Homestead Animals

From the first egg to that moment your goat actually listens, raising animals is a wild and wonderful part of homesteading. This section is packed with real-life tips to help you care for chickens, goats, quail, and more. Because even when it gets messy (and it will), it’s all worth it.

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Chickens
Ducks
Goats
Quail
Rabbits
Guinea Fowl
Beekeeping
House Pets

What my chickens consume, my family consumes. That's why I prefer to try herbals, essential oils, and natural remedies before bringing out the big guns.

Homestead Animals

Using Herbs & Essential Oils with Your Backyard Chickens

Covering everything from choosing an incubator or broody, what's going on in the egg, tricks to make things run smoothly, hatch day and then caring for your new fluffy friends.

Homestead Animals

How to Prepare to Hatch: Broody Hens, Incubators and Eggs

A close-up of a barred rock chicken in a shaded grassy area.

Homestead Animals

Can Chickens Catch Colds? Chicken Respiratory Health

Pouring a glass of milk in front of a dairy goat.

Homestead Animals

A Simple Trick for Great Tasting Goat’s Milk

A group of chickens roaming freely near an electric netted fence in a grassy field.

Homestead Animals

How & Why to Properly Quarantine Chickens to Protect Your Flock

Hand milking a goat into a pail.

Homestead Animals

Homemade Teat Wash for Goats & Cows

Two chickens walking down a path that was shoveled off from snow.

Homestead Animals

Where to Free Range Chickens in Winter: Dealing with Snow

A dog in the bathtub having his head scrubbed.

Homestead Animals

The Ultimate Guide to Making Homemade Dog Shampoo

Why Have My Laying Hens Stopped Laying Eggs? Learn Why It Happens

Homestead Animals

Why Have My Laying Hens Stopped Laying Eggs? Learn Why It Happens

Roosters show aggression for a variety of reasons. They perceive you as a threat or they want to dominate you. Occasionally, your rooster will just be a jerk.

Homestead Animals

A Non-Aggressive Approach to Aggressive Roosters

A lean-to style chicken coop with a red door in a snowy backyard.

Homestead Animals

How to Prepare Your Chicken House & Barn for Winter

A carton filled with farm fresh eggs of varying colors, with one cracked open showing a deep orange yolk.

Homestead Animals

Everything You Need to Know About Farm Fresh Eggs

A bunch of chicken eggs in different colors.

Homestead Animals

An Egg In Every Hue: The Secret to Getting Various Egg Colors

A chicken flying in the backyard.

Homestead Animals

How to Clip Chicken Wings and Keep Your Flock Safe

You might be wondering when is the right time to switch to the next stage of feed. Timelines for those using commercial feed. Plus, feeding roosters, drakes, toms.

Homestead Animals

When to Switch Your Poultry’s Feed

Why a hen sings after laying an egg and what the Egg Song sounds like. It will be music to your ears when you get your first chickens.

Homestead Animals

How Much Noise Do Hens Make? The Egg Song

A group of hens eating fermented feed from a circular feeder on a dirt floor.

Homestead Animals

Fermenting Chicken Feed for Healthier Birds and Lower Costs

A wire basket filled with farm fresh eggs of various colors, with a small feather resting on top.

Homestead Animals

Essential Egg Handling Tips: Keeping Farm Fresh Eggs Safe

Learn what you need to candle, how to candle, when to candle and what you are looking for when you are candling chicken or duck eggs.

Homestead Animals

Your Guide to Candling Hatching Eggs

Do-it-Yourself Chicken Egg Incubator Ideas for Less Than $50

Homestead Animals

Do-it-Yourself Chicken Egg Incubator Ideas for Less Than $50

Two white ducks and a white chicken in an outdoor run, facing each other near a wire fence.

Homestead Animals

Can Chickens and Ducks Live Together? Real Tips That Work

A bowl of blue chicken eggs on a wooden table.

Homestead Animals

The Chicken Breeds That Lay Beautiful Blue Eggs