If you’re thinking about raising pigs on your small farm, you may have to put some thought into what breed would be best for you. That’s smart to do. Not considering the benefits and disadvantages ...
How to Prevent and Deal With Niacin Deficiency in Ducks
Ducks are one of the most wonderful homestead livestock options. They are beautiful. They make a lot of manure that is perfect for restoring degraded soil. Ducks are easy to herd, require minimal ...
Yorkshire Pig: Are These Big, Friendly Pigs Right for Your Farm?
This year, for the first time ever, we found ourselves in a pinch when it came to piglets. Normally, we rely on our breeding sow, Boo, to mother all of the piglets that we raise for meat for ...
7 Tips to Consider When Buying Sheep or Lambs
A few days ago, a young man I used to teach reached out to me. He wanted to find out if we would be interested in selling some of our sheep. My husband and I have put a lot of work into ...
Raising Peafowl: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
It’s a peafowl! No, it’s a peacock! Wait...it’s actually the same thing. If you’re thinking about raising peacocks, you may have seen them described as “peafowl” from time to time. That’s ...
6 Practical Tips When Buying Piglets: Everything to Consider Beforehand
Raising pigs for meat is a great step toward a self-sufficient homestead - and it’s incredibly fun, too. Out of all the livestock you can raise, I think pigs are some of my favorite animals. They’re ...
How to Butcher and Process Ducks Humanely
Chickens are usually the first livestock new homesteaders learn to raise and process for meat. Broiler types, like the Cornish cross, have been bred to have light feathering that is easy to pluck. ...
How to Raise Ducks for Meat Economically and Sustainably
I used to think that raising ducks for meat was expensive. Turns out, that was just because I was trying to raise ducks like broiler chickens. Broilers, usually Cornish crosses, are confined, fed ...
Raising Pigs on Concrete: The Pros and Cons to Consider
For as long as I have been raising pigs, I have always done so on a dirt floor or on pasture. On my farm, raising pigs in this way only makes sense. We raise most of our pigs during the summer ...