Like many things related to livestock, the answer to the question, "Can I keep sheep and goats together?" does not have a simple yes or no answer. Sheep and goats have the same diseases This is probably the #1 reason I hear people say that you should not keep sheep and goats together. However, if your goats and sheep do not have any diseases, then they can't give them to each … [Read more...]
A Beginner’s Guide to Goats
Whether you already have a few goats or you are just thinking of getting a couple, you've come to the right place. This Beginner's Guide to Goats includes links to some of Thrifty Homesteader's most useful goat posts. Caring for goats is not difficult or time consuming, but you do need up-to-date information.There are three basic challenges to becoming a goat owner. First, … [Read more...]
A Beginner’s Guide to Sheep
Are you considering getting sheep or do you already have a few? In addition to providing an introduction to raising sheep, this post also includes some of Thrifty Homesteader's most useful posts about sheep...Getting Your Sheep When it comes to choosing a breed of sheep, I'm partial to the breeds on the Conservation Priority List of The Livestock Conservancy, and it's … [Read more...]
What Nobody Tells You About Raising Ducks
If you've ever thought about raising ducks, this guest post by Rebekah Pierce of J&R Pierce Family Farm will help you get started successfully and if you already raise ducks, please share your tips in the comment section! Here’s how our decision to start raising ducks happened.I was waitressing at the time, and my now-husband (then my fiance) sent me a text … [Read more...]
Copper Deficiency Case Study
We’d had Nigerians for three years when I purchased Muse, my first LaMancha, a yearling in milk. At six months fresh, she dried up, which was disappointing, but I was eagerly looking forward to her kidding the next spring. We never saw her come into heat until December, even though we had two wethers with our does to help detect heat cycles. Because I didn’t own a … [Read more...]
Planning the Sustainable Garden: What Will You Grow?
When planning the sustainable garden, you should choose varieties of plants that will allow you to save seeds for planting the next year. This means they should be open pollinated, not hybrids, and not genetically modified. Hybrids will not reproduce true replicas of themselves, and it is illegal to save seeds from genetically modified plants. Many people think they have to buy … [Read more...]
Alfalfa pellets vs cubes and hay
Even though I have written about feeding alfalfa pellets to goats, I still get a lot of questions about exactly how pellets are different than cubes or hay and how they should be used as part of a goat's diet, as well as other livestock. Can alfalfa pellets or cubes totally replace hay? If you are asking about sheep, goats, and cattle, the answer is no. Ruminants cannot live … [Read more...]
8 Things You Need to Know Before Getting Pet Goats
Goats are probably the second most common barnyard pet with chickens coming in first. Although I jokingly refer to goats as vegetarian dogs because of their friendly nature, their needs are very different. For years I've been responding to emails and blog comments from new goat owners whose problems could have been avoided if they had the right information before they bought … [Read more...]
Clear Creek Seeds Garden Bundle Pack
Started in 2010, Clear Creek Seeds is a family-owned business offering non-GMO, open-pollinated, non-treated heirloom vegetable, flower, and herb seeds. They have signed the "Safe Seed Pledge" indicating that they do not knowingly purchase or sell genetically engineered seeds.Clear Creek has generously offered to provide one of their Garden Bundle Packs for our second seed … [Read more...]
Get Ready to Garden
For some people, the idea of starting their first garden and growing their own food can seem overwhelming. For others, it might seem ridiculously easy. You just plant seeds, and they grow—right? “But there is so much more to it,” say the overwhelmed future gardeners. The soil temperature has to be just right, and you need to choose the right plants for your climate, plant them … [Read more...]
