Everyone that has a homestead should consider raising animals. Raising animals on the homestead greatly raises one’s self reliance. Chickens give you meat and eggs, goats can give you milk and meat. Sheep can give you wool, meat, and even milk.
If utilized properly, these creatures can actually improve the land that you keep them on. Manure is excellent for improving the soil. Chickens will help till the ground and eat bugs.
Just about any animal can be used on the homestead for more than one purpose. Permaculture principles can be used so we are good stewards to the land.
Proper grazing techniques are important as well for your livestock. If you allow your animals to move across the land without overgrazing, this will benefit the land greatly.
Raising animals on the homestead can even improve your garden. I use all types of manure around the farm to make our sandy soil better. And it’s all organic. No artificial fertilizers here!
We believe that everyone should grow their own food. Raising your own meat so you know what goes into the food you eat is especially important. There are so many antibiotics used in commercial farming, you never know what you’re getting in your meat.
We are big into raising animals here at Homegrown Self Reliance. I have always been a huge animal lover, and raising animals just fits with who I am. In this category I will share all the information that I have on successfully raising animals for greater self reliance.
If you’ve had chickens before, you know how it goes. You feed them, give them treats, hold them, and love them, but sometimes they are just freeloaders. Especially in the wintertime! And I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to keep anything that doesn’t pull its weight. So I need to keep my …
I remember it like it was yesterday. I picked up my favorite hen for a few minutes, put her down, and felt a creepy crawly on my arm. Looked down, and sure enough, it was chicken lice! Of course, like any reasonable adult, I ran into the house and jumped in the shower! And then …
I love the deep litter method! What is the deep litter method, you ask? It is a way of turning old chicken litter into deep, rich compost. It controls odors, keeps bad bacteria at bay (while using the good bacteria), and even heats the chicken coop slightly. All while lessening your work load with your …
If you have a homestead with animals, you probably have lots of manure to deal with. But what do you do with manure? Believe it or not, manure can be beneficial to the homestead. It just depends on how you practice manure management! I know, cleaning up the manure around the homestead is surely EVERYONE’S …
By this time of year, even newbie chicken owners can distinguish all of their new spring chicks as hens or roosters. There are countless posts from people trying to re-home their surprise roosters. I’m here to tell you that, unless your local laws don’t allow it, you should consider keeping a rooster! Roosters can be …
We have been raising meat rabbits for a couple of years now. Like any new venture, it came with a learning curve. I think I can finally say that we’re getting the hang of it! It takes some time to get to know the animals and figure out all their little quirks. While they may …
Have you joined the trending chicken movement yet? If so, you might be interested in how to protect against chicken predators. After spending your time and your hard-earned money investing in your chickens, it can be heartbreaking to lose them. But how do you protect them from predators? This is something that I recently have …
When we first moved to our little farm 3 years ago, our big goal was to raise as much of our own food as possible. Raising a years supply of meat became high priority. Having a clean meat supply was important, as was a good source of near-organic vegetables. I have been concerned about chemicals …
If you are considering adding dairy animals to your homestead, you may be considering getting a dairy goat or two. There are a lot of things to consider about getting milk animals. If your space is more limited, goats may be perfect for you! Why goats? Why would you choose goats to provide milk for …
So you’ve protected your family’s food security by planting a garden, raising some chickens, and maybe some animals for meat. What further steps can you take? Why not consider milk animals? Milk animals can bring a lot of value to the homestead. But where do you start? How do you choose what milk animal to …
