Imagine if your breakfast came right from your backyard homestead? With the help of some livestock, that dream could easily become a reality. I start every day milking the goats and, on my way back from the milking parlor, I swing by the coop for some fresh duck, chicken, and quail eggs. Throw in some homemade bread and bacon from a local farmer and I am able to serve my family a breakfast for champions.
Animals are an integral part of the homestead. Regardless of the size of your homestead, there are probably animals you can keep that will help you live more self-sufficiently. If you are just getting started or you have a smaller backyard homestead, quail, chickens, and rabbits are a great start. If you have some experience under your belt or you have more land to spread out on, goats and ducks are great options.
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: Hatch Day! For 21 days you’ve been peeking and listening. You’ve had chicks on the brain. Now you finally get to see those fluffy faces. So what can you expect? What if things go wrong? How do you figure out how to avoid losses in the future?
It’s day 18 and time to start lockdown procedure. Find out why I lay my eggs loose on their sides. I use lockdown as an excuse to get the brooder setup, if only to distract me from checking the incubator every 2 minutes. Other than the box, what else do you need to setup the brooder?
Today we’re going to talk about candling. Candling is an important part of hatching. You will typically candle on days 7, 14 and 18. But how DO you candle? Do you need special equipment? What exactly are you looking for in there? I’ve got the answers to all of your candling questions.
As the promise of spring is creeping around the corner, poultry lovers are filling their incubators to hatch out their new spring flock. Incubators can be very pricey and once you figure in all of the add-ons, it can really strike the pocket hard. Wouldn’t you rather spend your $$$ on eggs?
Those who are working with a limited amount of space may wonder if they can house different types of poultry under the same roof. I have bantams, large fowl and ducks in one coop. Does it cause issues from time to time? Yes, but I’ve worked out ways to make it all work.
These blue egg laying beauties bring a lot of color to the egg basket, but they leave their owners wondering what type of bird they truly are. Find out the differences between Araucana, Ameraucana and Easter Egger.
I’m going to highlight homesteading with chickens and some of the controversial issues that arise when keeping our feathered friends. These are some serious “hot-topic” issues in chicken keeping. They include winter keeping, incubating, bedding and feeding. Almost every aspect of chicken keeping. These are the things that really get poultry keepers hopping.