Why Raise Meat Chickens?

Why Raise Meat Chickens?

If you are used to buying your chicken from the supermarket, you might not realize this, but there is one breed of meat chicken that dominates the modern, globalized meat market. You know it well, and yet probably don’t even know the name. You buy your whole fryers, your boneless skinless chicken breast, your thigh meat, your wings, your drumsticks, your whole legs. It might come from different brands, priced differently, sometimes on sale, sometimes more expensive for higher quality. But it is almost always the same chicken breed: the Cornish Cross. The Cornish Cross has not always been the […]

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A Basic Guide to Marking Goats

A Basic Guide to Marking Goats

Goats are a wonderful addition to any homestead, but if you have quite a few, you might need to consider marking them at some point. Usually, small homesteads who raise a handful of goats merely for pleasure and can recognize all their goats according to their markings won’t need to rely on marking to identify their goats. But if you’d like to breed, sell, and/or register your goats, you will need a system for keeping track of them. The most common methods of marking goats are either tattooing or ear tagging.  Tattooing is the only permanent method and may be required to register […]

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What Is Two Story Farming?

What Is Two Story Farming?

Originally hailing from the Mediterranean, two story farming is a sustainable and efficient way to multitask on your farm or homestead. It is essentially what it sounds, farming on two “stories”. Only this isn’t in a structure, like the visions of modern urban farms of the future. Two story farming combines agriculture with raising livestock, in a very cool way. Traditionally, farmers use trees as the “upper story” of the two story concept. Carob, olive oil, or some other tree, is grown above an area in which pigs, cattle, or goats roam, allowed to nourish themselves on whatever is cast […]

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How to Buy a Rabbit Starter Stock

How to Buy a Rabbit Starter Stock

Rabbits are a great animal to raise on a homestead. They don’t take up much space, they breed very efficiently, are affordable to feed, and their meat is delicious. Since one of the biggest appeals of raising rabbits is how quickly and easily they reproduce, you will need to get yourself set up with what’s called a starter stock. These will be the first rabbits you buy, that will go on to reproduce and build your herd. Rabbit Breeders To find your first rabbits, you’ll have to find someone who’s already selling them. A great place to look at first is a state […]

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Are You Ready for Livestock?

Are You Ready for Livestock?

Raising livestock is one of the great appeals of homesteading. If you’ve just bought your own land or have plans to, or have considered raising goats or chickens in your backyard, you should be careful not to get too far ahead of yourself. The prospect of raising livestock is so appealing, the decision to dive into serious animal husbandry is no small consideration. Here are some important factors of making this big decision: Space Do you really have the room? A lot of animals need much more space than you’d think. Most animals simply won’t thrive if kept in a […]

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Can Your Livestock Make Money for You?

Can Your Livestock Make Money for You?

What type of livestock do you have on your homestead? You probably have some great animals that are working to provide well for you and your family. However, have you ever stopped to think that you might be able to get even more out of the animals? In some cases, your livestock will can make money, providing you with some extra income. Let’s check out a few of the ways that your animals could make money for you. Selling Excess Eggs If you have some chickens, they are going to keep laying eggs each day in most cases. This means […]

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Raising Rabbits for Meat: Overview (Video)

Raising Rabbits for Meat: Overview (Video)

Rabbits are a highly efficient animal to raise for food. While these days, most of us think of rabbits as pets, they’ve actually been hunted and raised for slaughter for most of human history. For what it takes to feed rabbits vs. how much meat you get out of them, they’re a great option for a small-scale animal husbandry operation on your homestead. Seasoned homesteaders and YouTubers Big Family Homestead share their set-up for raising rabbits and the creative ways they drastically reduce the cost of housing and feeding the critters. Enjoy! If you enjoyed this, you might also like…. How […]

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Why Chickens Are Your Best Friend on the Homestead

Why Chickens Are Your Best Friend on the Homestead

If you are homesteading, one of the best animals you can have on your property is the mighty chicken. It is highly beneficial for you and your family, as well as your garden, as you will see. Eggs and Meat Naturally, this is what most people consider when they are thinking about the benefits that chickens can provide. If you have chickens, you could have fresh eggs all the time, which is a great way to add to the amount of protein your homestead can produce. Most homesteaders utilize their chickens for eggs, but it is certainly possible to use […]

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6 Things You Should Do Before Getting Piglets

6 Things You Should Do Before Getting Piglets

I’ve raved quite a  bit in the past about how great pigs are. You can buy them as piglets for a very affordable price, and within a season have a hog big enough to fill your freezer with meat. For the initial start-up cost, space they need, food they eat, and meat they yield, they’re incredibly efficient animals to raise for meat. And, as someone who hates waste, I just love how much you can feed them! It’s also relatively easy to feed them virtually for free, which is another big plus. When you buy pork at the supermarket, you […]

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Making Chicken Feed: Pros and Cons (Video)

Making Chicken Feed: Pros and Cons (Video)

As with all things DIY, I’ve always assumed that making your own chicken feed would be healthier, and more affordable. However, I’ve been reading that while that can be true, it’s not always the case. These homesteaders and YouTubers have been making their own chicken feed, and received a lot of questions about how to do it and how it’s been working out, so they made this video in response. They break down the pros and cons of the method they’re using, how they store it, how they’re chickens like it, and the ingredients of their feed. It seems to […]

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Raising Quail (Video)

Raising Quail (Video)

I think one of the greatest things about the internet is that we can get an inside look into what other homesteaders are doing and how they set up their gardens and animal raising operations. This is a very informative look at Big Bear Homestead’s quail raising set up, with a detailed tour of the coop. I have always been very interested in raising quail, particularly because their eggs are supposed to be highly nutritious, and they’re just as productive as chickens. This video really motivated me to explore the idea of raising quail more, so if you’ve been wondering […]

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The Best Animals to Raise on a Homestead

The Best Animals to Raise on a Homestead

Being able to raise livestock is one of the biggest appeals of homesteading, and it’s very rewarding too! Livestock can bring so much reward, from delicious byproducts, to valuable contributions to gardening and even landscaping, as well as companionship. Here are some of the best animals to raise on a homestead, and why. Chickens Chickens are just awesome. They’re cheap to feed, can be put to work in a number of ways, can easily be tended to using natural remedies, and produce delicious eggs and meat for you. Chickens are a globally popular animal to raise, for good reason to. […]

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More Ways to Profit Off Your Land

More Ways to Profit Off Your Land

A few weeks ago, we wrote an article on ways to profit off your land as a homesteader, and we promised there’d be more, so here it is! This week’s post on how to profit off your land is all about livestock, dairy, and meat. Being able to raise, consume, and sell your own animal byproducts is one of the biggest appeals of homesteading, and, with the right set-up, experience, and a bit of time, you can conceivably pull quite a profit. We already covered eggs, which is a really good start and has relatively low overhead. It’s a great […]

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5 Ways to Use Vinegar for Your Chickens

5 Ways to Use Vinegar for Your Chickens

Vinegar has so many uses around the home in general, it should be no surprise to you that there are a lot of ways to use it around your chicken coop! Both distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar are wonderful to keep your chicken coop clean, your chickens healthy, and keep you happy! Here are a few of the many ways you can use vinegar for your chickens: 1. Added to water Chickens are subject to parasites and digestive issues as much as any other creature, and adding a bit of vinegar to their water can help keep them healthy […]

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The Life Cycle of a Chicken (Infographic)

The Life Cycle of a Chicken (Infographic)

So I guess it’s a bit of an urban legend that chickens need roosters to lay eggs. Which makes sense, of course, given we humans need a male and a female to “lay” a baby! However, this understandable misconception is due to the fact that eggs are not the exact equivalent of a human baby bump. Chicken eggs are just that, eggs. They need to be fertilized to develop into baby chicks, but they’re perfectly good eggs for food, in fact they’ll be wasted if we don’t eat them! This is why the relationship between humans and chickens is such […]

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Homestead Hog Slaughtering (Video)

Homestead Hog Slaughtering (Video)

I think hogs are some of the best animals to have on the homestead. They are cost efficient and can produce a lot of meat in a short amount of time. And who doesn’t love lots of pork and bacon? Of course, there’s the dirty business of slaughtering them. They’re pretty big, heavy, strong animals, so it’s important to know what you’re getting into. I like this simple guide to slaughtering a pig, and seeing how it’s done by seasoned hog farmers. Check it out! Hopefully it won’t scare you off from raising hogs, but I found it quite fascinating! […]

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Tips for Raising Goats

Tips for Raising Goats

Homesteaders should certainly consider raising goats. They can be used for meat, milk, and more. However, it is important that you have a good understanding of how to raise the goats properly and safely, and to provide them with a healthy environment. The following are some tips that can help you get started. More than One Even if you have a relatively small space, you should still have room for more than just one goat. Goats are herd animals, and they like to be social. Having several, at least, is a good option. It keeps them happy and it keeps […]

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The Meat Makers (Infographic)

The Meat Makers (Infographic)

I recently found this great infographic from HobbyFarms.com that breaks down each standard farm animal, recommended breeds, needs, and amount of dressing each typically provides. When you invest in livestock, it’s important that you are getting what you want out of the animal, if your intention is to get a return on your initial investment in sustenance. Obviously, there are plenty of other factors that might influence your choice of livestock, but if meat is your goal, this is a really handy at-a-glance breakdown of the needs and return from each animal. Enjoy! If you liked this, you might also […]

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Best Animals to Raise for a Homesteader

Best Animals to Raise for a Homesteader

You want to become truly self-sufficient. Even though you might have a beautiful garden with all the vegetables you need, if you are still buying meat and dairy from the grocery store, you aren’t very self-sufficient at all. In this post, we’ll be looking at some of the best animals for a small homesteader to raise that can do more than just provide meat. Goats Having goats on the property is always a good idea, as even just a single goat can provide you with between two and four quarts of milk each day. The milk can be used to […]

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Homestead Thanksgiving Dinner (Video)

Homestead Thanksgiving Dinner (Video)

I feel like Thanksgiving in particular is a great holiday for homesteaders. The traditional Thanksgiving feast is very reflective of the seasonal delights many North American homesteaders know all too well: sweet potato, pumpkin, turkey, seasonal greens, apple pie, etc. This morning this old video floated across my YouTube suggestions of the butchering of a Thanksgiving turkey that had been raised on this couple’s homestead from a few weeks old. This used to be how the traditional Thanksgiving turkey was acquired for many Americans! Raised all year and butchered once it was fully fattened in the Fall. I love to […]

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