Animal Care
Meet all of our critters on the farm and learn how we take care of them
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How to Raise Meat Rabbits
As micro farming and homesteading has seen a revival over the past three years, so has the meat rabbit. Raising meat rabbits is perhaps one of the easiest animals to raise regardless of where you are. Meat rabbits require very little space, are extremely quiet, and relatively mess free. Today we’re going to talk about how to raise meat rabbits and some tips we have picked up along the way. Why Raise Meat Rabbits Raising rabbits for meat has a lot of benefits, especially for the beginner looking to become less reliant on the grocery store and save money on sustainable and ethically raised meat. We started raising rabbits about…
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Unconventional and Slightly Unpopular Ways To Feed Chickens Cheap
Chickens can be a great addition to any homestead or small farm. However, they can become expensive to feed if you are not careful. In this article, we are going to explore some unconventional ways to feed chickens cheap to not only save you money, but to also make a healthier flock. What are the Nutritional Requirements for a Healthy Flock? Before we start talking about ways to feed chickens cheap, let’s touch on what they need to be healthy. Protein Chickens first and foremost are omnivores, that means they eat both meat and vegetation. These little dinosaurs love protein packed insects and even the occasional small mouse. It is…
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Hacks to Make Your Winter Farm Chores More Bearable
We are in the thick of it here, and by it, I mean winter! January in Virginia is always a volatile time. Some days the weather is sunny and 50 and other days you are faced with blistering winds, snow, and below freezing temperatures. In today’s article, we are going to be talking about our favorite hacks to make your winter farm chores more bearable. Winter is one of the most beautiful times of year here in the Shenandoah Valley, but it is also unpredictable. We have learned quite a bit over the last few years as we have braved winter on the farm. Farming in winter is not for…
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The Best Egg Laying Chickens
Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes the cheep of baby chicks in every Tractor Supply across the nation. If you are looking to invest in egg laying chickens this coming year, you have come to the right place. We love a beautiful basket of farm fresh eggs adorning our kitchen like the next homesteader, but what we really love is a great breed of chicken. In this article, we will discuss what makes a good egg layer and our picks for the best egg laying chickens to add to your homestead. What Makes the Best Egg Laying Chicken People raise chickens for a lot of different…
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How to Care for Your Donkey – A Homesteader’s Guide
Whether for companionship or guarding a herd, donkeys are a great addition to any homestead or farm. This guide will walk you through how to care for your donkey and all the reasons why you need one on your homestead. When we purchased our homestead in 2020, I knew one thing for certain. I wanted a donkey. To be honest, I am not sure at the time if I knew why I wanted one. All I knew was they were cute little critters and once I set my mind to something, there is very little that will change it. So we started looking, and my husband found Archie. …
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Beginners Guide on How to Winterize Your Bee Hives (An Interview)
Today we are talking about bee keeping on the homestead and what you need to know on how to winterize your bee hives. We will talk with homesteader and bee keeper Cara Nitz and get her thoughts on keeping bees and how to prepare them for the long winter ahead. Bees and homesteading have gone hand in hand for well over four thousand years. The first kept hives consisting of little more than holes in rocky mountainsides or roughly woven baskets. Today’s beekeeping is much less crude and is quickly becoming a popular hobby around the world! Bee keeping can be a daunting task to undertake if you are…
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How to Care for Your Flock of Chickens
Chickens are a joy on the homestead. Their clucking, scratching, and funny antics bring so much joy and peace to the farm yard. They are also relatively easy to take care of and they serve a very important purpose on the homestead, supplying food! If you are new to chickens or just want some extra tips on how to care for your flock of chickens, you have come to the right place! We will walk you though at a high level how to take care of your flock and help them thrive. Chickens are perhaps my favorite animal on the homestead. Shhh, don’t tell the others! They are just so…
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Treats Your Chickens Will Love
Chickens are one of my favorite homestead animals. Not only are they super easy to take care of, but they are also big contributors to the homestead with eggs and great fertilizer. All their hard work definitely earns some delicious treats your chickens will love. If you are like us and you have a flock that out produces what your family can consume, check out our post on how to use an abundance of eggs for ideas! Chickens are the garbage disposals of the homestead, right up there with pigs. Chickens eat nearly any table scrap, garden veggie, or bug. They love to eat and will spend a majority of…
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How to Use an Abundance of Eggs!
One of the great things about owning chickens is the supply of farm fresh egg. Farm fresh eggs have a richer deeper yolk than store bought which lends to a better tasting egg! And even better, chickens are fairly low maintenance animals, so you get a high yield for very little work. They are also so relaxing to watch as they scratch around. Chicken watching is one of my favorite pastimes on the homestead. To me that is a win win! But even with just five chickens, my family of five was having a hard time keeping up with the ladies production. As we speak I have five eighteen counts…
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Hello! We are Cookies and Cream the Holsteins!
Cookies and Cream the Holsteins came to the farm at about three weeks of age. They were small and sweet and still on the bottle. The boys picked them from the group of ten and said they were ours. I will never forget the ride home with them the night we picked them up. My husband sprawled in the back of the F-150 holding them as we drove to their new home away from their brothers. We got home, in the early dusk. He hopped out covered in cow manure because the little guys had been so scared. That was the beginning! The kids fell in love with them. We…
