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How to Groom Horses (Video)

Horses and ponies are wonderful additions to any homestead, especially if you are long-term survival oriented. They can provide live power, meaning, they can help you perform many farming tasks you might otherwise use a tractor or a truck for. Of course, while they’re fueled by food rather than gasoline, they still need lots of attention and maintenance. And just like we can be refreshed by a clean shower and some self-pampering, horses love, and need, regular grooming for their health happiness. In this very helpful video from Becky’s Homestead, she shares how to groom a horse for beginners, a […]

Ways to Keep Chickens Happy

I’m not sure that there is any data that quantifies how many more eggs you can get out of a happy chicken, but most people that raise animals could tell you that keeping your animals happy will help you get what you want out of them. Stress can cause chickens to fight with each other, molt, and can have an effect on any animals immune system. Keeping your chickens happy will reduce costs on keeping them healthy and will provide you with more eggs and better meat. Here are some ways to please your chickens. Greens Chickens that are […]

3 Ways to Save on Raising a Dog

Dogs can be expensive to keep, but they don’t have to be! You can maintain a high quality of life for your dog while cutting costs at the same time. Here are three ways to save money on raising a dog. Selection The first cost to consider is the price of the dog itself. A specialty breed can easily cost you thousands of dollars, and that’s just to get the dog. Then there are the health complications that go along with dogs that have been bred for specific traits. One the other hand, you can get a rescue dog […]

All About Alpacas

Finances can be a determining factor in the success or failure of your homestead. Finding a way to make a living on your homestead, or better yet, through your homestead, can have you go from scraping by to rolling in money. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s been done before. One way is to raise alpacas. What is an Alpaca? Alpacas are basically a half size llama. But unlike llamas alpacas are not bred to be pack animals, they are bred for their fiber (it is similar to sheep’s wool but softer and contains no lanolin), or […]

Slaughtering Pigs: A Simple Guide

After investing so much time, energy, money, and emotion into raising your pigs you want things to go right when you slaughter them. If it is your first time slaughtering a pig, a sloppy kill and messing butchering can really turn you off from wanting to raise pigs in the future. The following are directions and tips on slaughtering and butchering pigs. Make sure to thoroughly plan things out before you begin, you will not be able to stop half way through and finish it later. Clean Kill Plain and simple, shot the pig between the eyes. You […]

The Benefits of Having a Rooster

Roosters have a bad reputation. Many people who want to raise hens for eggs choose not to have a rooster in the flock. Some have heard that roosters are aggressive, or they don’t want to noise, or they just so the reason to have one. But the reality is that hens can be just as aggressive; if there is no rooster around the dominant hen will take on the role of rooster. If noise is keeping you from having a rooster around then you shouldn’t have chickens at all because hens make plenty of noise. There are benefits to having a […]

3 Easy Ways to Keep Your Chickens Healthy

Chickens are some of the most common animals to see on a homestead or farm. One reason is that they are some of the easiest animals to care for. But even chickens can develop health issues like tape worms, mites, and various intestinal infections. As with everything else, taking care to prevent these issues will be easier than treating them retroactively and will ensure that you have a healthy supply of eggs and meat without interruption. These are 3 easy ways to help your chickens stay healthy. Pasture Just like you, chickens are healthiest when they are eating well. […]

3 Reasons Why Ducks Are Better Than Chickens

When most people think of animals for their back yard they quickly think of chickens. And while there is good reason so many people think to raise chickens, there are also reasons why ducks may be the preferable livestock for your backyard farm. Ducks don’t crow Not everyone starting their homestead has 15 acres in the country. Some may have less than an acre with neighbors right next to them that don’t share their passion for raising animals and growing food. Keeping this in mind, it is not hard to think of how a rooster could degrade the relationship one […]

Great Farm Animals for Beginners

Everyone loves farm animals, and many people would love to raise them. But of course, while the benefits of raising livestock are many, it can be a bit intimidating at first to dive in head first to the wide world of animal husbandry. Here’s a few suggestions for easy farm animals that are perfect for beginners: Bees: Bees are a great option especially if you don’t have a lot of pasture or yard space. If you make sure bees are right for you, honey and beeswax harvests can be plentiful and they’ll provide wonderful support for your garden as well, after […]