I think I want to theoretically craft one on paper for my climate

I am not “excited” about processing and killing animals but if I am eating meat I must understand this and give the animals the best and closest to natural life as possible. I won’t even waste a bone, I am really getting into permaculture and the idea of the homestead/farm macroorganism. The predators are a big issue from what I can gather. I’m going high security for mine, eventually I’m thinking about cameras even.

Haha knabbels sounds like a hero. I will let my children keep pets from the livestock that are not for eating.

I didn’t realize I didn’t mention it ooops
I am from the American Midwest from Michigan, so it gets to 0 Celsius and lower often in winter time. I think

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I think starting young is a good thing. Don't let them do it, but teaching them what these animals are for; but also how they differ from pets like dogs, and why. And many people keep a number of animals as pets, whilst their offspring (or a different livestock altogether) are for meat. But giving kids birds to look after teaches them what these birds need, what they look like when they are sick, hungry, and other behavioral issues.
My dad always handed us baby chicks and quaill to raise by hand, so they could be sold as pets. We didn't have the space to keep all of them, but we had an incubator available. And all these birds were fairly tame, growing up around our dogs and young children who handled them a lot. I always loved it when the chicks would come up for a nice and warm cuddle once we took their heat lamps away (or shortened the duration they were on).

Food forests are my dream! I don't think I can manage one here, but I would love a fair crop like Mark has. I think my personal preference just lays with growing them "domestically", if that makes any sense. Probably because I love experimenting with them so much.

No one is particularly excited to kill an animal, but one could be enjoying the fact that they can ensure quality meat and a humane death. On top of that you can ensure the animal had a good life, before it serves it's planned purpose.
My dad would sometimes bring home shot bunnies that he would get as a gift. He would hang them upside-down in the shed to bleed out for a couple of days, usually with a plastic bag tied around them to prevent bugs from trying to settle in (though I think he mainly did it to catch the blood and so that we didn't have to see it). As our shed was usually cold, it was a prime location to hang them.

Growing up, my brother and I were very sensitive children and we didn't handle death well. And to this day, I still can't kill an animal. If the world ended for whatever reason, I think I'd be forced to become vegetarian.
Thankfully, my father understood that somehow, so we were never made to kill an animal and were allowed to leave when he had to. But we did know that if we saw an animal sick or suffering, we could call dad. He would assess, and if needed "end it's suffering". And we felt comfortable to call over dad if we thought something was amiss. I think the main reason for it, was because we knew he didn't take joy in it. He did ensure it was a quick, painless as possible death.
And as the years went on and it wasn't needed as much anymore, he admitted that it wasn't as easy on him anymore either. He said it was relatively easy when he had to do it in a more frequent manner, rather than once or twice a year.

ahh, quite chilly, but not as chilly as @DThille gets (check out his posts! I think he could teach you a lot). He's slowly turning his land into paradise as well, and I can forsee you doing something similar