Page 3 of 4
1 2 3 4
livestock – Page 3 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Tag: livestock

  • 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. If you had to have one animal on your homestead, chickens might really be it. They’re great.

    Pigs

    Pigs might seem like a lot of work, but they’re actually quite cost effective for raising for meat. Plus you can throw them scraps, probably my personal favorite reason to raise pigs as I hate throwing out leftovers! They don’t take up much room, they grow very big very quickly, and they’re very cheap to buy as piglets. You can easily fill up your freezer with pork for a whole season in just a few short months.

    Goats

    Goats are great for homesteads for many reasons. They’re relatively easy to care for, eat almost anything, can provide delicious milk which can pull a nice profit for your homestead, and you can also raise them for meat as well. If you’ve got lots of ungroomed land on your property that you want cut back in a totally sustainable and eco-friendly way, goats are the ideal laborers for this task, trust me.

    Rabbits

    Rabbits are a great starter animal for meat. They require relatively simple habitats, can also be fed fruit and veggie scraps, have delicious meat, mature quickly, and breed…well, like bunnies! They’re a great sustainable meat crop if you want to raise something that produces quickly and doesn’t require a lot of space.

     

    There are of course many more homestead animals you could raise, these are just at the top of the list because they are easy, affordable, and produce quickly. Try your hand at one of these types of livestock to try your hand at animal husbandry and see if it’s for you!

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Do You Have What You Need to Hold Down the Fort?

    Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know…

    Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

  • 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 and happy. If you happen to see your chicken has very runny droppings, it’s time to add some vinegar to their water. I would recommend a tablespoon for each gallon of water.

    2. Chicken baths

    Chickens are pretty good about giving themselves dust baths, so you will want to make sure they have a clean place to do this every day. However, it can also help them, especially with mites and parasites, to give them a simple bath in warm soapy water from time to time, and give them a rinse in water with a bit of vinegar. This will both condition their feathers, kill any unwanted critters or fungal growths, and help to gently cleanse off any dead skin on their feet.

    3. Clean eggs

    While seeing bits of dirt or chicken droppings on your eggs are how you know they’re truly farm fresh, no one really wants to bring chicken poop into their kitchen! Giving your eggs a quick dunk in water with a bit of vinegar will clean them and also brighten the egg shells.

    4. Remove tough grime

    We’ve all experienced that bit of chicken poop in the coop that just doesn’t want to budge. A spray bottle with vinegar will not only remove tough stains, it will also help repel critters and fungal growth in your coop, so use this for regular coop cleanings.

    5. Easy peeling for hard-boiled eggs

    I recently discovered this, and, as a big fan of hard-boiled eggs, it’s made my life much easier! You may have heard that adding a dash of baking soda to the water when you hard boil eggs can make them easier to peel, but I’m not really sure why, since it is vinegar that dissolves calcium. Add a dash of vinegar instead and those pesky egg shells will practically peel themselves off.

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Defend the Homestead When Times Get Tough…

    The Ultimate Guide to Natural Remedies…

    What You Need to Know Before Going Paleo…

  • The $5 Chicken Tractor (Video)

    The $5 Chicken Tractor (Video)

    Popular homesteading vlogger Justin Rhodes has been on a tour of American homesteads this month, and through his travels, he found this impressive $5 chicken tractor made by his friend, Ryan from Wholesome Roots.

    I love seeing great, innovative, and frugal ideas for homesteading in general, but it seems people seem to get particularly innovative when it comes to housing and accommodating chickens! Just this week we shared our frugal chicken nest ideas, and I’ve actually found a few more since posting it.

    This is a very clever little system for moving chickens around the homestead, which is a great way to ensure they’re doing their part, and also getting fresh ground to scratch and fertilize every day. Chickens like grains, but they really thrive on bugs and grass. There are lots of options for tractors, chicken runs, and mobile coops out there, but if you can’t afford a fancy system, you’ll love this clever and simple tractor.

    Check it out, and be sure to follow Rhode’s homestead tour, it has been really fun and cool to see so many homesteads across the country!

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Are We In The End Times?…

    Complete Health Transformation Without Drugs or Surgery…

    Having Trouble Sticking With Paleo?

  • How to Train Horses (Infographic)

    How to Train Horses (Infographic)

    I came across this infographic from Thoroughbredstallionbestminister.com on Pinterest recently and I thought it was really cool. I’m not a huge horse expert, but my ideal homestead would most definitely include horses. There’s a reason they were such a huge part of Western Civilization for centuries, and why, despite much faster modes of travel we have today, many people still choose to keep them around.

    First of all, they’re always reliable for work and transport. Sure, tractors and cars are much more efficient…or are they? When the grid goes down, how reliable will your fossil-fuel reliant vehicles be? Or maybe you’re going for a greener model on your homestead, and can sacrifice speed for something much more sustainable?

    In the West, we don’t eat horses, the way we do other farm animals, but they still are a great addition to any farm or homestead. Their manure is excellent for the soil, they can be pastured and help you keep grass and weeds down, and of course, you can ride them! They don’t need anything but food and water to be “fueled”.

    Now, I definitely wouldn’t recommend relying on this infographic alone to train a horse, but I found it really interesting and motivating to learn more about horses and what it takes to raise them from birth. Because, naturally, if you want a really sustainable farm animal, you’ve got to breed it right?

    Check it out, and let me know if you’d like to read more about homesteading and horses or other pack animals.

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Can You Defend Your Family When SHTF?

    Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know…

    Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

  • Frugal DIY Nesting Box Ideas

    Frugal DIY Nesting Box Ideas

    If you want your chickens to provide you with lots of wonderful, nutritious, farm-fresh eggs, they’re going to need some cozy nests to get the job done!

    You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to trick your coop out with some nice, comfortable nesting boxes for your lovely egg-laying ladies.

    Here are some frugal nesting box ideas for you that can all be purchased cheaply, recycled, or even scavenged for, if you’re lucky!

    Dishpans

    Dishpans, the kind you can grab at Walmart or the Dollar Tree for very cheap, are great for nesting boxes, if you cut a shallow entry point for the chickens on one end, and stack them where they can easily access them. Simply fill with bedding, find a quiet, private place for them to go, and let your hens enjoy.

    Related Article: 5 Mistakes First-Time Chicken Farmers Make

    Bookshelves

    If you have any old bookshelves lying around, the little nooks would be perfect for some comfortable chicken privacy. Also, if you feel more confident that you could easily make a bookshelf than some fancy laying boxes, just use the same idea! Chickens like to “roost”, fly up into trees, so they’ll like something they can perch on and fly up and down from to lay their eggs.

    Milk crates

    Milk crates are one of the best kind of containers there are, especially for homesteaders! And you can probably find them for free, from friendly restaurants or businesses who discard them after deliveries. These are also great because they have holes all around, so they’re breathable and will dispose of some of the chicken droppings for you, without putting the eggs at risk. Fill with bedding and tuck away (maybe on your bookshelf?).

    Litter boxes

    If you’ve only got a few hens and some old litter boxes lying around or can find them cheaply or for free, they’re perfect for nesting boxes. They enclose the hen and are already designed for easy cleaning and bedding changes.

    NEVER Buy Laundry Detergent Again…Learn How>>>

  • Why Are My Chickens Not Laying Eggs? (Video)

    Why Are My Chickens Not Laying Eggs? (Video)

    There are definitely reasons to keep chickens other than for producing eggs, but for the most part, eggs are probably why you’re raising chickens!

    So when they stop laying, what do you do?

    Well, Becky from Becky’s Homestead on YouTube has some solutions. There are several different reasons why your chickens might not be laying, and she’s got some suggestions for how to determine what those reasons are, as well as how to help them out get producing again.

    These simple tips will help you determine what kind of environment and nutrients chickens need to lay eggs. They’re not just little egg machines, they’re animals who need a peaceful environment, the right nutrients and habitat, and at least some attention and TLC to produce.

    Get some insight into what’s keeping your hens from producing and learn a whole lot about how they function in this video from a very skilled and knowledgeable homesteader and poultry farmer. I always have to mention about Becky, not only does she have a great YouTube channel covering all kinds of homestead, farming, and gardening related topics, she’s a trustworthy source since she built her house herself and got started homesteading from scratch.

    Enjoy!

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Can You Defend Your Family When SHTF?

    Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know…

    Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

  • First Time Butchering Chickens (Video)

    First Time Butchering Chickens (Video)

    Being able to raise and butcher your own animals is a dream of many aspiring homesteaders.

    I think a lot of people don’t think about what it actually involves to butcher chickens, and in this video, you hear the account of some novice homesteaders trying to butcher two roosters for the first time.

    Chickens are feisty and evasive, and it’s never as simple as simply grabbing them, killing them, and roasting up dinner, and you’ll hear the various challenges this couple faced when they spontaneously agreed to take two roosters for butchering.

    They did do a bit of research before butchering the roosters, so you can both learn from their mistakes as well as the knowledge they acquired along the way.

    I’m a big fan of learning by doing, and I think this couple’s haphazard experience will probably help them a lot for the next time they butcher chickens, and, thanks to the magic of the internet, we can learn from them too!

    If you are planning on butchering chickens but haven’t ever done it before, this is definitely a great video to watch, and I learned a lot. Enjoy!

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Can You Defend Your Family When SHTF?

    Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know…

    Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

  • Maggot Dispenser=FREE Chicken Feed (Video)

    Maggot Dispenser=FREE Chicken Feed (Video)

    Wait! Don’t get grossed out. This is the “circle of life” at it’s very finest, trust me!

    I really love this YouTube channel, because not only is this family really rocking the homestead life, they’re doing it with all their kids, and posting it on YouTube for all of us to see.

    And this idea they came up with to feed maggots to chickens is brilliant.
    I think we’ve been programmed to think that chickens only want grains, but in reality, they’re carnivores who love bugs. Maggots are like juicy steaks to them!

    Check out this super cool video of this brilliant plan for free chicken food and see how what we normally view as gross little bugs can be turned ultimately into sustainable food for everyone on the homestead. Enjoy!

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like….

    Home Defense in the End Times…

    Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know…

    Eat Like Your Ancestors…