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...
Home Dairying
By Marcella Shaffer
Issue #64 • July/August, 2000
There is a big difference between home dairying to produce food for your family and dairying to sell milk or milk byproducts to others. Since milk and dairy...
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...
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...
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,...
Good-bye old friend
By Lucy Shober
Issue #27 • May/June, 1994
Big Poney died today. He was 34 years old and had been going down pretty rapidly over this hot, dry summer. His bones seemed to poke out at...
Beekeeping basics
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Beekeeping basics
By Charles Sanders
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Issue #88 • July/August, 2004
Bees have been managed for their honey production for about 5000 years or so. Especially for the smallholder, beekeeping can be an interesting and rewarding pursuit. They...
Once a day milking
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #99 • May/June, 2006
It sounds bucolic, doesn't it? The simple joys of milking your own cow. Fresh milk, fresh cream, homemade cheese, butter, yogurt. What can get better than that?
But when...
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...
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...
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...
Raising your own beef
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019
Every time I sit down to enjoy a wonderful beef roast or perfectly grilled steak, I am so thankful we began raising our own beef. The flavor of...
How to buy your first sheep without getting shorn
By Anita Evangelista
Issue #32 • March/April, 1995
Multimillionaire J. Paul Getty was once asked the secret of becoming rich. He's reported to have said, "I buy when everyone is selling, and sell when everyone is...
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....
Brooder in a box
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #80 • March/April, 2003
It's spring and the farm store has a tempting variety of baby chicks begging for you to take them home. Or the breed you've always wanted has been...
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...































