It’s not a good idea to find a babysitter on Craigslist. It’s not a good idea to buy full-grown animals on the Internet either. Almost no one sells you their good animals. You’re likely getting a scratch-and-dent model that could be sick, nervous, or destructive. It’s a lesson I learned when I bought a ewe…
As springtime approaches, that tends to mean one thing around my homestead. The chickens, long self-confined to a smaller grazing ground have begun to range again, scratching their way through underbrush and tree, grass and, yes, even garden. As I’m watching them, I’ve begun to realize it’s been a little while since I last profiled…
There are all sorts of ways to cure meat, but most at some point require cold-storage to prevent rot. There’s salt curing, smoking, drying, and good old-fashioned freezing, among many others. With one method of curing however, you don’t need to worry quite so much about how quick you eat your meats, or where you…
A topic we’ve covered regularly on this site, though perhaps not regularly enough, is that of poultry. Probably the most common “gateway stock” for budding homesteaders, chickens are relatively simple to care for, easy to acquire, and can be used for either meat or eggs. Read on for the first in what will be an…
Love your animals? Have predators that love them for a different reason? Have a special, childhood attachment to Eeyore? Sounds like you may be in the market for a good old-fashioned defense donkey! You heard me right, that ornery barnyard brute may actually have a use beyond pulling a cart, and biting a chunk out…
If your homestead is located anywhere near water, particularly the flowing variety, chances are you’ve wet a line or two, and made yourself better acquainted with several varieties of aquatic wildlife. In doing so, you may have stumbled across some strange critters lurking along the bottom, particularly under rocks–critters that look a heckuva lot like…
So you’ve got hens, a rooster, and not enough chickens. Should you order more chicks in the mail? Sure, that’s one solution. But if you’ve got all three of the above, its turns out nature has a free solution for you. Read on for a how-to on hatching your own chicks. Step 1: Feed The…
Much like snakes, spiders and everything else that creeps and crawls around at night, bats have quite a few humans spooked. Whether due to an association with Transylvania, or getting dive-bombed during a late-night swim in the pond, anti-bat prejudice tends to run deep. As it turns out however, while there are certainly some negatives,…
Owning goats is all well and good, but how do you keep the critters fed? Sure they’re browsers, but there’s more to keeping them alive and nourished than simply turning them loose in scrub brush. What happens when the forage runs low? Or if a cold winter dumps feet of snow on top of it?…
No, this isn’t the introductory paragraph to a turn-of-the-century, “snakehandling” cult brochure. Nor will it teach you how to go into the outback and become Crocodile Dundee. If you encounter a snake on your homestead you need to relocate, however, here are a few ideas on how to wrangle the slithery little bugger. ENSURE THE…
While it may be a few months from opening day of deer season, experienced hunters know it’s already high time to begin prep. From sighting in one’s bow or rifle to scouting game trails, work in the offseason equates directly to in-season success. For those who hunt on their very own homestead, this is doubly…
Just as you build a house before you move onto land, before you consider getting goats, you need a solid plan for how to house them. Lucky for you, goats are a lot less picky than your last roommate. In fact, they’re about as low-maintenance a tenant as you can get. Read on for a…
