Eggs

Our Homestead Buying Guide

August 4, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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How To Homestead On 5 Acres

May 17, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

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? Nope. I’m going to show you how we homestead on 5 acres.

Our 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 and granny pods? So how do we make it work without hundreds of acres?

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? 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.

Having clear goals allows you to focus on your plan.

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 a pasture 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.

As a beginning homesteader, you are going to want chickens. At least every beginner that I have met does. 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.

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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Homestead Daily Schedule

April 28, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

On our homestead, this looks a little different than most. Due to our work schedules, one of us is gone 48 of 72 hours. Sometimes more. However, the goats still need to be milked, fed and let out. Chickens and ducks still need feed, water, and be let out. Dogs are also hungry and need to go to the bathroom. And all the other chores need to be done. So regardless of who is home, the daily schedule looks pretty much the same.

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What Is Our Daily Schedule?

Most days start around 8am. Earlier for the one going to work. Blu gets her morning meds and mom needs coffee. The first set of dogs are let out and showers start. Jaxson gets his bandages changed and the boys start working on their chores. I will usually start a load of laundry and work on it throughout the day.

Each kid rotates chores for the month. One has chickens, dogs, cats, counters, and bathrooms. The other has goats, dishes, cars, and dragons. They will flip every month unless they really like a chore. Jaxson really likes the chickens and ducks. Chase really likes the goats. If they want to switch they can, if not they keep it.

Now we also make sure that they have fed, watered, and let out all of the animals as well as check to make sure bedding is good and everything is picked up for the most part. We start our chores for the morning, which generally includes helping whichever child needs the most help. Since Jaxson is currently injured, he needs more help with the chickens.

After everyone is done and animals are fed, we start working on school work, this is usually around 930-10. Jared and I have different views on this. Usually I let them unschool and Jared is more structured. Unschooling is when the child directs what they would like to learn about. I feel like this gives them the opportunity to learn about the things that interest them and helps them learn better. Jared prefers to help them with “normal” school work.

Neither way is wrong and the boys seem to enjoy having the flexibility. Win Win.

After eating lunch, we usually start working on whatever projects we have for the day. It could be finishing the chicken coop, canning, working on the garden, or firewood. Earlier this month we got our new buck and Jared had to rush to get the buck pen finished, so having the flexibility to get these things done is pretty awesome.

This still counts as their schooling since they are learning things like how to follow the instructions on how to put together a metal shed. Or how much firewood makes a cord and then measuring the stack that they’ve made. They also get crash courses in animal husbandry if an animal gets sick and needs medications. They’ve also been a huge help in the garden and ask a ton of great questions. Most that I don’t have an answer to, so we ask google a lot of questions.

Around 5 or so, the garden gets watered. And as long as no one gets hurt, JAXSON, dinner is around 6-7. After dinner chores are much the same as morning chores except in reverse. Animals get fed, watered, and put up.

The boys are allowed to play on their electronics until 930 and then it’s showers and start getting ready for bed. Currently, Jaxson gets bandage changed and then lays with his foot propped until bed time.

That’s about it. Every homestead is different and come summer/fall there will be a ton of canning in there as well but for the most part the day to day life is pretty mundane. Though the occasional trip the the vet, doctor or ER is not out of the realm of possibility.

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Can Homesteading Save Money

April 27, 2022 by Leigh 6 Comments

No, at least not at first. In fact, homesteading will cost you money. A lot of money. I talked about how much money you need for homesteading here. But that is a conservative estimate and definitely not all encompassing. In the year since we have owned this property we have exhausted our emergency fund four separate times. We have spent thousands of dollars on our goats between vet bills and general care, fencing, etc. So can homesteading save you money? No.

Why Homestead Then?

Homesteading is not necessarily about saving money. Sure, there are somethings that we have saved a ton of money on. We no longer buy eggs because our chickens have solved that problem. We don’t have to buy chicken at the grocery store because we butcher our own. I am able to grow most of our own lettuce for our bearded dragons which by itself saves us $15 a week. But when you look at the $100/month we have saved by how much we have spent? We are solidly in the red.

Because the farm is an LLC, which I highly recommend you do, we are able to write off a lot for taxes. That being said, last year’s return was eye opening. We spent over $3,000 in vet bills and another $5,000 on feed. That was only in six months. This year we are on par to double that. That doesn’t include the well pump that went out, or the water heater. Or all the fencing and structures for the goats and chickens.

But homesteading is not about saving money. It’s about living off the land, having livestock, learning new skills, and being self sufficient. Of course homesteading means different things for different people.

Can Homesteading Save You Money?

Once you get your homestead set up, you may find that will start saving money. When you put your garden in, you can spend a lot of money between irrigation, soil, hoses, and more. But once that garden is producing and you are reaping the benefits of fresh fruits and veggies? You will break even. The following year, provided all your supplies are in good shape, you will probably save money.

Since I can, I save money by preserving that harvest in jars. The initial set up of canning equipment, jars, and produce makes that first year a loss. But I can normally buy bushels of green beans, corn, tomatoes, etc and can them and save hundreds of dollars a year on those items. Again, the savings come later.

What I have found is that homesteading is a long term goal and commitment. You are probably not going to save money your first or your second. If you are starting your homestead from the ground up, you will probably not see a positive until year five. But it really depends on your goals. If you want your homestead completely self sufficient but you are starting from scratch, it will take time. If you came into a property that has fencing, a barn, and garden. You are probably already ahead of the game.

If you are already saving money on your homestead, I would love to hear from you!

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March 2022 Update

March 31, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Spring is always insane on every homestead across the country. Babies are being born, seeds are being planted, and new life is springing up everywhere. As I write this we are hip deep in spring preparations. We are nearing the end of our canning stores from last summer which gives me a good idea of what we use and how much of it. We are also looking at what wasn’t used or what we didn’t use a lot of, and will make adjustments in our notes.

While spring can be complete chaos, it is also my favorite time of year.

Waiting On Babies

As I write this, we are still waiting on Champ and Bella’s babies. We’ve been doing everything we can to make sure they are comfortable and safe. Champ is 6 and maybe a little old to have babies. This is our first kidding season so it’s hard to say. We have been giving calcium, grains, and other vitamins and minerals to ensure that they are in the best possible health when it comes time to deliver.

We also have 15 eggs in the incubator and we are going to try our hand at selling them to bring money onto the homestead. We already sell the eggs and while that has brought in some income, it’s not near enough to hit our goals for 2022. We hatched 5 out of 6 eggs in our incubator on our first try so we are hopeful that this can become a possible revenue stream.

The baby ducks are on the homestead! I posted before that I am not a chicken person. I like them, but I don’t love them. But these ducks? I absolutely adore them. I have always wanted ducks and finally got them. Unfortunately we already lost 2 due to the cold and it has reaffirmed that we must get the chicken coop built and get them in it.

Jared is working on the building the coop. We tried a metal shed for the coop and it blew away. The metal bent and due to the damage, we are turning it into a yard shed. But we are not ready to give up on it. It really is the perfect size and has a durability that I hope will be better than wood. Especially since wood is still so expensive. I think where we put it was a bad spot because as the wind comes up from the pond, it smacks right into the shed. So we will try again.

The Garden Is Going In

I planted my seedlings too early and now they are outgrowing their pots and I don’t have big enough pots to transplant all of them. So we are praying for clear weather and no freak cold snaps. But it’s Georgia so who knows. We also laid down the woven ground cover to help with weeds. I hate, loathe, despise weeding. So hopefully this will work.

We went ahead and planted our peas and carrots into the main garden. We also went ahead and planted our grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and asparagus. I ordered plants that were ready to fruit so fingers crossed we will be good to go there.

Over the coming weeks we will be putting in our potatoes, herbs, and other plants that do okay in cooler weather. I am hopeful that we can get our peppers, tomatoes, and other warm weather crops in soon. We bought the majority of our seeds from Eden Brothers and Territorial Seed Company. But we also bought seeds and plants from Baker Creek and local big box stores.

What’s Next?

As spring continues and we move into summer we will be continuing the garden and coop. But we are planning on expanding the goat pastures and get our meat chickens ordered. We also plan on ordering our turkeys when the coop is done and built. We may also go ahead with our pigs this year but we are also considering only getting one or the other.

We are also hoping to get more land cleared and firewood cut. We need to get about 3 cords of wood for the winter but we are going to cut 5 just to be safe. I don’t like it when supplies run low so more is better in my opinion.

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Best Chickens For A Homestead

March 17, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

You’ve closed on your new homestead and are itching to get your first set of livestock. Or, you have made the determination that you need chickens on the homestead to help close some holes in food security. What are the best chickens for a homestead? The short answer is: that depends. The real question you should be asking yourself is, why do you want chickens on the homestead?

What Do You Want Out of Your Chickens

If you simply want chickens to have chickens then really any breed will do. It doesn’t matter how many eggs they lay, or if they are good for meat. You could get any breed and be happy with that choice. However, if you are looking for a high producing egg layer that is going to give you a ton of different colored eggs to sell at the farmers market, a Cornish Cross is not your answer. So here are our top favorites for bringing chickens to the homestead.

Best Egg Laying Birds

Australorps- Lay large brown eggs and a heritage breed. They will lay about 250-365 eggs a year. They are also considered meat birds which is why our rooster may end up in the stock pot if he doesn’t start being nicer.
Black Star- This is not a heritage breed and can’t beat the Australorps with egg production, but they can usually lay about 200 large brown eggs a year. They will hit maturity about 2 weeks faster. They are also a good meat bird.
Red Star- The red start is up there with the Australorp when it comes to egg production with the same 250-365 eggs per year. Plus they reach maturity faster which means faster eggs. Plus they are a decent meat bird.
Rhode Island Red- The RI Red also lays large brown eggs and will lay 250-365 eggs a year. They are also good meat birds.

All of these birds are good to free range which means that you can let them run your property and they will probably not run away. That being said, we ordered 15 birds for our first batch, and we only have 9 left.

Best Meat Birds

Before we delve too deep into the world of meat birds there are some things to consider. First, are you ONLY raising these birds for meat? If so, the Cornish Cross or Freedom Ranger are the birds you are looking for. If you are looking for something that will grow slower and you can maybe get some eggs out of? Then a Delaware or Rock may be a better option.

Cornish Cross- These are the big white birds that the chicken industry is known for. They mature quickly and hit butcher weight at around 8 weeks old.
Freedom Ranger- These are a big red bird that are slower to mature but are said to be more tender. They usually reach butcher weight around 12-15 weeks.
Delaware Broiler- This is one of the better tasting meat birds but tend to be about 3# female and 4# male at 12 weeks old.
The Giants- I have to put these guys in here, but I’m not a fan. The meat to feed ratio and meat to bone ratio is WAY off for me. They should reach butcher weight around 20 weeks but because they get so big, their feed bill is as impressive as they are. They lay a decent amount of eggs,150 or so a year, that are large and brown.

Best Brooding Birds

Brooding hens are chickens that are most likely to sit on eggs. That doesn’t meant that they WILL but they are more likely. I added them to this list because we are moving towards hatching our own chicks and would like to have the birds do the work for us. Especially since our incubator isn’t the best.

Dark Brahma- These are impressive birds that will fit pretty much any need you have. Unfortunately they are poor free rangers but they are excellent mothers and lay about 150-200 eggs a year.
The Cochins- These chickens come in many different colors and sizes but we have the standard black and they are more likely to sit on eggs for us, as well as give us a good amount of them. They are also good for meat with a solid meat to bone ratio.

Best All Around Birds

Australorps- Solid egg production, good meat weights, and foragers. This is a homestead favorite. George is an Australorp and while most of these guys have a great disposition, he does not.
Plymouth Rocks- These guys come in several different colors and are great birds. They can usually be butchered around 18-20 weeks. They lay large brown eggs and should lay about 200 or so a year.
Sussex- The other two birds on this list are not likely to sit, the Sussex is the most likely to sit and in my opinion is the best chicken for our homestead. They are excellent meat birds, egg layers AND mothers.

Things That Most Chickens Are Going To Do

Before you end up thinking “This breed is good for this, and that for that”, here is a list of traits that 99% of chickens have. We call it chickens doing chicken ~~shi~~…stuff.

Scratch and peck- All chickens will forage for bugs, grubs, and greens. They will decrease your bug population by half if you let them. They will also forage on all the goodness around your property and that helps reduce your feed bill.
Free range- Yes, technically speaking all chickens will free range. If you have a good rooster, even the worst free ranger will come back home. For all George’s faults, he takes excellent care of his girls. When that changes, he’s going in the stock pot.
Make a mess- All chickens are going to wreck havoc on your homestead. They are going to get into to your garage and break a $100 bottle of goat antibiotics. They are going to poop EVERYWHERE. That is the trade off for “free” eggs.

On our homestead we absolutely love our chickens. Not to the point that they are pets, but we love that they don’t require a ton of feed because they free range. We love that they are a meat source if necessary. And to be fair, they are pretty cool critters that allow you to hang out with them, if you’ve socialized them.

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What Does Food Security Look Like?

March 4, 2022 by Leigh 5 Comments

If you live in America or really any industrialized country, there is a good chance you have a ton of holes in your food chain. The vast majority of Americans don’t even know what food security is, it’s just not something they think about. As long as they can get to the store and buy their food, they are happy. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit, it was eye opening for a lot of people. They learned that having an emergency food supply isn’t just about a zombie apocalypse. This series is here to help you identify and start to fill the holes in your food security.

Why Food Security Is Important

I don’t understand why so many people don’t think about where their next meal is coming from. It’s mind boggling to me how many people just go about their life with no thoughts to the future. Most people don’t have a plan if their house catches on fire, let alone what they are going to do if they lose their job. Preppers have caught a bad name due to being hyper prepared but also due to propaganda. But those of us that have lost jobs, homes, or other life altering events know how important it is to have a back up plan.

Not all emergencies look the same, nor are they all on the same scale. For example, losing a job could be catastrophic for one family, but not a big deal for another. A week without power could cripple a family that relies on freezers to feed their family. A cancer diagnosis could financially ruin a family. But all of these are emergencies. But by having food security reduces one part of their emergency. Even if it’s small.

What Is Food Security

To start, we need to figure out what food security means to you and your family. To me, food security means having the ability to source and acquire the food, water, and other necessities my family and animals need to survive, at a minimum. If you don’t know what that looks like, you came to the right place.

In order to start filling food security holes, you need to first identify them. Then you can start figuring out how to close those holes. Remember, we are trying to source these items. Are you on a special diet? What do you know how to cook? What do you like to eat? What kind of storage do you have? What do your animals need to eat? These are all very important questions in closing food security holes.

Let’s start answering some of those questions

If you are on a special diet like a cardiac, diabetic, or even lactose intolerant, getting emergency supplies is going to be harder to do. There is a ton of carbs and sodium in long term, commercial foods. Preserving your own foods is ideal, but it’s not necessarily long term.

Can you cook? If not, having pre-made, commercial meals may be the way to go. Especially if your culinary skills are limited. However, I would highly suggest you learn to cook more and also learn about the fundamentals of cooking.

Are you a picky eater? Or have someone in your home that is picky? Then you need to make sure that you’ve got foods that they like or can tolerate. It’s cruel to tell someone, “sucks to be you” in an emergency situation. So make sure you’ve got foods that they like. A side note to this, if you buy a pre packed survival meal kit like this, please make sure that you like EVERYTHING in it. It may save you some money now, but if you don’t like beef stroganoff, don’t waste your money on it.

What kind of storage do you have? We are blessed to have a basement/garage combo that we were able to retrofit with shelves and turn a 12×12 area into our food storage room. We’ve got tons of shelves and supplies to help us out. Everything from canned goods to extra jars as well as commercial, long term storage items. If you aren’t that lucky, where can you store your emergency supplies? A linen closet? Under the beds?

Lastly, what do your animals need to survive? It seems that most people forget to make sure they’re animals will be okay in an emergency situation. That means making sure that you’ve got medications, food, and water.

Why is this so important to me?

Well, recently we had to replace our well pump. I know you’re thinking, “Leigh, a well pump isn’t about food and food security.” But it is. Without water, all things will die.

When we moved on to our homestead, we were told that the well pump was pretty new but to have a couple of pump switches on stand by because the power would surge and cause the switch to fail. The first night we were here, the water cut off in the middle of my shower. I had to use bottled water to finish washing my hair. I called my step dad and the old owner trying to figure out what happened. The switch failed.

For the next several months we dealt with the water randomly cutting off or the water stopping if we ran the back spigot. Multiple plumbers came out and no one knew how to fix it. Then one morning, the water cut off completely.

This is a big problem, without water you cannot drink, shower, water crops or animals. Since the other plumbers couldn’t figure out the problem, I decided to call a well plumber. We were showering at the stations because we had no water at home and we were giving our animals bottled water. There was also a winter storm bearing down on us that was supposed to hit that weekend. The stores were running out of water. In short, we were screwed if we couldn’t get access water.

The well plumbers came out and said it was the well pump. When we explained it was a brand new pump, they said that everything we were describing; running out of water, low pressure, etc were all because of the pump. Once it was replaced, we never had another problem.

PS: Shortly after the well pump was fixed, that winter storm hit and we lost power for three days.

So how does this relate to food security?

Simple: if you do not have water, you cannot cook, clean, drink, or survive. Without that well pump, our animals would die of thirst.

Some of the steps we took after this incident was to make sure that we always have 5 gallon jugs filled. We also have a pump to get water out of them. Then we have several IBC and 55 gallon totes around the property that we fill for animal water.

Our garden produces a lot of our veggies, if not all of them. This helps make sure that we have fresh veggies for today, but also canned veggies for later.

Then we have our animals, all of the animals on our homestead can survive off of what the homestead produces during the warm months. The chickens and ducks give us a ton of eggs and we’ve only selected dual purpose breeds so that we can butcher when we need to.

Our goats provide us with milk and we make our own cheeses, creamers, and even butter. We are also going to be purchasing Boer goats and breed them so that we can have meat from them as well.

Don’t live on a farm?

Don’t panic! Just because you don’t have a garden or animals, doesn’t mean that you can’t start preparing for an emergency! You can go on Amazon or Walmart.com and start looking at various long term, emergency food. We like Augason and Ready Wise, but do your research.

Also make sure you have manual can openers or keys like these. Oh and coffee!!!! Make sure you’ve got some form of caffeine because when the power goes out, nothing is better than hot coffee!

Food security includes water, food, and basic necessities like soap, medications, first aid, and clothes just to name a few things. So what can you do to start identifying holes in your food security and fixing them?

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Setting Up The New Coop

March 3, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

I have been browsing the internet for weeks trying to figure out something for a new coop. We’ve got more chicks and ducks coming and nowhere to put them. So I started researching the best options for a new chicken coop. I couldn’t find anything I really liked and to be honest, the wood coop that we have now, is starting to really stink, even after we clean it really well. I think using a metal shed for a chicken coop may work. Maybe.

We have seriously out grown our old coop. When we bought it, we weren’t really planning on having a ton of chickens. Our thought was, chickens are pretty easy so let’s get a couple. By a couple I mean 15 but only 9 survived. After offering our extra eggs for sale and current state of the supply train, we have decided to grow our flock. We are hoping that this will allow us to make a little bit of money but also sustain us food wise. You can read about our new flock here.

Since, we will also be getting 20 ducks around the end of March AND the 36 chickens, we want to make sure there is plenty of room for all of them. I think this 8×10 metal shed will work great. It’s got plenty of space and if we can hang the new laying boxes and roosting bars, there will be plenty of room for the ducks to nest.

Also since we allow them to free range throughout the day, there shouldn’t be any problems with space during the day.

Now before anyone gets all up in arms about it, we know some of the problems with a shed like this as well as ducks and chickens in the same coop. First, we will be installing gables and vents to make sure that the heat can escape in the summer. They will also have frozen bottles on the ground to keep cool. Not to mention we made sure that the coop is in a shady area.

We will also be adding boards and hardware cloth to the bottoms to ensure it as predator proof as possible. The ducks and chickens can cohabitate in the same coop as long as they have their own spaces. The ducks will be on one side and the chickens on the other. I’m sure we will find more problems as we go but we will see.

Summer Update

So this coop was built in the spring before it got really hot. What we have found is that the coop does not get super hot at night like we thought. Since we allow them to free range throughout the day and only put them inside the coop at night when the sun has gone down. We have not noticed a HUGE temperature increase.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hot at night and it’s warm in the coop, but I was thinking like fatally hot and it’s not. We have been averaging 80* nights and the coop is 90* but also has fans blowing the hot air out.

One of the things we have noticed is that NONE of the animals want to go in their respective houses at night. That includes the goats. I think a lot of it is that it’s just too hot. When they are outside they can move around and find cool ground.

The chickens and ducks seem to prefer being outside during the summer and that’s fine. We have predator lights up around the property and so far we haven’t seen any signs of them being taken in the night.

I’ll update back after winter and let you know how that goes. But for right now the coop is working.

I will be posting updates as we go and once it’s all put together. If you want to follow us through this journey subscribe below and follow us on the social media of your choice!

How to Brood Chicks Inside

February 25, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe

You went to tractor supply to get dog food and they had baby chicks. Of course, you had your kids with you and some how you managed to get talked into a couple of chicks. How does this happen?! The good news is, it’s not rocket science to brood chickens. But for someone who has never raised day old chicks? It sure seems like it. In this post I’m going to go over the basics of how to brood chicks inside, what we use, and other tips and tricks I’ve learned. At the bottom of the post is my list so click the “jump to recipe” at the top of the post.

What Do You Need?

This is going to depend on how many babies you get. But you need a place to put them, a waterer, feeder, medicated chick feed, a heat lamp with red light and bedding. That’s really it. You don’t HAVE to use medicated chick starter but I do recommend it for baby chicks. It helps prevent coccidia in your flock and that my friends is huge. Coccidia and other parasites are the number one killer of all baby animals on all homesteads, except maybe predator’s.

When it comes to a place to put them, it really doesn’t have to be fancy. We use a plastic tote when we have to brood a smaller batch of chickens. There are 25 in here and this will only last about a week, maybe two. Once they have out grown this, *fingers crossed* they will go into the new chicken coop. You can read about our experiment with a metal chicken coop here . But they will stay here until it’s a “problem” and then they will be moved elsewhere. Usually if you are only brooding a couple up to maybe 6, this tote should be fine.

We put this tote in our living room for a couple of different reasons. Our other chickens like to come up onto the deck. Since having the chicks, the other chickens have been jumping up on the mini fridge out front to look through the window. This is going to help when the time comes to integrate everyone into the new coop. The other chickens know that we are brooding chickens in here. George and one of black stars have taken to keeping an eye on them.

George and his ladies trying to find the chicks

While you are brooding chickens, you want to try and maintain their temperatures around 90-95*. At this age, they are simply too little to regulate their own temperatures well. Every week you decrease their temps by moving the light higher and higher. If you notice your chicks staying away from the heat lamp or panting, move the heat lamp up because it’s probably too warm for them. Another thing you can buy to help gauge the heat is a Temp gun. These things are amazing for so many things beyond a chicken brooder.

The other reason we brood chickens in the living room is so they get used to us and our noise. We are hoping that being around us will socialize them better and we will be able to handle them more. There is also the added bonus of photo ops like this one.

This is the first time for us using a red light for heat. Since we have reptiles, we have an abundance of CHE (ceramic heat emitters) and we used those for our first two batches. Unfortunately, we had a couple issues with our meat chicks pecking each other. After doing some research I found out that chickens are attracted to red things and they are cannibals. They will peck each other and then once they see the blood, they will kill that chick. So we got this red light and we already had the lamp with caging. But the new one is so far so good. We got ours from Tractor Supply and love it.

When it comes to feeders and waterers, it comes down to size. When they are little, you don’t need a ton of feed and water but you do want to make sure that they don’t run out. You can find the feeder shown in the picture here. However, when that one breaks we will be switching to this one because the one we have takes up a lot of space and can really only be used for chicks. I like our waterer and we will continue to use it for chicks. When the ducks come, they will need a different waterer because they like to play in it.

Tips and Tricks

Socializing

So you’ve got your set up, got all the things. Now what? Love on those babies! Seriously. If you want happy chicks that will run up to you, love on them. Let your kids play with them. Socialize them to the point where they are excited to see you. We didn’t do that with our first batch and it’s hard to get them to come to us. Our meat chicks however, loved us. They would come running when you came outside and they would follow you around because they associated us with food.

If you have older children, around five or so, make this their chore. Giving kids an animal helps teach them responsibility, empathy, and kindness in a way that human to human interaction just doesn’t do.

Pasty Butt

Chicks will get what is called pasty butt. It’s a thing. The best thing you can do to combat this is apple cider vinegar in their drinking water. I do about a tablespoon in each time we fill up our 5 Qt waterer. You can absolutely do more but I wouldn’t do much less. If your chick does end up with pasty butt simply take a warm wet rag and GENTLY wipe it off. If you are too rough you can damage their vent and that is fatal.

Feeding Your Chicks

Chicks only need the medicated feed for the first bag. Again this depends on how many chicks you have and what size bag. We buy a 50lb bag for 50 chicks. If you only have 5? Get the 5lb bag. Just use common sense on how much your chicks need. Feeding them more isn’t going to hurt them but not enough could.

What do you feed them after that first bag? Just regular chick feed. You do want about 20-24% protein until they are mostly grown, about 4wks-2months. Also make sure that it is crumbles for a while and once they get most of their feathers, you can switch to a pellet. After that we switch our laying hens to a layer feed. This keeps them from growing too fast but also have different nutrients for healthy chickens and eggs.

You can see that they have most of their feathers and now they are outside

How long do you brood chickens? About 3 weeks. Once they are fully feathered, they can go outside into their coop or to free range. If it’s cold out, make sure to bring the heat lamp with them for nights. If it’s warm, make sure they have plenty of water.

Buying List For Brooding Chicks

Print Recipe

Equipment

1 Brooder Box
1 Clamp Lamp
1 Red light
1 bag Pine shavings
1 bag Medicated chick feed
1 waterer
1 feeder

That’s about it! If you have any questions about how to brood chickens feel free to comment below. Feel free to share this on your social media and like us as well!

Welcome to Our Homestead

February 25, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

We are excited to bring you along for the journey. On this blog you will find a ton of posts about goats, canning and homesteading and more. We wanted to let other people know that you don’t have to have hundreds of acres, tons of livestock or even generations of knowledge. We wanted our blog to be different. So welcome to the homestead!

Something different

Both Jared and I grew up as city kids. The hustle and bustle something that we never really wanted. As time went on and we got older, we realized that city life is not what we want. It is not what we want for our boys. So we decided to do something about it. We were breaking our back trying to save as much money as possible to get our homestead. Since we are both paramedics and after working 36-60 hour straight shifts for two years, we finally did it. We purchased our homestead.

Shortly after buying the homestead, we got our first chickens. They are pretty cool little critters and really, what homestead is complete without a couple chickens. We started with 15 and lost a couple. Now we are in the ballpark of 50. But I wanted something a little different. So I started looking into other critters that would be low maintenance while also being semi profitable.

Enter the goats

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t want goats. I had heard the horror stories. They are escape artists, they die easily, they can’t actually eat everything, and so on. They are pretty much everything BUT low maintenance and semi profitable. But Jared wanted goats, so we got the goats. Man, I was so wrong! I love those critters! They are seriously the best. Bella is a challenge and I am going to make her love me. But Champ? The girl below? She is the best girl. She is actually going to be giving us babies soon!

After adding our first couple goats, we wanted even more. So we added more goats, then some goats had babies and now we are at 12. We are hoping to have a few more and that will allow us to start milking regularly. That milk will then help us reduce our dependence on the grocery store.

On To The Ducks

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved ducks. They are such cool creatures. Jared finally okayed a few ducks and meat ducks. While they are messy and their pool stinks to high heaven, no matter how often we drain it, I love those guys. We also gained our neighbors guinea. Apparently she was unhappy living with them.

The Garden

We have also been working hard on our gardens and general clean up of the property. Our property was not set up for homesteading before we bought it. So we have been slowly but surely working through the property and clearing out old debris, trash, and other things. We are hoping to have it safe enough soon to let the goats roam bigger areas to keep the brush in line.

The garden has been a huge pain in the backside as well. Between not being able to get all my seedlings started and then the ducks eating what I managed to plant, the garden is finally in. I was also able to harvest our first cucumbers!

We are gearing up to start our fall garden and I am ridiculously excited! Our summer harvest has been good, considering it’s our first garden here, but I’m hoping the fall garden will be even better.

We will be adding to our homestead as this blog progresses and we want you to be along for the ride. So share and follow us on social media and Welcome to the Homestead!

If you like this post feel free to share it on your social media and follow us on the social medial links below! And don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on all our posts!

Eggs

Goats:

Chickens

Canning

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Our Homestead

What Are Your Goals?

The Plan

Get To Work On The Plan

Stick To Your Plan

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What Is Our Daily Schedule?

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Why Homestead Then?

Can Homesteading Save You Money?

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Waiting On Babies

The Garden Is Going In

What’s Next?

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What Do You Want Out of Your Chickens

Best Egg Laying Birds

Best Meat Birds

Best Brooding Birds

Best All Around Birds

Things That Most Chickens Are Going To Do

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Why Food Security Is Important

What Is Food Security

Let’s start answering some of those questions

Why is this so important to me?

So how does this relate to food security?

Don’t live on a farm?

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Summer Update

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What Do You Need?

Tips and Tricks

Socializing

Pasty Butt

Feeding Your Chicks

Buying List For Brooding Chicks

Equipment

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Something different

Enter the goats

On To The Ducks

The Garden

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