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[Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

Ivy,

You've a great and worthwhile cause. No-one can tell you how to set up
a homestead from scratch. There are too many variables. Too many
things that can go wrong.

I'm going to write this as nicely as I can. You seriously need more
land for the plans you've shared, that is going to be the biggest
problem. It's easy to dream up a homestead, but much more complicated
to actually do it. For instance planting the orchard and bee yard,
native trees and rotating livestock through it is going to take some
doing. The livestock are going to eat your orchard to knobs, knock
over the beehives and chew the bark off the native trees out of hunger
or just to do it.

If I were you, I'd scrap the animals for present. That takes a big
load off you. Get the farmers that were going to donate change the
donation to that of manure and make a big pile. Learn to compost and
create raised beds to raise a lot of your food in.

Later you can add rabbits and chickens, small animals for meat and
eggs. Plant your orchard and if at that point you have space, you can
add the animals.

Rob - Va


>> What I was asking for was an outline on
>> the setup of a homestead farm from scratch for the needs of the animals.
>> Tools, stockyards, medicines to have on hand, maybe day to day chore lists
>> for animal husbandry. We have no barns yet, so that would need to be
>> considered also and I was wanting to know what to put in them , possible
>> floorplan ideas.