Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sunday Reading - It Isn't All Farming


Mostly it seems when we talk about prepping or survival-ism / homesteading etc. these days we talk about gardening, canning and some livestock like chickens, goats or bees. However there is one aspect of post collapse sustainability I (at least) rarely see mentioned and that is wild life management.

I tend to agree with many who point out that wild game won't last long in a post collapse situation. I happen to have access to first hand accounts and observations of what happened to the local game populations around my neck of the woods due to over hunting during the depression. I think I have mentioned before that although my father grew up in a little house in the woods not far from where I sit this morning that he did not in fact ever hunt nor harvest a deer until he was well into his 30's.

There simply were none around.
  

However some types of smaller game should be able to survive the hunting pressure. Rabbits, squirrel and quail spring to mind for that type of game around here. No matter how high the pressure there should always remain isolated pockets with enough numbers to rebound back against high hunting pressure. This type of game generally requires firearms of a specific type or load different than most would carry in a collapse type situation which removes the target of opportunity factor.

Promoting small game cover and crops can be just as important and as rewarding as planting perma-culture like fruit trees and berry plants. A homesteader must of course keep an eye on his or her wildlife and make sure they never over harvest but with a few land management tricks you can keep a good supply of small game nearby for the occasional taking.

Around the Small-Hold rabbits and quail abound but I make it a point to get pockets of Sunflowers growing or leave the ones that are already taking off alone. They provide seeds for the quail to eat and good overhead cover for the rabbits from hawks. Large fence rows with seed trees and brambles also provide much needed cover for these animals from predators while blackberries and wild grapes also provide food. Most small game will consume water in their food or gather it in the mornings but during dry periods having open sources of water they can access without exposing themselves is also important.

Certainly the mechanics of small game management is a subject more complicated and regional than I could go into here. My real point today is that it can be an important step in post collapse sustainability to promote wildlife in and around your homestead. Even if your immediate populations are reserved for nothing more than emergency harvesting when you cannot get out far or conditions require you stay very close to home. Plus you can guard these populations from other hunters more easily.

Do not overlook local wildlife management as part of your preps. Ya never know when it will pay off.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!


18 comments:

  1. Another good point to consider, providing wild game with natural food sources.

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    1. K - It is my hope that as the four hoofed beasts of pasture destruction die off I can manage some more wildlife using the place as home too.

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  2. I have wondered about game in that situation. I remember growing up in the 60s when someone getting a turkey or a deer was a big deal. By the early 80s there were great flocks of turkey and deer were starting to be a road hazzard. Since coyotes were introduced the numbers have fallen. There are some deer that are hard to get on camera, very elusive so they won't become extinct but it could get like it was very quickly. How is roasted coyote?

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    1. SF - Well I know my dad and grandpa said they rarely if ever saw a deer at all. Turkey were never completely hunted out around here but they were still rare.

      Rabbits, squirrel and quail were always around though.

      My guess is the coyote palatabillity is directly influenced by your hunger. :)

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  3. We have many deer here. Also way too many feral hogs. I see rabbits once in awhile. I've never seen a quail up here, though people tell me there are some. Dove come through once in awhile. I think if you were prepared to go way out into the woods, off the trails, you would find plenty of game. But getting it packed back out would be hard work.

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    1. Harry - Ya my bet is the real game will take off for the really bad and hard to get to places. We have a lot of doves as well. I always get at least a half a dozen new dove chicks running around the garden I have to protect from the cats for a few days. Same with rabbits.

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  4. Here in Mn we have an overbearing amount of Canadian Geese. They would be a target of hunters here. Can you see anyone from the big cities like Chicago or New York trying deer hunting of any kind??

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    1. We have Canadian Geese here too. I call them our ileagle aliens, hatching out anchor babies, most likely bringing in bird flu!

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    2. We have a few around here that stay year round. In the Winter we will get literally thousands of Canadas, snows and blues in the corn fields but if you kill a few the rest learn fast to stay away.

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  5. Great post. I have enough small game around the house to last for at least a few years, especially squirrels. Quail, the Bobwhite, has all but disappeared from our area due to fireants and coyotes and feral cats. Same with the cottontail rabbits. Deer, we have, although it would require a walk of a couple of miles since I basically live on an island. Tell 'ya what, send me a batch of quail and I send you a mess of squirrel...

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    1. Stephen - I would send you soem quail if I could. I had a hen that always has at least 2 broods a year and then raises them in the garden under the squash plants. I said had because I ran over her by mistake a couple weeks ago sitting on her third round of eggs. I always wondered where her nest was and I found it I am sorry to say.

      Hopefully one of her raised chicks will claim her spot next year.

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  6. A relative of mine bought a small farm in the Shenandoah Valley. It was seven years before they saw any squirrels.

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    1. Russ - I am just now seeing squirrels back in the very back of my fields. We have never had a squirrel near the house even with two producing walnut trees because we are surrounded by about half a mile of open fields all around. The tree line has crept up to within about 1/4 mile in the back so maybe soon they will make it up this far.

      I thought about trapping a few and bringing them in. Maybe next Spring.

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  7. I would gladly sacrifice all the squirrels in my city lot to feeding anyone. A person who was hungry could eat well from my little yard. There is a tree stump that brambles have grown around. I refuse to allow it to be removed and cleaned up because rabbits live there. Every year I have a mother and babies all over my yard.

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    1. Someday you maybe out hunting those rabbits yourself PP!!!!

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  8. Squirrels are a must for replenishing the wood lot. Occasionally I will shoot some around the pecan trees, but I love seeing them amongst the oaks. Mainly I shoot their predators.

    Best,
    Dan

    Ps. You won't have squirrels if you have cats. the cats eat em.

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    1. Dan - I am not so sure about that. I know our property in town borders a park that has a high feral cat infestation not to mention all the neighbors cats and that park is a literal squirrel utopia. You can't even put out a planter without squirrels getting into it, killing the plant, then burying something in them.

      I have never seen a cat take out a full grown squirrel. A baby here and there that had fallen out of the nest but the squirrels around here, especially the fox squirrels are bigger than 99% of the housecats.

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  9. Let's see, here I have pole cats, neighborhood cats, foxes, rabbits squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and bear.

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