Four Acres and a Dream
Our Homestead Journey
Our four legged friends are watching us
The first thing I did when we purchased the land was to say a prayer. The second was to do a soil test which I will address in another blog. The third was to set up my trail cam.
If you don't count the neighbor just up the road our nearest neighbor is 400 acres away from us. When we are working on clearing the land or planting the garden they will mostly wave as they pass by occasionally will stop to chat. Two topics always come up, power outages and predators.
There are three reason why I pay close attention when the topic of four legged creatures comes up. For the most part the animals in the area are not a threat to adults but my grand daughter is only a year and a half old. I recently watched a You Tube video where a coyote attached a 2 year old. I am not a gun guy but it would be foolish not to mention irresponsible to be a homesteader and not have a way to protect yourself and your family.
Coyote attacks toddler in Woodland Hills
From what I have been told by those who have lived in the community for hears here is a list of what we have.
Foxes
Coyotes
Dear
Possum
Rabbits
Squirrels
Turkeys
Owls
Possible predators
Raccoons
Chipmunks
Birds
I said there were three reasons why I was concerned about what is out there. Reason number two is, as you may imagine the family garden.
Many years ago I learned ( the hard way ) that just about anything will eat your berries and grapes. This is my snack garden, ready to eat food. It consist of 5 different types of berries and 3 types of grapes. Once it is completed I will fold the top over and secure it to keep out my unwanted guest. Later I will do a blog dedicated to my homestead gardens and what I am doing to protect them.
The third and final reason is livestock. The photo above shows a small chicken coop inside a chicken run. It was left that way to leave room for us to move around until we are ready to receive our birds. In total we are getting a dozen chickens and 6 ducks. The duck eggs will mostly be for barter or trade. My friend and neighbor ( he lives less than 10 minutes away ) has lost chickens. One from an Owl, one from the neighbors dog, one from a fox and more recently a possum. He was not at home at the times of the attacks but has cameras that caught the gruesome details. For me this is not a deterrent to getting chickens, it is a learning experience. I also learned that not having these predators literally in my yard does not mean they won't come.
By growing food and raising chickens I am sounding the dinner bell. I will definitely need to take precautions. One final note. I am a huge fan of composting, however I am going to hold off on building my compost bin until the fall. This will give me a chance to explore ways to keep the critters away.
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