Re: [Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
Nice, Peter! Thanks for the report, very interesting. It'd be great to have some pigs. Not here though, but next time for sure, which shouldn't be too long. Meanwhile the Muscovies are once again doing well with their ongoing global conspiracy to cover the world with a carpet of ducklings. Millions of ducklings! Well, 34 actually, so far, and we'll be lucky if we can keep it to less than 80 or 90 or so for the year. They're delightful little buggers, unbelievably cute, but 60 ducks is more than enough meat for us for a year. They're good grazers, useful on pastures, but they don't plough like pigs do. All best Keith Hi Keith ; Quick update for you about our pigdozer project. Our previous system for preparing a field for planting was the normal Cambodia way : 1) Plow in dry season to upturn roots and kill them. 2) Wait for some rain, this will germinate the remaining weed seeds. 3) Plow again. 4) Plow one more time before wet season to level for planting. This always infuriated me, because the naked earth was baking under the hot sun during the dry season. This KILLS the soil. But the concept was lost on them. They could see no other way to kill the weeds. We set up an electric fence. There was a bit of a learning experinence for the pigs, but they are not stupid. Now they will not touch the fence. My staff report that they could be running away from something and they stop at the fence like a car puts on brakes. We flood the field with water every two days. The pigs kill the grass and dig out all the strong roots of bamboo and other plants. Their weight is increasing, but slower than if fed by commercial feed. We also let them eat oil palm fruits, which they accept readily. They also love breadfruit, and we planted local water spinach and just let them get it by themselves. We hit a bell when we give them table rice scraps in the evening. They follow the guy with the bell like puppy dogs. If they ever do get out of the fence, we hit the bell and the pigs come running. Everyone is amazed, even the guy that took care of pigs for many years. He never thought it possible for the pigs to follow him around like puppy dogs. The report back is that the rice is growing VERY well in the area dug by the pigs. This is making big news with the locals. Now I get a wet, dug, and fertilized field without doing any work, without killing the soil, and without spending any money on diesel or pig food, and I get pig meat (and biogas later when we get to it). Fantastic! Best Regards, Peter G. Thailand www.gac-seeds.com ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
i see. so they'll sleep in the barn, and when they're taken out to their fenced area in the mornings someone slops the barn? i couldn't help wondering if you'd devised some clever means for collecting material from their outdoor area. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
Hi Keith ; Quick update for you about our pigdozer project. Our previous system for preparing a field for planting was the normal Cambodia way : 1) Plow in dry season to upturn roots and kill them. 2) Wait for some rain, this will germinate the remaining weed seeds. 3) Plow again. 4) Plow one more time before wet season to level for planting. This always infuriated me, because the naked earth was baking under the hot sun during the dry season. This KILLS the soil. But the concept was lost on them. They could see no other way to kill the weeds. We set up an electric fence. There was a bit of a learning experinence for the pigs, but they are not stupid. Now they will not touch the fence. My staff report that they could be running away from something and they stop at the fence like a car puts on brakes. We flood the field with water every two days. The pigs kill the grass and dig out all the strong roots of bamboo and other plants. Their weight is increasing, but slower than if fed by commercial feed. We also let them eat oil palm fruits, which they accept readily. They also love breadfruit, and we planted local water spinach and just let them get it by themselves. We hit a bell when we give them table rice scraps in the evening. They follow the guy with the bell like puppy dogs. If they ever do get out of the fence, we hit the bell and the pigs come running. Everyone is amazed, even the guy that took care of pigs for many years. He never thought it possible for the pigs to follow him around like puppy dogs. The report back is that the rice is growing VERY well in the area dug by the pigs. This is making big news with the locals. Now I get a wet, dug, and fertilized field without doing any work, without killing the soil, and without spending any money on diesel or pig food, and I get pig meat (and biogas later when we get to it). Fantastic! Best Regards, Peter G. Thailand www.gac-seeds.com ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
Guag Meister wrote: Hi Keith ; Quick update for you about our pigdozer project. Our previous system for preparing a field for planting was the normal Cambodia way : 1) Plow in dry season to upturn roots and kill them. 2) Wait for some rain, this will germinate the remaining weed seeds. 3) Plow again. 4) Plow one more time before wet season to level for planting. This always infuriated me, because the naked earth was baking under the hot sun during the dry season. This KILLS the soil. But the concept was lost on them. They could see no other way to kill the weeds. We set up an electric fence. There was a bit of a learning experinence for the pigs, but they are not stupid. Now they will not touch the fence. My staff report that they could be running away from something and they stop at the fence like a car puts on brakes. We flood the field with water every two days. The pigs kill the grass and dig out all the strong roots of bamboo and other plants. Their weight is increasing, but slower than if fed by commercial feed. We also let them eat oil palm fruits, which they accept readily. They also love breadfruit, and we planted local water spinach and just let them get it by themselves. We hit a bell when we give them table rice scraps in the evening. They follow the guy with the bell like puppy dogs. If they ever do get out of the fence, we hit the bell and the pigs come running. Everyone is amazed, even the guy that took care of pigs for many years. He never thought it possible for the pigs to follow him around like puppy dogs. The report back is that the rice is growing VERY well in the area dug by the pigs. This is making big news with the locals. Now I get a wet, dug, and fertilized field without doing any work, without killing the soil, and without spending any money on diesel or pig food, and I get pig meat (and biogas later when we get to it). Fantastic! Best Regards, Peter G. Thailand www.gac-seeds.com ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ Hi Peter, congrat for the achievement! My uncle had some 80 pigs or so and they have been kept in a half open stall.The sleeping area was with a ligtly heatet tilefloor and the r was a sort of gullyarea where the pigs did their manurething.this was kind of selfcleanig. I have never seen a pigplace as clean and almost no smell at all! The pasture was with real black earth and a little pond was there so they could get nice dirty! Pigs are smart! Fritz ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
peter, great system! how do you do the biogas? ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Pigdozer update.
Hi Chris ; Biogas is a future project. To prepare for it, we have the pigs sleep in the pig barn. They are used to walking around following the guy with the bell. This way we can lead them anywhere. Sleeping in the barn provides some raw material for biogas in a consistent place, when we get around to implementation. Getting them used to the system when they are young helps. Once they are 60-80kg, much more difficult to handle them in a new situation. BR Peter G. Thailand www.gac-seeds.com ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
