----- Original Message -----
>Does anybody here raise there own animals and would be willing to discuss
it
>offline? We are thinking of moving to Tennessee and raising our own
animals,
>growing vegetables, etc.

Been there, done that.  Do not take lightly what a serious commitment this
is.  Self-sufficiency is certainly do-able, but not without a lot of
intensive labor.  Worst thing you can do is Romanticize the simplicity and
naturalness of a back-to-the-earth lifestyle.  Living simply is not the same
thing as living easily.  Learn all you can about the livestock you plan to
raise and garden you plan to grow *before* you move.  Then be prepared to
realize you don't know squat about any of it when you actually start doing
it.  It really is experiential learning and the learning curve can be steep
at times and mistakes or the vagaries of nature costly.  I don't mean to
discourage you because I really wouldn't trade my experience for the
world.......but I wouldn't necessarily like to repeat some of of it either.
:)  You'll be amazed at how much time feeding your face requires in effort
before you ever get to take a first bite of anything if you're talking about
starting from scratch on raw land and raising everything you eat. Let us
know how it goes.

Theola