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Amy Dunnington and David Borkman,
Gilbert Stuart Road,
North Kingstown, RI
Small
acreage livestock farm
View
other areas of this farm for livestock best management
practices
Area
1: Pasture management - sheep and poultry
Area
2: Livestock yard management and rain barrels
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About
this farm: The farm currently raises between 6 to 10
sheep, four sheep dogs (trained as working herd dogs),
and 12 layer hens.
The
farm contains about one acre of land, with about
1/3 acre available for grazing.
The farm also has access to about 4 acres of pasture
located one mile away and historically used about
0.5 acre of neighboring land for additional pasture
until
2006. |
The
farm also has a vegetable and flower garden (about 1,400
sq. ft.) which is planted to a winter rye cover crop in
the fall and receives chicken and sheep manure and bedding
collected during winter months. The home is served by a private
drinking water well.
Pet
Waste Managment --
sheep dogs (4)
Tip
7 - Pick up after your pets
The
sheep dogs occupy a small fenced yard immediately behind
the house when they are not in the pastures. The
owners would collect the solid dog waste from the fenced
yard about once each week and dispose of it in the trash.
Due to the well drained soil conditions on the farm,
the owners were willing to try an in-ground dog waste
disposal system that works much like a septic tank.
Doggie
Dooley in-ground disposal system.
Water
and solid waste must be added every day for proper
operation. Digester enzymes are added once each
week.
This
system is
not recommended for areas with poor soil drainage
and high water tables. This
system is not effective when soil temperatures
reach 40 degrees F (winter months). The unit does
not need to be removed.
Do
not locate near a drinking water well, surface
water
body, or vegetable garden. |
Model 3000 -- for up to 3 medium
sized pets, installed June 2003 in the dog yard. |
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By
September 2003, it was determined that the model
3000 alone was not enough to handle the solid waste
collected in the dog yard. Too
much solid waste began to accumulate.
The
owners
liked
the way the system operated and did not experience
odor problems (a claim made by the manufacturer
due to the special enzymes used).
The
owners located a
new large capacity in-ground disposal system
(up to 4 dogs) that became available during
2004 and installed the system in
spring 2005. |
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Home
made rain barrels - homestead During
the growing season, the owners typically use 3 to 4 rain
barrels linked in series to capture and store roof runoff
from the barn. It is used to
water the vegetable and flower garden on the farm. View Area
2 for more information.
Newly
installed home made rain barrels for homestead:
July
2004. Two old, wooden barrels are linked by a
garden hose, storing over 100 gallons of water.
They
are filled by a downspout that drains the front
half of the house roof. A spigot has been
placed at the bottom of the barrels for filling
pails or attaching garden hose.
Small
holes have been cut into the tops of the barrels
for
the
downspout to drain into. Keeping the holes
covered is important for mosquito control. Insect
screening
or a pool filter basket can be installed
for the barrel that is installed at the downspout.
Wood
barrels can leak until water saturates and
swells the wood. If wood barrels are not full, swishing
the water around periodically can help keep
the wood wet and sealed.
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July
2004. The rain barrels are used to water these
border beds in front of the house.
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Permeable
Paving Materials - driveway
Tip
5 - reduce runoff
Tip 6 - reduce soil erosion
Driveway
paved with crushed stone. Allows for groundwater
infiltration and reduces
runoff.
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