This past week I wormed my chicken flock with black walnut tincture. Here's why. A few days before I saw what was undoubtedly a round worm in a fresh chicken dropping. Since there was no mistaking what I was looking at, I knew I was going to have to treat the flock. But, I was unsure how I wanted to go about this. We try to do everything as naturally as possible on our farm. I have never subscribed to the practice of treating for things unless I have reason to believe an animal is sick, or is … [Read more...]
Canning, Preserving and Storing the Harvest
Canning, Preserving and Storing the Harvest When we consider canning, preserving and storing the harvest, keeping food safe for later is the goal. Whether we are preparing for a gathering, an event, or preparedness, food is a necessary item. Preparing for what MAY come and not knowing how or what that could entail, adds another facet to the preparing. How long will we need to store it? Can we estimate how much will we need to store? What it the best method to keep it fresh? All of these … [Read more...]
Grubs and Mealworms Can Help with Molting
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...]
Breeding Sheep -What You Need to Know
Breeding sheep on the homestead takes you to a new level of farm management. Let’s face it, nothing is quite as cute as a lamb. Your plan may be to raise sheep or other fiber animals and breeding sheep does not have to be part of that goal. There are plenty of fine animals available for those who wish to have a fiber flock. Ram lambs are often neutered and become wethers. The wethers can produce very nice fleeces, without having the risk associated with housing an intact male animal. If you … [Read more...]
Newsletter For July 10, 2018
I am experimenting with a new idea. New to me that is. I am sure techy people all over the world already do this. Here's the scoop. I write a weekly newsletter. Sometimes it's a monthly newsletter. It depends on Life. And my organization. But I realized this year that with over 3000 folks subscribed, I really should be sending something out more often. The other side of the coin, I don't want to be boring, or annoying. Or any other things that would cause people to unsubscribe. As an … [Read more...]
