Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

thanks for the replies.

its really good to hear other perspectives as it can only make the vision clearer.

firstly i have to say that i was born into a very privladged environment. i dont know the real meaning of hardship and hard work for that matter. having said this growing up was pretty damn tough along the way. i was the lonely kid in the sandpit playing with bugs. i guess i felt more of a connection to insects then most human i had met. although i had everything parts of me were dieing. the earth was being destroyed by greed and loosing its spirit. i had very strong links to native cultures through dreams.

any how...

i am in the fortunate position that my parents are willing to invest in my dream by way of providing a loan. without them there would be no chance of making this happen. i know not many people are in such a fortunate position so i think i must have done something good in a past life. i am doing my best to convince them that we are quickly running out of living essentials and they should invest in my enterprise to secure their own future, along with their grandchildren. thankfully both are very smart and educated people to take this on board (both teachers).

as for the comment about money being an illusion i guess what i was trying to say is that money is real but our unrealistic attachment to it is an illusion. obviously in this world we need money to survive to some extent but we don't need it to the extent we believe we do. most aussies have a living standard that is simply not needed and in fact harmful.

in my position i feel an obligation to put back into the community what it has given me. that is the opportunity to have all my needs met. if i can help others in the community to have their needs met then i will be fulfilled.

as for quail i want to breed them purely because i find the meat and eggs to be some of the most delicious food i have tasted. i describe quail as having the same flavor as a chicken all packed into the small bird. so in other words its like 10x the flavor over all. if i can't produce enough of them for market i don't mind as i love them. the same as with marron. if i can sell them all good but they're mainly for personal use.

i forgot to mention that i will also have a go at rabbits but not put as much into them as the others. again i find them great eating and worth producing.

Probably depends on how they are kept, but I reckon this is a bit of a wives tale... Our chooks smell more than our ducks (sounds like Quail are even smellier because of the high ammonia concentration in their poop...).

A reasonable article on Quail Egg and Meat production:

QUAIL: An Egg & Meat Production System

I'll stick with our ducks as we have the space to let them roam - actually I think that is the real benefit of Quail - minimum space requirement...

Sorry BioF, hope this is all in keeping with your topic?

Remembering that some animals have added value like rabbits have skin and fur that can be quite useful if things go so far that you can't nip off to the store for clothing items.

Bunnie berries are also a great fertilizer for the dirt garden as they won't cause fertilizer burn the way most manure will.

As soon as you have the land, start getting appropriate cover crops on the ground and build the soil so that it can start supporting your dreams asap. Building the soil anywhere that AP won't be taking up real estate will greatly improve the farming options.

Like Dan and Stu's marriage: Hope for the best but plan for the worst!

Have fun!

Bunny skin / fur is a definate plus.

Myles , the ducks in Thailand stink and mess everywhere, ducks attack your vegies and cause erosion around your lakes ,, but Ducks are good pest controllers and taste great,, each to their own. The best thing a aquaculure farmer can do is get those ducks away from his ponds.
I guess a duck "run" would be the answer.

For now I'll be concentrating on the KING of protein ,, Japanese Quail.

I thought the calender stopped in 2012.. Anyway.. There are loads of good reason to be independent; oil, politics, global destruction of resources, common sense, live and eat better, get out of the rat race and live life for once, the end of the world as we know it, prophesy, another planet hitting us (nasa sees its effects) ect ect Either way, Im with ya! We have the ability to produce 360 pounds of fish, 400+ pounds of small dexter cows per year that grow on grass alone, and now I might add quail!

The two things that I must work on now is power and feed for the fish. I need enough power to pump water and run the well pump once in a while. I think growing worms for feed is the most practical. Smaller animals out produce all larger animals and black soldier flies produce at 90% of feed. You put in 10 pounds of veggie/waste and you get 9 pounds of worms. However, this year I do not have soldier flies here! Last year they were everywhere and I did not know what they were and was trying to kill them

When things do get worse things like food will be worth more than money! However the masses would be willing to kill just for one meal so there are other things that have to be considered too. Like no telling people around you what you are doing..

it may be of interest to you to read a book called back from the brink by Peter Andrews.
the book goes through sustainable ways to manage properties in australian conditions and how to get more out of land/soil etc. its a very interesting read.

thats a very good call dandman and something i have considered a lot. one of my ploys will be to jar preserve as much of the produce as feasible and bury it all over the area. i will have a secret map to the locations that will be passed on from generation to generation. i know this may seem a little crazy but its a crazy world. crazy times call for crazy measures.

perhaps a key is to have a few different plots going is secret locations to ensure one remains unfound.

also a knowledge of local bush tucker would be like gold. i will be tracking down elders from the area to see if this knowledge is available.

thanks for the tip. i'll look into that one. sounds like a good read.

I'm with you on the self sufficient idea and I am planning to do the same thing on my block. Moving south to better soil and higher rainfall is the key. As for people being willing to kill for a meal I find a .270 with a high powered scope has incredible accuracy over long distance and you can stockplie supplies to reload the cartridges.

I am going to have fish, vegies, fruit, chickens and goats for meat milk and wool (different breeds). Another thing to consider is suplimentary protein from hunting. Feral pigs cost nothing to produce you just have to find and kill, Hunting with dogs (I have a Bull Arab) is very efficent as the dogs will eat less then they catch if you hunt frequently enough.

Good luck

i am all for wild harvest, it helps maintain game populations and is good for the health of the indervidual and the environment!
i use a .243 and .223 to havest game but i am thinking archery equipment would be the way to go.

i think rabbits have a place in back yard food production, there meat is higher in protine than beef and lower in fat than chicken they take up very little room and there manuer is great for raising worms to feed your fish and excess vegies can supliment there diet and they are a little easier to raise than quale in MHOP, and i have and do raise both

Had to drag a dead roo off the road this morning.......wish we had a knife to take the hind quarters and the tail....I would of been eating for over a week on that meat alone.

Yep, I am with you guys....if I owned this block...it would look more like a zoo in great gardens

I would avoid hunting big boars with a bow unless you have some good pig dogs. The hardest man I know pegged a boar with his bow and spent quite a while up a tree before it was finished and he felt safe to climb down again. Thank God they can't climb.

Yeah I know that taking on a big boar with a bow is dangerous but there are a few things to be learnt about bow hunting (a quiet bow and nerves of steel) that make it exciting, there are places where I bow only hunt where the boars are big and smart and very hard to come by but I love the hunt and the day I tangle with a big boar and bow will be a day to remember! but then every wild pig I have taken has been a hunt to remember.

hay jessy i hate seeing so many roos dead on the road, such a waist! its a shame we are not allowed to hunt them as apparently they have the most nutritious meat. there are way to many of them in places around here and being able to hunt them the way the Americans hunt there white tail deer would be a great way to manage there numbers and have a good supply of healthy low fat and cholesterol free meat for the table!