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....
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...
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,...
Raising rabbits for profit
By Carrie Peterson
Issue #106 • July/August, 2007
Whether or not you are fond of rabbit stew, raising rabbits for meat can be a great experience and can even help swell your pocketbook a little. The...
Goat birthing and raising kids
By Jackie Clay
Issue #112 • July/August, 2008
Dairy goats form one of the cornerstones of our homestead. Not only do they provide milk, cheese, ice cream, cottage cheese, and meat, but they also give us...
Switch your family to goat’s milk
By Tanya Kelley
Issue #128 • March/April, 2011
If you milk goats, there's no doubt you've heard it"Eww! Goat's milk! Gross!" To be perfectly honest, goat milk does taste different than cow milk. So? Different doesn't...
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...
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...
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...
Cheaper than Store-Bought Eggs
By Kristina Seleshanko
Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019
Something we heard a lot when we first started raising chickens in the suburbs was, “For the cost of raising those birds, you could buy an awful lot...
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,...
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...
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...
Bovine basics for beginners
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #122 • March/April, 2010
Congratulations. You've escaped the city life and are now the proud owners of your little plot of rural paradise. It's natural to start thinking about all the possibilities...
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...
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...






























