Chickens love grubs and mealworms. Feeding these high protein dried insect treats during molting, increases the protein fed to the flock. Increasing the protein is one of the positive things you can do to help the chickens recover quickly and easily from the hard, seasonal, fall molt. Take a look at some of the facts about molting in chickens and why feeding grubs and mealworms to the birds is so beneficial. What is Molt in Chickens? During the seasonal or yearly molt, … [Read more...]
Adding New Poultry and Livestock
Adding new poultry and livestock to your farm or homestead is commonly done in the spring. How do you avoid the common pitfall of adding too many, too soon? I use the following three questions when evaluating our homestead's ability to carry more animals. Am I adding only the animals I have room for? Can I afford to care for the new … [Read more...]
Free Range Ducks Pros and Cons
Free range ducks are happy ducks! When we first started raising ducks, we didn't let the ducks roam the farm. We didn't feel that the property was set up for free range ducks. The poultry area backs up to woods. Woods, where raccoon, fox and an occasional coyote make their homes. Eventually we gradually began letting the ducks and chickens out of their pens for free ranging. Other property modifications were made to add safety for the free range ducks. Free Range Ducks I … [Read more...]
Shearing Sheep – Tips for Shearing Day
Shearing sheep has to be one of the hardest farm tasks. It can be enjoyable but it is always hard work. For ten years, my husband and I tackled the job ourselves. We would spend multiple weekends shearing sheep and fiber goats. The results got better as we learned how to shear a sheep, and became more skilled. But the time commitment was enormous, and during both seasons, there is so much other work to be tended to also. It was accepted as a way of life but, it was definitely taking its toll on … [Read more...]
The Care and Feeding of Barn Cats
Show me a good old American Barn and I bet I can find barn cats there. Some are placed there by the family, to keep mice at bay, and some find their own way to a warm cozy barn. If the complete truth was known, some barn cats arrive at barns because litters of kittens are often dropped off at farms when no one is looking, by irresponsible cat owners. Now that you have the barn, and the barn cats to go with it, how do you care for the outdoor working … [Read more...]
