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How To Build A Successful Homestead

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This is a loaded question that is personal, individual, and can only be answered by you, your family and your land’s capability. At the end of the day, every single homestead is going to look different. You may not want a lot of animals or you may not want huge gardens. You may have to work off farm or on a fixed income. There are so many variables to building a successful homestead. But here are my thoughts on how to build your successful on the homestead.

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What Is A Successful Homestead?

Before you start the first project, buy the first piece of land, or anything else, you need to determine what will make your homestead successful to YOU. Is it being 90% self reliant? Raising 100% of your own meat? Surviving or Thriving? It’s so important to have a definition of your success so you can measure your progress. And it’s okay if that definition changes or evolves. But if you cannot figure out the benchmark for your successful homestead, you won’t be successful.

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Defining A Successful Homestead

If you already know what your successful homestead looks like, congratulations! You are ahead of the game by a LOT. I didn’t really understand that I needed to define what my vision of success looked like until I had been homesteading for a couple of years and realized that I was spinning in circles, getting a lot of things done, but nothing that was moving us towards “success”.

So Jared and I sat down and really thought about how would we define the success of our homestead. The question we needed to answer was, “What is THE thing, that when it’s done, we can say we were a success.”

For our homestead, we define success as growing 75% of our food and our animals food, that means meat, dairy, and produce for us. It also means fodder like corn, oats, BOSS, squash/pumpkins and other veggies. Success also means building as much of our infrastructure ourselves whenever possible. Finally, I will deem the homestead and this blog a success when it not only supports itself financially but also allows us to retire early.

Measuring Against Your Definition Of A Successful Homestead

Every single goal, project, expectation, or purchase needs to be measured against your definition of success. That doesn’t mean that you can’t do that project, set that goal, or make the purchase. But the KNOWING is the most important thing.

raise goat bottle babies

To give you an example, I want a greenhouse so badly. I want to grow coffee, citrus, and other heat loving plants that my zone gets too cold for. Towards the bottom of the blog post, I have listed out our definition of success, but one of the big ones is growing 75% of our food. Measuring the want of a greenhouse against growing 75% of our own food, the greenhouse would be a good purchase and project. If I build a greenhouse, we could start our garden plants in the greenhouse which would greatly improve their chances of surviving Blu. It would limit the amount of citrus and coffee we purchase from the store. Win.

Another example would be buying a milk cow right now. This would definitely help us with grow/ own 75% of our own food because we would save a ton of money on dairy products and potentially meat. But if we do it now, before we have solid pastures set up, we would not be working towards success because of the amount of hay we would have to purchase. Lose. BUT it’s something that can be done later.

So before you start doing things to or for your homestead, make sure it’s getting you closer to success instead of further away.

Setting Expectations For Success

A long time ago, I heard someone say that the #1 relationship killer was unmet expectations. I thought it was a crock, because everyone knows it’s communication, right? But when he explained it further it makes total sense. Let’s say you expect your spouse to always do the dishes, but you never said “this is your chore” and they never agreed. They can’t meet your expectation.. Or if you have told your spouse a million times that you can’t stand roses. But they get you roses all the time, you have the expectation that they will not buy you roses because you don’t like them. That expectation is not met.

It’s the same for homesteading. If your expectation is to have all of your infrastructure in place within one year, and it doesn’t happen, you’re going to be upset. If you keep failing to meet your expectations, you could hit burnout and give up.

Unrealistic Expectations

One of the things that every single homesteader is guilty of is setting unrealistic expectations. We think that we have to have everything done, RIGHT NOW! The reality is that unless you have the capital to buy a farm that is already where you want it, it’s going to take years of work and a ton of capital to get you where you want to be. And if you don’t have a ton of capital, it’ll take even longer.

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It’s saying I’m going to buy a cow with absolutely ZERO grass to raise them on. Or I’m going to heat only with the trees harvested from my land and there isn’t a single tree on your property. Or my favorite, I’m going to grow 100% of my yearly food needs in an unproven garden with no experience.

These unrealistic expectations will not be met. Sure, you can get a cow, but you will be buying TONS of hay. You can’t heat with only wood from your farm if you have zero trees on your land. And trust me when I say, you won’t grow a year’s worth of food in an unproven garden if you have zero experience.

Realistic Expectations For A Successful Homestead

Setting your expectations for a successful homestead should be in line with your definition of success. For example, if you’re definition of success is for the homestead to feed you and your animals, maybe don’t get animals before the garden. Which ALL of us do, no matter how many times we say we won’t.

Your expectations should be worked into your goals. There is a huge difference between a goal and an expectation. A goal is something you are striving for, while an expectation is something you expect to happen. If your goal is to grow 75% of you and your animals feed, the expectation is that you are going to put in a garden.

Having a realistic expectation of what you are able to do, the capital available to do those things and a clear set of goals will set you up on the path to a successful homestead.

Your Land’s Capability

I feel like this is very important when it comes to homesteading, that you really look at what your land is capable of. I mentioned that if you have an expectation to heat with only wood harvested from your own land, but you have zero trees on your property, that is unrealistic. But I wanted to take it one step further because I don’t think new homesteaders truly understand what they are getting into.

preparing for winter

If your land is steep hills, mountains, etc, it is not necessarily capable of supporting a cow. If your land is mostly trees, you are going to have to do some major work to get a garden in. I want everyone to homestead in SOME capacity where you are right now. But at the same time, you have to be realistic in what you can and can’t do base on what your land can do.

Neighbors may not want to listen to your goats scream all day. Local ordinances may not allow more than so many chickens. Before you start defining your successful homestead, you have to be aware of what land you are buying and what it can actually do for you.

Our Successful Homestead Plan

For Jared and I to feel like we have been successful in building our homestead, it has to have 3 key points:

  1. The homestead grows 75% of the food for us and our animals.
  2. We build, create, or source from our property as much as we possibly can.
  3. Our homestead (and blog) would be considered a success if it can fully support itself and allows us to retire early.

Let’s break this down

75% Of All Food

This is a big expectation because it’s a lot of food. But I don’t expect that overnight or even in one year. We learned a lot in our first garden and we’ve learned even more since. But we have realized that we have to grow slowly so that we don’t end up packing too much work on ourselves. Since we both work fulltime, we have to be aware of how much we can actually do. This is where that homestead flexibility comes in.

We also have a ton of trees on our land. Which is great for heating the house, but sucks when it comes to sunlight and garden space. This year we installed a kitchen garden in this weird lawn space in between our driveways. It’s a lot of space and a great place to have veggie plants, flowers, herbs, and lettuces. We can even put in our potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions. But I forgot that in the summer, there are a ton of trees that block the sun. This isn’t a big deal because those trees need to come down anyways. But our garden may not thrive because of them.

Our gardens are a process and that’s okay. 75% of our food doesn’t need all be done right now.

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Being Self Reliant

Jared and I are both city kids and we don’t have anyone teaching us how to do these things. Because of that it’s really important to both of us that we learn how to do stuff for ourselves. I didn’t know how to make bread before I started this journey. Now, I can make sourdough!

Jared had never felled trees before coming to the homestead. Now? He’s really good at it. He didn’t know how to sharpen a chainsaw. Now, he does.

Leaving behind a legacy is really important to me. I’m not going to get my great grandmother or grandmothers cast iron pans. I didn’t get cooking skills from my mom, grandmother, great grandmother. Jared and I didn’t learn how to butcher animals or put in gardens from our family. And that’s okay because that’s not the life they lived. But because this is so important to us, we are also teaching our kids how to do these things. We are teaching them how to repair toilets, install light fixtures, build chicken tractors without plans, put in gardens, sharpen chainsaws, and so much more.

Financial Freedom

I started this blog and our homestead with one single end goal: Retire early. That’s it. We are putting in the work now, while we are young, so that we can have systems in place for retirement. When the homestead produces 75% of our food, that puts approximately $600/mo back in our pockets. When it produces 75% of our animals food? That’s $450/mo!

While this blog is not currently making a lot of money, the reality is that it is getting to the point of being self reliant. Thanks to you guys!

Walking into retirement with virtually zero bills or debt allows us to not worry so much about a crashing economy. Knowing that we can garden and sell the produce or sell goat kids? That brings more options to the table than praying my 401k and social security will still be there.

Building Your Successful Homestead

At the end of the day, your homestead is not going to look like anyone else’s. You’ve got your own hopes, dreams, capabilities, resources, and needs. But if you can define what a successful homestead looks like to you, and then start setting expectations and goals for it, you will get there so much faster.

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Is Homesteading Hard

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I should probably wait to write this, maybe when I’m not quite so raw. But the cold hard reality is that homesteading is hard. Out of all the things I have done in my life, I think homesteading is the hardest. I have had multiple miscarriages. Sent my husband off to war twice and raise two babies while he was gone. I have stood over bleeding and mangled bodies and said, “I’ve got you.” I’ve had a mom hand me her infant and say, “Save her.” Is homesteading hard? It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

is homesteading hard
*****Be sure to read till the end*****

Why Is Homesteading Hard?

The constant life and death decisions will wear you down. The constant checking on feed, hay, and medication levels. Hauling sick animals into the house or into the vet. Checking finances to make sure you can cover the feed, vet or light bill. Worrying about the garden producing not only your food but your animals. Prepping firewood and praying you’ve got enough. Constant research to find another way to possibly save money or a life. Frustration when a product doesn’t work. It’s enough to drive you insane. Homesteading is hard.

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Life and Death Decisions

When you live a “normal” life, maybe you really only worry about your dogs or cats, maybe an “exotic”. But when you homestead (even small scale), you have to be constantly aware of your house pets and livestock, their safety and wellbeing, their health, laboring or egg/ hatching rates and so much more. You have to worry about predators.

You order chicks and realize that one just isn’t doing well, and you have to make the decision to cull. A duck breaks a leg? Is it worth the pain they will go through to see if you can set it, splint it and keep them confined? Actively warming a goat kid till the wee hours of the morning. Only to have them die a couple days later, anyways.

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Running Out Of Feed

Sometimes you run out of feed, and can’t get more. The supply chain shortages are a thing and usually the small farmer is who suffers. You’ve got to get creative with how you are going to feed your chickens, ducks, pigs and goats with no access to feed. Sometimes it’s taking 5gal buckets to work and asking coworkers to fill it with their food scraps, just to feed your pigs or chickens. Or begging neighbors for a couple bales of hay.

The reality of caring for so many animals on the homestead is overwhelming sometimes.

Sick Animals

Sometimes, your living room turns into an infirmary. Sometimes, your really nice SUV turns into a litter box because you’ve got to haul the pigs to the vet. Then despite all of your very best efforts, your animal dies anyways.

It’s pulling goats because momma is too tired to push, only to realize the kid is stuck and you can’t get it out. Praying to forces you don’t even believe in to save this baby.

It’s a cemetery on your property because you just couldn’t save them.

Financial Impact

Sometimes life and death decisions are made because of finances and that feels worse. When you have to cull an animal, especially a favorite, because you don’t have the money for medicine or a vet visit. Or it’s feeding the pigs out of your pantry or fridge because you don’t have anything else.

Other times, it’s using your emergency fund to cover hay because you ran out.

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Working Your Gardens

Whether you are praying for rain, or praying for rain to stop, your life revolves around your gardens in spring and summer. Since you’ve decided to grow as much fodder for your livestock as possible, you are stressing over it’s growth. You are simply hoping to reduce the strain on your wallet.

You are constantly checking for pests and weeds. Thinking about next years garden and what you will do differently. Pouring over notes, blog posts, and more trying to get a leg up.

Firewood

When you make the decision to heat solely with your wood stove, you spend hours, days and weeks building that firewood stack. One cord down, seven more to go. Only to realize mid winter, seven wasn’t enough either. So you’re back out there, cutting down trees or finding your stacks you had put back for the next year.

It’s hauling huge rounds of wood up hills. It’s the pure manual labor that feels back breaking, but isn’t.

Is Homesteading Hard?

Yes, but it is worth it. Every single time and every single way, it is worth it. The good outweighs the bad, every single time.

The pure joy of harvesting peppers, dehydrating them, grinding them, and then using them in your dinner? It’s a feeling of pure satisfaction.

Seeing that firewood stack go from empty at the beginning of spring and full at the end of summer? Knowing that you are going to be warm and snuggly? It’s hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment.

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It’s cleaning eggs, putting them in a jar to waterglass, and putting them on shelves in your basement, knowing you will have eggs this winter.

Watching your garden bloom and grow. Eating beans fresh from the garden, while harvesting peppers and tomatoes. Canning your tomatoes. Knowing that when you are buttoning up everything for the winter, you have succeeded in your goal of providing for your family and livestock.

It’s watching that goat kid thrive after a traumatic birth. Knowing that you would do it again and again, just to see that baby come out alive and hear those first cries. And crying when you bury her sisters and listening to that momma goat cry for her other babies.

It’s waking up before the sun breaks the horizon to milk the goats. Softly talking to your most skittish goat and thanking her for her milk. Watching the sunrise with her as her kid jumps and plays with the other kids. Listening for her call her kid and the kid call back.

Planning a bigger better garden because you learned from your mistakes last year or the year before.

Is homesteading hard? Yes, but you should absolutely do it. There is no better feeling in the world than watching all of your hard work pay off. No amount of money or promotions, or follows, likes and shares compares to feeling of being self reliant, self sufficient, and earning through blood, sweat and tears the bounty.

Because when you homestead, it’s real. And in a world full of slight of hand, disinformation, division, and mistrust, your homestead is a living breathing thing that YOU created.

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5 Ways To Save Money On Livestock Feed

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Whether you homestead on a large scale or small, livestock feed is expensive. To be fair, raising livestock in general is expensive. But with the holidays on us, plus supply chain issues and inflation, saving money is becoming more and more important. So here are the 5 ways we save money on livestock feed.

How To Save Money On Livestock Feed

  1. Just Add Water
  2. Grow it
  3. Microgreens or Sprouts- Another great way to stretch feed
  4. Buy in bulk
  5. Reduce animal numbers.

You could also make your own, but that is an entire post all on it’s own so make sure you subscribe below to be updated on that post!

Let’s talk about each one of these a little more in depth.

Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!

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Just Add Water

Soaking feed is number one for a reason. It is hands down the easiest, cheapest and fastest way to stretch your feed. All you need is a 5 gallon bucket with a tight lid for each different feed you plan to soak. For example: I soak/ ferment pig, chicken and goat feed, plus alfalfa and beet pulp, which I do together. So I have 4 buckets.

What’s the difference between soaking and fermenting? Time. If you leave your feed for too long in a bucket it should ferment. And if you leave it too long past that, it will mold. We soak our pig feed and the alfalfa/beet pulp overnight. The chickens and goats get fermented feed that we start 2-3 days prior and then add more as we go.

PS: if you ferment your pig feed for too long, or if there is corn in the feed, you will have drunk pigs…. Don’t ask how I know.

Grow It

Right now growing isn’t as easy because it’s winter. But growing crops for your animals is hands down the cheapest way to reduce feed costs. In fact, I would dare say that if you have enough property, or not a lot of animals, you could feasibly never buy a bag of feed. Between grasses for grazing, pasture rotation, and then expanding your garden to grow corn, barley, buckwheat, winter squashes, and more, you could never buy a bag of feed. This could save you thousands of dollars a year for just a few seed packets. You can get almost all of your seeds from Territorial Seed Company or Eden Brothers.

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What kind of fodder crops should you grow for your animals? That really depends on what animals you have and what they can eat. But corn is a great plant that is easy-ish to grow, store and feed out. Another good plant is pumpkins, and our animals love it. Winter squashes are another really great veggie that does well despite most attempts to kill it. It’s very easy to store and will last a long time in proper conditions. Another good option is putting your animals in your gardens after harvest. They can get all the left over yummies in there and clear your garden at the same time.

Microgreens/ Sprouts

This one can get very in depth and long winded. But to give you the highlights: take a tray, add soil, add microgreen seeds (densely packed), and then soak. With proper lighting and care you can grow fodder for your chickens and even pigs and goats. The 104 Homestead has a great post on sprouting barley. The Homesteading RD also has a great post on the different microgreens and the process of growing them. Just make sure that your animals can eat the greens. Rainbow Heirloom Seed Co. has some great seeds on Amazon.

What kind and how much to feed? Honestly, we are just starting out with our microgreens and there just isn’t that much information out there on feeding microgreens to livestock. But I will say this, we are growing greens that they can eat the plant or seed of. So if goats can eat broccoli we will feed them half a tray of broccoli microgreens and see what happens. I’ll post more when we know more or find more research of it.

Buy In Bulk

Buying bulk depends completely on two things; your ability to load/unload and your ability to store. When I talk about buying in bulk, I’m talking about half ton totes like these. We have neither so buying in bulk isn’t really a good option for us per se. But we do get a discount on how many pounds of feed we buy at a time. At our feed store if we buy a total of 500# of feed, we get a discount on all of the feed. It doesn’t matter if it’s pig, chicken and goat. I can move and store 10 50# bags of feed, I cannot do that with a ton of pig, a ton of chicken and a ton of goat feed.

What do you need to load/unload and store? Dolly’s to start if you are planning to store in 55gal drums. But if you are buying those big 1 ton totes? You’ll need pallets, pallet jack, and probably a tractor to get it off the delivery truck. There are places that you can go and fill 55 gallon drums but you have to find them first.

Another caveat to this is to shop around. While I absolutely adore Tractor Supply, I cannot afford $25-30 for a 50# bag of chicken feed. Not when I can get a better quality for half the price at my feed store. So ask other homesteaders/farmers in your area where they go for feed.

The other thing that buying in bulk helps with is reducing the amount of feed bags laying around your garage….. Not that I have that problem.

Reduce Your Animal Numbers

No one wants to talk about this, and for good reason. I don’t want to cull, sell or give away any of my animals. But the reality is that we can’t keep around animals simply because they are cute. If an animal doesn’t have a purpose, they don’t stay on the farm. The best way to save money on feed is to not have so many animals to feed. It’s just the cold hard truth. If you are trying to reduce your spending, buying feed from the feed store isn’t going to reduce your spending.

If you are having trouble choosing who needs to go, ask your self this: who is the oldest? Who is the meanest? Who is the fattest? Who is the hardest to handle? This should start to help you narrow it down a bit. Again, while not ideal and it breaks my heart, I know who is on the chopping block if we ever get to that point.

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Our Thoughts On The Homesteaders Of America 2022 Conference

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When we go on trips, we try to have a purpose behind the trip. When we went to Yellowstone, we wanted to have fun and see all the mountains and animals. But we also wanted to make it educational for all of us, get some photography to sell, and enjoy time with family. When we went to Virginia for the Homesteaders of America Conference, our purpose was purely educational and they knocked it out of the park.

Homesteaders of America

Homesteaders of America Conference: Day 1

Prior to leaving for the conference, we made sure to look at the schedule and see which classes/ lectures we wanted to take. We put those into our Google calendar so that we weren’t having to scramble to figure out where we wanted to be.

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Planting Fodder For Livestock

The first class we took was Shawn and Beth Dougherty about planting fodder crops for livestock. Let me tell you, this couple is extremely engaging. If you haven’t heard of them, check out their website at the link above. Their lecture, and their entire philosophy, is to reduce input onto the farm, increase soil fertility and become more self sustaining. They talked in depth about planting crops that preserve well and that animals can eat.

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This was fascinating. While I knew that we could plant food for animals, I hadn’t really thought much about it. In my head, I planted my garden for my family and the animals got any excess. I figured, animal food came in the form of grain from the feed store. Again, I knew that we could grow their food, but didn’t really think much beyond that. But with a $600/mo feed bill, I’m starting to see the draw to growing their food.

We walked away with more information on rotational grazing, increasing soil fertility and how to use livestock for more than just enjoyment.

Homestead Security Class

The second class was for homestead security, and to be honest, I tuned out most of it. This was a class for Jared. While I 100% believe in homestead security, it’s just not something I’m interested in. I didn’t take a single note. Not to mention that within about 10 minutes, I was bored out of my mind. I actually left the class and went to walk around to the different vendors. Jared really enjoyed the class, but I don’t know that he took any notes. Mainly because the class covered things that he/we were already doing.

Farm Set Up and Checklist

This was put on by Daniel Salatin and one I enjoyed almost as much as the Dougherty’s. Daniel talked about how to set up farms and how livestock should be the last thing brought to the homestead…. oops. But the biggest take away that we needed to work on getting water capture and stop relying on hoses and buckets to transport water.

Another thing that was interesting was pasture rotation. Now, we knew pasture rotation is extremely important. But one of the things that we struggled with was the idea of permanent fencing for that rotation. We want our animals to free range, this by itself will reduce worm load. But there are a ton of other reasons to rotate pasture. And at the top of that list is soil conservation and fertility.

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Homesteaders of America Conference: Day 2

We were extremely excited about day 2. There were a lot of good speakers lined up, but really it was the day we got to go home. I loved the conference and we will definitely go back, but I missed my goats…. and kids.

Sustainable Broiler Breeding

This class was enlightening because we had raised meat chickens already and weren’t a fan. We wanted to move away from buying broilers and move towards hatching our own. We didn’t necessarily want hybrids or other crosses like the Cornish X. The biggest reason was expense. If I have to buy chicks every year to feed my family, then what I am going to do when I can’t buy them?

Tom from McMurray Hatchery explained that while there are birds that are dual purpose, they are not really meat birds. For example, a Brahma is marketed as a meat bird, but it takes 1-2yrs for it to reach market weight. That’s a lot of feed for a big bird. Not to mention that once it hits market weight, the meat will probably be very tough.

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Tom’s suggestion for a sustainable bird was a New Hampshire Red. They grow quickly but not so quick that they suffer from the major health problems that a Cornish x will. He also suggested Rocks and Sussex due to their fast growth and good market weights at young ages.

Sustainable Homestead

Shawn and Beth had another class that we were excited to sit in on. This one was similar to their fodder crop class but focused more on how to grow your SOIL and reduce input to the farm. Their idea is to stop bringing input onto the farm and let the farm grow and nurture itself.

The big thing with a lot of these well known farmers like the Salatin’s, Dougherty’s, Rhodes’, etc is that you want to create an environment where the soil is protected, encouraged and treated like the most important thing on the farm.

The idea is that you want to use animals to do the work. You put goats/cows in a pasture and let them eat the grass, browse and other tall material. This will allow the plant to kill off roots which will leave carbon in the soil. Then you bring in the chickens. The chickens will peck through the manure, eating bugs and larvae, spread the manure and lay their own. They will eat the low lying grasses as well. After the chickens you bring in the pigs to eat any left over grains, manures, and break/till the soil.

When it’s done, the pasture has a chance to soak up all that carbon, nitrogen, etc. and have a chance to take off. It will improve the soil. New plants that couldn’t grow in impacted soil. But when these creatures come in, they are able to rework the soil and increase the fertility of it. Soil, sunlight and water are the keys to good farming.

Pastured Livestock

Daniel Salatin’s class on pastured livestock echoed the same things from his previous class on setting up a homestead, as well as Shawn and Beth’s class on setting up a sustainable homestead. But it was much more in depth on the HOW. He talked about the 4 R’s of pasture management: Rotation, Rest/Recovery, Removal, and Recon.

Rotation is pretty obvious. Rotate the animal onto new forage daily, or weekly depending on the animal.

Rest/ Recovery- allow the plants, soil, etc. to recover. When plants in the area have reached mature potential you can allow animals back onto the pasture.

Removal of nutrients- we want the soil to pull nutrients back into the ground. If that doesn’t happen, then the manure should be removed. Having multiple animals move through the same pasture but eat different things is paramount to creating not only good soil but healthy animals.

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Recon/ Observation- Did it work? Daniel said to take a picture of the same pasture during all 4 seasons and do it every year at those same times. Why? We want to see if we are improving the soil and plants in that area. If we are making it worse and it is not recovering, then we need to do something different.

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Catching Free Bees

This was my favorite class of all because I want honey bees so badly. Unfortunately, I am the only one that will take care of them because everyone else is terrified of bees. So until I am ready to take over that chore 100%, I am putting them off. Plus the cost is huge. You’ve got boxes, frames, paint, bees themselves? I’m not totally ready yet.

But listening to Kaylee talk about catching a swarm and how to do it, got me thinking. If we can set up our farm so that everything they need is here? Maybe we can do it?

We learned about how to catch bees and how to work with them, which will decrease your cost for getting bees by 100%.

Our Thoughts On The Conference

I think that anyone could learn something from this conference. It’s a great place to go and learn, to ask questions. Every single speaker that lectured also answered questions and were so passionate about it. We were able to talk with Shawn and Beth about free ranging our goats. They not only answered our questions but gave advise on how to do it effectively within our own “ecosystem” of animals and plants on the homestead.

We walked away with new products to try and books to read.

But most importantly, we walked away realizing that we are not alone. There are thousands of people out there just like us. Just trying to live in harmony with nature, to get back to the land. Raise our children and animals in a way that Mother Nature would approve. To get dirty, be wild, and have fun. These people are a wealth of knowledge and they are willing teachers.

If you have the opportunity to go to next year’s conference, I highly recommend going. Even if you don’t have a homestead yet. Even if you are just dreaming. It is absolutely worth it.

If you can’t get to the conference, here are some books that I highly recommend based off what I learned while I was there.

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Traveling When You Homestead

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As I sit here writing this, I am supposed to be packing, cleaning and getting ready to hit the road in two days. We are going out of town for the Homesteaders Of America Conference in Virginia this weekend. Instead of packing and getting last minute chores done, I sit here thinking about all the things I need to do, but I am obviously not doing. But all of this did get me thinking, brand new homesteaders are probably trying to figure out the logistics of traveling when you homestead.

When most people travel, they have to find someone to watch their dogs, cats, maybe a snake or lizard. Usually, it is not a big deal. But when you have gardens that need to be harvested, animals that need to be fed and watered, medications to be given, sometimes finding someone is extremely difficult.

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Traveling When You Homestead

I’m not going to lie, traveling when you homestead can be a logistical nightmare. It’s not as easy as it was pre homestead. But your days of traveling aren’t over, they just look a little different now. Some homesteaders rarely leave their property. Others will only travel a certain distance away. Still others will globe trot in the winter. There is no right or wrong answer to traveling.

Our Travels

Pre-homestead, we just needed to find someone that could either stay at the house with our four dogs, two cats and three bearded dragons or at least let dogs out to go to the bathroom and feed them. Heading out for a quick overnight or weekend trip was as simple as calling one of Jared’s buddies from the fire department to have them do a drive by the house and let the dogs out.

Post- homestead? There’s a lot more.

The first time we went out of town, we went to Yellowstone for a week. One of my friends from work was willing to stay the week and hang out with everyone. She had a crash course in goats and we prefilled their foods, medications and anything else we could to make her life easier. She did fantastic and I am extremely grateful for her.

The second trip is to Virginia for the conference. We were lucky that our neighbor is willing to help us out since he will be home all weekend. But how do you travel when you are knee deep in kidding season, or canning season?

Below is how I get prepared to leave the homestead for a few days.

Getting A Farm Sitter

The first thing to do is to line up your farm sitter for your trip. If you’ve got friends or family that is willing to help out, all the better. But if not, check with your local 4-H or FFA. There are a ton of kids that are well versed in farming and would love to make some money. You could also get in touch with your local feed store and see if they know of anyone that would be willing to come out and help.

There are a ton of people out there that are willing to help out if the pay is right. There is no set rate for this, either. Some people who only have a few chickens and need someone to harvest the garden is going to charge less than someone you load chores on.

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Have your farm sitter come out to the farm to go over everything with you. I leave a typed list of all the things that need to be done in order of animals. So goats have their own list, dogs, chickens, etc.

If you have a friend coming over and they know nothing about feeding animals, go ahead and pre-fill buckets or jars with feed, so all they have to do is dump and go.

Clean Up Before You Go

This isn’t just cleaning your house. It’s mucking out the stalls, barns and coops and laying fresh bedding. Move chicken tractors, electric netting, etc. so that they don’t have to mess with it. It’s fresh sheets on the bed if they are spending the night. Make sure that they do not have to do that stuff while your gone.

When we leave, we make sure that the only thing they have to do is feed and water animals, let out dogs, and collect eggs.

Harvesting The Garden

If you are in mid swing with canning and harvesting the garden, life just got a little harder. But it’s still not impossible. When we went to Yellowstone, we told my friend, you can keep anything the garden produces and any eggs the hens lay. But if it’s the middle of August and you are harvesting the garden every day, that’s a lot of produce to “lose”. Here are some quick tips:

Peppers can be frozen, tomatoes too.

Cucumbers and summer squash can go to the goats, chickens and pigs.

Watermelons can stay on the vine for a few days extra.

Look into other ways your produce can be saved until you get back and have your farm sitter do that.

Other Random Chores

Sometimes you have to leave and you have a goat in milk. Or sometimes you had an accidental breeding and now you are going on vacation when your favorite doe is going to kid. You’ve got eggs in the incubator or you’ve got chicks in the brooder. Maybe you have a last minute trip and need to butcher chickens. Or you have a sick animal that needs medications.

All of these things happen. A good farm sitter is invaluable. In theory, you should find someone that is comfortable doing all of those things. The reality is Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. That’s not to say that anyone is at fault, quite the opposite. If you can plan around your vacation, and prepare your farm sitter, everything will be fine.

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In the situation of a goat in milk, see if your farm sitter is comfortable milking. If not, try drying her up before you leave. If that won’t work, think about putting her baby back with her while you’re gone. Another option is to see if you have a goat friend that would be willing to keep her while you’re gone.

Prepare

The best thing you can do when you are preparing for travel is to be as prepared as possible. Our vet has our credit card on file so that if anything happens, we are good to go. We have lists for the farm sitter. Our neighbors are willing to help out and have knowledge of animals but have actually met our animals.

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Having a good infrastructure in place is also key to making sure that you are good to go. Setting up your farm to be automated, like automatic waterers for the garden and animals, helps tremendously.

Enjoy

Lastly, enjoy your trip! Seriously, you have probably earned it. Especially in the fall/ winter when everything is buttoned up for the season and it’s time to relax and plan for spring.

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The Homestead Holiday Gift Guide

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The holidays are coming and with that comes the desire to get those that matter to us gifts that are meaningful and useful. If you are living on a homestead, or have relatives that do, this list is packed full of great ideas to help you get the most bang for your buck. While also get something that they will love. Some of the things on this list are things that are on our own holiday wish list. Others are things that we have already bought and absolutely love. This homestead holiday gift guide is sure to have something for your homesteader.

If you are a homesteader, and your family doesn’t know what to get you for the holidays? Share this with them. Or, if you are going to a holiday party and need a hostess gift? Check out the $0-$50 section below. It’s got a ton of great ideas.

Homestead Holiday Gift Guide

I have broken this guide up into price points because that’s important. No one wants to find the perfect gift and realize it’s outside of their price range. Also this entire post is filled with affiliate links. Buying from these links doesn’t charge you any extra but it does allow us to make some extra money for the farm. You can read more about our affiliate disclosure by clicking the link.

But First Some Housekeeping

The holiday season is a time for giving. As the giver, you are giving someone a gift that you thought they would like or that made you think of them. And friends? That is amazing. As the recipient, it is an awesome feeling when someone hands you a gift and says, “This made me think of you.” But also as a recipient, I don’t want you to waste your money on me. I would rather you donate that money to a good cause like animal rescue, save the bees, or really anything where the money actually goes to the cause.

Sometimes though, the gift giver simply wants to give you a gift. And if you are getting a gift for a homesteader, you may be a little lost on what to get them. You know they don’t want anything, but you are bound and determined to get them something. Most homesteaders would love to receive a gift that works on the farm. So let’s talk about homestead holiday gifts.

$0-$100 Gifts

First and foremost, GIFT CARDS. I can not stress this enough. I know, it seems like such an impersonal gift. But it is seriously the BEST gift I could receive and I know a lot of other people feel the same. I hate wasting money and when people buy things that I can’t use, it bothers me. Not because I’m spoiled, although that is true too. It’s because that person spent their hard earned money on things that won’t get use, can’t be returned, etc. So seriously consider gift cards to places like Home Depot, Tractor Supply and Amazon.

Tractor Supply

Digital Prints, Digital Art Work, or Printables– I have several different digital photography prints in my Etsy store and they are a huge hit. Unlike regular artwork, these are digital and can be printed at any size you want. These make fantastic hostess gifts, too. You will usually find prints for less than $10 and it doesn’t cost more than a few more dollars to have them printed at Walmart, Target, Sams, etc.

Ask About Their Amazon Wish List– Almost anyone that regularly shops on Amazon has at least one wish list. I have 10. But ask them for a link to their wish list so you can be sure to get something that they will love.

Donations– Every year there is that one person that you have absolutely no idea what to get them. I’ve got a family full of them. Instead of getting them a present that is going to hang out in the garage for the next 5 years, you know who you are, make a donation to their favorite charity. Get them a card, explain what you did, and put the receipt in the card.

Books– If your homesteader is a bookworm then I’ve got the list for you!

Homesteading

Cookbooks

Animals

Gear- Whether it’s stuff for butchering, milking, or building having extra gear is amazing. Gift cards would be amazing for this stuff as well because you may not know the difference between hoof trimmers to get, or which power tools they need batteries for. But I will tell you this, getting me gear so I can do my chores better? Score.

Sharp Things

Tools

Miscellaneous

  • Cast Iron, the good kind from antique stores.
  • Boots are always a plus
  • Coveralls! Seriously.

Seeds!!!!!!!! This would probably be better as a gift card, but I don’t know many homesteaders that will turn down packets of seeds. Tomatoes are usually pretty safe. Cucumbers are too if they have livestock. But check and see what they grow. and then check out Territorial Seed Company or Eden Brothers.

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Plants- Territorial Seed has some great plants including coffee plants! Etsy is also another great place to get edible plants so consider berry bushes, grape vines, etc.

$100-$250 Gifts

You had better be pretty good to get something off this list. While I know I haven’t been super good, if my family is reading this? I would like this milker please!

Greenhouse– There are some greenhouses that will come in under $250 that are great for seed starts or house plants that are too big to come inside. If you know they are short on space, a greenhouse may be a great option.

Pressure Canners– I will never say no to an additional canner. I’ve been saving up for this canner, but just having another one is a time saver for me. The All American 931 can hold 19 quart jars and is a double stack. When I’m hip deep in canning season, this helps a lot. The Presto is a great canner and you can usually only get 7 quart jars in there.

Camp stove- Along the same lines as a pressure canner, having additional burners would be amazing. Not to mention not heating up the house. This camp stove has been on my list for a while and I’m hoping to get one before next canning season.

Bench Grinder– You have no idea how quickly sharp things get dull on the homestead. Having a good bench grinder is a great gift to give. Jared is able to sharpen all the knives, scissors, shovels, axes, and more with ours.

$250+ Gifts

If you’ve got a from scratch chef that has made you some amazing meals, check out this Kitchen Aid Mixer. Yes, it’s pricey but well worth the money spent, especially if that means you are going to get some awesome home cooking from it. This one is on my wish list as well

Got a homesteader that has goats? Or other hooved creatures? Hoof Boss is definitely a time and back saver. When we have to trim hooves, it takes hours. It’s hard on the back and trying to wrangle all the goats? Well, they’re lucky they’re cute.

Chainsaws– Now, this one will need a little bit of research, but an extra chainsaw is always great to have around. Not to mention the chains, sharpening equipment, etc.

At The End Of The Day

Your homesteader will love whatever gift you give them, we are grateful like that. But if you want to give them something that they will use, or need, check out some of the offerings on the homestead holiday gift guide. Or better yet, ask them what they want or need. I’m sure they would be ecstatic to receive something they need.

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The Actual Cost of Raising Livestock

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Do you get “free” eggs or “free” milk? If you think it’s free, think again. Your chickens do not produce free eggs. Your goats do not produce free milk. And when you are drowning in eggs or milk, you may be tempted to just give it away. I wanted to breakdown the actual costs associated with common livestock before you get too far in debt trying to care for these creatures. So what is the actual cost of raising livestock?

Actual Cost Of Raising Livestock

Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!

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Actual Cost Of Raising Livestock

The Animal

Initially, all animals have to be brought to the homestead. Rarely, though it does happen, is livestock left behind when old owners sell and new owners buy a piece of property. We were hoping that the previous owner’s Brahma would stick around, he didn’t. But that being said, we had to bring almost every single animal onto this property. How much did that cost us?

Our goats are our most expensive creature here. We have spent about $3,000 on the goats we bought. Bebe, Stella, Finnegan, and Sébastien are the only ones we haven’t paid for since they were born here. That also doesn’t count their registration fees. That gives an average of $375 per goat. But we paid way more than that for some of them.

The chickens are by far the cheapest animal on the homestead but still pretty expensive at about $5 each. Ducks were about $10 each. The more “exotic” or heritage breeds are obviously more expensive.

Containment

This comes in a couple of different forms but the most common is fencing and housing. We were lucky enough to get our fencing installed pre-inflation. The cost of the fencing alone has almost doubled, not to mention the T posts, clips or gates. Our cost was right at $1200 for the 3 goat pastures.

Our initial coop cost us about $500 and while I really liked it, we out grew it quickly. Now, we have a metal shed that houses our chickens and ducks for the night. That set us back another $500 but effectively quadrupled our square footage.

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Our goat barn is another cost that is pretty high. I think we paid about $2200 in materials for it. Unfortunately, it’s not great and is going to need to be torn down and rebuilt not only at a better location, but also bigger because we have more goats now. The cost of rebuilding is estimated at $1500.

Feed/ Supplements

This is probably the most flexible of all the costs because you may not need to buy hays, grains, and other feeds. I talked in depth about how much hay a goat needs here. But something else to consider is that it’s very difficult for animals to get their nutritional needs 100% met with browse or forage alone.

My feed bill is about $400-600/mo depending on the time of year and what they need. In the winter, they eat more grains and hay so the cost is closer to $600+. In the summers, I don’t have to feed as much because they have access to all the browse, forage and bugs that they could ever eat. The bucks have to stay in their pasture in the summers because they get a little too excited to see my girls. So I still have to hay them.

Supplements are another cost to consider into the actual cost of raising livestock. Goats need minerals. Chickens need extra calcium. During kidding season, I will go through a bulk pack of Tums in about a month. Then there’s the iodine, iron injections, B complexes and more. I spend about $500 every 6 months in supplements.

Vet Care/ Medications

Within the first 48 hours of having Oakley and Bailey, I had spent over $300 on them. They had gotten into mountain laurel and Bailey almost died. I also spend about $200 a year on fecals. I could do them myself but it’s easier and more time saving to have the vet do it. The vet comes out once or twice a year to do a herd health check and make sure that they are doing good. Getting 12 goats to the vet would be almost impossible. In 2021 we spent $3,000 in vet bills. In 2022, we are on part to spend $5,000. That includes the fecals, prescription medications, wormers, and other supplements.

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Miscellaneous Materials

I went pretty in depth in these posts about what to have on hand throughout the year.

What To Have On Hand During Kidding Season

What Do you Need to Care for Goats

How To Brood Chickens Inside

But there is so much more.

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Bedding runs us about $600 during the winter. In the summer, we just keep the barns mucked out and have them on dirt floors. But in the winters, it gets so raw and wet that it’s better for them to have some sort of bedding.

Buckets, troughs and other feeders: My initial investment was somewhere around $200 for these and I plan to have the ability to replace them every year or so.

Then we have things like hoof trimmers, syringes and needles, milk pails, glass jars for milk and cheese making supplies. We’re probably another $500 there.

So our total cost for 2022 for all of this was: about $12,000.

For 2023 we are on par to hit $20,000. The split between chickens and goats would be about $2,000 for chickens and about 18,000 for goats.

But What Do We Get Out Of It?

The Cost

The average cost of goat milk is $9/ quart in my area. Each girl gives me about a quart of milk a day so each one produces about $270/mo worth of milk. They didn’t give me any milk last year, so we’ll count the estimated $18,000. If they keep production at $270 x3 girls in milk, my milk will cost me $8,280. Yes, cost me. They don’t save me a dime. Unless we sell babies and even then, it won’t make up the $8,280.

Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!

Buy Now

The chicken eggs go for about $5/dozen in my area and I get about a dozen eggs every 2-3 days. So we’ll say 2.5 days for a dozen eggs. If they keep production up for the whole year, which they should since we have different ages on different laying schedules, they will cost me $1,280 a year. They also don’t make me a dime.

So Why Do We Keep Them?

Well, the goats help clear the land and that helps keep the predator population down. If the goats can keep the brush down, it allows us to see and take care of predators. They also provide compost for the gardens. Goats are also my form of therapy. I’ve been to counseling over the years and I’m just not a fan of talking my problems out with strangers. But give me a goat? All that stress melts away. AND they’re adorable.

Chickens are probably the best cost to advantage ratio. They eat all the spiders, grubs, termites, and other nasty things. They help turn the soil in the winter and the tomatoes love their compost. If they get too old or too mean, they go to freezer camp. They give us eggs.

Beyond all of that, the animals have taught all of us patience. They’ve taught us to care for things more than ourselves. The animals have also taught compassion for our food, whether it be milk, eggs, cheese or meat. The goats have shown the boys biology lessons that they never would have gotten in the city or in public school. They’ve taught us life skills that we never would have gotten without them. And most importantly they’ve taught us about death and how to cope with it.

And that is worth more than money.

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10 Things To Start Preparing For Winter

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I know, I know! It’s only September. BUT you can never be too prepared, especially when you have lives depending on you. Here in north Georgia, it’s 90*+ and it feels like winter is forever away, but trust me when I tell you, it’s all down hill from here. The leaves are already starting to fall, albeit one at a time. The mornings are cooler and though it’s still hot, it’s not as unbearable. So I figured I would talk about the things we are doing now, to prepare for winter.

preparing for winter

Preparing For Winter Is Easy…When You Do It Early

First thing is first, go ahead and make a list of all the things you think you’ll need. Then check it against my list and maybe google some other blogs like Southern Dreams Homestead, The Homesteading RD or The Farmer’s Lamp to help give you a few more ideas. Below is simply part of my list that I think everyone could benefit from.

The List

1) Firewood! Seriously, if you haven’t started sourcing, chopping or collecting firewood, stop everything and go do it right now. Like, now. If you haven’t been able to get around to it, make the time. You still have some time to get a few cords chopped and drying if you make it a priority. Also, check around with neighbors or even different market places. You may find that someone has a tree they need cut and hauled away. Easy firewood. You can find a small electric log splitter less than $300 or even a big gas powered one for less than $1,500

I’m going to throw candles in here too. A small tea light candle can heat a small room for several hours. It can even cook food when placed in terracotta pots. SO maybe having a million of these little buggers around would be a good idea too.

2) Pantry Restock– I restock our pantry/ food storage room quarterly. That means that I go through and find all the things we have used or are running low on and make a run to the store. This tends to be a big haul for us and has things like toilet paper, laundry detergent, etc. But you don’t want to find out in the middle of a snow storm that you’re out of toilet paper. If you don’t have a place to store it, check out Home Depot for wire shelves or check out my post on our shelves.

3) Canning– The entire month of September, I am canning the last bit of the summer garden and soups. I will put up about 300qts and 200pts of soup to prepare for winter. The way I see it, if the power goes out, I can still heat soup on my wood stove. If you haven’t already, check out The Canning Diva’s cookbook. She has a ton of amazing soups. This book is my holy grail for soup season.

4) Coffee– If you are a coffee drinker, go ahead and can several quarts of coffee. I know, it sounds crazy, but when our power went out last year, guess who didn’t have coffee? So yea, can a couple quarts. I waterbath can my quarts for 20 minutes. Now, I can just heat it in a pot on the stove. I’ve also got a great recipe for homemade creamer too.

5) Extra Blankets– We have a million blankets and every year, I am tempted to throw out half of them. BUT it’s nice having the ability to close off rooms, layer up, or even insulate freezers if necessary. Not to mention if livestock needs to come inside because it’s freezing or they are injured.

Finn had to come inside when he busted his shoulder.

6) Portable Battery Banks– We have a bunch of these guys around and they are really handy to have. When the power goes out and the boys last device is dead, this thing saves my sanity. Plus, we can hook it up to our kitchen radio and still have news updates and more.

7) Animal Feed– This isn’t just Fido’s dog food. If you have any kind of livestock, now is the time to make sure you are sourcing enough for winter. For us, that means finding enough hay to get through the winter. It also means sourcing grain, alfalfa pellets, and other miscellaneous food stuffs they need.

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8) Animal Bedding– Don’t forget their bedding! While it doesn’t get super cold in Georgia, it does still get cold. And wet. So make sure that you’ve got some form of bedding for them. We use the deep litter method and pine shavings. The deep litter method really helps insulate them in winter and helps keep them off the cold ground. We also spread Diatomaceous Earth between layers to help keep down bugs. Again, it doesn’t get super cold here so winter Lice/Mite infestations happen.

9) Emergency Medicines/ First Aid– This looks different from homestead to homestead, but having the ability to treat various illnesses or injuries is extremely important. I talked about the basics needed to care for goats but you also need to include yourself here. Sometimes band aids just aren’t going to cut it. You may need sutures, super glue, etc to close lacerations. Or when you’re animal suddenly develops pneumonia, having the ability to treat that without calling for a vet is a huge time and money saver.

10) Something to alleviate boredom– It’s true. The hustle and bustle of summer makes way for a slower winter. Maybe not 100% of the time, but more often than not, the weather keeps us inside. Extreme weather could keep us inside for days. I am a bookworm and have at least twenty books on standby waiting to be read. But my boys and Jared are not so lucky. We have games, puzzles, cards and more. They still refuse to let me read, but at least they have something to do.

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I hope this helps you start preparing for winter at least a little bit.

Our Homestead Buying Guide

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I’ve been getting asked a lot, “Where do you buy x?” So I figured I would take the time to list out where we buy the stuff for our goats, chickens, canning, seeds, garden stuff, and other odds and ends that we have used and really like. This is a VERY link heavy post, so here is our affiliate disclosure again. It doesn’t cost you a penny, but it does help us here on the homestead. The other thing is that I am not going to push you to buy anything that we have not already bought, tested and liked/loved. You don’t need that and to be honest, that’s not who I am. Here is the Homestead Buying Guide.

PS: if you don’t have a Honey account, or you shop online a ton, I highly suggest you download it. You can use my code here. They are great because it can automatically search for coupon codes and you earn cash back on purchases. I’ve earned $300 in the last year. It’s worth the minimal effort. AND you can add items to your honey list which will tell you when prices have dropped or if it’s at the lowest price.

Goats:

You can read any of my posts involving my goats here.

We get most of our goat gear from Tractor Supply. Their prices can be higher than a local feed store on some things but cheaper on others. For example; my local feed store has alfalfa pellets for $17.99/ 50# bag. Tractor supply has theirs for $19.29 as of 7/31/22.

Buckets– We get these for feed, water, and so many other things. They are really useful.

Troughs- We use two different kinds. This one is the one we hang on the fence at different points to give them feed, alfalfa, or whatever else. We use this one for portability or if we are hanging a temporary feeder in a kidding pen for them.

Balling Gun– This helps us get pills down into the goats without having to worry about getting bitten. Yes, that happens a lot.

Tractor Supply

Hoof Trimmers- We’ve bought two of these, and I’m a fan of this one. It just seems sturdier and I like it better. BUT this one from TSC is fine too. It’s not that I don’t like it per se, I just prefer the orange one. If you’ve got some money to spend, I would HIGHLY suggest the Hoof Boss. I’ve seen it used and it does a fantastic job. It is on our wish list of things to buy.

Meds- Now, I’m going to say this. We treat a lot of aliments on our homestead here. But we also have an amazing vet that we can call any time… almost. But having a few meds on hand is going to save you a ton of heartache. Meds to get from a vet: Thiamine and Banamine. Things to have on hand that you can get from a feed store: Red Cell, Probiotics, LA200, Tylan 200, Safeguard or Cydectin (or your choice of dewormer), electrolytes, Iron, B-complex, and Copper Wire Bolus. On the copper wire, make sure you get kids or adults based on what you have.

Chickens

You can read about how we brood chickens here. The list below is just links to the items we have bought.

Incubator- We use this one and have had great success with it. The only thing I don’t like is the size. I wish it were bigger but beggar and choosers.

Brooder lights- We have used CHE’s like this one, but it can cause the chickens to attack other chickens. So a red light and housing is what you really need. We also use pine shavings for bedding for both the goats and the chickens.

Tractor Supply

Feed- When we have chicks, we start them on a medicated feed. This helps with cocci and other harmful organisms. Remember, you really only need a week or two worth of this feed. What we do is feed approximately 1#/ chick. If you have two chicks, you would need 2#, if you have 50 you need 50#. This is not perfect, it’s really a guess. When we do our meat chickens, we buy one bag of chick start and that’s it.

Feeders/waterers- We use this feeder when they are little, and this one when they are bigger. However! If you’ve got some money to spend or you are only interested in buying one thing, this is the feeder you need. I love it! AND we can hang it, which really does decrease the mess. It also works fantastic with the ducklings.

On the waterer, we are still trying to find something that we love. When chicks are little, they need a ton of water, but they are also extremely messy. So finding one that isn’t going to make a mess but also be easy to fill has been difficult. This waterer is good, not great, but it will get the job done when they are little. As they get bigger, we use this one. We found that the metal ones did not hold up well at all. If you have a waterer you love, let me know in the comments.

Canning

Alright! I’ve been waiting to do this one!

Canners- This is my water bath canner and this is my pressure canner. I’ve got two of the presto pressure canners and I love them. One of these days, I am going to get this mack daddy. I can process 19 quarts a time. Which replaces BOTH of my other canners. The price tag is steep at around $500 but it’s got a life time warranty and it’s worth every penny.

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Jars- All I’m going to say is this: when you think you have enough, double it. Then double it again. Here’s why. I have over a thousand jars. When I can, I can for an entire year. So when I am figuring out how many jars of tomato sauce I need for the year, it’s not a couple dozen. I can 104+ quart jars. When I can green beans, it’s not a couple pints. It’s 146+ quarts and 146+ pints. Same with corn. Soups and stews is another big ticket item in my house. We are talking 200 quarts and 200 pints-ish. Sometimes it’s more. That’s already 600 quart jars that I need. So while you may not need that many, be prepared that you will need more than you think.

Funnels- Yall, you will never, and I mean never have enough funnels. I love the metal funnels and I have at least 6 of them. Make sure to get wide mouth and regular!

Jar grabby things- Get a bunch of these too. You will lose them or the handles will break while you are mid canning.

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Books- Canning cookbooks are some of the best investments that you can make. This book is hands down the best period. Buy it. She’s got a ton of amazing soups in there and they are divine. This is another really good one with some great recipes. If you are new to canning, I will recommend getting a Ball Book. There is a ton of great information in them. BUT after you get some experience, or after doing your own research, take it with a grain of salt. Some of the recipes are extremely convoluted and contradictory. Lastly, I’m not a Prepper, per se. BUT I do put up my own food because after the pandemic, I realized that relying on the grocery store isn’t a super smart idea. That being said, this book has some great recipes, ideas, and more for being self reliant.

Check back for more items as we find them and add them to the list!

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Is 5 Acres Enough For A Homestead?

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There has been a self sufficient movement over the last couple of years. More people are wanting to become self sustaining. They want to be able to grow their own food, raise livestock, and be less reliant on others. Personally, I am ecstatic. But how big of a property do you need? 100 acres? 50? At least 20, right? Is 5 acres enough for a homestead? The answer is yes.

If you are just starting in your homestead journey, I have the deal for you! In The Homestead Bundle you will receive our Hay Calculator, Profit Calculator, Digital and Printable Garden Journal, The Backyard Homestead eBook, the Simple Budget, Schedule F worksheet, and Herd Health Sheets. That’s a $90 value for $49.99!

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Is 5 Acres Enough For A Homestead

Technically, we have just over 8 acres. But 2 acres of that is a pond, and another 1.5-2 acres is a giant hill that we can’t do a lot with. So, we have 5 usable acres. We have 30ish chickens, 17 ish ducks, and 10 goats that all need a place to live. There is also the garden that needs to go somewhere. Not to mention all the small projects that need land, like the orchard, clothesline, and *fingers crossed* the pool. Or the larger projects like the shop, greenhouse, and granny pods? Is 5 acres enough for a homestead?

What Are Your Goals?

Do you want to be totally self sufficient? Is this a hobby? Are you supplementing your income? Why do you want to homestead? What does a successful homestead look like to you? When you can answer those questions you can start crafting your goals. Our goals are: Have the homestead be self sustaining and self funding. Mortgage paid off in less than 15 years. Animals provide food and/ or income. Land produces 75% or more food and 100% of firewood. Yes, 5 acres can do that.

By having clear goals and expectations, it allows you to focus your energy on the things that matter.

The Plan

In another post about homesteading, I talked about what homesteading means and starting a homestead. You really need to figure out what it means for you and how you want to make this property work for you.

I have also made a new homesteader checklist that you can find in our members only area. In it you can find some basics of how to get started with your homestead.

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Before you even decide on a property, or if you already have a property, you need to plan what you want to do with it. Do you want goats? What about chickens? Are you going to try and squeeze a cow or pigs in? What does your property look like? Is it hilly or flat? Do you have access to plenty of water? Are you going to garden for fun or for purpose? These are just some of the questions that you need to answer before you get into the guts of building up your homestead.

If you want goats, do you already have browse for them? Is the fencing goat proof? How long would it take you to put up good fencing and install a good pasture? Do you already have a barn? Is there a predator problem? Do you want to milk them? Breed them? If you can answer these questions you can start to plan.

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As a beginning homesteader, you are going to want chickens. At least every beginner that I have met does. But really think about how any eggs you eat. Jared usually eats 3 eggs a day but no one else really does. When we make breakfast for dinner, we normally go through about a dozen eggs. But what about expansion. Do you want to sell eggs? Do you want to sell chicks? Are you going to be a victim of chicken math? Are you going to raise meat birds?

What about raising larger livestock, do you want pigs or cows? With enough pasture land, you can have a cow on an acre. You could have several pigs as well. The key is knowing your space and maximizing it.

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Get To Work On The Plan

Most people only need a 800 sq ft (or 200 sq ft per person) garden to feed their family of 4 for a year. That’s not really a ton of space when you are talking about having 5 acres. Since we can a ton and give it to family, we decided to triple that. Plus, tomato math is a thing. We also knew that we were going to put in an orchard and decided that strategically planting trees throughout the property would benefit us more than having trees in rows. This would help with shade and keep pests from demolishing the entire crop.

We decided that we wanted to up our egg production for sales as well as reducing our need for chicken at the store. Then we bought more chickens and all of them are dual purpose birds, meaning that they are both egg layers and meat birds. We are also looking into selling any extra chicks.

Then we bought ducks…. Initially, I bought 10 meat ducks and 10 egg ducks. After our losses, I’m pretty sure I now have a total of 17 pet ducks. I’m not sure if I can butcher these guys. The way I see it though, I have 10 production meat ducks and those guys can lay and hatch our meat ducks…. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Our goats are for milking and breeding. Goats are a long term investment. If we can keep them alive and healthy, and all our does produce milk and good kids, we are looking at making about $9,000-11,000/ year. Not counting vet, feed, fencing, etc. That’s also not counting cheese, butter, soap or lotion sales.

Stick To Your Plan

We went off plan by getting the goats. They are no where near returning their investment. But they are so damn cute that we let it slide. Unfortunately, we had to put pigs on the back burner because of it. Same with meat rabbits. Homesteading on 5 acres or less is totally doable, but I will say it again and again. Set your goals, prioritize them, and get your plan in motion.

I would love to hear how you are homesteading or planning to homestead your property.

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