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...
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...
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...
Finding the best dog for the country life
By Anita Evangelista
Issue #63 • May/June, 2000
When you're looking for a dog to fit into your country life, there are few other topics as liable to get you into a fistfight. People get very...
Raising cattle on your own place
By Charles Sanders
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
Winter won't last forever. It won't be long before spring will arrive and pastures will start to green up. This may be the year for you to consider...
Bottle-raise a calf
By Jackie Clay
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
If you think milk and beef are expensive in the grocery store, then you should think about raising a baby calf or two. Because corn and milk replacer...
Build a poultry killing cone
By Allen Easterly
Issue #135 • May/June, 2012
You've worked hard and spent many hours raising your pretty flock of meat chickens from eggs or chicks to nice fat fryers, roasters, or stewing birds. They've provided...
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...
Where our farm animals come from
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Where our farm animals come from
By John Silveira
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Issue #105 • May/June, 2007
We don't know how far back the domestication of animals goes. But we do know it is a process, rather than a single...
Shearing, carding, spinning, weaving and creating with Margaret Boos
By Annie Duffy
Issue #52 • July/August, 1998
"If you're going to make something that you want to last, why not start with good quality material," says Margaret Boos who raises and spins her own wool....
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...
Get to know your spiders
By Jerry Hourigan
Issue #109 • January/February, 2008
Every landowner and homeowner creates the perfect environment for spiders. Not intentionally, of course, but spiders seem to like all the little nooks and crannies created from how...
Mountain lions — Attacks are still rare, but just in case…
By Gene Sheley
Issue #50 • March/April, 1998
Near the top of North America's wildlife food chain is the mountain lion, a close second to bears in various forms in ferocity, strength, and killing ability. In...
Redworm farming
By Charles Sanders
Issue #112 • July/August, 2008
If you are looking for a way to earn extra income, a retirement job, or even a new livelihood, then raising earthworms might just be the thing. This...
This St. Bernard backwoods hero saved old Grandma’s life
By Margaret Wright
Issue #35 • September/October, 1995
When we think of a backwoods dog we generally think of a Pyrenees, German Shepherd, or other breed of working dog. In our case, our family chose the...































