Animals Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Is that a good pig?

By Kim Dieter Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 Lean ham, roasts, chops, savory sausage, and thick slices of bacon are the reason pigs are raised at home. A typical meat pig weighs 200 to 270 pounds...

Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer

By Amanda J. Kemp Issue #126 • November/December, 2010 Spring brings the pitter-patter of little feet in the mud, games of tag, and raucous quacks. While traditional advice would have you with a yard full of...

Finding, buying, milking, and living with the family milk cow

By Jayn Steidl Thibodeau Issue #36 • November/December, 1995 Have you ever had this happen to you? You've opened the refrigerator door for a cold, refreshing glass of milk only to find an empty jug. You've...

A contrary guide to feeding animals

By Beth Greenwood Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 The Purinas, Cargills, and Con-Agras of the world would have you believe that they and they alone have the correct recipe for feeding your animals. I find that...

Forget the dog, chicken is man’s best friend

By Richard Blunt Issue #49 • January/February, 1998 The domestic chicken, or Gallus domesticus as the Romans called it, has lived with humans for centuries. It is probably the descendent of a wild asian bird, and...

Chickens — The most valuable animal on the homestead

By Jackie Clay Issue #109 • January/February, 2008 When I was a child, I used to read and re-read the chick section in our Sears and Roebuck catalog. Imagine! For only two cents you could buy...

Dorper sheep — Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry

By Darlene Polachic Issue #75 • May/June, 2002 If Henry Soderberg's predictions are right, Dorper sheep could revolutionize the meat sheep industry. A South African breed developed in the 1930's from Dorset Horned and Blackheaded Persians,...

Broody biddies make sense on the homestead

By James Kash Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Broodiness is an avian behavior that is frowned upon in the world of agriculture. All industrial agriculturalists cull broody birds because the behavior inhibits production. But to frugal...

Protein — The Cornerstone of a Survival Diet

By Jackie Clay Issue #111 • May/June, 2008 It goes without saying that preparedness is not for "radicals" or "weirdos" anymore. I picked up a preparedness leaflet at the County Agent's office last week and another...

Fermenting Chicken Feed

By Melissa Souza Issue #174 • November/December, 2018 On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet. These beneficial bacteria promote good digestive health, strengthen the immune...

Kinder goats — A small breed for milk and meat

By Kathleen Sanderson Issue #95 • September/October, 2005 I have had dairy goats for most of the last 20 years or so and have raised almost every standard breed. But when my grandmother, my youngest daughter,...

Hog butchering — Using everything but the squeal

By Charles Sanders Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 A 450-pound hog will provide a lot of delicious meat. Hogs are raised throughout our neighboring Amish community for many of the same reasons old American homesteads raised them....

How to butcher a chicken in 20 minutes or less

...while leaving the carcass and feathers intact! By Dr. Roger W. Grim, D.C. Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 Figure 1. With a trash bag properly fitted around the chicken, clean up will be easy. When I was 12...

Animal disease traceability

By Patrice Lewis Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 In 2009, small farmers and ranchers breathed a sigh of relief. So did people worried about another curtailment of individual liberty and those whose religious principles oppose microchipping. They...

Raising Rabbits

By Linda Gabris Issue #133 • January/February, 2012 If you take pride and pleasure in growing your own organic garden foods and raising your own chemical-free meats, then consider rabbits. Domestic rabbits are an easy-to-raise, reliable meat...

Slaughtering and Butchering

By Dynah Geissal Issue #23 • September/October, 1993 Fall is butchering time, a period of joy in the harvest of the year's work and of sadness that the lives of your beautiful, healthy animals have come...