Animals

I commented to my husband the other day that it seemed like we had an awful lot of birds hanging round the farm this year. From cardinals to starlings, mourning doves to crows, we’ve had no shortage of feathered friends flitting about the place! The bluebirds, though, are some of the most remarkable to behold. … Read more

So, you want delicious, naturally raised, farm fresh eggs on your homestead but cannot decide which is better to raise – ducks or chickens. That question is becoming pondered more and more, as duck keeping (for eggs and not just as cute farm pets), is becoming more popular. If you live in a rural area, … Read more

Keeping animals on the homestead reduces the family’s grocery store expenses, infuses more healthy whole food into the diet, and is often quite a joy. However feed storage is often an imposing obstacle that must be dealt with properly. If animal feed is not stored in a manner that prevents spoilage and rodent infestations you … Read more

Chickens and ducks are both poultry birds and are often of nearly equal size. Since they typically eat the same feed and treats, many homesteaders have wondered if both types of birds can live together in the same coop and run. Yes, chickens and ducks can usually live together. How early the poultry birds begin … Read more

When you raise your own chickens or ducks to provide eggs for the homestead, there is no carton expiration date to rely on to determine freshness. Sell by or best by dates are a guide to help us to determine freshness, but not necessarily when the egg has gone bad. Rotten eggs have a distinctive … Read more

Pets are family members. We take care of all their needs, from food to hygiene to shelter. All these play a vital role in keeping the pets happy, but most important of them all is the diet, as it can affect their health. There’s a lot of debate on the kind of food one should … Read more

Whether you’ve purchased a cow hide, or if you finished tanning one yourself (and hopefully applied a protective solution on it), what are you going to do with it? Your options are limited only by your creative imagination and your skillset. You can make belts, purses, moccasins, saddle bags, like I said, the options nearly … Read more

Tanning hides using traditional and more natural methods is almost always less expensive and does not really add any extra time or work to the project. Hide tanning is a process that requires extensive manual labor and lots of patience. There just are not any true shortcuts, regardless of what type of method you use, … Read more

So, you live on a homestead and raise your own meat. That’s great. You get extra self-reliance points if you butcher the meat yourself. But, your journey to a sustainable life, an existence where you always use resources wises and for optimal benefit, will not end before you learn how to tan hides. There are … Read more

Note: this is not medical advice. Neither the author nor www.newlifeonahomestead.com shall be held liable for any misuse of the advice given in this article. If you get hurt, call 9-1-1 or your doctor. Homesteading life is full of all kinds of joy, hard work – and accidents. Agriculture accidents can be gruesomely deadly. The majority … Read more

Here’s our experience raising pheasants on the homestead. Are they worth raising for meat? You decide.

When we noticed an oozing hole in our small kitten’s chest one day, I knew I had to do something to save his life…