Layout suggestions needed!

[Tmama]

We are in the process of purchasing a 4.2 acre property. There is a fairly large easement for the road and there is a rather big pond so really it's more like 3 and 1/4 acres. There are A LOT of trees and I have an electric pole to avoid, can't put anything over the septic, well or drain field. I am feeling very limited but a friend reminded me that they are people who homestead on a 1/4 acre and do just fine, I just need to get creative. I know it is hard to give ideas without seeing a property or how it is laid out, but I'm looking for some space saving ideas. My main goals are to have a garden (not sure on size but would like my family of 4 to get most of our produce from the garden), I would like chickens and/or ducks and am considering mini goats. None of this stuff will be happening for awhile because when we move in the house needs a little work before we can start spending money on other things. I gave up on the idea of having bees because the house is surrounded by MANY large farms that all spray their crops. I figured for my health and theirs...I won't be buying bees, but planting flowers to attract the ones that already exist in the area. We don't want any cows or horses and may consider a pig at some point, but my MAIN priorities are to have the garden, poultry and goats (and of course, space for the kids to play). Any ideas would be great =) Thanks all!!

[rambler]

Presume in Minnesota.

Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out, it will flow when you get there and get working on it, one step at a time.

Fella housed bees on my sisters place for years, it was only 5 acres of farmland so I said I'll leave the bean aphids go, won't spray. He said doesn't matter, go ahead, just watch the wind the day you spray. The field I worked and a neighbors field were 15-25 feet from the hives..... I don't know much about bees and keeping, but just sharing a little info.

Paul

[motdaugrnds]

Hello and welcome to the world of homesteading on a small piece of land. It is certainly done a lot! I do it on 6 acres!

It is obvious you have given a lot of thought to what you can and cannot do; and that is the smartest first step for any would-be homesteader. Congratulations for being so open to new ideas!

Not knowing the lay of your land or topical configuration of it, giving any suggestions specific is not possible; however, here are a few things that might help. (The most important will be to know how your rain water runs on your acreage and from which direction your worst storms/winds come. This is because, when you place/construct your housing for both human and animals, you need to place them on areas where water will not be standing and with openings facing away from the direction the winds blow.) Oh, also, make sure your drive is along the ridge and not in low spots where each year you would need to contend with mud just to get in and out.

1. Make sure your stock housing is lower than your water well.

2. Have your stock housing adjacent to your garden so raking winter bedding out and using it as compost is easier.

3. Have your housing for goats and chickens separate so the chickens will not mess up your goats' feeding bins and so your ducks will not mess up the goats' bedding. (You will want to keep this bedding as clean as possible for udders and babies.)

4. If you house your chickens and ducks together, make sure your watering pans are such so your ducks cannot get into it and your chickens can have clean water. Ducks make a big mess out of water!

5. Make sure your goats cannot get into your chicken feed at any time.

6. Keep the grain you feed your animals in metal barrels so the mice will not dirty it.

7. Create a loft (even a small one) for winter hay.

Now, I'm guessing you already contacted your ag agent to make sure that acreage is zoned for the animals you are wanting....

Lastly, pictures please. It is always fun to see what others are doing.

[Wolf mom]

Wasn't there a thread similar to this one recently??

I'd suggest you go back into the archives as there's lots of information there.

[sassafras manor]

I had my garden fenced and adjacent to my chicken coop with a gate that went from the chicken run straight into the garden. Once gardening season was over they could be turned out into the garden to "clean up". Another idea would be to position livestock opposite of the prevailing wind direction. In the winter I have my cattle in the pastures southwest and west of the house while summer they are in pastures to the east and southeast of the house. Also it is much easier to modify any potential drainage issues now rather than having to battle fences later.

[Tmama]

Originally Posted by motdaugrnds

Hello and welcome to the world of homesteading on a small piece of land. It is certainly done a lot! I do it on 6 acres!

It is obvious you have given a lot of thought to what you can and cannot do; and that is the smartest first step for any would-be homesteader. Congratulations for being so open to new ideas!

Not knowing the lay of your land or topical configuration of it, giving any suggestions specific is not possible; however, here are a few things that might help. (The most important will be to know how your rain water runs on your acreage and from which direction your worst storms/winds come. This is because, when you place/construct your housing for both human and animals, you need to place them on areas where water will not be standing and with openings facing away from the direction the winds blow.) Oh, also, make sure your drive is along the ridge and not in low spots where each year you would need to contend with mud just to get in and out.

1. Make sure your stock housing is lower than your water well.

2. Have your stock housing adjacent to your garden so raking winter bedding out and using it as compost is easier.

3. Have your housing for goats and chickens separate so the chickens will not mess up your goats' feeding bins and so your ducks will not mess up the goats' bedding. (You will want to keep this bedding as clean as possible for udders and babies.)

4. If you house your chickens and ducks together, make sure your watering pans are such so your ducks cannot get into it and your chickens can have clean water. Ducks make a big mess out of water!

5. Make sure your goats cannot get into your chicken feed at any time.

6. Keep the grain you feed your animals in metal barrels so the mice will not dirty it.

7. Create a loft (even a small one) for winter hay.

Now, I'm guessing you already contacted your ag agent to make sure that acreage is zoned for the animals you are wanting....

Lastly, pictures please. It is always fun to see what others are doing.

Thank you very much for your kind post and for all your good ideas!! I never would have thought of some of them! The house is already built on the property so we will be having to work around that. The land does slope down to the house a bit but surprisingly the soil is VERY well draining and we have gone several times after large amounts of rain and other than wet grass, you can't even tell. The soil test said sandy loam...I think that is a good thing right??

Ok, so is it possible to house ducks and chickens together? That would save a lot of space!!

We originally wanted to do everything free ranging but with the layout of the property and the amount of "junglyness" around us, we didn't think that would be the safest thing for the animals.

And YES, I did contact the county and we are located in the agriculture district of the city surround by many many farms and we can do whatever we want animal wise =)

The pictures may take awhile but I will post them when I can!! Thanks!!

[Tmama]

A friend of mine suggested clearing the brush from under the trees and housing animals Under the canopy...what do you guys think about that?

[Batt]

Originally Posted by Tmama

A friend of mine suggested clearing the brush from under the trees and housing animals Under the canopy...what do you guys think about that?

Nope, get them a house. You will be so much better satisfied, and so will they. Goats absolutely hate getting wet. Chickens too, but the ducks not so much. Get your orchard planned and planted right away as it will take several years to mature.