I love all creatures on Earth, great and small. Well, actually, that love has limits, and the limit starts with spiders. Scuttling, hairy, fanged, eight-legged freaks! Ugh, they make my skin want to crawl right off my body! If you’re like me or one of the millions and millions of people who suffer from arachnophobia, […]
9 Things That Kill Spiders (and 6 That Them at Bay) Read More »
Most folks who get even a couple of goats tend to want more. Whether you’re keeping them for your own purposes and provision or for income, growing the size of your herd is the best way to scale their production. But unless you want to drop a small fortune on buying more, you’ll need to
Goat Breeding: A Primer Read More »
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “goats can eat absolutely anything”. That’s the popular belief, but anyone who has owned goats for any length of time knows that that isn’t the case. Goats are surprisingly picky, delicate eaters, and there are lots of things that can make them sick, sometimes terribly so. This
15 Plants That Are Poisonous for Your Goats Read More »
Choosing to live off-grid is a big decision. Whether or not you are going without electricity completely, your power consumption habits will simply have to change. Often, that means giving up most of the power-hungry appliances and tools that we take for granted. For homesteaders, this can be especially worrying: we need our gear to
50 Hand-Powered Tools to Get Before You Go Off Grid Read More »
Taking care of animals means knowing what kinds of diseases and ailments can afflict them, and how to treat them. If you keep goats, one of the most harrowing and most common is rumen acidosis. Goats love to eat, and when they eat too much of some rich, appealing foods, this affliction can strike very
Rumen Acidosis in Goats: Remedies and Prevention Read More »
Your garden might be a source of joy, pride, and occasional frustration, but have you ever considered that it might bring in a reliable and ongoing income? It’s true! You don’t need a giant farm to turn out a really nice income with the things you grow. Whatever your skill level, whatever your local market
5 Gardening Business Ideas With a 50% Profit Margin Read More »
Real homesteaders know that part of the lifestyle is making do with less and minimizing waste. Whether it’s necessities or just things that you’d like to have, doing it yourself saves money and brings a certain satisfaction you can’t get any other way. And if your homestead is anything like mine, there’s no shortage of
50 Zero-Waste Projects You’ll Have Fun With Read More »
Magnesium is really important for the overall health and well-being of your chickens. Magnesium is foundational for bone health, muscle and nervous system function, egg production in laying hens and hundreds and hundreds of enzyme reactions throughout their body. Your birds will not fare well without enough magnesium! Many diligent folks ensure that their flock
Top 10 Natural Magnesium Food Sources for Chickens Read More »
If you want your chickens to stay healthy, happy, and peppy, they need lots of potassium in their diet. This essential mineral keeps their muscles working when they are active, and it is especially important for their wellbeing when temps are hot or they are stressed. If your birds don’t get enough potassium the stage
Top 10 Natural Potassium Food Sources for Chickens Read More »
The Amish are well known throughout the northern reaches of America. This traditionalist fellowship of Christians emphasizes clean and simple living and hard work, and even though they keep themselves apart from the rest of society, they are highly regarded both for their work ethic and the quality of their craftsmanship. Despite foregoing most modern
20 Non-Electric Tools the Amish Still Use and So Should You Read More »
