“Eating like a pig” - that’s a common insult that is more or less self-explanatory, is it not? Yet despite the stereotypes that exist surrounding the feeding habits of swine, it isn’t always as ...
How to Butcher a Turkey For the Freezer or Thanksgiving
If you’ve already mastered the art of raising your own meat chickens, you might be wondering whether it’s time to branch out to a new species of poultry. Ducks are fun to raise (particularly for ...
Avian Flu: Symptoms, Health Risks, and Preventative Measures
It seems like there’s a new outbreak of Avian Flu just about all the time. A couple of weeks ago I read about a new outbreak in France that resulted in the culling of 600,000 ducks. Today, when I ...
How to Raise Dairy Sheep and Some Tips to Get You Started
Picture this - fresh chocolate chip cookies, right out of the oven, with a tall glass of milk. What kind of milk, you might ask? For most people, cow’s milk reigns supreme when it comes to the ...
Duroc Pig: Is This Hardy and Fast-Growing Pig Right for You?
This year, we decided to breed our sow, Boo, with Duroc genetics. Boo is a mixture of Tamworth and Berkshire genes, which in the past has led to piglets that are fast-growing, vigorous, and, I might ...
How to Identify Fowl Pox and Treat Your Birds
I can tell you from experience that not all fowl pox in your flock is as foul as it sounds. Yes - it’s frightening to see your pretty poultry marred with ugly scabs. It’s also hard to see them seem ...
All You Should Know About Bottle-Feeding Lambs
When I think back to last January, I picture my husband and I standing in the aisle of our local feed store, mulling over a rack of supplements and supplies. “Do you really think we need ...
Pasteurella in Sheep: Tips to Help You Identify, Treat, and Prevent It
When it comes to raising livestock, minimizing stress is key. As humans, we find a little bit of stress a good thing. Stress in small doses can encourage us to get our work done on time, to ...
The Advantages of Using AI Breeding for Pigs
For almost as long as my husband and I have raised pigs on our farm, we have relied on AI breeding (artificial insemination) to get the job done. Although AI is the norm when it comes to ...