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...
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...
Build a chicken feeder on the cheep cheep cheep
By Linda Slate
Issue #119 • September/October, 2009
While searching for a large quantity (five pounds or more) feeder for my backyard flock, I kept running into the same problemcost. My last trip to the farm...
The homestead cat
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
We have had at least one cat in our home ever since I was a young child. So it’s no wonder we truly value our feline friends. Not only do they provide...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...































