Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have 10.4 acres (about 4 hectares) and I am retired now ( first pension check comes in June). I am low on money but rich in time ( a fair trade at this point in life).

From a garden and no animals, now I will be raising 26 Rhode Island Red chickens and 300 fingerlings (100 channel catfish, 150 hybrid blue gills, and 50 yellow perch). I obtained a three cyclinder desiel tractor (only 23 HP - sips fuel) with a back hoe, front end loader, snow blower, and rototiller. I am retiring and so is the 'idiot stick'(shovel). Big holes will be dug with the back hoe. This means I will be planting field corn, sugar beets, mangels, winter wheat, buck wheat, and alfalfa. Also several vegetable garden expansions. With the AP greenhouse, this means near self sufficiency.

I sure hope my health holds out. It is a nice way to live during my retired years. High tech career and homesteading retirement...the best of both worlds

I've heard you can be truly self sufficent with only 5 acres. I'm interested in in what you do as I may be elegible for early retirement in 9 years and 5 months (not that I'm counting) I've seen your lap pool for your fish, what's your chicken coop look like?

I laughed when you asked about the chicken coop...I over did it
It is one stall of my barn(10'x10'). The barn is post and beam with the posts 10' apart. So I built a stud wall to go between the posts with a window & door opening. I had an old exterior door, so I used that. Oh but the window...I bought a Pella low e glass double hung so the chickens would have a nice view without getting overheated The stall has electric for light and a water heater for the winter. The people door and the chicken door go out into a fenced area about 20' by 85'. I intend to alternate the chcickens in half and vegetables in half (switching each year). The chickens fertilize and kill bugs and weeds...kind of no till gardening. We plan to add a feeder pig next year. With fish, eggs, chicken, and pork, and all the vegetables, wheat, field corn meal...we should be close to self sufficient. Ma and Pa will still go to the store for coffee, milk, salt, and sugar I hope I'm one of those lucky people that can do this at 70 ( I know two great guys who are ).

I don't know about truly completely self sufficient but with 10 acres one should be able to raise enough surplus of a few things to sell or trade for the things you can't produce on-site.

Then there is just the taxes, and health care.

We are getting an average of 8-10 eggs a day lately from our 11 chickens (mostly RIR and a couple New Hampshire Reds.) We give the girlz lots of space to range around and eat bugs and we give em lots of weeds and garden trimmings. They also love eating the fish bits after we harvest. I've found that if I dry the duckweed for a day, the chickens seem to take to eating it as well.

Enjoy the homestead!!!!! I wish I had a little more space for livestock and such.

Oh the health care We pay $1,000/month. But our medical bills without it would be worse.

Our chicks are about 6 days old and we are getting our dog accustomed to chickens. We have held several chicks near her in a calm and friendly setting. She seems to get that we want her not to harm the chickens. I hope so, she has a strong hunting instinct to overcome. We will keep her in supervised contact as they grow. There will be a fenced chicken yard, but she digs like a miner(mostly at wood chuck holes)..