Saving money by not raising critters

[Eagle1]

It's hard to believe that two government agencies would disagree to such an extent.

That's funny.

We have a couple that fish here most of the year and bring their young. The also argue with the Osprey that comes a lot. Makes for some great aerial combat. We have every type of owl and bird of prey that can live here and a crap load of Great Blue Herons. All living and breeding in the middle of a super fund lead contamination area.

 

[sea2summit]

That is interesting reading from United States Geological Survey. They claim the increase in population of bald eagles is slowing.

About 1 month later this was released by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The headline is: America’s Bald Eagle Population Continues to Soar

According to scientists from the Service’s Migratory Bird Program, the bald eagle population climbed to an estimated 316,700 individual bald eagles in the lower 48 states. This indicates the bald eagle population has continued to increase rapidly since our previous survey.

America’s Bald Eagle Population Continues to Soar | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Populations of the American bald eagle — the bold national symbol of the United States — have quadrupled since 2009, according to a new report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners. Bald eagles once teetered on the brink of extinction, reaching an all-time low of 417 known...

fws.gov

I found it interesting since one was sitting next to a road I travel daily last week. They are becoming very common here in east central Illinois I'm waiting for one to land on my chicken coup any day LOL

It's hard to believe that two government agencies would disagree to such an extent.

The other study's author's website is dedicated to banning lead ammunition so there's that...

 

[NoTrespassing]

As far as saving money by not raising animals, I agree but we still keep chickens for eggs so my 10 year old son has some responsibility. We think the eggs are much better too. I drive about 20 miles to save money on T-bone/porterhouse steaks. They're on sale for $5.99/lb. this week and I plan on stocking up.

 

[Oaktree]

Guess what their "special treat" is? Getting a bucket of KFC!!! Hard to believe but true.

What's hard to believe to me is why anyone would pay the exorbitant prices the Colonel charges. At least around here you can get fried chicken at any supermarket that's just as good at less than half the price.

 

[Eagle223usa]

Agree Eagle1

Age factors in for some. I am 72 and working hard is good exercise but I don’t want to do as much as I did 20 years ago. So I do things that save me a few $$$$ or I enjoy doing around the homestead.

Raising critters did not make the cut for me as I never really got into it. Same with the garden.

Getting that way about hunting too and I love to shoot. But I get about 35 lbs of meat off a deer and wonder if it is worth it. Plus I am getting soft. I would rather watch them than murder them. And yes, for me it is murder. I used to shoot competitively and a deer is a huge target. I think I have killed enough of God’s creations.

Don, If you are only getting 35# of meat you either need a smaller caliber or shoot them less! We get about 75 to 90# pounds off the average 2 1/2 year old doe, yup doe, better eating. The meat IS the trophy! We have egg producing chickens but buy our chicken, last time it was $17 for 40# of leg quarters. I promised my daughter we would not eat her chickens after the whole pig incident... Me and my wife hunt everything available and eat it. We are into the "lifestyle". God bless America.

 

[shooterdon]

Don, If you are only getting 35# of meat you either need a smaller caliber or shoot them less! We get about 75 to 90# pounds off the average 2 1/2 year old doe, yup doe, better eating. The meat IS the trophy! We have egg producing chickens but buy our chicken, last time it was $17 for 40# of leg quarters. I promised my daughter we would not eat her chickens after the whole pig incident... Me and my wife hunt everything available and eat it. We are into the "lifestyle". God bless America.

If you are getting that much meat your deer are a lot bigger than what we have in MI.

But here is some "unbiased science and data"..LOL

"If you go looking online, you will find plenty of people throwing out all kinds of numbers for how much meat is on a deer relative to its dressed weight. So I stuck to reliable sources. Wildlife Biologist & Deer Manager Grant Woods says that a deer will yield around 40% of its dress weight in edible meat. Deer & Deer Hunting Editor-in-Chief Dan Schmidt estimates a realistic meat yield for a whitetail to be around 35% of its dressed weight for the average hunter."

Our deer weigh 125 to 225 lb. There is a deer camp next to me that has 50 years of hunting and the largest deer ever harvested was 175 lbs field dressed...figure 220 live weight. And it would yield 60-70 lbs of meat.

 

[Eagle223usa]

Our deer are big here, lots of farming going on, they eat well. My Aunt owns a beef farm, Angus, we eat well too! Only raised one pig, came in around $3 a pound.

 

[Eagle1]

I will say that many that harvest deer (or other animals) don't keep everything. We bone out front legs and shoulders, neck roast, meat on and between ribs, belly, etc. Most things that we don't keep goes to for dog food, organs including lungs, all fat, sliver skin, etc. Dogs also get a lot of the bone, my gang has no problems cracking leg or backbones. I guess I we keep a lot more than we should. All that is trashed is hide, head, antlers, stomach and intestines. Lower legs are favorite of the pack raw. I'm positive we use way more than 40% dressed, but that is just us.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The deer in "northern" Mi. are much smaller (lighter) than the ones in "southern" Mi., much more farming going on in the southern part of the state.

SR

 

[Eagle223usa]

I will say that many that harvest deer (or other animals) don't keep everything. We bone out front legs and shoulders, neck roast, meat on and between ribs, belly, etc. Most things that we don't keep goes to for dog food, organs including lungs, all fat, sliver skin, etc. Dogs also get a lot of the bone, my gang has no problems cracking leg or backbones. I guess I we keep a lot more than we should. All that is trashed is hide, head, antlers, stomach and intestines. Lower legs are favorite of the pack raw. I'm positive we use way more than 40% dressed, but that is just us.

Same here, I wish I could find some way to use the hide, I hate wasting anything. And NO I am not a hoarder!

 

[Eagle1]

We played with tanning hides but time was not there. Once we homestead full time we'll revisit that tanning part. Always wanted some buckskin items.

 

[Eagle223usa]

We would love to go full time too.

 

[Eagle1]

Well the property is paid off and we both can get SS (so we can pay government required rent on said property) in 2024. So end of season 2024 it is time shut the gates and let the dogs and cattle loose. Lot of fence to put up before then.....

 

[Eagle223usa]

Well the property is paid off and we both can get SS (so we can pay government required rent on said property) in 2024. So end of season 2024 it is time shut the gates and let the dogs and cattle loose. Lot of fence to put up before then.....

Amen Brother.

 

[shooterdon]

Well the property is paid off and we both can get SS (so we can pay government required rent on said property) in 2024. So end of season 2024 it is time shut the gates and let the dogs and cattle loose. Lot of fence to put up before then.....

Been at my “homestead” for 10 years and love it. But early on decided gardening and raising livestock was not what I wanted to do.

Buying food is not expensive. If we want to save money, we need to eat out less.

We are looking into a firewood side business. With energy costs escalating more folks are buying wood. We do not need to make a living at it, but it looks like $10k profit working part time is achievable.

 

[Eagle1]

See I do that make money thing now, but really would rather spend more time gardening and raising livestock. As it is we don't buy meat and don't need a lot more stock just bit more variety. We add something every year or 2, this year it was Turkeys. Learned a lot and will make adjustments to be able to raise them every year and maybe breed.
We still want pigs and what ever else my bride gets in her head.
Now the gardens need some more attention and the money making gets in the way. Still think this spring I'll redo the entire garden area to make it easier to maintain and increase production.

It's lifestyle choice for us, and spending time with cattle beats any time on the beach or other "vacation" places. Can't remember the last time we ate out...... I traveled a lot for 25 years and don't miss any of it. Never had a better steak than a fresh fillet from a Dexter cooked over an open fire.