Well, I really am wishing for a happy new year in 2021, because 2020 has certainly been an interesting, stressful, and sad year for us. There were good things too, but we lost several old and beloved friends. We can only hope that 2021 brings a different kind of year. On that note, we have a new bundle of energy to introduce, her name is Bella and she's an 8 week old Maltipoo (1/2 Miniature Poodle and 1/2 Maltese). She brings lots of joy and enthusiasm with her, and we look ... continue reading...
Easy DIY Natural Pine Cone Ornaments
These DIY natural pine cone ornaments are not only beautiful; they're easy to make and inexpensive as well. It's a really simple way to add a natural element to your Christmas tree and you can make these pine cone ornaments in any color that you want. All it takes are some pine cones (gathered for free in our case), spray paint, ribbon, and a glue gun. Originally, I chose to make them using metallic gold paint and gold ribbon, but they can be made in whatever ... continue reading...
Control Chicken Winter Egg Production
Many chicken-keepers are disappointed when winter rolls around because their supply of fresh, delicious eggs from the homestead flock suddenly slows down or stops altogether. This happens because most chickens naturally decrease egg production during the colder months. However, with a little knowledge and preplanning, a flock can be controlled to produce eggs year-round. After a chicken’s nutritional needs are met, the two most critical factors controlling chicken egg production are day ... continue reading...
How & How Fast Chickens Molt (with illustrations)
Fall is the time of year when chickens molt and egg production declines dramatically. This makes it a good time to make decisions on which hens (if any) should be culled. How Chickens Molt Molting is a natural occurrence for chickens triggered by shortening day length in fall. It can take from 2 to 6 months for a chicken to complete molting. Egg production generally stops during molting for pure breed birds or significantly slows down for egg-laying breeds. This egg ... continue reading...
Homestead for the Holiday’s Giveaway!
What's in our homestead for the holiday's giveaway? It's two paperback books, one on-line course, seven eBooks, and one-holiday journal, all to be given away to one lucky reader! Between them, these resources cover the basics of getting started with homesteading or continuing on your homesteading journey. Details about the giveaway are as follows: The giveaway begins at 8 am central time on 11/14 and ends at 11:50 pm on 11/22 One winner will be selected at random The ... continue reading...
Fall Chicken Culling – Which Birds To Cull & How To Use Them
Fall is the traditional time of year for chicken-keepers to cull birds from their home flocks. That's because most folks don’t want to support unproductive chickens through winter. It’s a difficult decision to cull our chickens, but it’s the economical thing to do and they make tasty freezer additions. The top birds to consider culling are excess roosters, non-productive hens, and slow-molting hens. After processing culled birds, we can look forward to delicious chicken dinners, because ... continue reading...
Goat Hoof Trimming (Illustrated)
It’s important to keep goat hooves regularly trimmed. Poorly trimmed hooves cause improper alignment and when it’s wet, overgrown hooves can cause goats to slip or lose balance. Additionally in cold weather, dirt and stones can collect and freeze in between the goat’s toes. However, trimming goat hooves is an acquired skill and can take a bit of practice to learn. The section below describes the equipment needed and the process used to properly trim goat hooves. How To Trim Goat ... continue reading...
New Stronger and Configurable Goat Pens
We built these new configurable goat pens because we needed stronger pens and the ability to reconfigure as the needs of our growing Nigerian Dwarf goat herd changed over the year. Why New Stronger and Configurable Goat Pens? The original pens that we used for our goats were actually horse stalls that had solid walls. However, we found that goats are social creatures, and they much preferred walls that they could see each other through. So, we had the inner walls of the horse stalls ... continue reading...
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