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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: outwest4us AT yahoo.com, homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Hello from Montana
  • Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:53:01 -0500



outwest4us AT yahoo.com wrote:
My name is Rene' and I live on a small ranch in the mountains (actually in the valley between 2 mountain ranges) of SW Montana with
my husband and 2 children.

What beautiful country. It is the land in the dreams of many.


We have horses fie pleasure but its getting expensive...price if hay is ridiculous here. We used to have chickens but its just too cold most of the year here, even with heated coops, so we gave up. :-(

Rene, I know people in Alaska with chickens, I've never heard of a place
too cold for chickens. You just gotta house them in a way that
maximized the heat they produce(and chickens do produce a lot of heat).
If you describe what kind of arrangement you had-what you tried,
perhaps we could help troubleshoot it? Gene had a good idea with
chickens and the greenhouse. I have a small, unheated lean to type
greenhouse and I have month old chicks in there under a light. There is
only 13 little chickies in that cage, but I've found that their heat
keeps my greenhouse almost 10 degrees warmer than without chicks. We
got down to 9 degrees last week for two nights, and the low in my
greenhouse was 38. I kept it above freezing, so I was happy.
I just think a good homestead needs chickens, and I know you like them
because you had them before. If your horses survive the weather and
cold, surely chickens can.

We are putting up a green house this spring and will be installing solar panels and a windmill for power hopefully this year. Currently,
we do all our heating with wood that we cut ourselves.

Awesome.

Bev
--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge




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