Everything you need to know about raising a wide variety of livestock on your homestead: chickens, guinea fowls, goats, cows, horses, sheep, and many more.
Plus, how to tackle all of the issues that may arise. From predators, to dealing with a pregnant animal, nothing is left out. Whether you’re beginner or more advanced, you’re definitely going to find a lot of new information here that you can apply.
Raising dairy cows is a good way to provide your family with all the milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products you need – in fact, one cow is usually all you need to provide more than enough milk for most families. But what do you do when your cows’ milk production drops off? Besides … Read more
If you are new to raising chickens, the thought may have crossed your mind – is breeding chickens possible? It sure is! You can easily breed your own hens and roosters so that you have hatching eggs for adorable chicks. No doubt, you’re filled with questions. Before you can get started with hatching your own … Read more
Welsh Harlequin ducks are a relatively new breed when compared with those top meat and egg duck varieties that have been around for centuries. Their newness to the marketplace, and somewhat difficult to find nature has not hampered the ability of Welsh Harlequins to become an incredibly popular breed. Members of this duck breed are … Read more
Incubating and hatching duck eggs is vitally important if you want to keep your flock growing should the breed you are keeping be excellent layers, but lousy sitters. Some duck breeds both lay and sit their eggs well, but that is definitely not always the case. In such circumstances, investing in a quality incubator and … Read more
Indian Runner ducks are perhaps the easiest of all breeds to identify due to their unusual body style. Watching these attractive poultry birds run about while free ranging can be quite entertaining. They look like colorful penguins rushing around the barnyard. In fact, when members of this duck breed were first imported to America they … Read more
How much water does the average duck drink every day? It can vary depending on the breed and age of your ducks (as well as the time of year), but on average, each mature duck in your flock will consume roughly 0.25 gallons (1 liter) of water each day. Water isn’t only necessary for hydration, … Read more
If you’ve ever wanted to figure out how to get your chickens to lay more eggs, you aren’t alone. I’ve had this problem many times myself – often, due to a change in the seasons – and have more than once found myself researching how to boost production. There are a lot of factors that … Read more
Anyone who keeps animals will understand that the biggest, and often most expensive task is feeding them. Buying commercially produced animal feed is convenient. This type of feed has the nutrients required to supply a balanced diet for your animals. However, we often have a surplus of homegrown products. Any surplus is great, we can … Read more
Many animals are kept for a food supply, to make money, or just because it is fun to have animals around. One of the most popular animals to keep fits that bill on all accounts is rabbits. They are cute animals and easy to keep requiring little space. They will eat just about anything, especially … Read more
Herbs are awesome to have on the homestead, They make food taste better and also give us natural medicines that can be used to prevent and alleviate certain conditions. Most of us grow plenty of herbs on the homestead, but far too few of us are putting these herbs to work to ensure our flock … Read more
Silver Appleyard ducks are sometimes a little difficult to find, but are an eagerly embraced meat and egg breed by both amateur homesteaders and commercial keepers. Members of this breed are classified as a dual-purpose or multi-purpose type of duck. Silver Appleyard ducks are also categorized as both Large Appleyards and Miniature Appleyards, basesd upon … Read more
Also known simply as the fisher, the fisher cat is a forest-dwelling mammal found in the northern United States and Canada. If you’ve never heard of one of this creature before, its unique nomenclature might confuse you. Is it a cat, or is it some other kind of mystical creature that hunts for fish? The … Read more
Raising chickens is a great introduction to homesteading. My husband and I jokingly refer to chickens as “the gateway drug.” We started with a flock of two dozen birds, and since then, have grown to raising several hundred chickens (including meat birds and dedicated layers) each year. When you think about popular chicken breeds, there … Read more
You may have started out with just a few ducks, but at some point you will probably decide to add more. So if you keep ducks and you need to add new ones, you may wonder whether they will be accepted and not be bullied by existing members of the flock. The main thing you … Read more
I’ve always been quite lucky to not have to worry about too many pests in my garden. I’m not sure how I’ve avoided this common predicament – it’s something I hear echoed by so many gardeners near me. They struggle with all kinds of garden pests, including cabbage worms, cutworms, and of course – aphids. … Read more
Magpie ducks are among the most beautiful and docile of all domesticated breeds. Even though Magpies are not as highly kept as some other well-known breeds, the keepers who breed them and collect their eggs are highly devoted to preserving these enigmatic poultry birds. Ducks of this breed are multi-purpose birds. They are equally good … Read more