Homesteading

This spring was the start of a shift in model around our homestead. Instead of buying the same generic meat chicken breed that grows fast, stays docile, and never really looks particularly healthy, I went in a totally different direction after researching everything there was to know about dual...

What if I told you that out there in the world exists a bird that is so low to the ground that it often goes under the radar of the vast majority of homesteaders? It’s the same bird that allows folks in both rural and urban settings to explore several aspects of self-sufficiency while still often...

Homesteading is whatever you decide to make of it, much like anything in life. But the more I talk with friends, family, and total strangers, the more I realize there are plenty of stigmas out there about homesteading. One person assumed I’m a hippy (only partially true). Another close family member...

A couple years ago, I was searching for some ducklings to add to my flock and came across a breed called Cayuga ducks. They’re big and black with an iridescent green tint to their plumage, and they lay unique charcoal-colored eggs. They were quite a bit more expensive than the other ducklings I’d...

I may have found the perfect chicken. It’s crazy, I know, but hear me out on this one. For quite awhile, I’ve been thinking about what my ideal breed of chicken would look like, considering all the needs this chicken would have to meet. And, after coming up with a list of traits that were important...

Spending time outdoors, whether it’s sitting in a tree stand or working in the garden, is a big source of joy in my life. But what’s less joyful is the impact being outside in all conditions has on my skin, where the rain, wind, and cold often leave my hands chapped and cracking. Making skin salve...

It’s been a particularly strange winter here in our zone, with fluctuating temperatures that touched new records, some of the wildest wind storms I’ve ever personally experienced, and a mixed flock of ducks and chickens that didn’t quite know what to make of it all. Those wind storms were reason...

Like most homesteaders, I want to be as self-sufficient as humanly possible. That includes raising as much of my protein as I can, but did you know there’s a way that you can raise great quality meat right in your backyard, practically anywhere in North America? It’s true, and that miracle animal...

The earliest archaeological evidence of humans intentionally raising honeybees is in ancient Egypt where their honey and wax were likely used as food and medicine. Elsewhere in Africa, foraging for wild honey was a common practice and continues to be to this day. Beekeeping evolved in many ways as...

Chickens are the gateway animal for new homesteaders and hobby farmers, but pigs have to be a close second. You need a little more to get started with pigs, but not a lot. Pigs need a place to eat and sleep, a physical structure that can keep them where they are supposed to be—and they are notorious...

There are very few things that make me more nervous when it comes to homesteading than introducing new birds to my current flock, (which sounds absolutely ridiculous now that I’ve typed it, but it’s the gods’ honest truth). Every year, whether it’s ducks, quail, or chickens, and whether they’re...

No matter how long autumn tries to hold on, inevitably it slips away and ushers in those long winter months that often seem to last forever, not only for us, but for the ducks, geese, and chickens that live on our homesteads too. By the time we realize it’s happening, it’s often too little too late...