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Category Archives: animals
I announce plans to publish a follow-up post, and last night my internet was out. The joys of country living … ;) A bit too late tonight to finish – 1am now. I’m supposed to be heading to CANTON First Monday … Continue reading
Getting started with meat rabbits – part 2
Our last post covered the first consideration of getting started with meat rabbits – the cages. Your rabbits will also need feeding and watering supplies, kindling boxes, and may need help dealing with the weather. Rabbits are more sensitive to … Continue reading
Getting started with meat rabbits part 1 – rabbit cages
Rabbit cages – When we found that a single round of rabbit breeding here on the homestead was producing about 80-90 pounds of meat, we decided to reduce our herd. As tasty and healthful as rabbit meat is, that’s just … Continue reading
Cooler temperatures – and a deep sigh of contentment
Well, I’m very satisfied, on so many counts! One is that I finally got logged into my account using this Mac computer. My poor laptop has just about had it, and while the Mac is great in a lot of ways, I’m … Continue reading
Posted in chickens, crafts, ducks, llama, muscovies, Ornamentals & house plants, rabbits, vegetable garden
1 Comment
Homestead chickens – goals of breeding the homestead flock
Homestead chickens – what are your flock goals? My first flock of chickens started with browsing through a Murray McMurray catalog and marking all the breeds that seemed to have good characteristics for my situation (like laying during hot weather) … Continue reading
Posted in animals, chickens
Tagged breeding, broody hens, chickens, chicks, egg, livestock, meat chickens
6 Comments
Homestead finances – making money on a small farm – animal housing
The first topic I’m going to talk about is animal housing, and try to share some ways to save money on building housing, pens, cages, and fencing. For many people this will be one of the major expenses of setting … Continue reading
Posted in animals, chickens, ducks, geese, llama, money, predators, rabbits, saving money
Tagged animal housing, building, cages, costs, fencing, pens, predators, saving money
14 Comments
I’m back … :)
Actually, I’ve been here (on the homestead) the whole time, but have had a lot going on. A severely infected abscessed tooth put me almost out of commission for a month. I’ve had abscesses before, but this was a doozy! … Continue reading
Posted in animals, chickens, ducks, family, gardening, geese, goats, hearth and home, muscovies, Ornamentals & house plants, Trash to Treasure, vegetable garden, vermi-composting
Tagged blossom end rot, chicks, crafts, ducklings, family, flowers, gardening, goat health, goose, hatching, mulch, natural health, seedlings, tomatoes, upcycling, worms
3 Comments
Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Happy Resurrection Sunday – the name I prefer to use for Easter Sunday. When I was a child, Easter was one of the times the family got together. The WHOLE family. My great-grandmother had seven surviving daughters (one of them … Continue reading
Of gardens and houseplants … and spring cleaning!
Between spring cleaning, gardening, and everything else … things are coming along. Today saw a fence built around the main garden for the first time. My current crop of geese were not raised being trained as weeders, due to the … Continue reading
Posted in animals, ducks, gardening, geese, Ornamentals & house plants, vegetable garden
Tagged cleaning, ducks, gardening, geese, houseplants
6 Comments
Raw feeding dogs
Raw feeding dogs – it’s something I’d been interested in and “planning to try” for years. More recently, my dog Ryker turned out to have EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) — which is a fancy way of saying that he doesn’t … Continue reading
Pet Ducklings
Pet ducklings – a good topic to talk about with Easter right around the corner. I was recently contacted by a reader who was considering getting a pet duckling for her children for Easter, and she wanted any advice I … Continue reading
Goat poop – ology
Goat poop – ok, I admit, it sounds like a strange topic for a post. But goats’ health can be fickle. Anyone who owns them will quickly learn to take advantage of any means of monitoring their health, and goat … Continue reading
Flooding on the Homestead
Flooding — never fun. Unless of course you’re a duck. And when I woke up this morning on the homestead and looked outside, my eyes were met with a sight that it took me a few minutes to comprehend. My … Continue reading
Clover for bunnies – St. Patrick’s Day on the Homestead
Some of the younger homestead bunnies got their first taste of clover today. I thought that was appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day. The youngest two litters weren’t really sure what to do with it, since they’ve only just begun nibbling … Continue reading
Posted in animals, feeding, permaculture methods, rabbits
Tagged bunnies, clover, holidays, permaculture, rabbits, rain
8 Comments
Permaculture at it’s best … Chickens, worms, and gardens
Permaculture is defined as sustainable agriculture. By developing a useful interaction between worms, chickens, garden plants and soil, Harvey and Ellen Ussery have created a uniquely sustainable combination. I was so impressed by their methods that I wanted to share … Continue reading
Posted in animals, chickens, gardening, permaculture methods, vermi-composting
Tagged chickens, gardening, greenhouse, permaculture, vermi-composting, worms
10 Comments
Remembering Raiden
I’m updating pages today … I have done several of my cats, including Russet, Lynx, and Raiden, and I’m working on Crystal’s page. Memories of Raiden are particularly sweet … I used to do my nightly rounds in the poultry … Continue reading
A mouse in the house
It’s official. I have a mouse … or more precisely, mice. (No one ever has just one mouse!) I started letting Crystal-Kitty come with me to the feed room a few weeks ago. She immediately developed a keen interest in … Continue reading