douglasspade

Rhodes are very difficult to find, I have been looking also.

You can settle for commercial Golden Comets, they are a docile layer breed and can get them from farm stores when ordered in advance. There are commercial hatcheries in Chon Buri,  Khon Kaen and around Bangkok if you are willing to order at least a 100 chicks and pay for delivery.

I paid 36 Baht per chick in a farm store in Buriram two weeks ago and waited 3 Months for availability. Because of the huge demand for egg layers (dare not mention some huge corporations) you may get chicks barely a week old, so they have to go into a brooder for at least two weeks until you can let them run free. Also expect relative moralities in this "cooler" season.

"Nairobi fly" for those that has been through Africa. They leave a line of bubble blisters or rash as their toxins spread over the skin usually because people slap and smear them. Mostly below the eye, neck, mouth and around the ears. I had them under the armpits as they crawl up my short sleeves and on my head as they got caught in my long hair. We actually had an emergency procedure put in place as how to deal with them during night shifts. Toothpaste was the best known ointment available in bulk at that time we could distribute to the workforce.

They tend to like fluorescent lights, bug spray do not kill them and body mosquito repellent actually draws them in.

Never saw one in Asia so far though.

Let someone push you down the street in neutral and flip to 2nd gear, drop the clutch and open throttle, sure she will go.

2 hours ago, kickstart said:

soak  posts in old sump oil mixed with diesel

I actually did paint a 'hydraulic oil - engine oil - dirty diesel - gear oil - canola and soya cooking oil' mix, on the bird coop poles as well as some on a sheds poles. It seem to keep the poles 'oily' and water does not penetrate the sides, but under the ground it still seems like it is wet and rotting, too early to say. 

Have seen a lumber pole yard close to Surin, will pop in and find out what they use to treat their poles.

I am planning to harvest about 50 eucalyptus tree's blocking the sun from reaching my corn patches. They have also far outgrown their initial function of windbreaks. I recon the trees will be more valuable as fence poles now.

After sun-drying and removing the bark, what can I treat them with that is not too pricey and available in Thailand? In my home country we use 'Creosote', but I have not yet seen anything locally similar to that.

I grew some beetroot before and it was very easy.  Selling them was a bitch, I ended up pickling alot and still have some jars left since 2018????

If your In-laws can not do any manual work at all, then you can plant sweet potato's, they seem to thrive anywhere in Thailand with the littlest effort.

50 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

How much anyone makes or loses depends on the markets at the time of harvest.

Also unplanned events, our wind gusts went up to 58km\h by 4pm today and ripped through my 2 patches of corn snapping about 15% of the lot. Sad. Will manually cut the broken ones off tomorrow and divide it between the animals.

In our village I paid 500 baht per Ngan with no water, and 1000 Baht per Rai for raised land with a pond - 10000L of poor quality water available daily in the mid dry season.

For 'good' Agricultural rice land that is situated so that a low rain season will provide enough water to cover a rice crop you can pay up to 2000 Baht per Rai.  These  land deals are usually on offer just after baling is done, and the tenant have an opportunity to turn the soil while still workable or manure before the next rain season come.

Land for Cassava/Sugar cane you can rent here for 500 to a 1000 Baht per Rai. Growing rice on that is a gamble with a low rain season - and in a heavier rain season Cassava tubers will rot. Most just do Sugarcane, it has become a low risk crop of some sorts around here.

Shared crops/profits is a Thai thing where Foreigners should stay well aware and away of. Rent fully or don't rent at all.

I was thinking of the same thing some months ago, have been searching but so far all I found is pets and weird inbreds, nothing worth harvesting for meat or durable cony leather.

Please post updates if you do find a breeder, I would be interested as well.

Nothing new, some weeks ago a guy came home late on a single road leading into our village. Apparently he could not make the corner on his highly modified Honda Cub and ran off the road. Next day an old man taking his buffalo to the water hole found a bike half emerged in the rice paddy water. The guy's body was found some meters away. Cops recon he was still alive but struggled to make it to the edge of the paddy too intoxicated, he drowned in knee deep water.

1 hour ago, thoongfoned said:

we are lucky that we do not have wild dogs about.

We also never had this problem but this year more wild dogs just come through the village.

I had to build a makeshift pig pen from eucalyptus (that I am not proud of at all) as well as the birds cages in my yard when I lost the land I leased some moths ago. I have noticed that my pigs draw in a lot of soi dogs, but because I have hammered them with the bow some nights they kept at bay and my land borders directly to deep water rice fields where there's only 1 way in. I also clean my cages daily to keep the smell at bay and drop the muck in a pond on one of our another nearby farms - close where 2 Big pig fattening farms was set up this year. One house up to 200 pigs in squalid conditions! I believe that is what is drawing the wild dogs in.

With my last pig butchered for Xmas I have started demolishing the eucalyptus pen, my plan is to construct a trial metal frame pig pen during the next month to keep 2 to 3 pigs in for fattening. Need the pen to be able to assemble/disassemble and be moveable with skids by pulling it with an ATV/ mini Tractor on the 1 Rai so the stock can naturally manure the land. During the rain months it will sit on top of a cement pad.

Yup... laugh all you want....

Had something like this in mind, but also with a closable mesh top (roof) to keep dogs from jumping in and an adjustable plate roof with side plates on. Estimated cost to build around 4500 Baht for a 6m2 one.

Any comments on this will also be appreciated.

Because our village has a lot off cattle, the farm soi dogs with bad behavior are on the losing end. Many dogs are moved away. There are actually very little soi dog issues other than a few fights when the bitches go in heat.

I am still re-securing the bird cages with metal mesh, and undecided about the electric fences for now.

farmerjo, while we were chasing the dogs out some still tried to get back into the coop and there was one dog that did not even mind us and casually lied down and continued ripping a squeeling duck apart. Flood lights on, me with a eucalyptus pole and my wife with a broom, and some neighbors in the road yelling instructions through the fence, the dogs were not that bothered.

Only after I got a few hits in they started to disband from my yard quickly. All that noise, lights and commotion did not deter them at all.

10 hours ago, EricTh said:

Are you sure they are dogs and not wolves? I can't believe dogs can be so vicious.

Me and the wife chased the dogs off under double 250 watt floodlights. Dog attacks are common in Thailand, https://www.google.com/search?&q=Thailand+dog+attacks I just do not think attacks as in our village gets much attention.

1 hour ago, OOTAI said:

 

OOTAI, the setup looks simple enough and if it works for you it is worth me trying it out. Just a question... is that an AC or DC model?

2 hours ago, Tagged said:

They attack only after dark, or is any time in daytime as well? 

No they come roaming at nighttime. All our attacks was between 12 AM and 3 AM.

7 hours ago, Crossy said:

Do you reckon they could tackle chain-link fence like Tagged has on his kennel?

I am sure that will stop them. Looking at price I have to weight options. There is a guy in the village that has closed his fighting cocks with a roll of reinforced concrete mesh, that is made up of 150mm squares, the steel is about 3-4mm thick. If I paint that with some grey primer and plant it in the ground about 400mm deep tied to my poles I guess that might be a cheap and easy to maintain/upkeep solution for some years.

Was wishing for a way to chase them off so they do not target me, so I am researching a friend suggestion of a  homemade electrical fence charger that uses a starter coil. Simple enough to put together, and run of a 12v voltage setup.

18 hours ago, Crossy said:

(probably went to a farm in the country)

Probably send to Isaan, mixed with some Thai spices and enjoyed with a Leo.

19 hours ago, jvs said:

Do the dogs actually break into the pens?

Yes they chewed through 2 sets of pvc netting as well as ripping of the metal nets - think it's called  "welded wire mesh" for fencing animals. I need a pliers to cut through. They were able to gnaw a piece and it look like it came undone at the welding and one could go in. The other metal net was totally grabbed and ripped of.

19 hours ago, Crossy said:

How are the miscreants getting in? Closing off the access is your first priority.

As we chased the dogs from the property one jumped on my compost bin and onto our roof, and made a 3m leap to my single brick wide wall and ran on the wall for 20m before leaping to the neighbors bale store and gone. I have seen local soi dogs climbing fences, nothing new in my village experiences.

As I am the only one with ducks in the village, and them being natural security, when the pack dogs came through they were obviously noisy and I think that attracted the dogs. They ate the ducks but only killed the chickens.

19 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Ever tried poison? 

19 hours ago, Tagged said:

Neighbour killed his own dog by poison,

Yup, not the route I can and want to take as my birds roam free on the property for some hours every day.

This is not a problem of the local soi dogs and cats, they lie just outside and do not attack or eat any birds what I have seen. The pack of "wild" soi dogs roam around, so I will never know when the the next wave will be at my village.

7 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Have some fun...

I have a 90 lb bow and some home made non lethal rubber tip arrows that has send some dogs and cats scattering a poop strip on the lawn, but 6 dogs at once? In the middle of he night? 

Also don't want to be know as the farang killing animals in the village, high profile - not my style.

29 minutes ago, Tagged said:

You need  fence off the erea you keep your ducks propely.

I have a 2.2m wall around the house and a proper fence in front with the lowest spot 1.8m. The birds are fenced off with 2 sets of plastic net and the actual cages where they sleep has metal net fencing on fully roofed with lockable wooden doors.

In the pic is some months before I set up the outer run nets, the poles already planted.

Had 12 ducks and 4 chickens savagely killed and eaten by a pack of soi dogs the previous Wednesday. My wife called me around 2 am from the farm (I have nominated myself rice security this year) to come home and experience a horror movie. I had to dispatch 3 ducks and 2 chickens myself that morning with severe injuries and a dozen of birds was injured but we nursed them looking OK.

A piglet, countless chickens and a cat got killed that night. A calve got chased into the rice paddy but was rescued later.  Apparently the pack seem to frequent the Temple and from there they gather momentum and numbers. This is the third such an attack since August.

I am currently building 2x simplistic self defense electrical high voltage discharge devices from a YouTube video, to protect us at home if this may happen again and they attack me or my wife or gain access into our house.

I fixed everything up better than before but fear and know now it might not be enough to keep them out when they come in force. I have seen 12v electric cow fence energizers that can be hooked up on a smaller solar system for around the 1000 Baht range on Lazada. I have 2 x 12 linear meters pig pens and a 16 linear meters bird cage I want to electrify.

Does anyone have any idea if it these devices actually works as described, and will it also work to deter dogs specifically?

They can invent <deleted> like this but not a cure for Covid!