If you're getting chickens for the first time, please don't dive in too fast. Take some time to learn what chickens need to be healthy and happy; because if you don't take good care of them, they won't lay many eggs, they could get sick, and they'll be miserable. In this … [Read more...]
20 Creative Ways to Cut the Cost of Chicken Feed
If you have a dozen chickens and you're feeding them organic, non-GMO commercial grains, you're going to spend well over $100 a month just on chicken feed. But as Justin Rhodes says in this video, we've only had grain for chickens for about a century, and chickens have been … [Read more...]
8 Tips for Raising Happy, Healthy Ducks
If you’re considering getting birds for meat or eggs, ducks may be an excellent choice for your homestead, farm or backyard operation. They are hardy, relatively disease free, easy to care for, reliable egg producers, and are exceptional foragers, eating many garden pests such as … [Read more...]
10 Things You Need for a Basic Chicken Coop
If you've been dreaming of eating freshly gathered eggs in the morning, you may be considering building a chicken coop in your backyard or on your homestead. Designs and plans can vary widely for chicken coops, depending on what building materials you have on hand and how many … [Read more...]
Butchering a Year’s Worth of Chickens (In One Morning)
I've known many people who talk about how great it would be to raise their own chickens for meat, but most of them have never actually butchered a chicken, and a few of them would probably be too squeamish to handle it. Butchering chickens is not exactly fun. It's messy and … [Read more...]
9 Quieter Chicken Breeds for Urban Homesteaders
It's no secret that roosters can make quite a bit of noise when they're sounding the daily wake-up call. In fact, they often raise the alarm all day long, even if it's only to let the hens know they've found a bug. But did you know that hens can be as noisy, if not … [Read more...]
How I Feed 30 Chickens For Only $1.25 a Day
One common concern people have when thinking about raising backyard chickens is the cost. Of course, you can feed your chickens table scraps, but you're going to have to buy lots of chicken feed. Chicken feed typically sells for $1 or more per pound, and since chickens eat 1/3 … [Read more...]
5 Birds (Besides Chickens) That Are Worth Raising (& 3 Not To Raise)
Though chickens are the best-known type of backyard poultry, there are many other breeds worth considering. A mixed flock has many advantages, as each type of bird will eat different forage rather than directly competing, meaning you can keep more birds in a single space without … [Read more...]
5 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid When Raising Chickens
Raising chickens has become very popular in recent years. Not just among homesteaders, but among suburbanites. Anywhere raising chickens is allowed, you can be sure that at least a few people are doing it. But with all these new chicken owners, lots of people are making deadly … [Read more...]
5 Mistakes That New Chicken Keepers Make
The first chickens I ever took care of were my parents' chickens. They bought a couple dozen Plymouth Rock chickens, and for a few months, everything was great. We had fresh eggs every day, and the chickens seemed very content in their large chicken yard. Then one day, we found … [Read more...]
7 Reasons You Should Raise Backyard Chickens
Thinking of raising chickens in your own backyard but not sure if they’re right for you? Well, I can tell you firsthand that there is nothing better than eating scrambled eggs that were laid that morning. The freshness just can’t be beaten when all you have to do is walk out to … [Read more...]
5 Best Animals To Raise On Your Homestead
There is a seemingly endless array of livestock options. To decide which animals are right for your homestead, you'll need to consider several factors, among which are the size of your homestead, your end goal with livestock, and the time you'll have to spend taking care of them … [Read more...]
